She´s coming home

Tomorrow I return home! I have finally accepted that, after trying and failing to extend my stay here (it would have been far too expensive). I´m disappointed that I had to carry on the trip alone, but I met so many awesome people on this trip who kept me from being lonely.

I´m coming home with a new addiction: poker! I love it and I´m lucky in the game, so if any of you like to play, let´s do it. I´m not bringing home any souvenirs, nor did I get around to sending postcards, so sorry about that. It´s interesting to see the same souvenirs throughout central america, the only difference being the name of the country printed on it. So I´ll leave the Costa Rica magnets in the mercado... I´m also coming home with many scabs, bruises and mosquito bites, as well as two less toe nails. It turns out that I have no tolerance for itchy bites and I will scratch until my skin is raw and bleeding. There were a lot of sand flies and mosquitoes!

I already miss the sound of the sea and howler monkeys, and who knows when I´ll have hammock time again. I also got used to hearing people speak different languages, although I felt inferior because I am only fluent in English, with beginner Spanish skills. So I will learn a language when I´m home, or at least try. French would probably be the most useful for me in Canada, but I love the sound of German, so maybe I´ll see what I can do with it.

After leaving La Tortuga Feliz I travelled down the Caribbean coast to Puerto Viejo and Cahuita. Puerto Viejo is alive at night and Cahuita is the opposite. It must be low season for tourism, because both towns were quiet and there weren´t many backpackers around. That didn´t bother me, since I was able to spend time with some locals I met who completely changed my experience. I will also miss everything about the Caribbean! The food, the laid-back vibe, the smell of the sea, the rastas (other than those that wanted me to give them money, invest in a barber shop, or marry them). I was told that Canadian women must be drinking a different kind of juice, because the rastas will pay extra for us! Sweet. Maybe I should stay?

I really am a lucky girl, because when I was out at a bar for the night I realized I lost my key. I left and went back to the hotel to find the key in the lock of my door, and nothing was stolen from the room. Pura vida?

I like throwing in Spanish phrases you might not know. Sorry, it fits.

In Cahuita there was a beautiful national park where I saw many white headed monkeys, butterflies (possibly even the Julia butterfly, but she was too fast for me to confirm that). The swimming was the best I had since I was in Belize - warm, calm salt water.

So other than the scabs and such, I am coming home without being sick once (I´m not including stomach aches caused by gluttony/guacamole). The creepiest thing I saw was a wolf spider that crawled out of my pants when I was doing laundry. Thinking of it makes me feel sick. Look it up on Wikipedia and you will see what I mean. Those legs! So pointy and dangerous looking!

This is the end of the blog. I will see you all soon!