Paloma Lady

Gevald, am I behind on posting! Last post was supposed to be about my adventures in Heredia last Wednesday, but turned into a run down of the family I was living with instead. And as is usual when exploring another country, A LOT has happened since, and, with much more to come, I will try to be better about posting as it's happening (if you have been reading this since I started, yes, I ALWAYS say that, but this time I really mean it. no, really, I will. Try...)  

                                                                                   

So, Wednesday morning there was an optional trip to Heredia, the capital city of the Provincia Heredia. Santo Domingo de Heredia, where I live, is just over the border of San Jose and Heredia and perfectly between the two capital cities. 

I was planning to sleep in, as I had been going going going since the moment I landed in Costa Rica Saturday evening, but realized it was the perfect opportunity to learn the bus system. 

Very important information I learned that day, and since:

1. There is NO centralized bus system in Costa Rica. There are many bus companies and they set up all over the place. There are signs that tell you that this is a bus stop, but nothing to tell you which company or where the bus is headed.

 

2. When you get on the bus, you need to get on quickly, and stand behind the driver to give them money and get your change if necessary. Have a question (for example, does this bus go where I want to go) don't ask while standing next to the driver, you need to ask from behind the driver. The drivers get very upset when you stand next to them. I NOW know that there are motion detectors, and when you stand between them, they pick you up several times. Since you are only paying once, the bus driver may get in trouble for the "extra" person on the bus who didn't pay. But my first few bus rides were very confusing with drivers insisting I "pasa, pasa"

3. This is a big one. When I am headed from Santo Domingo to Heredia or San Jose, it is very easy, I get off at the last stop. BUT if I miss the stop at Santo Domingo, well, I am probably taking the bus to its final destination, because for most of the lines, the bus does not take the same path in both directions... 

 Armed with NONE of this knowledge, I was very happy to be headed out with a group and leaders of the program letting us know where to go. 

In Heredia, we wandered around the old market, where I got ice cream, though I still don't quite understand what I ate (but it was mas rica)

and candied grapefruit, which was delicious, but again, couldn't quite place what on earth I was eating until one of our local leaders let us know. 

We went to the park, and that was where I fully embraced the I'm-in-another-country-and-do-things-I-would-never-even-consider-back-home lifestyle. I first grabbed a handful of corn and threw them in the general direction of the palomas (pigeons). Then, I knelt down and let them eat from my hands. Finally, in a total break from the child who hated petting zoos and hand feeding animals, as well as the adult who usually sees pigeons as pests, I held out my hands and let them perch all over me to get the corn. I had a blast. 

 I did it once, and I never need to do it again.