Al: Travel Day 2

4/4/15
Last night I had a fantastic dinner in Houston. My mom’s boyfriend took me to a New Orleans style restaurant. Thank God I didn’t grow up in New Orleans. I would be 500 lbs!!! The food was rich, crab filled, and delicious. I’m already planning a trip to New Orleans just to eat!

After I got back to the hotel I had a decision to make. I knew most of the solo travelers were at the bar upstairs. I had seen them and even met a few of them when I came in to the hotel. Everything in me wanted to take a bath, put on a movie, and go to bed. I had traveled most of the day and knew that I would be traveling for the next 2 days. But I knew if I was already having trouble opening up and meeting new people when I still spoke the language, that this whole trip would be a waste. I figured I could make excuses or I could buck up and go say hi.

Turns out it was a very interesting mix of people. There was a 50 something year old Canadian lady who was traveling solo to Guatemala. There was a gentleman going to visit his wife in Columbia. She had moved back there to help with her mother six months before, but he can’t leave his job in the U.S. There was a professional golf caddy who was in Houston with the PGA Tour. There was also an airplane pilot, who stressed how safe flying is and made me feel even better about flying. And finally there was a chef from Belize who had lived in London since he was 18. He is classically trained in French cuisine and is moving back to Belize to run the kitchen at 2 resorts.

I nursed two beers for a few hours and realized how easy it is to get talking to people when on the road. It was a great confidence booster for me and I’m glad I took the initiative. I went back to the room around 10:30 but ended up not falling asleep until 2 a.m. anyways, and I don’t think that would have been any different if I’d tried to go to bed early. I was too excited for today.

Day 2 begins:

I woke up at 4 a.m. (way before my alarm went off), got ready, and was at the airport by 5:30. It only took me 15 minutes to check in and get through security. I bought my last U.S. coffee and I ate a large breakfast. My flight was a little bumpy but mostly uneventful. I was seated in the middle of a group of high school kids from Redondo Beach. It was a little awkward, but I guess I should be getting used to being around kids. None of their chaperones were seated near us and I helped a bunch of them fill out their customs forms. Sitting near them, reminded me of how happy I am to be in my late 20’s and how much independence I have already achieved.

I arrived in Costa Rica around 10 a.m. I quickly went through immigration and customs. Thankfully I had done my research and I had all proof of my onward bus ticket, bank statements, etc. so it was fairly painless. I was picked up by a shuttle that I had arranged to take me to my next bus. I’m still getting used to having a backpack even though it’s small, its somewhat awkward. I’m already trying to figure out what I can dump.

I am currently waiting at the Holiday Inn Express for a bus pick up in 2 hours. This bus will take me into Quepos tonight. There, I will meet Danika, the girl whose mother I will be staying with. Tomorrow (I think) we will be driving to my final destination. I am exhausted and doubt I’ll get too much sleep tonight either, my mom even told me I look terrible, but I’m ignoring the tired and really enjoying my time.

Speaking of which, good news, the line app that my sister has been using in Tokyo works really well here too. As long as I have wifi I can text, call, or video chat anyone who has the app (so get it)! Anyways, that is all for now. I’m going to go have some empanadas.

Love you!

Al

P.S.-The empanadas were delicious!