Cahuita - Not so Sweet-ah

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Hey Folks,

We're actually in San Pedro, a suburb of San Jose, right now passing a night before heading to the Pacific Coast after our out of the way little jaunt to Cahuita on the Carribean Coast.

Getting There

As we alluded to in the previous post (new readers it is highly recommended you know the blog history before sinking into new entries), we revamped our plans and decided to catch a ride to the other side of the country with our friends Brian and Alissa.

So bright and early we left Monteverde and crawled into the back of the Jimny - a Wrangler/Tracker type of auto that seems necessary if you want to have a chance at all navigating the CR roads.... side note, for a country as progressive in their attitudes and education standards they could learn a little about infrastructure.

The drive was pretty uneventful until Alissa spotted something on the side of the road and cried,

snake!!!

So we turned around drove back and sure enough at the side of the road was a dead snake (we think dead) laying there as big as can be.

Other than that we experienced a Costa Rican Rest Stop which was lacking in A&Ws, but made up for it with thatched hut roofs.

And after a few more bumpy hours, we arrived in Cahuita...

CAHUITA

Cahuita is on the Carib. Coast which means much more rastafied version of Costa Rica... lots of reggae music, lots of stoned people, lots of puddles.... you might say they put the

pot

in pothole. Added to that is the influence of the seemingly large German population that exists in Cahuita. Interesting combo.

When reading this it is important to keep in mind that most of what we say is opinion, not fact, and much of our experience depends on external factors. Having said that, Cahuita rains EVERY day, at all hours of the day without stop. Anyone who tells you different is a bald faced liar.

Our hotel was on a really well manicured lot and consisted of four little bungalow huts.... They were real cute on the outside, not so much inside, however the family of small lizards living in the room didn't seem to mind anything, so maybe it was just us.

The first night we walked the town, which is located right outside of another rainforest national park, and only about 60KM from the Panamanian Border - a tidbit for all of you Panamaniacs out there in Blogland. We ended up having dinner at Miss Edith's - who was a lot like telephone psychic Miss Cleo - without the pending fraud suits. After a very Jerky meal (chicken for me, shrimp for E) we retired very early.... which is not to say that we went to bed early - and not for the reason you're thinking. Most of the night was spent in varying degrees of

What the hell was that noise? Is that a cat? A gecko? A Pig!!!!!

But eventually, we settled down and got used to the chirping noises.

Most of the rest of the time was spent dodging mammoth rain drops getting from one place to another. We did manage to get some relaxation in the form of massages from a slightly eccentric expat. We thought it was the bargain of a century at $25/hour on a porch overlooking the Ocean. If only we'd known that a mandatory lecture on ailments, diseases and all around bad mojo were included. Well, a massage is a massage.

I suppose I should mention that we had an excellent meal with Brian and Alissa at their hotel, I actually ate meat that I could order to temperature.... what a treat from the usual tiny piece of grey chewstick I am used to when ordering meat.

Getting Back

This morning was not our best, to say the least. Waking up with aches and all around rainy day malaise, we hitched on our backpacks, said a tearful goodbye to our new friends (and their cozy little car) and made our way to the bus station to head back to San Jose.

We arrived at the bus stop - and by bus stop I mean the clusterfuck of people standing around with very little in the way of order.... for a town with so many Germans you would have thought there'd be a little decorum. Well, traveling is about learning from mistakes, so rest assured we will always check if you can buy tickets in advance, rather than show up only to find out your bus is SOLD OUT!!!

Now, for those who don't know, you don't want to see Elise after she is told that her bus ain't coming... luckily she trudged back in the rain (sulking all the way) and found ol' faithful Brian and Alissa who, once again were our knights in shining metal (jeep) and drove us to Limon to catch a convenient bus to San Jose.

A note on Costa Rican bus travel... its different. Different is a way of saying strange as hell... When riding on the bus there are not as much stops along the way, as people jumping out of the woodwork (quite literally sometimes) and hopping on board. I guess they really want to keep those timetables in tact.

Now we hate to disappoint the Brown-o-Meter fans, but with only a few scattered moments of sunshine amidst the biblical rains of Cahuita, the B-O-M hasn't changed.... therefore
Elise still 2.0
Gregg is a 3.75

But this time we really have faith that our next beach will bring sunshine and tan skin.

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Comments

[terrie and dad]

sulking???
we were so surprised to learn that l.c. sulked when you missed the bus. She must have been worn out because she is usually so resiliant when "shit happens".Loved the blog--hopefully the rest of the trip will bring sunny skies and beautiful memories. love you guys!! xoxo

[guess who]

LOL Guess rich or poor it is good to have money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mr. and Mrs. D.C.]

Glad to hear you made it
to San Pedro! You missed a very long, alternately rainy and breathtaking drive to Orosi, which involved Brian helping a group of Ticos un-fuse and push to the side of the road two cars that had smashed into each other. Looking forward to hearing about the Pacific coast. Pura vida! Brian and Alissa