I did it! exito! (success!)

 

I finally I decided to ignore my anxiety about riding the bus (alone) into, and back from, Grecia today.

 

But when I got to the bus stop on Calle Los Angeles, guess who else was also there waiting to take it to Grecia?

 

Geraldo, who I met when he was shoveling gravel and sand on Calle Esteban Salas several days ago!

 

So, we said hello and chatted while we and several others waited for the bus to arrive.  After we boarded, I invited him to sit beside me on the bus.

 

What a godsend!

 

(I didn’t get a selfie with him. Will definitely do it the next time I see him.)

 

As we got on the bus here in El Cajon, Geraldo introduced me to the bus driver, who is one of his relatives. A primo (cousin). Geraldo has relatives all up and down Calle Los Angeles.  He showed me where he lives and where they live as we passed by.

 

Since he doesn’t speak English at all and I’m nowhere near fluent in Spanish yet beyond the basics, I used my Google Translate app part of the time.  We got a few tremendous laughs as a side-splitting result because the app was translating stuff that we both knew was utter nonsense. It worked only about half of the time. That might be because it’s noisy on a city bus.  I hope that’s it! We finally pretty much gave up on that method and used a lot of pantomime, pointing, shrugging and laughing!

 

Language didn’t really matter.  We had the perfect vibe going. 

 

I told him I was “buscando” (looking) for “arroz integral” (brown rice) en Grecia.  He  nodded enthusiastically and said he would take me straight to the tienda where I could get it when we got off the bus downtown because it was very nearby.

 

The bus stopped within a block of the banco I get my cash from, so we walked there.  He waited while I visited the ATM. Then he escorted me to the first tienda that he felt sure would have it. It didn’t, so he took me to another nearby tienda. I found it there and bought two packages of it.

 

At that point, we parted ways but agreed to reconnect in una hora (one hour) at the same corner where the bus dropped us off and would pick people up again for the return trip to El Cajon. Geraldo went to pick up soda and gasoline, and I went to Mercado Municipal for hongos (mushrooms), cat food, mixed nuts, cheddar cheese, and a hydrating drink.

 

Then I sat down and ordered and an arroz con camarones (rice with shrimp) brunch at one of the cafes inside Mercado Municipal. I also ordered a limonada.  Yummy!

 

After that I used the restroom and headed back to the bus stop. Gerardo had just arrived back there, too.

 

Within three minutes, the bus came along and we got on it and headed back home.

 

The bus driver gave me change from the 2K colones I gave him, but he had more to give me (which I didn’t know about). Geraldo took it from the driver and brought it back to me where I had seated myself. It was 1K colones more, so I added another 3K colones to it and asked him to keep it for for offering to help me navigate during my “solo” first bus ride and for walking me to the stores.  He grinned and was very appreciative.

 

On the way back, I told him I have applied for pensionado status and that I am originally from Seattle, “cerca (near) Canada en la costa oeste (on the west coast.”

 

He told me he has relatives in Canada.  I asked him where in Canada; he didn’t know, so he texted one of them from his phone and then asked me to record a message to them in English.  I didn’t know what to say, so I said, “Hi, this is Kris in El Cajon, Costa Rica, riding the bus with your relative Geraldo!”  We didn’t get a response while we were on the bus; I suppose his relative was at work.

 

In both directions, Geraldo pointed out Maxi Pali, saying it’s a very affordable tienda with a mini mall attached to it. (Marianela told me she shops there, too.) Geraldo said they will have arroz integral there, too, but probably in smaller packages.  I will have to check it out sometime and compare prices against what I paid for it this morning.  (Brown rice has a lower glycemic index than white rice.)

 

I also found out where pulperia de virgencita is along the route (ruta), which is good because I will need to ride the bus to that spot when Jon and I volunteer to speak with English language learners in Sarchi’ later on this month.

 

Geraldo also pointed out where the local EBAIS office is so that when I get pensionado status, I can use the socialized health care system at that location.

 

It was a fun trip made far less anxiety provoking because my new friend Gerarldo was there to escort me the first time. I feel fully confident I will be able to navigate alone from now on.

 

I was back home by 9:30.

 

And that’s my adventure for today!