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Reality bites!
Entry 2 of 20 | show all | print this entry |
After playing ping pong to death and wearing some hammocks thin on the first week of our trip we decide its time to move on and head South along the coast with Dominical in mind as our final destination. We say our goodbyes and some prayers for better surf and trundle our hefty board bags to the dirt road. The bus stop is only 10 minutes walk away, but with 15 kilos on your back and another 20 or so in a 7 foot 6 board bag with wheels that small journey becomes a serious obstacle without motor power. After some fruitless attempts to hitch a ride a couple of friendly gringos offer us a lift in their 4x4, we strap the boards on and off we go.
Whilst waiting for the bus, I manage to hitch us a ride with a local to the nearest town, Cobano, our stuff goes in the trailer and we ride up front. JB does a neat trick by suggesting I sit in the middle to practice my Spanish, I stupidly agree and after 10 minutes of bumpy roads, half hovering over the potentially painful handbrake my bum cheeks are numb. The local guy owns a restuarant not far from where we stayed and seems to know every driver on the road and even beeps people in their homes as he motors past. His traditional horn is broken so he somehow manipulates an exposed wire for his security alarm to let out different blasts. He manages to make it wolf whistle for a young chica on the roadside, his english friends are very impressed which makes him happy. After dropping us in Cobano we get a taxi and then a ferry to take us to Puntarenas. As we have just missed the last bus we are forced to get another taxi to Playa Jaco where we plan to spend the night and continue to Dominical the next day. The taxi driver has a young lad in the front with him just along for the ride and they are entertaining themselves by calling each other rude things. We entertain ourselves by teaching them the english equivalents and spreading some northern english gutter slang, I doubt it will catch on here.
We had heard of a cheap hostel close to the beach at Jaco and direct the driver to Nathans Place which describes itself as the rock and roll epicentre of Costa Rica. We are greeted by Andre, the local who does most of the managing at the hostel, he speaks great english and is very friendly and helpful. He shows us the dorm and we view the windowless, damp, musty smelling room with a slight grimace. Andre notices and says its only because they are using it to dry their washing currently, if anything I can only see things getting damper and then smelling worse than before they were washed. We ask what else is available and he shows us to a much more agreeable twin room, still no windows but its fresh and dry. We dump our stuff, change and head out into the familiar buzz of Jaco (both of us have visited Jaco previously for two week surf trips). It certainly hasnt changed, apart from the usual increased development of what is Costa Ricas 'surf city'. After some good food at one of our favorite places and a few games of pool we head back to Nathans to relax.
We meet the man himself, Nathan, his son and a kid called Mike from the US. Nathan is a big fella with a heavy texan accent, he is loud but friendly and after the usual round of questions for backpackers he stands and picks up his electric guitar. Nathans Place has a sign outside promising live music every Saturday night, its not Saturday but that doesnt stop Nathan from unleashing some truly impressive skills. He settles into a free flowing jazz style jam showing off intricate finger work which can only come from a life with the guitar as your best friend. He phases in and out of classic riffs from the likes of Hendrix, Led Zep and The Doors, but its never long before he launches back into the chaos of his improvisation. Nathan plays for about half an hour and after a quick chat with the sterotypical surfkid Mike we decide its time to hit the sack and get rested for another days travelling.
Its midday and me and jb have just set up camp at the bus stop on the main road in Jaco, the timetable tells us that the bus should be ariving at 12.00, but we are used to the transport here and realise it could be anytime in the next few hours really. It is scorching hot and I am sweating buckets so I decide to cross the road to the supermarket to buy water. I tell jb and leave the bags with him, as I am about to leave a local lady knocks my boardbag over, she apologises and I put it back in place. As I cross the road I see her talking to jb, it seems she needs some help, I chuckle to myself as I know jb's grasp of Spanish is a about as useful as a chocolate teapot. Something should have clicked in my head then, the signs were there but I had perhaps let my guard down being in a familiar place. That was the first time I had let my small day bag be in public and out of my grasp since arriving in Costa Rica, it contained my passport and RTW ticket, my Ipod and digi camera and other stuff less valuable but still important for my trip. I never saw it again...
