Here you go Beth - this is just for you! An awesome blog dedicated to the epic journeys of one teacher. You'll have to wait a whole week to hear my first adventure, unless you want me to dig back into the past and tell tales from previous adventures..
Actually, there is one travel story of mine which stands out from all others - it happened a long time ago in a tiny Central American county which goes by the name of Costa Rica...
It was a magnificent day in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. 2pm struck and fat raindrops began to fall. For those who have even been to Costa Rica in the rainy season, you'll know that 2pm marks that magical moment where a beautiful sunny day suddenly turns into a torrential downpour. Much as I love the rain, I decided to catch a bus to go to the nearby Caribbean town of Cahita, where they have beautiful white, sandy beaches with hammocks strung up between palm trees.
The bus was over-flowing. There were little old ladies with goods tied up in hand-woven blankets which were then strung up across their backs, there were lots of younger women with small children, and quite a few handsome latino men. As well, there was myself, and 4 Americans. Every other space on the bus was occupied by cages and cages of chickens! Chickens were tied on top of the bus, they were tied to the backs of seats, there were feathers everywhere and it was hard to breathe! Still, it was an adventure that I wasn't going to miss out on!
The roads in Costa Rica are known for their pot holes. The heavy rain usually exacerbates the situation. The road to Cahita was narrow and steep, winding its way through Costa Rica's main mountin range.
As we were nearing the top of the last climb over the mountain, the bus came to a complete stop. The bus driver climbed out to inspect what was preventing our journey forward - a huge pothole which was in the middle of the road. The hole was wider than the bus, and either side of the hole was too narrow for the bus to pass. To make matters worse, there was a cow, completely immersed in the pothole! Well, not quite completely immersed, its head was sticking out.
The driver unloaded everyone off the bus with the plan of rolling over the top of the hole, using the cow as a surface for the wheels of the bus to go over. The only people who seemed to have a problem with this were the Americans and myself! Imagine a bus rolling over the top of a cow!
The 4 Americans tried to pull the cow out of the hole, but it was no use. The cow was too fat and heavy.
One of the Americans then had the idea of digging the pothole deeper so that the cow was completely below the surface of the road. The plan was to then unscrew the doors to the luggage compartments of the bus, four in total, and lie them across the top of the pothole for the bus to drive over.
Thankfully this plan worked and we proceeded to the next town where help was sent for the poor cow!
Hopefully Disneyland will not be this exciting!
nostalgic