19th July - 21st August 2008: Sand, sweat and turtles, turtles, turtles

So, how so I go about explaining the last five weeks that I´ve spent in a remote and tropical paradise which I am now completely in love with?!

Firstly, my particular paradise is called the Osa Peninsula, on the south-east Pacific coast of Costa Rica. This area includes Corcovado National Park, which among other things, boasts the largest remaining tract of lowland Pacific rainforest in Central America, along with the largest population of Scarlet acaws in Costa Rica, numerous monkeys and my favourite, turtles. I like the sound of it already.

Of course, getting to paradise takes time (but suprisingly not that much money if you´re willing to sit on a bus for an entire day. You can also take the expensive cheats option and fly in, which after experiencing the bus I would heartily recommend!). So firstly, I visit the head office of Widecast, who I will be volunteering for, before catching a bus from San Jose to a small town on the Osa called Puerto Jiminez. The bus is meant to take eight hours so I come prepared with snacks and a fully charged ipod. The first few hours pass pleasantly enough, the scenery is beautiful (do pineapples grow in fields? I have been pondering this question as I´m sure I saw fields full of them on the way. Maybe I was hallucinating). I´m kept warm enough by the small child who has decided to spread himself out over both mine and his mother´s laps. We make a quick halfway stop in San Isidro, where even more people get on the bus - the aisles are full and people are sitting on the floor (yet it´s still far more civilised than the good old Chicken Bus days in Guatemala!). So, having become familiar with the concept of ´Tico time` whilst in Costa Rica - something may happen when it´s meant to but don´t be surprised when it takes + / - a few hours. So, when the 8 hour bus ride continues well into the night, I just go back to sleep and wait for us to arrive. After 10 and a half hours, we get into Puerto Jiminez and wearily step off the bus. As I retrieve my bags it srikes me that I was so focused on getting the right bus at the right time that I totally forgot to look into the small matter of where I would spend the night. I get pointed in the general direction of town and wander off, laden down with two rucksacks that only seem to get heavier every time I pick them up (and no, I haven´t been buying silly amounts of souvenirs). I am slightly concerned that this is not the wisest option, as anyone who wanted to mug me could easily do so - one gentle push would leave me flailing on the floor like an upturned turtle. But, the next thing to srike me is just how friendly everyone is, so I soon find myself at a lovely cabina for the night.