Rob's Travels

I'm writing this from my hostel in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica. The hostel is great... hammocks, pool table, free pancake breakfasts in the morning, and most importantly, a short walk to the beach, where I've been surfing twice a day or so. People staying here are from all over the world... US, Canada, Sweden, Israel, France, Argentina, and others.

As of today I am fifteen days into my trip. I spent my first weekend in Costa Rica's capital San Jose before taking a bus to El Salvador to visit a friend from school. The bus ride took about nineteen hours, crossing through Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras, but the Escapini family was very hospitable on my arrival. Humberto took me on a tour of San Salvador, surfing for a day, and to a lake formed by a volcanic crater where we went out tubing with his family's Boston Whaler. The trip was very fun, and I got to brush up on my Spanish.

After heading back into San Jose for a night, I took a bus and ferry to Santa Teresa on the southern tip of Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula on the Pacific coast. The waves here are great, and surfing (and living) in board shorts has been amazing. There is a price to pay for the weather here though... in order to literally save my skin, i've come up with a routine that involves fistfulls of SPF 45, and lying in hammocks in the shade during the middle hours of the day.

I had planned on doing some travelling around the coast here, but after a few days at the hostel, im pretty much ready to move in. Either way, I'll probably check out the jungle and volcano scene on my way back to San Jose in a few weeks.

I'm having fun meeting new people, but I miss everyone back home, so keep in touch. Email is probably a safer bet than a phone call so write to grygiel@bc.edu if you'd like.

Hasta luego,
Rob