The wheels on the bus go round and round...

Day 22, Saturday, July 28

Our boat out of here is leaving at 6, so Beth and I get up at 5 to pack and throw away anything we are not taking home. Lugging the suitcase to the boat isn’t quite the chore it has been, perhaps because I know I only have to do it a couple more times. Neither one of us is hungry, so we get to the dock very early. Never mind, the boat leaves soon enough, and the boat ride isn’t too bad. It is a bit cold, but my mind is focused on getting back to San Jose.

I listen to Sarah Harmer on the bus ride back to Cariari. It’s good to reconnect with her. There is a tour boat leaving the dock as we arrive, but I don’t feel bad: I did more than enough here. We’ve done tours; we’ve been adventurous. Now it is time to go home.

The bus from Cariari to Guapiles is not a pleasant experience. The roads are a bit holey (haha), and I feet a bit sick most of the time. I drift most of the bus ride back to San Jose, but heaven knows I am just glad to be there. Arriving in San Jose is a breath of semi-fresh air. When did San Jose become home? I don’t know, but I think I love it. We lug our bags to the hotel Pangea, set up by Beth’s awesome skills, and rejoice. We are done carrying these bags. From here we get a car to the airport. But that’s not till tomorrow.

We leave our bags at Pangea and head out to the San Pedro mall. As we walk, we talk about all the reasons we’re going to miss Costa Rica, and more specifically, how we’ll miss San Jose. It’s really grown on us. At the mall, we go to Wendy’s and the book store and just walk around. I get some Pops sometime later, before we finally decide to head back to Pangea.

Less than five seconds off the bus, Beth stops dead in her tracks. I turn around, but she just shakes her head, laughs a little and starts walking again. “I just got pick pocketed,” she remarks, as if the idea were little more than an annoying prank. My eyes get huge, and I struggle to keep up. “What?!” But although Beth is a bit upset (she lost like $40 in colones), she seems somewhat detached. I think she is just ready to go home. Ditto para mi.

Back at Pangea, we get the key to our room, and Beth makes a call to her parents to cancel her debit card (which also got picked up). Then we nap for a bit. As I come to, I hear Beth chatting with the girls in our room. There is a teacher who seems eager to get home, a Princeton student who has been down here teaching soccer, as well as a few other interesting characters. These girls are hardcore, and I just think: could I do this all by myself? Would I have made it all this time and way without Beth? Probably not. Besides that, what am I doing with this traveling? I’m bettering myself. But what am I giving back? With this trip: nothing.

I take my computer out to the lobby to charge it and to type up Monday’s blog. After a bit, I wander up to the second floor where there is a bar and internet. I put up Monday’s blog and return some e-mails. As I have been the last couple of days, I am again very aware of how ready I am to be home. I’m getting hungry, so I go downstairs to collect Beth for dinner. I chat with this high school girl for awhile before we eat, and then we settle in for some chicken fajitas and cloud picture taking a la Beth.

Our plan for the morrow is to go back to Cartago and go to church – only the second time we’ll go since we’ve been here. I loved my last trip to Cartago, and I really want Beth to see it. However, we can’t find mass times on the internet, so we decide we’ll just get up at eight and head over to see what we see. By this time it is ten, and I am exhausted, so I head back to the room.

I am peeling! Uck, I feel like an onion. This makes sense, as I am beginning to sour a bit. I need to perk up and enjoy my last day here!

Despite my sleepiness, I start Tuesday’s blog and listen to music for a bit before crashing. But even that comes sooner than expected.