Montezuma

Where did I leave off? It´s been so long, but luckily, I´ve been keeping a journal so I´ll remember every detail.

Thursday, after class and lunch, I got together a group of people who were all interested in going to Montezuma for the weekend. Montezuma is a small town on the very south of the peninsula I´m on right now. Irwin (the Swiss guy) and I went to a rental car company because booking the trip with the school is just ridiculously expensive. The car rental company was closed, and there was no way we could take a public bus. Taking a public bus meant waking up super early (on Friday, which would mean missing class, or Saturday, which would mean missing half the day) and taking it to a port town across the gulf, taking a ferry across the gulf back to the peninsula we just crossed, and then taking a bus to Montezuma. Instead, we looked into how much a bus with a private company would run us. After doing all the calculations and talking to the rental company, we found out it probably would be slightly cheaper if we rented a car. However, that price was not including gas or insurance, or the safety and sureness of arriving in Montezuma at all, since we don´t know exactly how to get there even though it looks okay on a map. The reason it´s so difficult to get there by car (private or rental; public buses just don´t run there from Sàmara anyway) is because it´s the rainy season right now, and normally in the dry season, you can just drive down the Pacific coast and take the road all the way down. Now, though, the rain has swelled up the rivers so much that it´s nearly impossible to cross them. So we would have to go north a little and then drive down the gulf coast of the peninsula and then to Montezuma. We figured it would be worth it to pay the extra money to ensure us getting there, so we booked it for the 6 of us (me, Elizabeth, Jonas, Irwin, Matt, and Roxy). I found out through signs and by talking to people that tonight was reggae night at that bar, La Gondola. I wasn´t sure what that meant, since it seemed like every night was reggae night because that´s all they ever play, but I knew it also meant that lots of people were going to show up. So the 6 of us planned on going to that bar and meeting up. After dinner and a quick nap, I made my way to La Gondola around 10:30. The bar was packed, and by packed, I mean 20-30 people. As soon as I walked in, I recognized all the teachers and administrators from the language school I´m at. This all just goes to show how damn small this town is. Around 11, after a few beers, we decided to make our way over to the inside room, where there lay a pool table, a ping pong table, a foosball table, and some dart boards. After a few games of all of them, and some more beers, I met a guy named Marco playing pool. Now Marco here is about 4'10 or 4'11 and was dancing like Usher. It was soooo hysterical. He would use the pool cue (which was at least a foot bigger than him) as a pole to dance around in a very sexual manner. He would do some limbo-esque moves all the way to the ground in front of girls who would just stare and walk away. It was very humorous. I then played him in pool, beat him, and bought him a beer because I felt bad beating him (he was AWFUL and I am really not that good). Eventually, it ended up just being me, Jonas, and Irwin at the bar. Apparently, reggae night is special because there´s a live DJ who plays the music, so everyone was on the dance floor while reggae, reggaeton, and various hip hop played over the loudspeakers. At one point, Jonas and Irwin were dancing alone together, while everyone else was with someone of the opposite gender dancing. They waved for me to come over but I was just relaxing with a beer, when Irwin came over to me and said (in very broken English with a foreign accent): "They (meaning the Ticos) are probably thinking, Look at these whyyte guys, but I don´t care." It was the funniest thing at the time, especially the way he said ¨white¨, with that broken Swiss accent. Close to 2, the bar closed up and kicked everyone out. Jonas and Irwin were kind enough to walk me home and I made it back safely, knowing full well that I had to wake up at 7:30 the next morning.

I woke up fine, made it to class, got through class, went home, packed up my things, and got on the bus to head to Montezuma - all without throwing up after the late night. The bus ride down was absolutely gorgeous. The whole country seems like it´s covered in green, from the forests to the mountains to the fields to the farms, it´s all just a vibrant, luscious, fresh green. We spent half the ride talking about various things (surfing, music, Mormons (Matt lives in a Mormon town in Hawaii and so we exchanged stories from his life and from the book I´m reading on Mormon fundamentalism), etc.) and slept the other half. The roads were so bumpy and windy though that a few of us, including myself, felt nauscious. We all fortunately made the 4 hour trip out with no projectiles coming out of our mouths. Once we got there and started shopping for hostels, Jonas realized he forgot to get money out of an ATM, so the whole weekend he relied on other people, because of course, there is no bank in Montezuma (the closest one is about 10 min. away in another town). Jonas made the whole scene funny though, when every time I or someone else would ask his opinion, he would always say "I don´t care. I don´t have the right to say anything," thanks to his bankruptcy. Every time he would change that phrase around in some way so it always got a laugh out of everybody. It was not hard to find places to stay though, because the town is literally a T-intersection. You can stand in the middle and see all 3 ends of it; it´s that small (smaller than Sàmara). Most of the hostels were $10 a night per person, but we found two places. One was this great place on the beach about a 2 min. walk from town, while the other place was right in town next to a very loud club. However, the latter hostel, Hotel Moctezuma, gave discounts on different tours to do around the town. We decided to stay at this hostel just for this night, only for the discount, then transfer to Hotel Lys (the other one right on the beach) for the next night. Elizabeth, Jonas, Irwin, and I signed up to do the Isla Tortuga tour Saturday, while Roxy and Matt signed up for a horseback riding tour (Matt had an ear infection so he couldn´t go in the water, and the island tour involved a lot of snorkeling so he would have missed out on a lot). For dinner, we ate at a little pizzeria next door which wasn´t too bad. Then we all turned in for the night after a quick stroll on the beach, knowing we had to get up early to check out of Moctzeuma and into Lys before our tours.

