Ed and i arrived in 'Puerto Viejo De Talamanca' (the ganja and chillout capital of Costa Rica) on Thursday 15th November 2007, where we got talking to a couple of girls from Santa Cruz California called Emily and Tracy who we met on our way from the bus to the hostel at 'Rocking J's', which is an amazing place (check photos). The only issue that we faced was that there were no dorm rooms available so we had to settle with staying in a 'tent' on the first floor, which we quite originaly named 'tent city'.....there was the option of sleeping in one of the 60 odd hammocks, however the tent option proved to be a good call, and it was where i got some of the best shut eye i've had on my trip so far,,,,although the mattress was a bit soggy and the hostels resident dogs - one nicknamed Piglet by Emily, whose owner which i named 'Porky' on account of his fat ass....kept me awake barking on numerous occassions....Piglet would sleep in the tent with Porky and it seemed that Porky actually worked at the hostel....weird if you ask me, plus the dog was nearly as ugly as his owner!! Anyway the tent was 3 pounds a night and a bargain at that so i figured i would probably stay for a week!!

After setting into the hostel and putting our stuff into the large lokers provided with padlocks....big enough for all our bags bar my surfboard, which i locked to a post behind my tent with '2' pad locks - never can be too careful.....we moved to the hostels resturant for some dinny din dins and drinky poos!! Several drinks later , after being joined by Tracy and Emily and after entertainment from local Costa Rican Musicians, we departed for the towns notorious nightclub called 'Johnny's'.....i hoped to walk in and shout "where's Johnny" but the music was too loud and the reggae rythmn took over and we soon headed to the dancefloor, where Emily ripped it up to her favourite tunes!! Johnnys is located right on the beach so we were able to sit out on chairs and soak in the atmosphere on the beach....we actually soaked in more rain than atmosphere, but after a short wait and a few more Imperials it stopped raining so we headed back outside to see what was going on. After getting chatting to lots of other travellers i decided, in a bit of a drunken state, that i would go get some coconuts from the nearby trees to drink to sober myself up......i ended up attracting the attention of a local Rusta dude who started to assist me by picking up a big piece of wood and hitting the tree. After giving him a few Colones for his trouble i headed back to see the others with around 5 coconuts in my arms....anyway they didn't soak up the alcohol and everyone thought it was hilarious!!

Over the next few days Ed and myself took to the local beach at 'Cocles', which involved a 5 minute walk through rainforest and over streams to soak up some more rays and take in some surf action, although i didn't actually surf very often as the surf broke too close to the shore and always closed out and was pretty powerful, so in order not to leave Puerto Viejo without my surfboard i decided to just take it easy and take in some sights, sun and food....although i do recall Ed taking on a rather large wave of a set and getting smashed into the sea bottom.....i did tell him not to go!!! In usual Ed fashion, most of our time involved eating at local bars and restaurants and indeed Rocking J's restaurant on numerous occassions on account of the great food on offer.....i actually may have consumed most of the breakfast and dinner options...but at roughly 3 pounds for a full breakfast and 4 for a dinner it didn't really break the bank!! Ed left Puerto Viejo on saturday 17th and after a tearful departure...obviously on his behalf, we exchanged contact details and he got on the bus.

Eds departure left a lasting impression with me and i hope to see him again one day in New York. Anyway, the majority of my time during the next few days were spent with Emily and Tracy, who are properly sound gals, who i hope to meet in Santa Cruz in December so that they can keep Alice 1 entertained whilst i give Alice 2 lots of love and dodge some great whites!!!

We spent some time, particularly Emily, helping 'J' - the owner of Rocking J's, who's a totally sound...if always stoned.. guy, whose hostel, which was his dream and constructed around 5 years ago with the help of his brother Eric who runs the restaurant and together they make a suprsingly good team!! They live in the hostel and have there own wings of the complex, which are completely open plan. including the bathroom and overlook the beach/reef out front. They both spend a lot of time with their guests, often watching films, smoking spliffs, eating and generally entertaining everyone. On one occassion J asked Emily if she would like to cut down a banana tree within the grounds of the hostel with a machete....she refused but i jumped at the chance and in Ray Mears style i had that mother hit the foor quicker than you could say monkey!! The fresh bananas were soem of the best i have ever tasted and probably ever will!! On another occassion Emily, Tracy and i were playing cards and he came over..stoned as always and asked if we fancied a poker competition ....now we're talking i said.....after a few crap hands and after watching J drink and smoke himself into a stupper i came third out of 7, however i only missed out marginally!! During the game J ordered a massive cocktail with enough for about 5 people with 4 straws in......after numerous hits on that everyones spirits were in good form...especially his, especially after smoking a spliff out of the end of one of the straws to 'gather more flavour'....whatever he still played crap and i took him to the cleaners.....great fun though!!

Most of my days were filled with either reading, sunbathing, laying in hammocks, playing ping pong, eating lots of food or walking into town to get money from the bank or to use the internet at a place called Green Tortoise, which did great Mexican food!! Numerous films were also viewed at the hostel, together with nights of talking around big tables drinking with other travellers......seriously if you understood how stressful my life is at the moment you'd probably stop complaining and be happier in your 9-5 jobs!!! Sorry i know i'm a git, beach bum and every other explicit word under the sun.....oh and i hope the weather's improved by the way as i hear it's a tad cold at home!! You'll be pleased to know, i'm sure, that it's around 25-28 degrees daily here now and the wet season is coming to an end....hurray!!! Again sorry guys but to 'Clarky and Gould'.....check the BBC weather forecasts now and decide where you'd rather be.....in the Euro Cup Competition with England i'd imagine....guttered....same old England performance i guess?!!

