Isla San Lucas

So, last weekend, I went to the Isla San Lucas, and island off the western coast of Costa Rica. It is actually the CR version of our Alcatraz. It's been closed for a while, though. When I got to Costa Rica, I contacted the Anthros Grotto here and was invited to go. One of the members is an archaeologist, so the group had camping acess there. Below is an account of the adventure.

So, this weekend was fun! A bit awkward at times not really knowing anyone well, but an adventure the same. Everyone spoke Spanish just about all the time! Alberto came to pick me up at 4:00 am. Jazmina made me breakfast at 3:30. She is one of the maids here. It is still weird having maids. They wash my clothes, make my food, and clean my room. Wow! Anyway, head out at 4 for Puntarenas about 2 hours away. I had never met Alberto before, but he was really kind. Father of 3, caver, adventurous. Fun guy.


When we got to Puntarenas, I threw up....guess the roads were too much again! Luckily found a trash can on the side of the street. A woman at a hotel wouldn't let me use her bathroom! Drank some coffee. Costa Rica has the best coffee in the world! Put my stuff on the boat. There were 12 of us, but only 5 en kayak. We went out to the beach and set out. It took at least 2 hours to get there. The feeling of being out in the midst of the ocean with the waves all around and the sun beaming down was fantastic! What beauty God has made!

Arrival was fun. There was a little concrete dock. We set up camp. Most people had hammocks. Some had tents. They lent me a huge tent. I got to keep the food in it. We had lunch and then set out to the archaeological site. It was really cool. Not as large as I expected, but deep. The crew were excavating the legs of a skelton. They also took out a head when I was there. Very cool. They wrapped everything in tin foil and put it in a plastic bag with a label. I took pics. Also, the guy (the grotto member that is archaeologist) gave us a tour of the prison ruins. Very neat. The "paintings" on the prison walls that were red were blood! Imagine that!

Anyway, I slept okay. Very hot, and I was dirty. Woke up the next day earlier than everyone else. Helped with breakfast. By the way, I had to bring lunch, so i bought stuff for pb & j with chips and cookies. No one here likes pb!! Can you believe that? So, they actually ate leftover tomatoes and refried beans on the bread I brought!

Headed out the next day at 11. Were maybe an hour away from PUntarenas when I looked back to see a wall of rain and a stormy sky! We were quite spread apart at that point. So, I caught up with Gustavo and Alberto, and we called a boat to get us. The waves were gettting too high! The boat was bouncy and uncomfy with 3 kayaks!

At shore, we packed up and went to get food. I had clams with garlic and butter. They didn't sit well. I didn't throw up, but I wanted to! Got home around 7:00. It was nice chatting with Alberto on the way home.

Went to bed early around 8, which is Arkansas's 7 and Japan's 9 am?

It was fun!!