El Castillo, Costa Rica-2014

February 14, 2014, I left Grand Cayman for the second time and to be honest I never thought I would return here again especially after all I went through before leaving.

Previous to Grand Cayman, I was working on Little Cayman. I sold my car and moved away from the life I was building on Hawaii under the false pretense sold to me by a friend who got me hired at a small resort restaurant. I was told he had bought it and all his big plans for it. Only to be let go a year later (more about this story in another blog).

After leaving Little Cayman, I worked on Grand Cayman for a short time. I tried, but the conditions of many different varibles came into play. I ran from there, I didn’t want to be here anymore. I found a job listing on Craigslist to work at hostel with a guy and eventually own part of it. I ended up getting manipulated into a situation (almost a kidnapping). I was wooed with words and promises. I was also told he had no idea how the guy I was going to be working for would be able to give me accommodations or pay me in any way. Jeff* (*not his real name) had a conversation with the gentleman, Joe* I was going to be working for about me and found out where I was staying in La Fortuna. It was about a 45min drive to El Castillo, 35 of those minutes was on a dirt road. Not traveled often by buses and expensive for a taxi. Jeff would end up being my ride to El Castillo. Jeff was also looking for someone to cook for him and help create a cafe. He had heard I was a chef/baker and wanted me to work for him.

Joe had wanted me to stay in the La Fortuna area for a couple of days to get to know the area. He arranged for me to stay at a hostel, only they appeared to forget during their Valentine’s celebrations. I could tell from the Valentine’s Day decorations along with the empty wine bottles and beer cans. Pitch black except a few lights inside and the glow of the television, I arrived at 10pm. Three young girls answered the door and had to wake up passed out Mom and Dad. My stay at this hostel was not a good experience as a whole.

I was on my third day when Jeff showed up at the hostel looking for coffee and me. The owner of the hostel had passed out drunk in the kitchen while preparing a meal for guests and caring for his daughter the night before. I was beginning to feel very uncomfortable at this place. I needed a ride to El Castillo, I asked for him to pick me up on the way back. The owner was also encouraging me to go with this guy on his drive to San Jose, told me I would learn a lot about Costa Rica as he had been living there for quite sometime. He was taking four dogs he rescued to a no kill shelter in San Jose. There was another four still at home.

Darling litle love, Francis.
Taco, my walking buddy.
Sweet, sweet Susie.
Oh George… such a charmer and a poser.

I was in the car with Jeff for a total of about 8 hours. We didn’t arrive in El Castillo till late in the evening. He had two houses on his property and I ended up staying in the one he was not in. He would take me to meet Joe the following day.