A Week Full of Travel Lessons

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Zach playing doctor on Sydney's fresh new wounds

Well hello beautiful people- what a journey it's been.  As some of you may know, Zach and I left for Costa Rica a few days ago and boy has it been an experience! I definitely did not plan on letting almost a whole week pass before I posted my first travel blog, but here we are. For some context, as you can see in the picture, Zach had to play doctor pretty early on - I guess me making fun of him for packing a whole med-case didn't age too well. So, here's exactly what happened within the first 72 hours of our one-year travel venture. 

It all started with our first flight, which both Zach and I believed was on that Monday. We were at his parent's house, bidding our final goodbyes. Sunday night, I decided to check-in for our flight, but for some reason, it wouldn't let me. After trying everything, Zach took a glance and noticed the date on the ticket – Sunday, January 7th. There we were, on January 7th, 12 hours after the flight departure time. The realization that we had missed our very first flight set in, as we sat down for dinner, doe-eyed and nervous about the skyrocketing ticket prices (about $1,000 more).

In the next couple of hours, I did some sleuthing and it appeared that the flight had been canceled earlier that morning due to weather. When I called the airline and casually mentioned this, to my surprise, they covered the extra thousand dollars for the next day's ticket. I don't know who's looking out for us, but it's clear that someone is. We managed to miss our first flight – something I've often criticized about others, never understanding how someone could be that irresponsible. We were able to learn such a hard lesson with no repercussions except for a very quiet Italian family dinner, an experience not many get to have.

The next day was generally smooth sailing. They booked us a one way ticket with no lay over (woohoo!) to San Jose, Costa Rica. We got an Uber with a lovely man named Fabio, who got many giggles from Zach's first attempts to speak Spanish. We slept at Costa Rica Backpackers Hostel  - would highly recommend for anyone looking for a quick, affordable place to sleep in the city center, not far from the bus terminals to explore other towns. Zach was able to get his first legal beer here with a delicious typical dinner. 

Zach's first legal beer!

Then came the day from actual hell. We knew it was going to be a lengthy travel day, but little did we realize the challenges that lay ahead. We rose early to re-pack and grab some breakfast from the hostel's kitchen. Unfortunately, we neglected to inquire, like the savvy travelers around us, about the breakfast preparation time – which turned out to be over half an hour. So there we sat, patiently, aware that our bus departure time was drawing near.

Finally, we devoured what would probably go down as the best breakfast burritos of our lives in a mere minute,  then summoned another Uber to get to the bus. Sweating and in a rush, we made it to the ticket office, securing the VERY LAST TWO TICKETS for the journey down to Sierpe.

Once again, I have no idea who's watching over us, perhaps having a good laugh at our questionable decisions, but someone must be.

The bus ride was a 6-7 hour journey to Sierpe, where we then had to catch a two-hour boat ride. Surprisingly, the bus ride was comfortable, especially considering it only cost 15 dollars. Upon arrival, we had a slim 15-minute window until the boats departed – seemingly not stressful, but it quickly turned that way as they continued to call everyone's lodging except ours to board the boat. To their dismay, we boarded anyway.

Boat from Sierpe to Drake's Bay, Costa Rica

The boat ride was an absolute blast, and honestly, it's the sole reason I'd recommend taking the bus/boat to Drake's Bay instead of flying (aside from the significant price difference). The time and $20 were well worth the experience. You cruise down the Sierpe River for about an hour, passing through the largest Mangrove Forest in the world. As the river merges with the Pacific Ocean, you speed through large waves, creating an exhilarating sensation akin to a rollercoaster – a ride that had me inexplicably bursting into laughter.

However, when we arrived at Drake's Bay, darkness had set in, and we still had over half an hour to hike to our initial project placement. Attempting to seek guidance, I tried reaching out to our farm host but received no response. A sense of unease crept in as we realized our limited knowledge of the local nocturnal wildlife. Despite feeling secure with the people around us, we lacked the experience to navigate through an unfamiliar area, especially at night.

Road to first project - in daylight

We gave it our best shot simply because we didn't know what else to do. However, about a Kilometer later, in the pitch black, I took a significant fall over a rock, gashing my knee and (apologies to the squeamish) ripping my toenail off. Blood continued to flow down my leg, and Zach, in an attempt to play doctor, immediately tried to tend to the injuries. I allowed him to clean the gash with our remaining water, but it became clear that finding a safe place to sleep was more crucial.

I remembered that our accommodation lacked electricity and showers – we were supposed to bathe in the local river. While this didn't bother us before, it now seemed like a much bigger issue with no means to sanitize these fresh wounds. With still no response from our host, we made the tough call to head back to civilization and inquire at hotels for an available bed.

As we walked down, drawing many stares from locals due to my bloody leg and sweaty clothes in the middle of the night, we tried a few hostels but had no luck. Finally, we stumbled across a kind woman closing up her place, and miraculously, she had one more vacancy. She offered valuable advice, allowed us to stay for the night, and even provided contact numbers for people who took volunteers for work exchanges. Finally, we had a safe haven to rest, eat, and tend to my wounds after an incredibly long and challenging day.

Zach taking his nightly bug watch during power outage

The next few days involved us scrambling in the mornings to find the next place to rest our heads, navigating the challenges of locating wifi, enduring power outages, taking nightly bug watches, and dealing with water shut-offs. We eventually had to cancel our first project with the host who failed to respond to our pleas for help, primarily due to concerns about infection in my cuts.

Undeterred, we applied to numerous new projects, and after a few days, we were accepted to one in the very place I had dreamed of visiting – La Fortuna. AND THEY HAVE SHOWERS! Actual beds instead of tents in the rainforest, wifi, and even A/C. The opportunity to visit La Fortuna is beyond exciting, and our new host is fantastic. We've had FaceTime conversations where she expressed equal enthusiasm about making improvements to her hostel through marketing, website building, and social events.

Despite facing significant obstacles in these first couple of days, we've come to the conclusion that they were necessary. Traveling with an overly optimistic mindset, while not inherently bad, needed a reality check. We've learned the importance of double-checking our tickets for times and dates, ensuring our needs are met at each location, waking up especially early if we want breakfast, and verifying the legitimacy of our hosts. Above all, we've realized the significance of staying calm and trusting that things will work out.

There were moments in the past couple of days when we considered giving up, feeling as though the universe was placing obstacles to lead us back home. However, we recognized that we simply needed to be more careful and thoughtful in each step of our journey.

Coast of Drake's Bay

We've had the pleasure of meeting some truly incredible locals who have been a constant source of support along our journey. They've generously provided us with contacts for housing, food, and individuals interested in our project. The sense of community care is astonishing, considering we're clearly not from here. At every corner, people ensure we're okay and offer valuable advice. Zach even made best friends with a local named Frank, talking every morning and night about his very unique life escapades.  With their help, we now have a secure place to sleep for the next month, and we're eager for what lies ahead. Although our week was full of difficult travel lessons, it has been well worth it.

We'll keep you updated with our upcoming adventures through these blogs, pictures, videos on our Patreon, and soon, the podcast. 

See ya'll soon,

Sydney 

My friend - Lily the iguana, she likes bananas