Well almost 3 months later, the last chapter is done… life has a way of sucking up my energy and time.

Usually when I travel I spend as little time in cities as I can, especially where the big airports are. Lets face it I get to live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world (Vancouver) so what I want when I travel  something completely outside my normal life. But this time I decided I wanted to check out San Jose  before I left Costa Rica so I gave myself a full day to explore.

Soda counter at the market.

Since I am an artist I gravitated to the galleries and I must say I had a ball! They ran the gamut from street art, artist run, large government run and everything in between. I even managed some shopping, which certainly wasn’t as much fun as when I have my shopping buddy Kerry with me. But I soldiered on. I had lunch at a small soda (tico lunch space) in a market and wore out 2 maps, not to mention the soles on my shoes. It was wonderful and I left with such an appreciation of the modern artists of Costa Rica. Instead of a slide show I have added the pics and videos as a gallery. Hope you enjoy the show.

Chapter 5  San Jose picture gallery.

(click on the first pic and then use your arrow keys)

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So the dust has settled and the question is – how was my first solo trip? I’ve been answering that throughout the postings but I feel the need to pull it all together in some amazingly wise crone-like utterances. If we wait for that to happen I’ll be too old to type. But still. It was a success, if only because I made it home alive and in one piece and Costa Rica also survived the experience. hahaha It must have been good since I already have the next trip booked and as I was doing the slideshows and re-reading my journal I’d often laugh and smile remembering all my experiences. Was it a challenge? OH YEAH! There were times where I really missed having a partner in crime to share the road with or the hot springs, as the case may be. One of the more uncomfortable times was when I was in La Fortuna for the weekend and I went to one of the hot springs that the area is well known for.

Eco Termales Hot Springs

I had bought a new bathing suit before leaving on my trip and  thought I looked pretty darn good. As soon as I walked up to the water I knew I had made a mistake. I truly believe that there is a law in Costa Rica demanding that all women, no matter their age, size or shape, wear bikinis. So when I showed up in my bathing suit/dress everyone stared. Seriously, stared. It only got worse when I entered the water and the stupid skirt floated around me like a freaking tutu. ( I tried to find a picture of it at Sears but I think Costa Rica called them and demanded they stop selling it.) No amount of liquor made the experience anything other than tolerable. Now I enjoy talking to strangers, I have no trouble approaching people and striking up a chat with them. That night – nada! No one would come near me and if I sidled up to them they moved away. Damn that was rough. Now I don’t know if it was because of my bathing suit faux pas or because I was alone or both, or neither. But if I had of had a partner we could have had a giggle about it and shrugged it off. Let’s face it though, in the scheme of things there are way worse available to the single female traveller and I am fortunate that I don’t have to share any of those with you. Dinners at Al Natural in Panama got rough a few times but again, there was no blood shed and I don’t even feel like I need to do therapy to get over it.

At the end of the day I enjoyed it; I enjoyed pushing myself to take care of things, to deal, to find my sense of humor as much as humanly possible. I loved flowing through experiences, allowing them to guide me to my next adventure. You know how people say that travel expands you (and I don’t think they always means waistlines) well I feel expanded, I feel like I will find my groove even better next time. And that my friends is a good good thing .

So leave me a comment and tell me about your uncomfortable moments traveling!