Have you ever been hungover and uncomfortable wishing you were on a beach instead of a noisy, busy city? Most of us have, but have you ever taken this wish so seriously you decided to drop everything including you job, rent a car and just go for it? Well I didn’t have a job, but my new friend did and here is our story of the hungover road trip to the beach.

Although I didn’t really have much of a plan once I touched down in Costa Rica, I knew I didn’t have the intention of spending much time in San Jose. I’d heard the city was dirty and boring, mostly used as a one or two-day stop over between travels. As you already know my bag was lost upon arrival to Costa Rica so I was forced to spend a couple nites in the city anyway.

I had a friend who briefly lived and taught English in San Jose and she gave me the contact info of her old roommate because she was still living there. We went out for a few drinks that turned to many and here is where my plans took a drastic change. I woke up in a hot, humid and hungover state in the busy city and yearned to be on the beach instead. I jokingly suggested to my new friend that we catch a bus to the nearest beach ASAP as it would be good for our hangovers. Not only did she own a dog in Costa Rica, but she had a class to teach later that evening so the plan seemed unlikely. However, when I suggested we rent a car and cruise to the ocean so we can bring the dog along, she seemed to be into the idea, so much so that she decided to quit her job to partake in this spontaneous adventure. Although I had never rented a car before and Costa Rican traffic looked rather hectic, we made it happen and before I knew it I was driving a very happy dog and a nice girl up and down the curvy jungle hills towards the closest ocean. Jaco was the destination, a very popular, but known for crime, beach town on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica.

Cruising to the surprisingly good Costa RicanRadio filled with American Jams from the 80s and 90s we hoped we could find a hotel that would allow dogs, but we discussed the possibility of just sleeping in the car if it came down to it. By nightfall we had arrived and we took the car briefly to the beach which we didn’t get out and walk around because we heard it was dangerous at nite. After some searching we found a relatively cheap hotel that would allow our dog. The room had air-conditioning, was only a short walk from the beach and will definitely be the nicest place I will stay in a while…

After a fun nite of overpriced drinks we woke up and finally set foot on the black sand beach with big waves and lots of local surfers. Unfortunately it was the rainy season, but as we sat on the beach with rain sprinkling down it was hard not to smile as we had successfully completed our random hungover mission! Paradise had been found temporarily and we opted to stay another day sipping beers by a pool surrounded by a big iguana, spiders the size of your hand and birds bigger than a football.

This adventure shows that sometimes just going with the flow and being up for random situations that present themselves can be even better than making plans. So often when we travel we plan out each and every detail so we can see and experience the things we have been recommended when we venture to a new place. As I had no schedule and nothing to do upon arrival in Central America it allowed for this cool trip. The most common phrase I find myself saying lately is “I’m down for whatever” and thus far it’s worked out pretty well. I’m headed back to the girl’s house in San Jose for a couple more days, even though the stereotypes were true of the city, I actually quite like it. It’s definitely not your typical tourist place with lots of sights and things to do, but if you want to see the laid-back lifestyle of true Costa Ricans give this place a chance….