It had been on the seat right next to jb. Jb tried to help the woman who was asking questions in broken English and Spanish, she was pointing down the street and made sure she took his attention away long enough for a second person to grab my bag and run. It only takes a second. It certainly wasnt his fault, I should have never left it there in the first place. You live and learn...
When I returned and realised what had happened, the signs I should have picked up on screamed at me and I was really angry, slightly at the thieves but mostly at myself. We trundle back to Nathans Place and Andre rings the police, they arrive, take the details and head off on what I suspected would be an unsuccessful search. I realise we need to stay in Jaco for at least another night to report the theft and find out how I go about replacing my passport, tickets and make an insurance claim.
The police station was some light relief, they spoke little english and I had to rely on my latent acting abilities and basic Spanish to describe the event for them. After thumbing through a stack of photos of some of the ugliest and meanest looking women I have ever seen, jb picks out a woman he thinks is the thief. Initially I wasnt sure of the likeness, but the more we looked at the picture the more we felt convinced it was her. We will never know, the police didnt catch anyone and they never found my bag.
We unpack our boards and plow out into the best remedy for unsavoury events you want to forget, the ocean. Unfortunatley the surf is still crap, big and messy, but theres nothing like getting battered by waves to wipe away frustrations and change your mood.
We end up staying at Nathans for a couple of extra nights whilst I confirm how I replace my documents. We spend the time surfing consistent close outs, chilling at Nathans listening to a range of mainly American rock, some good, some bad. Some of the heavier stuff takes me back to a few teenage years where I went to Metallica and Iron Maiden concerts, I hadnt heard some of the tracks in many years. The albums still lurk in the depths of my cumbersome music collection, a record of a dark past in loud concerts with too many sweaty long haired men jumping about and trying to headbutt their own chests (a lot more fun than it sounds!).
Nathans Place is a general hangout for a range of surfers, skaters and US expats. We get to know some of them and get to know Nathan too.
Nathan Dees - texas guitar legend is a Scizophrenic and doesnt take long to inform you of it. He even has a big tattoo with the word on his arm, shaped like a caution! road sign, this I guess is for deaf people who cant hear him pronounce his condition with pride. He has obviously come to terms with it, knows how to deal with it and has accepted it as part of what makes him a very interesting person to spend time with. Me and Jb chat with him about his condition and the obvious assumption people make is that he has more than one personality, thats incorrect, he doesnt have Multiple Personality Disorder. He has one personality but hears voices in his head, some urgung him to do things. A consistent and strong one being to kill yourself! I cant begin to imagine how you would cope with that.
He has a led a varied life, from the US army, to being a Christian minister and touring with a number of different rock bands. His religious past is obviously interesting and we take the conversation down that road. Before he was successfully diagnosed, he believed for a number of years that he could hear Gods voice. He made a change to a god fearing minister from a tough, heavy rocker dealing with explicit and dark lyrics, on the road with bands and all that comes with it. He no longer played those type of songs and if my hazy memory serves me right he started playing religious music instead. It was only when he was diagnosed and realised God wasnt talking to him that he ditched religión and returned to his former ways. He is now a strong follower of some satanic creed which from what I could read is more of a cynical theological attack on Christianity and Christians rather than a world of hexes, demonic possesions and virgin sacrifices, if such a world exists?
Nathan had plenty of entertaining stories and his guitar playing was a joy to behold, but he made me laugh hardest when he gave a frank and forceful verdict on some live music footage a rock loving hostel guest was playing on his laptop. The footage involved a strange mix of musicians I didnt know apart from Bernie Worrell (a keyboard player from Funkadelic), one of the guitar players constantly wore a bucket on his head and was aptly called Buckethead (i am not sure if this was his first or last name). The footage had been playing for at least half an hour and even though it wasnt really my kind of music I had been listening along whilst reading and sheltering from the midday sun. Nathan was sat away from me and closer to the screen along with the guest , they hadnt spoke for quite a while and just seemed to be enjoying the music.
