Life

20th May 2016

JOE Backpacking Diary #8 – My first mugging, border problems and amazing Costa Rica

Joe Harrington

A mugging attempt, border problems and amazing Costa Rica.

My name is Joe Harrington; I’m travelling through Central and South America for the next eight months, here’s what happened on week seven.

San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua (continued)

‘Never walk by yourself at night’ is the golden rule for backpackers in Central and South America. I broke it two nights before leaving San Juan and paid the price.

I’d been out for a few beers and rums with a Dutch guy called Tom and a Slovakian girl called Lizzy when we bumped into a few Irish lads in the Pacha Mama hostel.

We had one or two there, nothing crazy at all, and decided to head to Arribas on the beach. I went with one of the Irish boys and thought the rest would follow, but they just went home.

This charmer of an Irish boy (he told me not to use his name) managed to get with a girl pretty quickly, smooth operator, so I was alone.

I had to be up early the next day so I said I’d call it a night, and I started heading back to the hostel by the road along the beach.

There are prostitutes all over that road. I walked passed two of them; one woman, one transvestite, near the end of the street and they offered sex. I said “No, gracias” (manners) and moved on.

The two didn’t accept that so they followed me with the stealth of a really stealthy ninja in stealth gear using stealth mode.

Out of nowhere, I got shoved in the back against a wall and as I was getting my bearings they got into my pockets. It felt like an octopus was trying to get into my shorts.

I eventually pushed them off, spun out of the situation and legged it fast. Well, as fast as I can run.

Slow.

When I got back to my hostel I still had my wallet so I thought I got away with it. I hadn’t, they managed to get 150 cordobas (only €5).

It’s not a dangerous place, it’s one of the safest I’ve been on my travels but I was stupid. Don’t be like me, be smart.

A cheap price for a valuable lesson.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BFZTokTmHey

My last day in San Juan was a lot better. I woke up early, jumped into my swimming togs and had a dip in the water.

It was a beautiful morning.

After that, I went to El Gato Negro, a coffee-lovers’ heaven, to do my Spanish homework before my 1pm class. The last class was great, my tutor Vanessa told me about her life and living in Nicaragua.

The average monthly wage there is €170, and sometimes electricity can cost up to €70 for big families, so she said each month is a struggle.

Vanessa is one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met and she told me she wanted to be a journalist when she was young but her parents couldn’t afford college. It broke her heart.

She didn’t want the same for her daughter and she’s managing to put her through University at the moment. The pride is bursting out of her because of it.

The last class was entirely in Spanish and I understood almost everything, which is great. I just need to keep tipping away at it myself now.

Here’s a link to her school. I paid €110 for 15 hours of one-on-one lessons.

The evening was spent with my Alaskan buddy Sean, a cool Dutch guy called Tom and three Swedish girls Lotten, Adina and Sandra.

We watched the sunset on San Juan for one last time and it was probably the best one in my whole time there.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BFawhq9GHZX

Accommodation: Casa Oro. It cost me €12 per night.

It’s right on the beach, the beds are good, free breakfast and coffee, shuttles to the nearby beaches, surf lessons, a rooftop bar.

Food: Try local laundry places for cheap food, The Taco Street Style do incredible Mexican food.

Drink: Arribas, Iguana Bar, Tici Bar, Sunday Funday (€30) for alcohol. El Gato Negro for coffee.

Highlight: Sunday Funday. I was with a great bunch of people so it was an excellent day.

Lowlight: Leaving. I got into such a nice routine there.

Next stop: Monteverde, Costa Rica

Four of us were going south to Monteverde – Sean, Lotten, Adina and I.

Lotten and I left at 5am because we booked a shuttle (€25) that took us to a town “very near” Monteverde. Sean and Adina left a while later by public bus.

I had a nightmare at the border. Entering Costa Rica you need proof you are leaving the country, a flight ticket or a bus ticket will do. I didn’t have either.

The solution is to buy a ticket (you’ll never use) from one of the operators on the border.

My bus driver told me the cheapest way was to get a ticket to Nicaragua but when I got to the stand they said a ticket to Panama was the only option.

In the heat of the moment I said okay, the lady wrote up the ticket and then told me the price – €42. She had written the ticket so I had to pay. FFS.

That was a big blow because Costa Rica is so expensive anyway that I didn’t need to waste money foolishly, but I took a few deep breaths and let it go.

Lotten and I were dropped off our bus on the side of a highway in La Irma at 10:30am. The bus to Monteverde left at 10am, the next one was at 3pm. Two buses go every day.

We weren’t going to wait around for four and a half hours so we decided to hitchhike.