Saturday, we woke up around 7:45, got our stuff together, checked out, walked to the beach, and checked back in. Our island tour started at 9:30, so after grabbing some fruit (very cheap fruit, I might add) from the local supermarket (named Super Montezuma, something I find funny because super is not the adjective I would used to describe it), we split up from Matt and Roxy and got on the speed boat that was to take us to the island. The boat ride lasted about 45 to 50 minutes, speeding across the Pacific coast. The day was just beautiful. Seeing the different houses and hotels posted on cliffs overlooking the ocean with a few cloud formations across a bright blue sky was breathtaking. We made a quick detour to a rock formation that looked like a rainbow, and after a few pictures, our driver took us in and out of the little opening in the center. We then headed to our first snorkel site. After strapping on flippers and mask and taking pictures, we all jumped in. The fish were pretty cool; it wasn´t like snorkeling in the Red Sea in Jordan, but it was still fun. There were a few brightly colored fish (some bright sparkly blues and yellows), and at one point, I resurfaced to fix my mask and went back down and found myself in the middle of a huge school of fish. So i decided to hang out and follow them around for a bit. The current throughout the water was pretty strong though, so after a while of just floating around, my head started to hurt so I got back on the boat. At that point, it was time to head to the actual island. Isla Tortuga is actually a neighbor island from the one we went to, because that one takes the shape of a turtle more than the one we were on, but that´s ok. The white sandy beach and blue-green clear water complemented each other very well, not to mention the 90 degree heat. However, it was way too touristy for me. 98% of the island was marked off for no entering, so it limited you to stay on the one beach where gift shops sold overpriced stuff and water toys and beach chairs were ready for rental. The good thing was that a fresh lunch was prepared for us: grilled fish and chicken cooked right in front of us served with potatoes and a few veggies with bread, soda, and beer. For desert, a nice little fruit basket was cut up and displayed for us to pick at, consisting of pineapple (some of the best I´ve ever had), watermelon, and banana. It was all delicious. At 2, we were going to go snorkel again, so I decided to use my remaining time to lay on the beach, do some reading, and take a nap. The problem was that it was so damn hot that every time I touched a page, it would get drenched in sweat, and when I lay down for a nap, my towel just soaked up all my sweat so it was like it had been dunked in water itself. I then just walked on the beach and took a dip in. The water was so nice. Warm enough that you could walk in and have no problems but cool enough that it felt refreshing after laying in the sun. After the short swim, I took a nap and was then woken up by Elizabeth who saw our boat leaving without us. Luckily, we caught the driver´s attention and got him to come back to pick us up to go to the second snorkel site. There were bigger and more colorful fish, ,but again, the current was just pushing me along and after a while I got dizzy, so I ended up chilling on the boat and talking to the driver for a few minutes. He had been in Montezuma for about 15 years just living pura vida (the pure life, a phrase that everyone says that can be used as a greeting, a goodbye, or just to say how great life is). It was soon time to go, so everyone got back on the boat and back to Montezuma we went. We rode against the waves though, so every time the boat droppe down from riding on a wave, our speed created huge splashes that soaked everyone. Fortunately, I was in the very front so I didn´t get that wet at all. We got back to Hotel Lys, showered, and just relaxed waiting for Matt and Roxy to get back. This hostel is absolutely incredible; it´s right on the beach with lounge chairs, hammocks and tables surrounding the front while loudspeakers played reggae music with bongos laying out for anyone to play. One guy who works there with curly gray hair who wore typical hippie clothes (and looked like he hadn´t been anywhere else in his entire life but the tiny town of Montezuma) got on the bongos and started jamming with the music. He was absolutely crazy, just switching up the beats at random times to make some crazy sound that went along with whatever song played. It was really awesome. Standing against a counter rested a 35 inch flat screen tv that had a satellite dish. So we watched some soccer while listening to the music. The Gold Cup is going on right now, which I think is a tournament for all the Americas since the only teams I see play are from North, Central, and South America. We got a bottle of rum and coke and started drinking some mixed drinks once Matt and Roxy got back. After the soccer, the hostel put on Pan´s Labrynth. Eventually, around 10:30, I got all but Matt and Roxy to go to the bar, Chico´s. The music blasted my ears out of my head the minute I walked in. It was so loud I really had to walk outside to clear my brain out from the music a few times. The funny thing was that they played salsa music at first, and all the local Ticos were dancing while all the tourists and Americans just sat on the side drinking. Then, Akon started playing, and the Ticos shifted to the bar while a few Americans got on the dance floor. Then Coolio´s Gangster´s Paradise played and more tourists danced. Eventually, as the hip hop came on and the salsa turned off, the dance floor shifted from all Ticos to all tourists. The transformation was pretty funny and interesting to watch. I ended up staying there till about 3:30 in the morning; I was the only one out of the 4 of us left there. I stumbled back to the hostel only to find the door into the hostel locked. Freaking out about sleeping on the beach, I banged a bit harder until Elizabeth woke up and opened the door for me. I was very grateful. I got into bed and passed out with the fan blowing full speed on me.

