I have left the comfort of the Nicoya Peninsula and am now in the capital of Costa Rica - San Jose. From the moment that I stepped off the bus at the Coca-Cola bus terminal I could feel the pressure of the big city!

There were several taxi drivers waiting as the bus pulled up. There was one in particular that spoke english so I started talking with him and got in his taxi. Only once he starting driving did I notice that the "meter wasn't working". It is not exactly the safest neighbourhood so I asked the price and he said $7 and I said OK even though I knew that that was way too much. He then advised me to lock the back doors of the car and not to roll down the windows as his city is dangerous! And, this was at 1 o'clock in the afternoon! At that point I just wanted to get to the hostel and feel secure.

I arrived at Casa Ridgway, which is in a safer part of town, and was welcomed by very friendly staff. It is like a different world in here. The people are so nice. They cook us breakfast, let me use the washer and drier that the housekeeping use and when I left to go to the store this afternoon the owner asked if I could buy her a coca-cola and told me to keep the change! There are only a couple of other people staying here, one of the them is a Canadian yoga instructor. I have met so many Canadians it's nuts. I even saw a car with a Quebec license plate in Mal Pais, which led me on a mission to find its driver. His name is Gilles and the car's name is Beast! (side note - the car was a Hyundai Accent)

Anyways, I am headed to the Caribbean tomorrow and will hang out there for a bit. I am excited to see family this week and am really looking forward to Nikki and Scott coming next month. Travelling alone allows for a very unique adventure as I can just fly by the seat of my pants, but I do miss having a buddy around.