Why shouldn't we go out with a bang?

The two hours to San Jose went fairly quickly and finding a taxi was painless. We arrived at the hostel, (which had a 90% rating on Hostel World) to find a very cheerful receptionist. She was friendly and kind and we were looking forward to a good sleep before our long day of flights. She took us up to our room.....and low and behold, we've booked into another dump.

Why does this keep happening to us? There were no curtains on the window slats, just sheer material that had been draped open. There was a double and a bunk bed which comes below my shoulders at its highest point. The mattresses were thin, the pillows very soft and floppy, and the sheets......well we aren't going to test them out. Jan kept repeating the mantra "just one night, we have to stay here, just one night". Thankfully, that's true. We were originally thinking of staying in San Jose for 3 nights. We would have gone crazy. We didn't hang around, but changed and then took a taxi to a mall to waste the day away. Yael joined us, the hostel was one she had stayed in her first night in the country and she had booked into the dorm room. We ate lunch and spent a couple of hours shopping in stores (none of us bought anything). Jan and I had talked about maybe going to a movie on our last day, since we weren't going to do any sight seeing in the capital. The three of us headed to the basement of the mall and caught the comedy "Trainwreck". Besides the guy in front of me shining the light of his giant smart phone in my face several times, I really enjoyed the movie. It was funny and light. When we bought tickets to the movie, we got to pick our seats too!

(Being silly after the movie!)  

We strolled around a bit more (some purchases were made) before going to Pizza Hut, for dinner and for wifi! 

SInce I'd had no sleep the night before, I felt like putting my head down for a sleep, straight on the pizza. We got back to the hostel and said goodbye to Yael before heading up for bed.

I wasn't looking forward to getting into the tiny, thin bed but was so tired. I got my bags ready and Jan and I laughed about how ridiculous it was that we had to end our trip in this "shithole" (excuse my french). She also kept repeating her mantra "just one night". It was my turn for the single so the bunkbed was all mine. Though I don't know if I could the raw end of the deal or not.  I couldn't sit up straight on the bed without my head hitting the bottom of the top bunk. Since, I have a thing about materials and fabrics, there's no way I was willing to do that. I cringed at the thought of my hair touching the mattress or the sheets for that matter. So, I gingerly crawled into my sleep sac. I had a bad feeling I was too grossed out to sleep. When it was Jan's turn to get into bed, her bum went straight down and touched the frame, and her feet and head were elevated. Just one night, right?!?

I tossed and turned a lot. Every few hours, I woke excitedly, hoping it was time to get up. Nope, still the middle of the night! Finally at 6:30, we were both awake and waiting for our alarms. As soon as the bathroom freed up, I raced in to shower. A knock on the wall told Jan it was her turn and we switched off, the hostel only has 2 bathrooms. At 8:00, we went down for breakfast where there were signs telling us that we ould only have 1 egg and 1 bagel...seriously. They had tea! Yay, but only coffee creamer, yuk! I grabbed an egg, some mango, and waited for my turn at the toaster oven, where you're bagel could be lightly toasted for 10-15 minutes (dad you would have been waiting for hours). Jan grabbed our peanut butter and we were all set. Jan was already eating by the time my bagel was ready, and when I went to open it up, I noticed a peculiar smell. Yep, that would be garlic bagels....for breakfast. And with peanut butter? Luckily, I finished that before starting in on my egg...prepare yourselves. I peeled the boiled egg and took a bite, the white was a little "jelly" like but not too bad. My next bite was half the yoke, and when I looked down, I spit it out. The yolk was an offwhite colour which was not natural. It was so disgusting.

I actually had a hard time brushing my teeth without throwing up afterwards. Everyone else had yelow yolks, so I guess it was just me. I'm not sure I'll be eating boiled eggs for awhile. 

Thankfully, it was time to leave, and not a minute too soon. Until, I saw our ride. When a hostel offers you a shuttle for $30 U.S., you kind of expect a decent car and not an ancient orange station wagon with tweed seats (the worse kind for my phobia). I climbed in the back with a scowl and Jan just laughed at me. My half of the bench seat was not bolted down so every time the driver rocketed, around a corner I was sent rocking forward or backwards....awesome! The city of San Jose is actually quite beautiful though, so the Miami firefighter was a liar! We arrived at the airport, and after paying the $29 U.S. dollars (seriously!!!) to leave Costa Rica, we were checked in and through security. Jan hates United, they charged her $25 for her bag but not me...otherwise all is good. We have had a wonderful trip.

Sad that our trip is over....

So, as I write this flying somewhere over Mexico or the Southern states (heading for our layover in Houston), I reflect and am grateful for this awesome adventure. I couldn't have survived without Jan and am so glad she was my partner in crime. I think we balanced each other well! I'll write one more post after this one....until then!