Arrival in San Jose

Well after 22 hours of travelling, I finally made my way to San Jose, Costa Rica. It sounds like I came from the other side of the world, but with two connector flights and a six hour stopover in Houston, Texas, the travel became a bit extended. It did not help either that when I arrived in San Jose, the line for immigration was about 300 people or an hour long!!! Everyone was making note of it, as this is very out of the ordinary... just my luck. On a good note however, the shuttle I booked was waiting just like they said they would and they quickly whisked me away from the pandemonium of taxi drivers and shuttle buses looking for passengers. I arrived at my hostel, Hostel Bekuo, in Los Yoses, just outside the center of San Jose. It´s a bit more of an upscale area and out of the major hustle and bustle of the city. Apparently three quarters of Costa Rica´s four million people live in or around the city, so I am eager to head out and explore less populated and inviting places. San Jose is your typical large city, so it´s busy, dirty and not that safe. Last night I shared my room with four other girls and everything they say about the mosquitoes here is correct...they are everywhere, especially at night, and one of my roommates got eaten alive!!! Bug repellent is certainly your friend here. Today I did not do too much other than enjoy the 75 degree weather. Basically I got my bearings, bought some groceries and found an ATM to get some money...this was not an easy task I must say. Street signs in San Jose are very limited and everyone gives directions using landmarks, so it is not the easiest place to get around. What made it even more challenging was the fact that no one really speaks English and my Spanish is almost non existent. This is the first time I have ever experienced a language barrier in all my travels around the world...did not really expect that!!! I think I may need to learn a few more Spanish words pretty quickly. So that´s really it for me...a lazy day in all. Once I get to Quepos tomorrow and hit the National Park, I´m sure I will have some more exciting news and awesome pictures to share. Until then.....