I again went to a beach this weekend, but I didn't leave until late in the afternoon on Saturday after watching the games on television. I was headed to the far point of the nearby Nicoya peninsula to explore Costa Rica first national park. This meant that I returned to the beach town of Puntarenas where I waited to catch a ferry. The ferry took about an hour and a half and it was after 10 by the time I arrived at the peninsula. The bus driver wanted 6 dollars for the ride to the beach town, so being stubborn and cheap I decided to walk 11km instead. It was raining slightly and the road was pitch black, I could hardly even see the yellow line and I often stumbled into 6 inch deep potholes filled with water, but it was worth it. I didn't get up in time for the early morning bus to the park I was originally headed for, so i went to another nature preserve instead at Curu beach.

The park is full of hiking trails and they are trying to reintroduce the squirrel monkey and the scarlet macaw, which are not found in this part of Costa Rica. The trail to the beach led through a cattle farm and I was surrounded by a hundred cows staring at me intently. I got to the beach and I had to choose from among the 10 or 20 trails to follow. I was still tired from the night before so I decided to take a short looking trail to a secluded beach and relax a bit. Two hours later I finally reached the beach. The trail was marked 'difficult' on the map, but they should have used a stronger word. Most of the trail was incredibly steep as it climbed the coastline cliffs and the rest of the trail I had to basically blaze my own path through the underbrush. There were markers on the trees, but many time I had to retrace my steps because I had lost the faint trail. In addition there were many spiderwebs strung over the path and I was constantly wiping the webs and sweat off my face. I even got bit in the neck by a spider.

Luckily the beach actually existed at the end of the trail and it was nice and definitely secluded. The sand was clean and white and it was the softest I have encountered so far in Costa Rica. It was also full of hermit crabs. I ate my lunch on the beach and it was very amusing watching the crabs. At first only one was brave enough to investigate my empty can of tuna. After watching the surf for a while I looked back and there were ten crabs around the can. The next time I looked I was surrounded by about 50 crabs all fighting over my leftovers. The big crabs would come in to grab and toss out the little ones, and the little ones would try to hold on to their scrap of food and scramble off to eat in peace. It was like a giant wrestling match. They polished off my leftovers in no time flat.

In order to avoid the trail again, I attempted to return along the shore. After narrowly avoiding my backpack being soaked by waves numerous times, I decided it would be easier to take the trail. It was much easier now that I knew what to expect. I returned to the ferry and this time I was able to enjoy the trip in the daytime as the ferry passed between numerous islands, including one that used to contain a high security prison that is famous in Costa Rica. I spent most of the trip talking to a firefighter from San Jose who went to the beach with his family for the weekend. He talked about his job and how he wants to move to Canada some day.

At my company, a bunch of the workers here have organized a mini two week soccer tournament during the breaks to reflect the World Cup. We play as two man teams on a small field outside the factory. It's a fun way to spend the break, but it way too hot when the sun is out.