I’m on assignment in Costa Rica at the moment and wanted to share just a general thought or feeling you could say about travel writing. It can be an absolute pain in the ass. At times it canI spent about 25 hours or so getting from Peru to Costa Rica because a direct flight from Peru to Costa Rica was twice as much as flying to Panama (even though it stopped in San Jose for 8 hours!!). I had no choice but to take the cheaper flight as the other was way out of my budget (If I would have decided to skip out on the last leg they would have canceled my return). I arrived in Panama City at midnight and headed straight to the bus station as my schedule is very tight and have not time to relax for a day. I had to wait 5 hours for the first bus to David, not far from the border (7 hours from Panama City), and wasn’t allowed to lie down on the benches in the station (I tried and was yelled at). So I stayed awake all night. When the bus came I went right to sleep. A few hours later I awoke like in a dream in an oddly familiar setting although I couldn’t tell you where exactly it was. The bus had a pulled over at a rest stop so the drivers could get breakfast or lunch or whatever meal it was.
It reminded me of a place I had been to before. A similar rest stop. Was it in India? Peru? No, I had been at this exact same rest stop before. A couple of years ago. Nothing had changed except the bus drivers wanted to stay even longer it seemed. They sold fried chicken. There was a pharmacy and a god awfully dirty bathroom. That’s about it. It had absolutely no character. Not that it’s so awful of a stop, but having to spend parts of your life there more than once seems ridiculous. Why do I put myself through this? This is miserable.
However, a day later I found myself in Parque Nacional Corcovado where blue morpho butterflies and capuchin monkeys passed above my head to the sound of thunderous waves crashing on a picture perfect beach.
Joys of travelling – for everyone! Your last sentence make it all worthwhile!