Jose and I were at the bus stop by 8:30 this morning waiting for the bus to take us to Alajuela. It ended up taking a while to arrive. There are actually so many buses here, while we were waiting for our bus, probably at least 10 other buses went past all with different routes and destinations.
We finally got on and were on our way to Alajuela. The heat was already getting to me.
Once we arrived in Alajuela we had to find a bus that would take us to Grecia, where Fabi lives. Jose really didn't know where the bus left from, so after a bit of walking and asking of different people, we finally found the queue for the bus. We waited for about 25 minutes before we jumped on the bus and headed off for Grecia. This bus trip took ages. Usually to get all the way from home to Grecia by car it only takes about 30 minutes. By the time we arrived in Grecia it had been more than two hours of traveling. After asking a kind lady on the bus when to get off, we headed to the main square of Grecia to wait for Fabiola. It wasn't long before I caught a glimpse of a person with very curly hair walking through the square. Turns out it was Fabi. My first impression was how much she had changed.
Jose had always told me that while she was in New Zealand she had been bigger, but only now I could believe him, she seemed half the size, having lost over 10 kilograms since returning to Costa Rica. Also she now had braces and her voice seemed different too, plus she had a more mature aura.
We jumped in her car and headed off to Volcan Poas. We stopped in at a little store to buy some chips and some guayabita lollies. On the way to the volcano we drove through Fabi's suburb of Grecia which is called Saint Gertrude North, she hates the name, and prefers to just call it 'North'.
Once we got to the Poas region I was told that lots of strawberries were grown there, and I could definitely tell by the amount of people on the side of the roads selling strawberries. We then started to ascend Poas Volcano, and we hit traffic shortly after. Fabi assured me that it was never like this and that it was just because I was there that there was traffic.
Jose and I got out off the car to walk around because the queue of cars was moving so slowly.
We finally got our tickets and parked the car. It was very cool to see Fabiola again, and this was another time when it felt like I wasn't in another country. While earlier I had thought her voice sounded different, when she spoke English, it was the same old Fabi that I knew. We first walked to the crater of the volcano. It was a little hard to see because there was quite a bit of cloud cover, but we did catch glimpses of it between the clouds. We then saw a little mouse playing around in a chip packet that had been left on the ground. Jose touched the bag one time when it had gone inside, and the mouse bit him. It was quite funny to watch.
We then headed to the crater lake. While walking there we got to see a squirrel. This one was busy munching on a nut, and it was the coolest thing to see. Fabi then told me that her boyfriend actually has a pet squirrel, that made me quite jealous. This was even harder to see, but again between the clouds we did get to view it. It looked so nice, and I had the urge to swim in it, or in fact going skiing just because it was so flat.
We then had quite a work out because of the course we took to get back to the main building of the place. Fabiola was so out of breath the whole time. While doing the walk we saw another squirrel running through the forest. We eventually made it back, and had a quick look around the souvenir shop that was there, I just managed to walk out without buying anything.
We headed back down the mountain in the car, stopping in to get some cash out for some lunch and for tomorrow. The place we went for lunch was similar to the place on Turrialba, the fact that the appearance of the place would make it seem like not a good place to eat. But Fabi knew the place and boy was she right, the food was very good. I had a strawberry smoothie, because I had to try the strawberries from the area, and a chicken fajita. Like normal, it was very cheap too, about $10 NZD.
We then headed back to Grecia to see Fabi's house. Despite having been back in the country for 2 years since being on the AFS exchange to New Zealand, Jose and Fabi had only meet up a few times. This was the first time Jose had been to her house. Her house was very nice, and grand, and big.
She had two dogs, one was crazy, and the other was nice. She also had a parrot that was the loudest thing ever, it sounded like a little girl crying out.
Fabi actually lives in San Jose now with her older sister, because it is better for her university, but she is there for the holidays. Jose and I played some foosball in her games/bar room before we all sat down and played some card games.
Soon after Fabi dropped us off at the bus stop in Grecia and we said our goodbyes. She is planning to come visit the whole family once they arrive.
We then did the long trip back to Heredia. But this trip wasn't as long as the other, almost half the time, because we took a different route that took the highway. We got off the bus by Hard Rock Cafe, and caught the next bus after waiting a little while.
Once we got of the bus in Heredia, we went to Curves, the gym where Melania works just to call in and see her at her job. The place had no one working out in it, I guess a lot of people had already given up on their New Year's Resolutions.
We then walked the rest of the way home. And when we got in, we noticed a huge difference. Guisella is a magician. All the rooms had been changed around ready for the arrival of the rest of the family. My room now had two beds in it, and Jose's room had been made to look like a hotel room, while the study had been turned into a bedroom. It was a very quick transformation.
The rest of the night was quiet, just having a quiet dinner, enjoying the tranquility before the family arrives :)
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| Fabiola and Jose in front of the crater |
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