Being alone in a place you don’t want to be on your last day of travelling, after months of happiness and love in the most remarkable settings, paints everything in shades of grey. San José is one of the most unpleasant city I have been in, not to offend any of its inhabitants. Not only me, but many of my friends been insulted by strangers, ignored by shopkeepers and in general not feeling the love and openness of most other Central American cities. Lucky I am though, to be couch surfing in San Antonio de Belen, a little bit outside the city with two really nice guys taking care of me this last of the days. When I remember the two other longer backpacking trips I’ve done I do recognize the feeling, it is always mixed itches of leaving a life you love, this time also leaving someone of more substance than just a feeling, not a love but the love. The upside is I’m already set on going again as soon as I can, and I really look forward to meet all the good people I have in my life back home, I look forward to routines, cooking, running, rediscovering my language and even working the summer. It is hard to say what’s next after that. Anyhow, let’s not repeat ourselves – what about Costa Rica?

Costa Rica is definitely the most touristic of the countries I’ve visited, lots of visitors, most of the towns are hostels, restaurants and souvenir shops. Prices are raving but you get what you pay for. 3 bucks for a coffee is abhorring, but yes, it is delicious and not instant. A three course meal with wine and drinks made us break the 100 dollar barrier last Sunday in Puerto Viejo, but hell, that was some serious good food. After rice and beans and baleadas for months, I am ready to change diet even if I have to pay for it. The country is green and lush, nature pristine and relatively clean – touring Costa Rica you won’t see heaps of plastic bottles and bags along the roadside as you will in the other countries around which is a somewhat of a relief. Food is Americanised but good, there’s even vegetarian restaurants owned by locals, which is really rare. Though, this country as all the others attract loads of ex pats and runaways, mostly Americans with a local mamacita on their arm – lucky love! Down here it is the rainy season now and tourists are a lot fewer which I enjoy; there’s tickets for buses and prices are lower than during high peak. A potential gong show like Puerto Viejo is presently relatively calm and chill, though you could still hear some live calypso caliente while sipping on a Piña Colada which is what you expect in the Caribbean. No beach time though, thanks to mostly clouded with sudden bursts of rain, though temperature’s still at 30 Celsius. My intention of tanning up before coming home failed – so no worries, you’re probably more tanned than I am at this moment. No, I am ready to come home, if only for a while, I am ready to say goodbye for now to Central America. It has been a ride unworthy my petty description, but mostly thanks to the lovelies I’ve met who forever will make my life richer.

One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things – Henry Miller