Sunday, I had wanted to go to Mal País (which in Spanish means Bad Country), a coastal town that´s supposed to have awesome surf. But the bus schedule didn´t work out for us since we had to leave by 3 pm so by the time we would get to Mal País, we wouldn´t have much time to stay, and a private taxi was too expensive. So once we all stumbled out of bed around 9:30/10, we checked out, left our bags at a different hostel where Elizabeth was going to stay (she wasn´t coming back to Sámara with us as she finished the school this past week), and decided to walk to a few waterfalls that Montezuma is known for. The trail started off fine, walking across a few rivers and over rocks. Then we got to the first waterfall, which was very impressive, and then the path sort of came to an end, but you could climb up the mountain and get to another small trail to go even higher to more waterfalls. So of course we did that. The water though wasn´t clear blue because it had rained the night before unfortunately, carrying with it dirt and rocks. But it was all still impressive. The hike turned into a climb immediately, as we all grabbed onto trunks, branches, roots, rocks, anything sturdy enough for support in the climb. And it was all really slippery from the rain, so most of us took our sandals off to get a better grip with our feet. Eventually, after about an hour´s climb, we made it to the second and third waterfalls. The third was about 6 or 7 feet higher with a rope you could swing in to. But the second was a good 40 feet high, maybe more. And normally it´s deep enough to jump in to anyway, but because the rain, there was even more water in the basin so it was super safe - as long as you jumped out far enough. I was so anxious to jump in as I waited in line, and watched one guy do a backflip from a lower rock (there were multiple rocks at different heights you could use as a jumping ledge). When it was my turn though, my nerves started getting the better of me. I had Jonas, who got more and more sick as the weekend went on and by this time didn´t feel well at all, take my camera to get some good photos and videos, and once he was set up, I just hyped myself up. After a minute of looking down and strategically placing my jump, I just screamed and lept out into air. It seemed like at first I just went out and not down...then gravity took over. I flew down and down...and down. The plunge into the water was more than I expected, but overall I was fine. I had so much adrenaline running through me that I just started shaking after, while climbing up the rocks to the top for another jump. The second jump was much worse than the first, because you know you´ve already done it and you lived and you don´t want to screw it up. However, again, I jumped and was fine. My confidence boosted when I saw the backflipper do it from the highest ledge, backflipping over a brush that was in the middle of the rocks and landing fine. The grand total of my jumps was 3. After more videos of those jumps and some great photos of the waterfalls, it was time to head back. The climb down was harder, but we all made it out alive, still grabbing onto anything strong enough to hold our weight in order to help us make our way down. At the bottom, we found the most colorful crab I have ever seen. It had a bright red body, red and yellow legs, and purple pinchers. It was amazing. I got some good pictures of it, but it was super tough to catch. We made our way back into town and by 3, all of us said bye to Elizabeth and jumped on the bus to head back. This bus though was much more comfy and had screens behind the two front seats attached to a portable DVD player. The driver had Rocky (the new one) which I had never seen so he popped it in. It was one of the worst movies I have ever seen. The dialogue was just absolutely ridiculous (some lines are just so bad we all cracked up) and it was super slow. Matt and I had a good time making fun of it though, imitating Rocky´s accent to say anything in Spanish or English. At one point though, I accidentally passed some gas and it smelled kind of bad. I could tell everyone smelled it, but no one was saying anything. It was hilarious to watch everyone´s expression. About a minute later though, Irwin, in his broken English and foreign accent says outloud to everyone: "Hmmm. Smelly." It was the funniest thing to say at that time. Haha. I couldn´t stop laughing, I was just rolling all over it was so funny. The ride was shorter, lasting only 3 hours, and after I ran back to my host family in the rain. A good dinner and lots of journal writing while watching Any Given Sunday in Spanish took up most of the night, then I went to bed.

Now, I have class in about 3 and a half hours, so I´m going to lay on the beach and read. I only have two words to say about everything that happened: ¡Pura Vida!