Annelise
9/18/19
My experience is what I agree to attend to. William James
We arrived in San Jose after an overnight flight via LAX. The airport is small, people are friendly and in no time, with red eyes and broken Spanish we had rented a car to drive out to Samara.
The main Inter-American highway maximum speed of 80km is hardly ever achieved as you share mostly a single lane with all the trucks and small vehicles in various stages of age and repair and occasional cyclist (whom even Mark thought was crazy). The roadsides are narrow with enough space for the multitude of pop-up fruit stands before transitioning to agriculture and jungle. With the turnoff to the secondary road heading to the coast there is a transition to pastureland. Gradually we wended our way down into the little town of Samara with its protected bay and to our lovely retreat at Villas Espavel (www.villasespavel.com). We were eager to ease into a deeper relaxation knowing we are not returning to work in 2 weeks, and because we were a bit worn from the previous 2 weeks.
We walked through the garden of every green, butterflies, bird calls and washed away our weariness in the sparkling pool and wisked away our worries with the ceiling fans (both a cure for all that ails you in the tropics). We were ready to settle into la Pura Vida life
For me that would have to come after some groceries and the rental car return. The closest supermarket is, get this grammar, “Super New China Samara”. I had 35 minutes to buy groceries and get them home before the rental agency closed. We zipped through the store for the basics and necessities and at the check out I noted the glaring empty slot were my debit card should be! The airport and rental folks had directed us to obtain a local SIM card at Walmart of all places. We went ahead and picked up some rolls and coffee, the SIM card and then a bit of cash at the ATM….
The Pura Vida vibe would have to wait even more, as it is not compatible with the frustration of making such a basic, basic, basic traveler’s mistake as losing your debit card on the very first day – good grief! When I called my bank to cancel and order and new card, I realized that the Pura Vida way was insistent. The banker questioned when I gave the address as 400 meters north of the Banco Nationale, no street name, house number, zip code. Right.
I was advised to ask our language school to receive this mail for me so today I asked the address and it is 200 meters south of Hostel El Dorado, on the beach. The postal folks here just hand over the mail if you’re around, someone is always around at the school.
To speak with my bank, I managed to get my SIM card activated and loaded with the help of no less than 6 different people, as there is no English option for directions. This has been great motivation for me to practice my Spanish, as well as learn the location of the grocery stores, internet and various shops in town.
For certain, I ought to have agreed to attend to my documents to avoid a disagreeable experience, yet the experience helped me rely on my simple Spanish, meet people and enjoy the pura vida way of life in my new home.
