Getting to Samara, Costa Rica...

Arriving in Liberia, Costa Rica was very interesting! The “airport” was comparable to the sheep pavilion at the Missouri State Fair. There was no wall between the tarmac and the pavilion where customs was. There were walls on the sides and a large exit at the doorway. The top few feet around the building had openings for a breeze. There was a small conveyor belt for luggage to the right and a information desk and restroom to the left.

I grabbed a taxi and began the 2+ hour drive to Playa Samara. I was a little nervous driving through the medium and small sized towns, but had a great chance to speak Spanish with my taxi driver for the first time in more than a year. He got me to feel more comfortable about my Spanish and would correct me every now and then.

We got to town and by then I was more excited than nervous, I think the few hour ride and Hubert really helped. I was just going to have him drop me off in town, but he was very adamant about making sure I made it to where I was staying. He let me use his phone and I called Barbara to get directions. It took a little bit of calling back and forth but he finally got me to where I was staying and he was very excited for me because it ended up being on a farm. JWe had a lot to talk about because I like seeing how agriculture varies from country to country and Costa Rica’s is quite different from the U.S.. Also, the taxi driver, Hubert, and I were both raised on farms so we had stories and words to share. (Finca is Spanish for Farm). We got along really well and he was great! I was taking pictures with my Nikon and he would slow down or pull over whenever he saw me taking photos, which wasn’t necessary but nice. It was really neat because an hour into the drive he pulled over on a really pretty landscape and we got out and took some good photos, which was fun. A few times we got out to look at the wild monkeys! He also stopped in Nacoya, the largest town on the way to Samara to help me find a SIM card for my cell phone, he asked around and we went to a few stores, but all were closed so he told me when I could get them in Samara.

Hubert gave me his number and told me to call him a day in advance when I was ready to go back to the airport and he could pick me up from wherever because he enjoyed driving me to Samara.

I spent the rest of the day meeting my roommates and relaxing and getting some to-go food from a local restaurant. It was a very calm night, which was very nice!