A 340am wake up call is never an easy way to start a day of
travel, but it’s a necessary evil when your flight takes off at 6am. Luckily,
the only thing I remember was waking up to the swamps of Florida. It’s amazing
to watch the marshlands slowly take the form of a modern metropolis. I have no
idea how Miami is still standing. Upon arrival, I already felt as if I was in
Latin America. Spanish was far and away the predominant language spoken.
At the gate I ran into Ryan and Natalie (friends from the
wedding party), who were booked on a later flight. However due to an hour
delay, they were able to board mine and we all caravanned together. Within a
few hours we had touched down in San Jose and were picked up by Daniel’s
brother Erick. A family BBQ was already underway, so we skipped checking in at
the hotel and went straight there.
It wasn’t until I arrived at the house and saw all of my
friends that I realized I wasn’t going to be back on U.S. soil for another 9
months. I never had “a moment” when leaving Miami. I had to be reminded by a
constant barrage of “hey world traveller” and “how’s it feel to be out of the
country.” In the end I kinda just shrugged my shoulders. I was ready to eat,
drink and be merry.
The next day I set my alarm for 745am. Plenty of time to get
up, get ready and head out for the day, but I didn’t really need it. I woke up
at 530am and couldn’t fall back asleep. The time change was only two hours
ahead, but my inner-clock was completely screwed up.
Much of our day was spent in the car. We travelled to the
top of Irazu, one of the many volcanoes in Costa Rica. The view from the top
was fantastic because we were well above the clouds. It felt like being on an
airplane. After a short stop at a haunted sanitarium, which was really just a
chance to play around with my camera because everyone knows ghosts only come
out at night, we drove to lunch.
The drive took us weaving through a bunch of small towns
that dot the hillside on a number of tiny back roads. Everyone in the car went
deathly silent. Partly because of our grumbling bellies, but more likely
because the countryside was so gorgeous it left us with little to say. The lush
green hills seemed to mesh together to form larger mountains, all of which
touched the clouds.
After lunch we spent another hour and a half in the car on
the way back to San Jose for another family dinner and pre-wedding prep, which
I thankfully didn’t have to partake in (I can’t imagine how stressful a wedding
would be). Upon return to our hotel, we all went to the Laura and Kristy’s room
to drink and play cards. Tyler brought a new card game he got for Christmas
that ended up being my favorite part of the day. It’s like Apples to Apples
meets Mad Libs for the vulgar 16 year old in us all. Check it out: http://cardsagainsthumanity.com/
Wedding Day
Not being in the wedding allowed me to relax while the world
around our group of friends went haywire. Around 115pm, those not in the
wedding (Tyler, Deb, Ryan, Natalie, Amanda, Pamela, Manny and Me) all hopped in
the busses and were shipped outside the city and into the jungle. Seriously,
the wedding was in the jungle. We covered ourselves in insect repellent and
wandered around the park in the middle of the rainforest. There was lots of
picture taking, drinking and waiting around for the ceremony to start. Which,
as seems to be customary, was late. However once the ceremony was underway, it
proved to be absolutely gorgeous.
The ambient jungle sounds provided a beautiful soundtrack to
what turned into a cross between traditional religious ceremony and a
lighthearted translation by Daniel’s older brother Christian. After the hour
ceremony, we all sat down and had drinks and dinner while those in the wedding
gave their speeches. Of course our table, full of all the drunken 20 year olds,
were called “the life of the party.” There was even got a surprise display of
fireworks. Then there was the after-after party. As always there was more
dancing, more drinking and all around celebration. There’s even proof on someone’s
camera that my butt was shaking. The next morning, we were all aboard a bus to
the beach.
Now that I’ve moved countries, I’ll post more on my stay in
Costa Rica within the coming days. Pictures to come tomorrow.
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