That’s why it was pretty frustrating for the both of us to be stranded in San Jose longer than planned. We managed to miss the first bus to Playa Jaco as I ended up having the wrong currency, meaning I couldn’t buy the bus tickets, resulting in a 2 hour wait in the bus station. We ended up wandering aimlessly around San Jose’s busy streets in search of something to occupy ourselves. The hectic chaos of San Jose stressed us out even more so we ended up sitting in a park in an attempt to escape the incessant noise and heat of the day. We stayed for a short while, but the sun moved round to beat down on us. Unable to cope with the direct sunlight for much longer we left the park and began to walk in a daze in the midst of San Jose’s hustle and bustle. We grabbed a smoothie from a small stall and headed back for the bus stop when it was time.
We finally managed to hop on the bus around 3pm and set off for Playa Jaco. The journey was crammed full of people from San Jose making their way down to Jaco for the weekend.
Travelling by bus allows you to see more of a country; we left the hot, polluted air of San Jose behind and drove through lush, green mountains where the temperature dropped to a more comfortable degree. We passed through tiny local villages where families relaxed in hammocks on their front porches, inviting neighbours to join. There is a big sense of community here; doors are left open for neighbours to pop by, have a coffee, bring their dog round and chat.
After 2 and a half hours on the bus we finally arrived in Jaco just in time for the sunset, unfortunately we missed out on a surf so had to wait for first light the next morning. Instead we found a cheap hostel close to the beach where we tried to deal with the new soaring temperatures and jet lag.
