Puerto Viejo!

Hello, and greetings from the Caribbean:) Puerto Viejo is a town unlike any I've EVER been to in my travels. Our bus ride from SJ was pretty uneventful, well, except for the fact that when we pulled into the bus station, I had to have the driver take me back to get my forgotten Dramamine pills...we made it with about five minutes to spare. However, I didn't feel like I really had a choice...I would have been miserable had I not gone back to retrieve them. The ride was about four and a half hours, and was pretty mellow. Once we got out of the concrete jungle that is SJ, we started to see what the REAL CR was all about...GREEN. Seriously, just green everywhere.

I don't need to go into any great detail about what it's like here, rather, you just need to see the pictures. Unfortunately, I've tried two times to upload the pics with no success. I have lots of good shots of the town, which is a funky dirt-road hippy type of place. It has a unique Afro-Caribbean flair all its own. Last night, after getting in, we found our way to "Johnny's" and drank beer on the beach, pausing every once in a while to go wade in the water. That was really cool. Every once in a while, I'd stop and say something like, "Hey guys! Cheers! We're in the $*%#(*% Caribbean!" I'm sure that got old, but I felt it was appropriate to keep reminding myself (and others) that we were in a really cool place...

Today, we pretty much just hung out on the beach...Playa Negra to be exact. It's got black sand and although certainly doesn't claim to be the nicest beach in CR, it'll do. After a few hours there, we headed back to have some lunch and have been at the hostel ever since. Oh, and speaking of the hostel, it's super low budget. Actually, it's pretty ghetto, but then again, could I really expect luxury accomodations for $10 a night?

So that takes me to the here and now...I'm taking a *break* by hitting the internet cafe down the street. Pacing here is important;)

Tonight's going to be another wild and crazy one, but I have NO problem boning out early. I get crap from everyone every time I do, but really, I don't care what they think. I'm doing my best to behave myself, and am actually being suprisingly successful! I think you'd all be proud of me...

Alright, gotta go as my time is running low. I'll post all of my pics when I get back on Sunday night. Talk to you all later!

Oh, and I understand that some of you are having trouble posting messages. Would one of you (who has had some success at this...Kelly perhaps) give any pointers that you can think of? Thanks:)

Pura Vida!

Ben