One Last Run

We woke up early in Quepos, after a nice night of drinking beers and smoking cigars in the common area of a very nice hostel. Dogs sleeping at our feet, birds chirping in the trees. The sounds of Costa Rica are one of the things I´ve come to like the most.

The drive to the park is a quick one, for once. The town of Quepos and the surroundings are by far the most tourist-y area that I´ve seen. But it´s nice, in a Early-Days-Playa-Del-Carmen-Sorta way. Colourful little shops, bars, restaurants and hotels all over. And as soon as you start the climb up the hills leading to Manuel Antonio, you get a breathtaking view of the whole bay, with its long sandy beach and rocky islands. Gorgeous.

Kaya chose to go hiking, Vez and I headed for the beach. The day was beautiful and sunny. No sign of rain, for once. Fan. Tas. Tic. :)

We set our things by a big palm tree. Looking around, I was pleased to see mostly locals, people who´d come with their family to enjoy a day of rest at the beach. The place isn´t too crowdy either, which is a blessing.

After I triple-layered sunblock like a creampuff, I decided to go for a run in the sun. The sand is very even and clean, so it´s an ideal setting for a last barefoot run in Costa Rica. I ran the whole crescent under a blasting sun, among screaming little kids and people playing in the waves.

I quickly realized there was no way I could make this a long run, since the heat was so extreme. After about 45 minutes, I was drenched in sweat, huffing and puffing, smiling. There is something very special about being in a faraway country and doing something as casual as going for a run. I can´t make it poetic right now, but I know what I´m saying :)

The rest of the day was laziness, napping, moving our towels to follow the shade of the palm tree, and some more laziness. A perfect last day.

Kaya met us later on after probably walking every single trail in the park. The smile on her face spoke volumes about her day. She walked the forest among monkeys, sloths, beautiful birds, springs, wild beaches.

We spent some more time at the beach all together, then headed to town for a very good little tipical Tico lunch (beans, rice, veggies and your choice of fantastic fish, awesome meat, or anything else amazing the have as a choice) served by a very charming mama whose Spanish sounded to me like a mix of Ancient Chinese and... Martian.

We´ve now arrived to San Jose, in another very cool and equally cheap hostel. Vez and Kaya are waiting for me at the bar, and I can smell a golden, fresh glass of Imperial lager calling for me ;)

I´ll see you all in Montreal!

Love,

Flint

PS - Sorry for the bad layout, but I´m tired of fucking around with it and it just won´t do what I´m telling it to.