Sore nipples.

The arrangement was to return the rental Jimny at 9am in front of Pizza Hut as Thrifty did not have an office in Jaco - how thrifty is that?? The guy was 15 minutes late, but jovial even though he could hardly speak any english. My most used phrase in spanish right now is "no entiendo" which saves me from any awkward conversational encounters. Anyway, so I wanted a ride back to our Hotel which was a good 20 minutes walk and ended up doing a little charade to get him to understand me. As we were driving along the main street in Jaco, I remembered asking Amber what the spanish word for 'red' was over a game of pool (I was trying to sink red). So I noticed a big

red building next to the hotel I was staying and went "color.. roha!" He replied, "Si, roho(red)!" He dropped me off, we shook hands and he said "Pura vida!", which in response I inadvertently blurted "Swee.. mmph!" I felt like such a dumb ass. Funny!

Checked out the shops today and bout a pair of jandals for 10,000 colones and 2 pairs of boardies for 9,000 colones. All that is left is a rash shirt to protect my torso from abrasions. My right nipple were so sore the day we left Map Pais it was not funny. Doesn't look like any surf today or tomorrow though, so i've got time to heal. We might make a trip into Monteverde tomorrow by bus to see rain forests instead! Last stop was to pick up groceries. Check out the shot I took of Amber while we were choosing coffee powder. Moments later a Tico came up to us and gave us great advice on which coffee he liked the most and how to use our coffee maker back in our room.

4x4 and ferry to Jaco!

We've decided to leave heavenly Mal Pais to spend the night(and week) in more accessible Playa Jaco. Before we left though

we had a look at a school 5km north - Hermosa Beach school I think it's called. Nobody was in but that didn't stop Amber and I from wandering around. She got pretty excited about teaching here(maybe not in this school, but Costa Rica).

We got into Jaco just before sunset and it was another night of frantic and frustration searching for accommodation. I practically drove door to door while Amber kept jumping out of the car to enquiry about the rooms - under US$40 with Wifi. I should've taken Lonely Planet's Costa Rica guide more seriously about Jaco when it said to be sure we had made hotel reservations if we were planning to come in during the weekend. Finally, we found a large room for 400,000 colones(NZ$100 approx.) which was a dump! Had nothing in it except for 2 dirty beds(we had to change the sheets as one looked like it had period stains on it). We were just grateful we found a roof over our heads!

Lights out at 1am and very grumpy.

Mal Pais day 2

Today was a fantastic day!

Amber got up at 630am to catch the surf which I was not so keen about(getting up at 630am, not surfing). We are staying at Buenissima(?) hotel while we're here for 3 days, before our journey to Playa Jaco tomorrow. Got upset with Amber last night

and blamed her for our last minute 3 hour search for cheap accommodation after dark. We got to Mal Pais later than expected at 4-ish and all she wanted to do was head straight for the beach, and against my better judgement, we did. It was amazing like nothing I've experienced before. The most beautiful beach I have ever been on.

I surfed today! I can count with one hand how many times I've been out in the ocean with a surfboard, today included. But I got out there today with a rental short-board and practiced my balance on white water. Got on it on what felt like the longest time, although I'm sure it really was not any more than 6 seconds. I was very proud of myself nonetheless, and it encouraged me to come back. Hey if I could get up on the board on my first day, i might turn pro

in August.

Got done with surf just as sun was setting (wanted to squeeze as much surf in as possible). Got back and decided to have an outdoor nudie shower. Amber decided to take some porno shots. This is the only one I dare put up. Showering outdoors was liberating! When I grow up I want an outdoor shower in the middle of a dense bush, just like this one!