It was easier to update my journal in Europe. Every day was different. Here the days blend together. And I am not getting enough sleep so it is hard to justify writing on a tablet at 3am when the bed is right there.

I’ve had a few anxiety attacks; usually the alone in a crowd feeling. Everyone around me is in conversation and I don’t feel I can join in anyone. A friend has told me about a good anti-anxiety drug I should try. The pharmacy around here apparently trusts people and doesn’t require a prescription. Probably not smart. In the interim I’ve been experimenting with alcohol and trying to find a happy medium. I think I’m getting it. (Hint: 4 vodka orange juices and a shot of tequila in a 20 minute period is possibly too much, but it did shut my brain down in the manner I needed.)

On the fun side, I went swimming two days ago. I put on sunscreen before I went out, although I could have done a better job on my back. Then I let some friends know I was going out, and I went across the street to the beach. It is a surfing beach so the waves are fairly big. There was a sign warning of riptides, so I wasn’t too brave. I played amoung waves and was always able to touch the bottom. It felt like I was being pushed towards shore more than anything else, so I was safe. I played out there for an hour before coming back in.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t aware of the drama going on in my absence. In the morning, another person had gone swimming and had an incident with an undertow. (He is fine now, just a bit shaken up) so when the organizer heard I was gone, and had been awhile she got into a panic and sent people out to find me. I never saw them, but they saw me. But I kept being told to see her when I got back. Apparently the whole resort knew I was swimming.

And I got a light sunburn. Over all the places where I put sunscreen too. The waves are rough. 

Yesterday we went on an aerial tram tour. A short drive to a nature preserve and then we go on a tram that took us up a mountain into the foliage, then back down. Then there was a short nature walk where they showed us some of the bounty of Costa Rica.

My take away from it was that Costa Rica is one big nature preserve. Everything here seems to be to support Eco-tourism. There is no hunting, and vast areas are off limits. They do good work here, but the tour wasn’t really worth it. It was interesting, but not exciting. I just absorbed information, and didn’t interact much. I did hold a millipede though.