Dad and I to San Jose and Back by Sam

Dad and I were driving to San Jose to pick up the car from importation. We thought it would be about a 7 hour round trip. Turns out, we were wrong. It took about 6 hours to drive one way! (I forgot to bring the camera so the few that we have are from Dad's phone.)

The problem was that about halfway through the trip, we encountered some construction. After about 10 minutes of waiting (in that time the car moved about 2 centimeters) we decided to take a detour.  This particular detour was on a dirt road through some sugar cane fields. On the way, we had to cross two rivers (we almost got stuck in one of them because our rental car didn’t have a snorkel and the water came in – about two inches on the floor of the car.) We also saw a sugar cane processing factory. It was very busy. We also saw a crested caracara which is like a hawk with a bright red beak and dozens of grackles and one spiny-tailed iguana when we got out to go pee. The sugar cane was about 1-2 metres tall and there was a maze of dirt roads all through the fields with lots of tractors driving around.

After emerging back on to the main road, the rest of the drive was uneventful until we reached the crocodile bridge. This is a bridge that spans the Tarcoles River which is very good for watching crocodiles. Supposedly, crocodiles like polluted water and if so this is the best place for them to be  because a lot of sewage from San Jose flows in to this river. We were expecting to see about a dozen or so, but we saw 34! The smallest was about 5 feet long and the biggest was 15 feet long! The sidewalks on the bridge were very narrow but at least there was a railing. Big trucks zoomed by. Just after we arrived, a busload of tourists piled out. They had lots of fancy cameras and t-shirts that said Pura Vida. I was really excited about seeing the crocodiles as I’ve been looking for them since the moment we arrived in Costa Rica. I went from never having seen a crocodile in the wild to seeing 34! One was basking on land with its mouth wide open, waiting for a plover bird to hop in and clean its teeth. 

Upon arrival in San Jose, we went to the person, Jon, who owned the rental car and who has been helping us import the car. He was very friendly and took us straight away to the mechanic to pick up our car. After picking up the car, we had dinner of a vegetarian sandwich. I hadn’t eaten for seven hours so didn’t even mind that there were mushrooms and olives on it (I really don’t like those particular vegetables usually) We discovered there was a problem with the brakes so we had to stay the night at Jon’s house. When we were getting ready for bed I looked out the window and saw a soccer game being played. It was no ordinary game. It’s called Futbol 5 and it’s played inside, in an area about the size of a tennis court, 5 players on each team, and only one net. The guide books all say that San Jose is the concrete jungle. I think it's better than that. I'm excited about going back and maybe watching a soccer game at the new, enormous stadium.

The next morning, we went to the mechanic again. We waited for about 20 minutes while he readjust the brake pads. I noticed a 1960s rusted green automobile. It belonged to Jon and he was hoping to get it restored to its old self. We pulled out of the garage to head home which was largely uneventful including the bread and cheese lunch. I read and played minecraft the whole way.

When we got home, we discovered there had been another ant invasion. It was still in process. Hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of ants were swarming over our front yard, climbing up and into the house. Patti sent me some information that says the ants are only on a mission to clean out your house like a broom, getting rid of all the dead insects and little bits from the corners and sides of your walls. After a couple of hours, they’ll move on. Even the scorpions are afraid of them. I haven’t managed to convince mom and dad to let them be yet. The good thing about ant invasions is that we get to go out for dinner. I had my favourite meal in Nosara – pesto pizza.