In fewer than 15 minutes, a lovely local man gave us a lift in the back of his truck which got us as far as a town called Juntas.

That’s where we got stuck because the place is riddled with taxis who charge anywhere between €60 and €100 to go to Monteverde. No, gracias.

Lotten and I spent hours trying to get a free lift and, luckily, at around 1pm Sean and Adina walked around the corner.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BFeYO2mmHWw

We eventually ended up getting the 3pm bus for €2. Gracias. The journey into the mountains was stunning with greenery to match anything I’ve seen in my life.

The four of us arrived in the town at 5pm and by the time we found a hostel it was 6pm and dark.

Our Aussie friends Tony and Carla from San Juan joined us in the hostel and the six of us all ate a home-cooked pasta dish courtesy of Adina.

The following day myself, Sean and Adina went to the cloud forest in nearby Santa Elena (€14). The place reportedly inspired the movie Avatar because of its dramatic landscape.

Cloud forest in Monteverde in Costa Rica 🇹🇭 pic.twitter.com/LQa7QvnAkM

— Joe Harrington (@ImJoeHarrington) May 16, 2016

The wildlife and plantlife is incredible and it was so surreal to see clouds move through the trees right before my eyes.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BFfBslVGHZy

There’s a lot to do in Monteverde but it’s very expensive, so being on a tight budget is a bit of a balls.

Lotten, Tony and Carla did the zip-lining (€50) and said it was excellent. You can also do horseback tours, visit a bat jungle, night tours and loads more.

I was happy I did the cloud forest though because it’s what Monteverde is famous for and I’d never seen anything like it in my life.

The night was very relaxed again, we all met up and strolled into town before hitting the hay early. We would have an early start the following day.

Accommodation: Savegre Inn. It cost me €8 per night.

The staff are amazing, Teresa on the front desk gave us so much advice and information. The beds are good, the kitchen is decent and they can organise all the tours for you.

Food: Cook in your hostel, the place is very expensive.

Drink: Treehouse is a cool place in town.

Highlight: Walking through clouds in one of the most amazing forests in the world.

Lowlight: Stomach cramps, they plagued me the whole time I was there.

Next stop: Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

Myself, Sean, Adina and Lotten left our hostel at 6am with a long day ahead of us.

To get from Monteverde to Puerto Viejo via San Jose takes 12 hours, three buses, €15, multiple litres of sweat and a decent Spotify playlist.

Puerto Viejo is a small seaside town on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, it’s pretty sweet.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BFkUoYNGHcC

We met up with our ~~enemies~~ friends Linda, Daniel, Suz, Rebecca and Maxine from Nicaragua when we arrived and went for dinner in a place called Reggae Chill for local Caribbean cuisine.

The food was good and the staff were hilarious. The polished off a bottle of tequila with us after dinner, which they gave to the table on the house.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BFnDxn_GHWX

Linda, Daniel and Suz left the following morning and the weather was so crap that the rest of us couldn’t really get up to much.

Sean and I found a bar that was showing the Europa League Final between Liverpool and Sevilla. The Reds broke my heart again.

Ready for the #EuropaLeagueFinal here in Puerto Viejo in Costa Rica. Come on you Red men! #LFC pic.twitter.com/np5MEG7aVY

— Joe Harrington (@ImJoeHarrington) May 18, 2016

It was Sean’s first full football match and I showed him hurling on my phone at half-time. He thought it was crazy – Alaskan man reacts to seeing hurling for the first time. You know the craic.

The following day was one of my favourite days of the whole trip so far. Myself, Adina, Lotten and Sean rented bikes from the hostel and went exploring the coast.

We found secluded beaches, we swam in the Caribbean, saw monkeys and turtles, bought delicious banana bread from a random dude and pulled coconuts down from trees and drank them at the side of the road to cool down.

A proper day in paradise. Magic.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BFm5tElmHUH

It’s now rainy season in Central America and it’s lashing here today so not up to too much except reading and planning the next step.

Accommodation: Rocking J’s. €11 for a dorm, €8 for a tent.

It’s right on the beach, the beds are good, bikes for €5, it has a brilliant kitchen.

https://instagram.com/p/BFjczRFmHdd/

Food: I’m cooking in the hostel a bit and La Esquina Boruca has amazing pizza slices.

Drink: Hostel.

Highlight: Sitting on a tree in Manzanillo soaking in the the Carribean. Bliss.

Lowlight: The computer I’m writing this diary with, a Commodore 64 would be faster.

If you’ve any tips, advice or questions, let me know on Twitter at@ImJoeHarrington orInstagram/ImJoeHarrington.

Talk to you next week.