An Officer and a Gentleman - Costa Rica

Although my time in Costa Rica was heartbreakingly short, I was quite sure of one thing - I would go up in those mountains. Regardless of where you stand in San Jose off in the distance you can see the big, seductive, green mountains that surround the city. I wasn’t interested in sharing 1 of my 2 precious days with a bunch of pasty strangers being dragged around the same old sites on a tour bus. I wanted to explore. I wanted my own little adventure with the mountains. And so I grabbed one of the guide books at the hostel, picked a town that promised the largest ox-cart in the world, and up into the mountains I went.

Hopping on a bus in San Jose isn’t quite as easy as it is here. Sure the city has a big Coca-Cola bus terminal, but my bus didn’t leave from there - it was one of the local runs that went from one of the many tiny terminals hidden down little alley ways within a twenty minute walk from the central station. A bus driver and a nice old lady tried to give me directions, but as I don’t speak Spanish and they didn’t speak English we played charades. I lost. I was lost.
Eventually I found the friendly policeman. There is no military in Costa Rica, which has helped them avoid the nasty political coups that have crippled too many Central & South American countries. What Costa Rica does have is la policia at every turn, some of them carry much larger guns than others. The officer I met was quite nice, and very chatty. He walked me around a corner and pointed out where I needed to go.
Victory.
I smiled.
I thanked him.
I was off.
No? You want a hug?
Alright. Oh!
Because the hug came as an afterthought and a strange angle, I was pressed up against his gun.
Yes, a very real gun.
But I found the bus station.

And when it was time to transfer in Grecia, I found that bus station too.

Welcome to Sarchí.

The town is famous for their carpentry ....

..... but I was blown away by their dulce de leche.

And yes, mountains were seen and very much enjoyed.

Beauty. Brief. - Costa Rica

6208km.
It seems a perfectly reasonable distance to travel for a day or two.
And so, rosy faced and slightly tipsy from the party I hopped on the 3am bus to the airport and ran away to Costa Rica.

 Some of us handle mornings a little better than others.

Up and down, up and down - and then there I was.

 

....more photos soon.
Film requires patience.
xo
Ruby

whispers in the grass and there are slow dancing trees

Another day, another park with the Irish.

This time there was a substantial transit ride involved which took us all the way out to Scarborough so that we could run around with the ghosts of old Toronto buildings at Guildwood Park.

  

I'm not the only one who took pictures. 

 

 

 

I also wasn't the only one who was all tuckered out.