34 Degrees What?!?!

Quepos is very different from what I have been used to on my trip. That is to say if I've gotten used to anything. Ok, let me start over. For the last week, I have been roasting in the jungle, in a place that's average May temperature is something around 33 degrees celsius (really hot!). Remember that not three weeks ago I went to sleep shivering in Cusco, wearing socks, booties, whatever to keep warm. And you probably don't recall the bus ride home from Lake Titicaca, when I watched the thermostat sink below 0 degrees celsius, on a bus with a broken heater. Even Buenos Aires was entering the fall, though there were a few unseasonably warm days scratching at 24 degrees.

Quepos doesn't so much have a winter season as a wet season. Without even looking at the figures I know about the boastful amount of rainfall Costa Rica gets each year. It's in the jungle folks! I spent the first two days praying for the rain, because the heat seemed unbearable, for a time. Well it came, and in force last week. I guess bodies do adjust to the climate, though I'd decribe it as being far too close to infernal. That's what 72 hours of straight sweating does though.

I doubt if Quepos has a population even close to 5000, and the eight city streets are layed out in the simplest possible gridwork. Never the less, gringo culture is at its strongest. Best Western, Remax, and even a Wal-Mart owned chain store is here, along with the expected smattering of surf shops and tourist agencies. The American investment is obviously extensive, judging from the English I here in the street. I've never seen a 'Gallo más Gallo' before though.

Aside from the lack of a capital gains tax, I understand why so many foreigners flock to this place, business, or pleasure-related. The scenery is stunning, and the animals (for a Minnesotan) are out of this world. Hordes of monkeys playon the school roof, when they're not foraging. I see monstrous iguanas on a daily basis, hanging onto trees or otherwise. They seem to enjoy snacking on flower petals. Even the bugs are are unreal, of an unholy proportion you might say. Unfortunately, the cockroach I saw the other night was all too real.