More tedious travel writing
OK, two hours in an internet cafe and I‘ve just remembed another thing about travel journals. Writing a journal eats time like a hungry catepillar eats a bad metaphor. Let’s rattle though the last few days like a simile rattles through a, well, you know.
I moved to Guadalupe, in the suburbs of San Jose, for a week staying with some Costa Ricans -essentially for a bit of Spanish practice but also a chance to get to know the culture a bit better. This is called a homestay, or, in Spanish, un homestay. The house I’m staying in is a little out in the sticks, as it’s half an hour on the bus to the city centre. (Think Streatham to London). The people are nice, though, the neighbourhood seems quiet and the food is good. Costa Rican food in general appears to be deceptively good i.e. It sounds rubbish on paper, but turns out to be be really nice. Q. Could rice and beans ever be a tasty breakfast? A. Yes.
The next day, not wanting to pay for a tour, I took a public bus up to Volcan Irazu, another volcano within spitting distance of the capital city (if you can spit 50km - I can). It looked like I was going to be disappointed, as the summit was again clouded over. It was a weird place, regardless - volcanic dust everywhere, sulphur smells floating in the wind and disembodied voices drifting in the mist. It was kind of lunar in some respects, and brought back memories of when me, Neil and Buzz used to hang out and be the first people to go moons and stuff.
We were sitting in the a cafe, waiting for the bus back down the mountain, when with 20 minutes to spare the clouds suddenly lifted and we got a good view of the volcano - lunar landscape, crater and all. That cheered me right up, that did.
Last night on TV was the Gran Final Del Torneo De Verano, between Deportivo Sarprissa and San Carlos. Best I could tell, this was the final of Costa Rica’s rugby-league style end of season play-offs. For anyone who thinks that ITV is bad, imagine a world where every set piece in a game of football is sponsored, and the commentators say things like “From the Pizza Hut Express free kick, the cross comes in, and it’s gone behind for a KFC corner. No - the defender didn’t get a touch, it’ll be a Toyota goal kick.” Even the legendary “Goooooooooooooooooooooool” has been replaced with “Goooooooooooooooool Taco Bell!”.
Ah, Costa Rica. So young. So much still to learn.
