Disregard Most of the Last Post

Mal Pais - In the last two days I ended up not buying the quad for $3800 and instead I´m buying a little Suzuki Samurai for $2000. It has working four wheel drive and it rattles really loud on these bad roads but it runs great. I´m buying it from two Canadian guys who have owned it for the last three months, they are headed home and wanted to sell it. It´s cheaper than the quad and I´ll be able to move around these remote towns much easier. And I won´t have to eat dust on the roads.

Also, I ran into this sweet deal for housing. I managed to find a beachside Yurt to rent for one month. The owners live on the property as well. It is an old couple who need help sometimes, so in exchange for my help I get the Yurt pretty cheap. If all goes well with that trade I´ll rent for an additional month or I will head up to Nosara, Playa Giuones area.

I have not made too much progress in the last couple days on my writing due to having to move and trying to buy the quad. I was unable to complete the purchase after trying to three different ways. It was not meant to be. So I came back to town feeling slight dejection due to not having my wheels and ran into these two Canadians selling the Suzuki. It´s name is Azul.

I should be able to post some pics really soon as the old couple has broadband.

I did make it to Montezuma a couple days ago, it´s really nice there as well all though much more cramped than this place. Now that I have transportation I can go there for day trips, it only takes about twenty minutes by car.

I actually have time so I can describe where I am a little better. There is basically one long dirt road that runs parallel to the beach. Between the beach and the road is a strip of land about 150 yards wide. Alot of it has private beachfront homes and alot of it is for sale. It is all dry forest (as opposed to rain forest). Tall leafy trees and palms with a mix of fruit trees like bananas and plantains. There are some residences here that are incredibly luxurious and some are just shacks. On the other side of the road are additional cabinas, restaurants and hotels. A cabina is basically private rooms with shared kitchen and bathrooms.

To the south on this long road is MalPais. About 500 people live in Malpais year round with another 300 or 400 visitors like me. There is a surf camp, lots of little restaurants and hotels, a fishing boat area called the marina that has about five small boats in it and many private residences. The mix is about half Ticos and half ex-pats.

To the north is Santa Teresa. Here is where the beach and waves are best so all the activity is centered around there and Playa Carmen. The place is litterally crawling with surfers from all over the world. There are parties every night on the beach. This is where the hostel is where I have been staying until yesterday. It is called Traquilo Backpackers and it is full every night. It´s a really fun place but too much activity for a writer to get anything done. I have met some great friends there.

My main companions down here so far are Tessa and Christa, two great girls from Washington State, along with their entourage and Ben, from Colorado, he owns a house not too far from me in MalPais. There´s also Jamie from the UK, a small statured blond surfer who speaks the Queen´s English and cracks all of us up, Andy a great guy who is lives in Portland, my home town, and is in school to be a chiropractor. Also there´s Yaron, a hilarious guy from Isreal who has literally been all around the world. He is about to start his law practice back home near Tel Aviv.

There are so many others but those are the major players. They are all here various lengths of time so it is a scene in constant change. People coming and going.

Overall my favorite thing about this trip so far is my sense that my individuality and energy is being entirely cultivated by this place. I have an incredible sense of center here, aided by meeting great people and working on my book. I also have a meticulous journal which is as long as my novel so far.

Today is two weeks in country, I have a home, almost have a car and tomorrow I might look for a job. Just so I don´t go into debt here. There is a really nice restaurant in Santa Teresa called Flor Blanco. It might be a high enough ticket price that I could make some cash. I will post more next week sometime. Tonight I´m going to a rodeo in Cobano. Should be a good time.