RainiN in ParadiZe - Back To PJ!
5:05 am. I got off the taxi still half sleep and sit at the bus stop along the Interamerican road in Cartago to wait for the earlier bus that will take me to PJ after a 7 hrs ride to Rio Claro, 30 more minutes on a second bus to Golfito and, finally, 25 minutes on a boat ride along the Gulf.
Being here at the bus stop reminds me those days during November when I used to go down on my own to set up 7 work projects and host families! Now 8 months later I just can`t believe all the whole program just went past!
After some 5 hrs of bad sleep in buses I finally jump on the boat in Golfito. My first experience visiting just like any other tourist carrying my crappy surf board underneath my arm pit gets me into a conversation with a local guy that tries to figure where I'm coming from. Then he ends up offering me some w**d I don´t know why!
On the way to PJ I start talking to the boat man who kind of remembers me but doesn`t look quite sure, after a quick reminder about the group that used to pick up garbage in front of his house on PJ´s beach he gives a discount price on the boat ride! not bad way to star my visit back to PJ as I'm already broke just by covering the whole taxi/bus/bus/boat ride to get here!
As soon as I got off the boat I start finding the people I wanted to see, just getting into the football field I run into Doña Hercilia (Fofo's` and Karin`s host mother), who was in front of her little shop, so I greet her with a big hug. Unfortunately I can´t talk to her too long, its 2 pm already and some drops on my shoulders remind me that the afternoon rain is coming,
As I don´t want to get wet I run away, as usual, to Cafe La Onda, the meeting point! There I start finding the people, ticos and gringos, who really care about the Peninsula and as usual we get into a conversation about how things have been going for the last few months and answered some questions Sarah (the nice gringa) asked me about the group experience in Sweden,
After that, I put away all my stuff, borrowed Ana's bike and start going around town...but then it felt weird to go around without running into the participants as we always did...something was missing and it felt somehow lonely without them, so I decide to go to say hola to some other people we met in town. First, I stoped at Miguels (Emmas & Marces host uncle, "cri cri") who of course was working at Ronie`s El Tigre supermarket and as usual had some pics of young pretty girsl on his cell phone! Muy Miguel!
Then I visited Doña Rita, (Anna`s and Vero's` host mother) who helped me a lot while I was looking for projects and families. Unfortunately she was not home but I spent some time talking to Catalino (who just like Vero always has something to say!) and Rita's neighbours next door who remember the work the group did around the playground and inquired about where they were now!
I didn´t want to give up on my goal to see some families so decide to go to Teresa`s home, Luis & Fridas host family, who even tough looked surprise with my visit welcomed me with a big smile and invited me to seat on the leaving room of her nice wooden house. While we were talking Don Evaristo showed up so I don`t miss the opportunity to thank the family one more time for the nice time we had while visiting their farm during Easter...
On my way back to town I decided to visit Doña Patricia (Jaimes and Oivias family), where I find Gaby (Teresa's daughter). While we were talking Doña Patricia and her husband got to the house and asked me about the time the group spent in Sweden so I told them about the good relation their host kids had at the end of the program so we just laugh about the days when Olivia and Jaime were driving each other crazy in PJ,
At night, I and the teachers from the gringo private school decide to go for dinner to the new bar/restaurant in town, Sarpes, which is located underneath of what used to be our apartment in town. There we spent a nice time just talking until around 9 when we find Roger, the Englishman who took us to his house for Helen's and Eylin's ED, and Margot, from Lapa Rios, on the bar having some drinks! Good excuse to spend some more time there! Unfortunately for me our bar crew was not completely as the crazy Belgium guy, Filip, was on his way back home for a short visit,
Next day, I woke up kind of late so it was time for some Pinto con huevos from the colectivos` little soda. Even though the morning had been very sunny as soon as I got to the restaurant at around 1 it started to rain. It definitely was a different PJ to the one we were used to, the rainy season was here every day!
As I was enjoying my Pinto with 2 certified happy eggs :) a chunk of cheese from happy caws :), a salad and some Tamarindo juice I noticed that they had gotten a brand new big colectivo truck for the rainy season. I didn't ask what happened with the other crappy pickup trucks we used to ride to Matapalo as I had to run away to line up for a couple of hours at the bank coz the ATM was not working those days,
On the way there I found a really nice guy who I had been looking for since the day b4, Diego, Emmas PJ`s boy. As we were talking I realized that he almost knew more about the group than I did as he kept himself up to date with the latest info and pictures going on the web on facebook and the PJ group!
The next in day I managed to wake up early but the ocean didn´t want to give me any good waves in Matapalo so I spent the time laying on the board thinking about the nice days there with the group, like the visit to Lapa Rios or the weekend some of us finally found the nice waterfall,
Back in PJ, that day it was Reggae night, good time to find more of the bar crew I wanted to see, at the end those people were the more close thing to a family Anna Oh and I had while there! It was sad though that crazy Canadian was away on a kayak tour that weekend,
At the end the night was not as fun as when we all used to go, again something was missing, so I realized that many other people was missing beside the crazy Canadian and Belgian dudes....so it was time to go back to bed,
The last day in town was definitely a nostalgic one...many thoughts went through my head as I walked to the harbour to catch the 12 am boat...for a moment I wished it was November for real, I was just looking for the projects and the families and we were given the opportunity to live and experience all the good times together again...
Mau.
