End of the Tour

Trip Start Dec 17, 2007

Trip End Jan 26, 2008

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Where I stayed

Colours Oasis Resort San Jose

(San Jose hotels)

Flag of Costa Rica San Jose, Costa Rica
Sunday, January 20, 2008

Monteverde ended up being absolutely spectacular and my drive down to San Jose equally so. Costa Rica is stunning to say the least and I have not given this country anywhere near the justice it deserves. For that reason, I think I may have to return in 2 years... to revisit Antigua, maybe Grenada and Costa Rica. My first impressions of this country when in Monteverde and its locals has not lived up and Im now loving it, especially the friendliness and politeness of the locals that Ive come across.

When in Monteverde, I went for a canopy walk through the cloud forest... a main attraction. But the zipline through the canopy looked absolutely awesome... can recommend it for the US40 or so.

The group met up for a final dinner for Alison who had to leave the tour early for work reasons and myself..

Aussies on Gap Tour

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Already, Im glad to be off the tour... its not really my style anymore. The thought of being with the same people with dissimilar interests has turned me off doing roam trips with GAP and it will be highly unlikely that I ever do one of these again, except maybe through Japan and Nepal/India when the time comes, if ever... I plan on revisiting my favourite places from now on including SE Asia at the end of this year and maybe Central America in 2 years.

I am loving my home here in San Jose... photos will be uploaded eventually. Last night whilst at the resort, I met Ren and Greg from Minnesota who took me for a bit of R and R at a local bath house... they live near Chicagos lake... we met a group of 5 costan ricans... Raphael who speaks fluent English and was our translator, Evert who looks Moroccan and understands about 30 per cent, David who understands 20 per cent, Antonio who understands 10 per cent and another Nicaraguan who doesnt speak a word... forget his name. We ended up going to an exquisite Thai restaurant for dinner and I couldnt have asked for better company... having a local recommendation and local company in such a dangerous city was the best thing I couldve done on my first night here... David and I ended up going to the Oh Club in downtown San Jose but given that David was in shorts and I didnt have any ID, we were denied access

Dutch on Gap Tour

. Shame, because it would of been good to do this place with a local... Ive heard rave reviews about this place but given that I was fairly tired anyway come 1am, it was pretty pointless anyway.

One thing Ive noticed about the Costa Ricans is their stunning beauty, dress sense and great dancing moves... they sure have been blessed with beauty. And none of them are overweight... the group I was with hardly ate anything and they told me that they dont like eating... it showed with the 6 of us ordering 3 plates between us. I was a bit worried that Id be slumped with the bill given that these guys earn so little and I was the gringo, but each of them were keen to make sure that each of them put in their equal shares!

Anyway, Ren, Greg and I have invited this group of guys back to our resort for a pool party so looking forward to that. The resort that Im staying in is absolutely beautiful and has a small home feel to it. If back in San Jose, there will be no doubt that I return to this place, and staying in the apartment studios is an absolute must.