Daily life at the hostel was also most amuzing as it entailed outdoor showers and communal toilets, where i often found myself heading to the lockers to change after showers....hope i didn't affend anyone with my white bits?! Time on my own was also occupied by walking to watch a big wave spot breaking on muerous occassions. The wave is called 'Salsa Brava' and is world famous for its hollow tubes and heavy and powerful nature. It breaks off a knee deep live reef and is only surfed by Kamakazis or pro's.....needless to say the locals absolutely rip it apart (check pics and videos). Daily life in Puerto Viejo is very slow, probably on account of the amount of weed smoked, but it is also characterised by bikes everywhere....it costs around 1.50 for a day to hire out a bike so everyone does it......including surfers who you see cycling down the street in all directions with a surfboard under thier arms.....i was gonna try it but with my track record of breaking bodily parts i decided to give it a miss!! It is a shame to see though how much these people depend upon tourism for income and there are a larger number of poor and homeless people walking around the streets and the place is literally over-run by holidaymakers and shop and business owners....i'm sure it was a very different place before Thomas Cook intriduced mass tourism to the globe. Indeed you'll see numerous examples of deforestation on any bus trip around Costa Rica, although the vast majority of the country is protected by conservation orders and strict management......Jerry and Andy you would be so proud......maybe we could bring one in for the Kings Park Area near my home....Gould and the team you had better not be letting Anders Roberts sniff around the Boscombe East/ Littledown area....although my dad informs me someone wants to erect a dwelling across the road from me......ummm refusal?!!

Back to bikes, Emily, Tracy, a guy from Colorado called Tim and myself decided to rent out bikes on Wedsnesday 21st to go on a 12km cycle ride to a place called Manzanillo, which isn't far away from the border with Panama. As you will see from my pics, we encountered numerous beaches, saw lots of wildlife, including a sloth, howler monkeys, an army of ants carrying leaves and a tiger ratsnake, which i was thrilled to find.....he did get pissed off with my presence after a while though so i gave him a wide birth!! This was probably the best part of my trip to Puerto Viejo and to see that amount of animals in thier home environment was an unforgettable experience....one i'll never forget!!

Other nights included me losing my Sushi wings, were a group of us went to an all you can eat sushi restaurant for me to have my first ever encounter with saki and sushi, which was actually awesome and the best part was that it cost just over 10 pounds a head....rediculously cheap in anyones book!! Met a guy from Oahu Hawaii 2 and spoke to him all through dinner.....can't wait for this part of my trip!! Talking of first, thursday saw the arrival of the American 'Thanksgiving' and due to 89 per cent of Rocking J's residents and guests being either American or Canadian, the staff put on a big feast and everybody sat around to celebrate...i'd obviously never celebrated thanksgiving but it was a good excuse for a party and it really helped to keep the others happy and remind them of home. Only thing that puzzled me was why there was a scone on my plate with the mashed potato, chicken...should've been turkey i know, and random assortment of vegetables!!? The more bizzare thing was that the Yanks refer to a scone as a 'biscuit' i know only in America!!! After dinner we set up a bonfire and drank around beances set around the fire....was a great atmosphere and again a lot of fun.

Friday morning came around quickly after a much disturbed sleep and i had to catch the 8am bus so i begrudgingly left the hostel in a taxi set to catch a bus to San Jose. I arrived at 7.35am and to my disgust a local guy 'who apparently worked at the bus station' yeah right helped me get my bags out of the taxi and confirmed that the bus had left just after 7!!! What!!?? i said.....i wandered why the only aspect of life that moved quickly in Costa Rica was bus drivers wanting to get on the road!! Anyway he explained that if i got in a taxi now i could catch the bus and all would be well.....after much deliberation.....next bus was at 11am...or was it?....I decided to take his advice, payed him less than he wanted as a tip....i mean a lot lot less and got in a 4x4 taxi......after a 10,000 colones - 10 pounds roughly and 15minute drive we eventually found the bus,,,,,the taxi driver said it wasn't the right one but it had San Jose written on the front so i shouted to him to get the bus to stop....it eventually stopped and i got on.....quite an experience but made a great story hey?!! After a 4.5hour trip i arrived in San Jose, where i did some shopping for boardshots and cargo shorts. I bought a pair of Volcom cargo short and billabong boardies for a total of just over 48 pounds.....crazy cheap and really nice 2!! I am now back at the Costa Rica Backpackers for tonight however i leave for Jaco on the South West Coast of the Pacific 2moro morning, where a surf competition and festival is being held over the weekend....hopefully the journey won't be as eventful this time though!!

All i have left to say is that Puerto Viejo and Rocking J's are awesome and if any of you are feeling as stressed as me at the moment then it's definately worth a visit....it truely is the complete opposite of general life in the UK!!

My next blog will be sometime next weekend from Jaco so watch this space and good luck with all your christmas shopping.....ahhh scary.... oh and if anyone has a spare few quid i could do with some destress tablets!!! Take it easy and be good to each other.

Much Love,

Oodles.xx

P.S - Haven't seen many new names on Skype yet so pull your fingers out guys!! Easy to set up and free to make calls internationally....my account name is james.u.dell so look me up soon.....only costs around 15 quid to set up and you will have the pleasure of talking to me for free....yes freeeeee!!!