Samara

My plans with Jeremy went to shit as they took off the following day without me.
Not to worry as a girl staying in my hostel from France, Valentine, was heading to Samara and asked if I want to go too.

That night, we tried to see the leatherback turtles come into shore to nest and lay their eggs. It costs $30, which gets you only a chance to see them. If they do not come (as it is nature and she decides where and when things happen) , they allow you to come back again free of charge. We were leaving the next day and they never came that night, so we lost $30, but we had a fun game of poker - Valentine, Alok, Rajin and myself.

We left at 6 am using the local public transit, transferring twice, and arriving in Samara about 6 hours later. Taking the local bus is the way to go. Shuttles cost about $40, whereas we spent about $3 total. Mind you, you have to keep an eye on your stuff and it's a little hot when the bus stops moving.

We got to Samara before lunch where we ran into a fellow on the street named Brian. He hustles the backpackers getting off the buses downtown when his rooms are not full. I am so glad we decided to take a chance on this guy. I wish I had enough time to tell you some of the stories this guy has. He is originally from the east coast, but travelled and lived all throughout Canada, Europe, Africa and eventually landed on the Queen Charlotte islands with the Haida tribes. Some of the stories are not G rated, so I will save that for some individual emails.

We have since had a Bulgarian named Boyan, and three Americans, Rachel, Tony and Mike, take up shop. Boyan is from Montreal, but is setting up his business here as it is based online, so he can work from anywhere in the world as long as there is internet - amazing. We have gone out a couple times in town and had lots of fun. Cooking meals together with the fresh fish and fruits and vegetables delivered almost everyday.
Oh! Let me tell you about Alain that is also staying with us. He and his wife are from Quebec (rural Quebec). He no longer works in construction as he had 4 herniated discs in his back. They are down here for a month or so. Alain looks like Bubbles, but with a skullet (see Wikipedia) and a fanny pack. Nice, simple guy. Since he has back pain, Brian hooked him up with some of the local herb to take care of the pain. We enjoyed the peace pipe together a couple times and just shot the shit.

This morning, Boyan and I met up with a couple girls who are on their work breaks. They study monkeys as part of their phD in the interior and get to let loose on the beach every 2-3 weeks. We took suzuki 4wd down the road about 30 minutes out of town where there is a hidden driveway and a hidden waterfall back in the dry country. See the pics on Facebook if you want. This blog sucks for downloading photos.

I am heading back to San Jose this weekend to meet up with Dave from my rugby club in MTL and eventually Massi, Marvin's cousin in Turrialba, a little to the east. Let's hope the Turrialba volcano settles down a little before I get there.

ciao