On the 9 hour bus-ride from San Jose to Puerto Jimenez, a good basecamp for Corcovado - trekking, I met an extremely helpfull and friendly Costa Rican who offered me a good cup of coffee and a place to stay. His house was situated in the midst of papaya trees, monkeys and scarlett macaws. Or, "shack" would probably be a better term for the "house". I stayed here for two days, drinking delicious Costa Rican coffee, watching the animals pass by in the front yard...

Since Costa Rica is by far the most expensive country in Central America, I had decided to just rush straight throug and rather spend my time in Panama. After leaving Ben and Barry in Ricas, Nicaragua, I bussed straight down to the capitol for a layover. Found me a hostel for the day and picked out a nightbus for the next day. I quickly discovered two things that changed my plans and partly destroyed my budget. The first: Spains national team were playing costa r...