say it ain't so...

I haven't been out of the country but 2 weeks and in the past three days I managed to get:

1) sunburned
2) blistered
3) robbed

And believe it or not, I had the time of my life despite it all!

It all started in this little Caribbean town called Puerto Viejo. After a 4.5 bus ride filled to the keel with a whole assortment of folks my friends and I finally arrived to this Rasta beach bum of a town. We drove through mountains, rain and fog, and banana plantations before we found the best bungalows in town- Coco Loco. If you are ever in Puerto Viejo this is where I'd suggest you stay, for 10 bucks a night you can't beat it! You may even get to meet who I deem the mayor because he had the ability to be everywhere at anytime. He was this little scrappy looking thing, greasy hair, cruising along on a rusted bicycle, partially blind, and humming tunes as he told you anywhere you wanted to go. I thought he was a great:) Along the 10 minute walk escorted by the mayor I could have sworn we had entered the whimsical land of Narnia. We came across
huge crabs walking the streets, roosters and chickens, so many dogs that I felt like Puerto Viejo would be a good location to film All Dogs Go to Heaven part IV, and horses just hanging out in the streets as well. This was literally a place where all is welcomed- no such thing as leash laws or open containers- and good reggae is played everywhere.

Since we got in at night we didn't do too much, but the next day I woke up bright and early at 5:30AM with the sun on my face, a small dog in my lap, and a gecko on my leg thanks to me sleeping outside on the hammock:) I think everyone else woke up around 6:30AM in which we all headed towards the beach to grab some breakfast and tackle the waves. After breakfast the smart ones started applying sunscreen while Jerry and I got distracted by a coconut tree in the distance in which we decided to climb the tree so we could crack coconuts and drink the juice instead of shielding ourselves with sunblock like the rest. This is the reason why my body is in pain right now. My face looks like a Hot Tamale and my back & belly could pass for a picturesque strawberry.

We rented bicycles and biked down the coast so we could see more of the scenery and get away from the crowds. We weren't at the beach for more than 10 minutes until our friend Lauren had to get rescued by a lifeguard because the riptide had nearly taken her to the middle of the ocean.
One minute we are leisurely biking and the next Lauren is doggiepaddling in the ocean while getting suckerpunched by waves! Needless to say, the lifeguard wasn't too happy with us so we moved on to another part of the coastline where we continued to play in the ocean and push through the waves for another 4 hours.

After we finished getting manhandled by the ocean and sunbathing on black sand beaches we got back on bicycles and rode back to town until the sky broke apart and started to downpour. It was one of those rainshowers that happens during clear skies; no thunder or lighting, just thick drops of rain falling from the sky... so so beautiful.... one of the highlights of my trip so far. It was a trail of us just laughing and living in the moment of it all while other people scattered about searching for their umbrellas. We took our time getting back to the bungalows in which I decided it was the perfect time to take an outdoor shower. I went inside and got my peppermint barsoap and began to scrub-a-dub-dub outside in the rain. Before I knew it we had a handful of folks partaking in the communal outdoor shower. We then just sat on the porch air-drying, someone started brewing coffee, I lighted up a Cuban cigar, and Jerry started reading Hemingway. It felt like I was living in a dream, all my favorite things happening at once: rainshowers, coffee, cigars, and good books, amongst strangers now turned quick friends all sharing experiences by simply existing. We finally all fell asleep and then woke up dry and ready for seafood, mojitos, and a night filled with dancing at this reggaeton club. We ate, drank, and got our groove on- spent way too much money- but had one full day of nothing but goodtimes.

Now that I've explained my sunburn and blistered feet from me not breaking in the sandals I bought a week before I left I can talk about how ATM machines turn into great white sharks. The next morning I realized I was running low on cash so I waltzed on over to the ATM machine to get some cash. Everything was working fine; my cash comes out, the receipt is printed, and then it tells me thanks and goodbye without giving me my card back! I think to myself Shit! I just got mugged by the ATM machine. Some guy outside tells me to call the bank, another informs me that they don't open until Monday which doesn't do me any good since I leave Sunday, and then a girl tells me not to worry because I couldn't get my card back anyway since ATM machines shred them once they ingest them. So there I am, burned and blistered, holding enough money to maybe get me through 3 days.

Pura Vida, I said, Pura Vida

Because when things like that happen there is nothing you can do but laugh about it and figure it out later.