Hayley in Wanderlust: Quepos and Jaco

At the fresh, new age of 22, I boarded my flight (the day after my birthday) to Costa Rica. The start of Chapter 2.

I landed in San Jose, which reminded me of Gauyaquil in the sense that it's one of those strange 'nothing' cities. I spent two nights there because I couldn't figure out where to head to first. Apparently, this trip has unravelled all the focus I used to put into planning my life. Now, it appears I'm even more dithery, but I'm definitely not as stressed, which I take as a positive.

Eventually, I decided to head to Quepos, a small town on the Central Pacific coast, located near to the Manuel Antonio National Park. I booked myself into 'Central Backpackers' because my guide book reccomended it...
I should not have listened to my guide book.
I should also, by now, have learnt not to pay for a place until I've actually seen my room.
It's not that the hostel was bad, the manager was lovely and breakfast was good. It's just that the dorms were being renovated so I was put into a small room and I happened to be the only guest staying there. Bit shit. Travelling solo is awesome, but having come off such an amazing couple of weeks surrounded by people I'd grown to know and love, being totally on my own again was a little bit soul destorying. Thankfully, my two nights passed quickly and I checked myself into 'Wide Mouth Frog' a much nicer hostel, that had a pool, a very friendly dog called Mocca, and most importantly, other backpackers.

The beach in Quepos isn't particularly big and practically disappears when the tide rolls in. But the grassy banks are pretty to sit on and watch sunset. In Manuel Antonio, the public beach is much nicer and the bus journey there only took 15 minutes and cost me 320 Colones (about 45p).

Costa Rica is ridiculously expensive but it's public transport is cheap.
I don't really get it.

I had wanted to visit the National Park, but broke out in some hideous allergic reaction and didn't want to leave the hostel for fear of scratching my own arms off in public. That would have been kinda gross.
(But dw I'm all good now, thanks for asking).

Next it was a short 1.5 hour bus journey to the touristy town of Jaco. Despite being over run with Gringos and feeling like a tiny slice of the USA, I actually really liked it. It's one of those places where the touristy tat of it all adds to the atmosphere. I stayed at the incredible 'Room2Board' - a hostel that is basically a hotel. It had a pool, was impressively clean and had a yoga studio to boot. It was more expensive, at a full $16 a night, but the money was completely justified.
At this stage, the allergic reaction was so painful and sore, I sought medical advice from the chemist. She gave me two different sets of tablets to take and said that I was strictly not to drink. They worked, but not drinking was novel. Not that I need alcohol to talk to people (ask anyone who knows me, I'm probably on the annoying side of chatty), but having a beer and sitting around a in hostel come hand in hand. It just makes it easier, because you can, at the very least, nod at someone vaguely friendly looking who's also on their own and drinking in the hope of striking up conversation…

'I am not an alcoholic, I am a drunk. Alcoholics go to meetings and I go to parties' - truth.

 

Anyway, not drinking did encourage me to be healthier and, it has to be said, yoga as the sun sets over the Pacific Ocean is officially my new favourite thing ever. I'd forgotten just how much I love yoga and why I became so obsessed it before I came away. I mean, absolutely no other form of excercise has ever, or will ever, get me willingly out of bed at 6am. It made me almost (almost) look forward to going home, so I can get back to practising more regularly.

Not that I was all that focused on home, as I lounged by the pool and bathed in the Central American sun, that is... 

-xo

Hayley in Wanderlust: Rio de Janeiro

First stop on my South American adventure is the dream destination; Rio de Janeiro. Admittedly, I was a pretty crappy Rio tourist. Having such a vast city as my first stop on this solo tour, it's easy to say I found it more than just a little bit daunting... But I still tried my best.



It wouldn't fit in my backpack

I stayed in Oztel, a hostel in the neighbourhood of Botafogo. It made Lonely Planets top 10 hostels in the world a couple of years ago, and it's easy to see why. Quirky décor, super friendly staff and a chill bar gave the pace a great atmosphere, and made introducing myself to new people easy, something I was unbelievably stressed about! Its bar is also open to the public giving it more than just a hostel vibe. The downside however, is that it means drink prices aren't super backpacker friendly. At RS16 for a caipirinha, I bought cheaper on Copacabana, but ho-hum.




A cloudy but still perfect Copacabana

Speaking of Copacabana- go. To me, all the buildings along the beach front looked fresh out of an 80s music video, which only added to the magical fact that I, Hayley Devlin, was on Copacabana. Be warned though, you will have that episode of friends where Rachel is a bridesmaid and starts singing it at Barry's wedding stuck in your head, but it's Copacabana. You can't go to Rio and not go, even if Ipanema is nicer (and it is).

Food wise, check out Blue Agave off Ipanema, it's a reasonably priced Mexican place that offered a veggie burrito, which surprised me greatly. So far, veggie food has been relatively easy to come by in Brazil. I've always accepted that at some point I'm going to have to stomach it and probably eat chicken, but I'm happy to put it off for a little while longer! A lot of the restaurants offer veggie options, even if they are limited and I spotted tofu being sold in one of the Rio supermarkets... Maybe this will be easier that I though?



Cristo Redentor

Botafogo, where Oztel is located, is a nice neighbourhood where I felt more than comfortable walking around on my own. It's home to plenty of bars to keep you busy at night too. Saloon 77 is a biker bar two doors down from the hostel that played cool music and was open late. Meza, is a bar and restaurant that served Caipirinhas with a twist and the food menu looked amazing, so it's definitely worth a try.

Sightseeing wise, Rio offers some of the best. Christ the Redeemer was one of the biggest reasons I've wanted to visit and it didn't disappoint. I went with a couple I met at the hostel and the views were spectacular, even though it was a partly cloudy day. I also took myself to Sugarloaf, which was just as amazing and gave you totally different views of the city, making both attractions worth the RS62 entry. The only thing I didn't get to do that I was desperate to, was hand gliding. All of the quotes I received for it were at around RS550 (about £118) and when you're on a £250 a week budget, I just couldn't justify it. Busses and taxis in Rio were cheap, making me further despair at the price of transport in London. The busses are weird though, many have two members of staff, a driver and another conductor who sits to the side, takes your money and lets you through a turnstile. Busses in Brazil have turnstiles. Mind = Blown.

Rio lived up to all of my expectations and so much more. The beaches are beautiful, the people are super friendly and I always felt safe, which was probably the biggest shock of all. As with most cities, I get the feeling that in Rio, you generally only get trouble if you go looking for it or leave all of your stuff unattended. I'm so glad I started my journey here.

Until next time...

-xo