There we were, now here we are.

Today has been my last day in Costa Rica.

What a few months it's been?

After Quepos, I came back to San Jose for a few days, just for some much needed alone time. It's been great. I haven't actually done an awful lot: I did my souvenir shopping, watched stuff on Netflix, had a swim, and today I had a final little wander about the city.

It's been emotional, and I don't think that's quite over yet.

I don't really actually have a lot to say. I guess I've been thinking about Costa Ricans and why they're so happy. Did you know they're the happiest nation in the world?

I think there's several reasons for this.

• Steak: They have steak on their breakfast menus. I'm sure this is the main reason for their happiness.
• Apple: Or lack of. Apple is not the market leader for mobile technology here. It's all about Samsung. You wouldn't catch Costa Ricans queuing for two days outside a shop for a phone.
• Rum: They do have very nice rum here. Like pirates. Arrr!
• Nice: They're just so damn nice! You know at home, when you do a good deed for somebody, and it just feels good? They just do it all the time because that's just the way they are, therefore they get to feel that good all the time! It's odd at first, but then, as one of Raleigh's trekkers was quoted as saying, "They're just being Costa Rican". A guy staying at the hostel a couple of nights ago said that a man just spotted him on the street having issues with his bike, spoke to him about it, and showed up at the hostel with the parts needed to fix it!

In saying all that, there's things - mostly personal - I definitely miss about the UK, and that I'm looking forward to getting back to:

• Ale: Real ale. Imperial will get you drunk and all, but it lacks the full flavour of a nice ale.
• My consoles: I miss my N64 and my Dreamcast. They're just great.
• My PC: Windows 7 might technically be old now, but my computer is still faster than a speeding bullet, doesn't have a Spanish keyboard, and any notification saying that something is wrong is in a language I understand.
• Nerve Centre: My band. The lads sent me demos of stuff they'd written. I could hear the banter from the practice room. I really miss that. And playing my lovely guitars. Plans are already underway for some recording when I get back.

I don't like promoting brands that aren't paying me, or at least giving me free or discount stuff. Seriously, I've even taped over the logos on my guitars and took the logo off my amp with a screwdriver! But, I do need to make a special mention to the corporate giant that is Google. I've utilised so many of their products in the ast three months.

• Android: My phone and tablet are both powered by their Android operating system. I really can't fault it. It's easy to use and does everything I need it to do. One of the best things about this is that when I took a photo or video on my phone or tablet, it automatically backed it up to my Google+ account as soon as I hit some WiFi, so if my phone or tablet gets eaten by a dinosaur, I won't lose my photos and videos. Sweet!
• Google+: OK, I know it's not very popular as social media goes. It never did pee all over Facebook and Twitter like it was supposed to. But apparently it's the best for SEO. Shock, and indeed horror. As mentioned in the previous point, Android automatically put my photos and videos there. So alls I have to do to share them is put them into albums from there, and copy and paste the link to Facebook, where most of my friends actually are. It's much easier than plugging in a camera and waiting for ages to upload them to Facebook. I like the way it works.
• Blogger: Yes, this very blogging site through which I've been keeping you updated of my adventures is part of Google.
• Google Translate: Between translating my blog and helping me ask when the next bus to Turrialba is, I've used Translate quite a bit.
• Chrome: My browser of choice. I just like it, OK? Even if the Raleigh blog crashes when I try to use it through Chrome.
• Drive: Google cloud storage service. 15GB of storage. Great for files that I can't leave on the Raleigh computer, or for moving files from my tablet or phone to the computer, or... well, you get the picture and I used Drive a lot.
• Play: Where I bought apps, games, books and music to keep me entertained during my adventure. I'm sure this will where I'll come for all my entertainment needs from now on.

Seriously, when they provide products this useful, just take my private information. Just take it.

Outside of Google, I've used quite a bit of other gear. I've put it in a photo album with an explanation of why they've been awesome. It's a bit random.

Click the Gaffa tape to see what else I've been using!

So those are the things that have helped me. If you're doing anything like this, they're worth a look.

The shuttle is booked for tomorrow morning at 9.30. My flight is just after 1pm. I should make a start on packing.

See you on the other side.

Pura vida!