One of the most effective ways to get around the Osa besides walking is on a Quad. Otherwise known as a four wheeler, since the Doctor didn't know what a Quad was before we went to Costa Rica. A Quad is generally made for one person, and sometimes two, but we were three so we needed to create a makeshift seat on the back for none other than myself when we were traveling. The first time we went out on the Quad I put a couple towels on the back, and was smart enough to wear sneakers. While I was holding on for dear life I noticed that the bar I was holding on to was right above the exhaust and got hot quickly. There was conveniently a rag blowing in the wind and I caught it and used it to protect my hand. Overall, it wasn't really a bad ride. It actually was a more comfortable ride then the jeep, mainly because the Quad had better suspension and the breeze felt good.
The second trip was into town and it proved a bit more challenging. First off I decided to wear flip flops, figuring that I would just hold them while we were on the Quad so that they wouldn't fall off. This worked for a while until my hand started to ache from stretching around my flip flops and then to the bar I needed to hold onto, and because the ride into town was longer my towels began to shift which made the ride slightly more uncomfortable. Bounce bounce bounce pothole... OUCH! That was pretty much the trip into town and to the restaurant on the beach. Don't get me wrong it was a beautiful ride, it was just painful at times.
After the restaurant I decided to try leaving my flip flops on for a bit until our next stop. This was also a bad idea as my toes got cramped trying to hold my flip flops on my feet as we whizzed past building on an open air machine at 40 miles per hour. Finally, I decided to wedge the flip flops in and out of the bars where I was sitting keeping them nice and secure without me having to worry about holding them. This proved even more useful since our next stop was the market where we bought some items we needed back at the resort. When we got back on the Quad the Doctor had to hold on to Yogi A in the front and not let got of a bag full of candles and fruit, and I had to hold onto a bag with a bottle of wine and a few other items in it.
As the landscape flew by and I was getting covered in dust and grime I was getting an excellent core workout, holding onto the bar on the quad with one hand, and a bottle of wine with his other. Every once in a while the Doctor had to reach back and stabilize me so I wouldn't go flying off the Quad and break the bottle of wine. Bounce bounce bounce, pothole... Ouch... Images of me being covered in red wine, shards of glass, and lovely scratches caused by jagged Costa Rica rocks danced through my head. We were getting closer to the resort as we bounced our way down the road. I was feeling more comfortable, and almost like I was going to survive. We pull up at the gate, and I go to get off the back of the Quad. I look to my left to retrieve my flip flops and they are gone. Damn my flip flops are now somewhere on the side of the road with the ugly umbrella. If you are down in the Osa and see a lovely pair of American Eagle flip flops, and a red umbrella please return them to the Blue Osa!
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