09 November 2010

Last night at the hotel I sat on the rear balcony to play my guitar and I met Neil. He is a 43 year old Texan living in Prague and taking some time off in Costa Rica until February. He invited me to the house he is staying at in Playa Pavones. It sounded like a good idea so I accepted.

1. Neil told me to drive North out of Golfito rather than head south which is the correct way. He said this is the way the bus goes. He was wrong and we wasted a few minutes just driving in circles. But I didn’t want to argue and maybe there was some road not on the map. No. He was just wrong. The correct way was to go south.
2. I should’ve gotten gas in Golfito but I didn’t. So I got gas at Conte which was a bit of a headache because I had to get it from a supermarket. They filled it up three large containers and poured them into my car. Then we had to drive 18 kilometers out of our way to Laurel to access an ATM.
3. The reason I needed an ATM was to get money to pay a mechanic. The roads were evil. They were atrocious. Muddy, mucky, gravelly, rocky, washboarded, ridges, potholes. At places I could hear the bottom of my car being scraped away. While getting gas  I saw that the rear driver’s side strut had pushed up through the back again. I could hear the tire scrape against the wheel well. Each meter, each scrape, each ridge filled me with an unimaginable rage. And this rage turned to an absolute hatred when I found out we weren’t going to Playa Pavaones, we were going all the way to the end of the road at Punta Banco. I couldn’t believe it. The distance from Laurel to here is 27 miles and it took near 2 hours to drive 17 miles. Driving here had been a hinderance and has a complete waste of time. Coming here has not helped further my goal or added a fun diversion. Thankfully the owner of this house called a mechanic friend and he will be here soon. As soon as the car is repaired I am leaving.

There is nothing here in Punta Banco. A narrow strip of beach, lots of jungle, and a few homes. Apparently this place is just about inaccessible without a high clearance vehicle though Neil swears the roads aren’t usually as bad as they are now and it’s all due to the rain.

On the way here I got stuck once and a local guy helped up push out. He hacked away at the road with a pickaxe and then was able to push me forward. 

After we got here we had a nice meal and Neil paid for mine. I’m not as livid as I was but I’m not happy at all about this situation.

Yesterday Neil told me that when he leaves Costa Rica in February he’s going to the Congo to hunt for an elusive hallucinogenic plant. He says it helps cure addictions. He dips. I don’t know what else he uses. This should have been my clue to not leave with him.

The mechanic did not come. But apparently he has welding materials and that’s what I need to properly fix my vehicle. I bought a large bottle of rum and a 2 liter of Pepsi, there was no Coke, to sedate myself but Neil and I started watching Inception and then we went out on the beach looking for turtle eggs. A French girl named Julie is the only volunteer working for the turtle hatchery. I saw them leading baby turtles out to the ocean and then Neil and I walked up and down the beach looking for adult turtles. We ended up finding three stray baby turtles and I helped lead them to the ocean. Julie came over and we picked up the turtles and placed them in the ocean. 

It’s been a good night. Such a contrast from the stress of today. But I still need the mechanic and I’m not happy here at all. The shower is barely a trickle. I could hardly wash my body properly. Neil looks nearly identical to Woody Harrelson.

At the store where I bought the rum the storekeeper recommended a mechanic. I’m sure it’s the same guy who Wilber, who owns this place, called. I find that speaking spanish is not so hard but I need more practice and vocabulary.