Suddenly Nathan speaks "I wouldnt usually say this because I am not very judgmental when it comes to music, but this has to be the biggest pile of $hit I have ever heard in my life!" The guest is stunned, his face reddens and without looking at him Nathan continues "I mean, anyone could do what they are doing, it sucks!" I grin and see the guests face becoming redder, he still doesnt move or say a thing, he just continues to stare at his beloved Buckethead perhaps hoping he will save him from this embaressment. He certainly looked like he was craving that bucket over his own head.
"you know, if I hear much more of this crap, I am gonna have to take some more of my pills off schedule, because the voices in my head are saying bad things, loudly!"
Still no reaction from the guest and I am wondering how this is going to end. They both continue to stare at the tiny screen for another minute or so in silence. I watch, grin, watch and wonder.... The guest eventually stands and closes the movie window, cutting the music. Nathan visibly deflates and lets out a long loud sigh as you do after being relieved from a torturous experience. "thankyou". The guest still doesnt acknowledge what just happened and fiddles with his mouse, probable trying to find something that will please the guitar maestro. I leave to go back to my room and laugh hard.
Nathans Place, Nathan and the people who hang about are not to everyones taste, there was a steady flow of backpackers coming in to have a look around and then swiftly leaving. We enjoyed it, it was very different and fun and I recommend it to anyone who likes rock music, surfing or just interesting conversations and episodes.
After those few days at Nathans, we pack up and catch the bus to Dominical. The story will continue soon....
Where I stayed:
Nathan's Place
Latest Comments (6)
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Soooooooooo envious! (reply)
Oct 23, 2006 07:26 EST by iccle_sis
Pete! Read your first blog after spending the morning in uni library working on an assignment which is doing my head in!...needless to say i'm unbelievably envious...you're having the time of your life in an amazing location with warm, peeling surf....arghhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Anyway, now i've got that out of my system :) ...sounds like you're having a real fun time, hope the surf delivers, just count yo... show all
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Photos (reply)
Oct 21, 2006 09:47 EST by boardbagdad
PS - If you look in the FAQ section of this site it tells you all about uploading and the best ways to do it. Look forward to some good photos. Adios!
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Good start! (reply)
Oct 21, 2006 09:41 EST by boardbagdad
Hi Pete, great first blog, I put my response in the Guest Book, just in case you missed it! Love Dad
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Great Blog!! (reply)
Oct 20, 2006 05:39 EST by helenwright
Hi Pete. Great Blog - you made an Canon ex colleague chuckle at her Warrington Office desk on a dreary Friday morning. Your ex team are meeting at Daresbury Park for bacon butties as I write this - bet you wish you were there - NOT!!!!!!!!!! We all miss you at the office but are glad you are having such a ball doing exactly what you wanted to do. Keep us posted with your wacky escapades! Take ... show all
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WOW (reply)
Oct 18, 2006 04:42 EST by mum13
Fantastic message Pete, always knew that all those English lessons that you missed at school were never needed.
I feel sorry for John having to put up with you for a year, but perhaps he'll get his own back soon.
Sounds like great fun and I know what you mean about relishing the fact that you are in a fabulous holiday destination but dont need to rush as it will still be there next year. I... show all
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So Jealous. . . (reply)
Oct 18, 2006 04:30 EST by dwp0980
Nice blog Pete - keep it up. I'm with you, I think John should confront his fear of frogs.
I think you should attempt the Fawlty Towers german sketch to try to win back some pride from the 3-1 drubbing from a German girl.
'photos are on the way, just need to work out how to get the filesize down, any techno savvy dudes out there give advice?' You need to change the resolution a... show all
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