Jaco / Playa Hermosa

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Steve: Talking to various people it seems that Playa Hermosa is the place to head form surf. All the locals keep telling us how big the waves are there. Accommodation is expensive there so we decided to head for Jaco which is about 2 miles from Hermosa and apparently their version of Newquay. The bus took about 6 hours from La Fortuna and when we got there around 9.30pm it was raining and our first thoughts were Jaco is horrible. Rather than their version of Newquay it was more their version of Easton. There were prostitutes and dealers on every corner. Even worse we couldn't find a room. We hadn´t pre- booked anything and everywhere we went was full apart from one backpackers that had space in a dorm. So it was late and we were soaking wet and not in the mood to drag our stuff around so we thought we would do one night in a dorm-how bad could it be?

That was our thoughts until we saw the room-after paying for the night, big mistake! Alcatraz would have been more of an inviting stay! The hostel was called Hotel Hann-just in case any of you guys happen to go to Jaco so you can avoid, and it is was disgusting- hot and the less said about the bathroom the better! AND to top it off there was a weird, naked, 40 year old hippy wondering around the place! We dumped our stuff and hit the bars hoping to spend as little time there as we could. That night was as close to hell on earth as you can get. It was really really hot and humid-there was no fan, a naked hippy sleeping yard away from us, and i was drowning in my own sweat-nice. As soon as it was daylight we were out of there. We went and sat on the beach which had black sand and was covered in rubbish and smelt. We were not impressed! After breakfast we checked straight into a really nice hotel literally next door to the hell hole which had air-con, cable TV, DVD player, swimming pool etc,..... It was heaven and they let us check in at 8am-brilliant!

After a shower, a bit of TV and relaxing after literally no sleep the night before we headed out again and Jaco was a changed place. The street cleaners had been and cleaned all the mess up. apparently the streets always look like a dump after the weekends- the sun was out and the surf was pumping- happy days!!

The next day we caught a cab to Playa Hermosa-we decided to stay there after all. It was definitely worth the money for couple of nights. The hotel was called Fuego de Sol and is was really nice and couldn´t have been closer to the beach. It also had its own swimming pool and restaurant. The surf was really good here and the waves were powerful enough to snap my leash off my board. The best thing about surfing here is that there is hardly any one else in the water and the beaches pretty much empty. There are also pelicans flying past and huge Manta Rays swimming about with you. One even jumped about 2 foot out of the water right next to me.

For me it is definitely the best place we have stayed, its beautiful and quiet, there are huge Macaws just hanging about in the trees and lizards chilling by the side of the pool. The only problem we had were the frogs- i really like them- Kate definitely doesn´t! One literally chased her screaming out of the hotel restaurant one night. That was definately the highlight of the trip so far for me. Anyway unfortunately we can could only spend 2 nights here at Playa Hermosa due to the cost, although both of us agreed we could have stayed a lot longer. Next stop Quepos and Manuel Antonio National Park- Can´t wait...

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Photos

Jaco
Not so bad come day break

Relief!!
Our nice hotel after the night from hell. Can´t belive we forgot to take a picture of the hostel. Forgot in ther horror

Jaco High Street
Not too bad once the cleaners had come

The view from the balcony at Hermosa
You can just see the sea

Sunset at Hermosa
The view from the hotel restaurant

Nice touch
The towel arrangement in our room

A lizard
There are loads around açour hotel, enjoying the sun

Comments

[John & Des]

That frog!
That frog has a wicked grin. Saw Kate coming we reckon! No chance of that one turning into a prince! Keep up the wonderful camera-work. Can't wait to enjoy the next installment. Do frogs have a head for heights? We're thinking Inca Trail here! John and Des H.

[Michael]

can't believe you didn't get a cheeky photo of the naked hippie. shame on you. like the photos of the sunset. looks well nice. keep up the good blogging, we're all interested to see what you guys are up to. assume you've checked on the net, but in case you haven't, the city boys have reached the play off final.

[JRG]

yo
this place looks great - think this might be where we go on our trailfinders (dependant on if you find anywhere nicer for us). all good here - the bump is massive - 202 days gone, 78 to go! all the breast.

[Kate and Steve]

To JRG
Yo, Hermosa is great and i would defo recommend it, it gets bloody hot though and the black sand really absorbs the heat so sunbathing on the beach in the middle of the day is out - its hard enough to walk on. There is the pool however... The other drawback is that there is not much to do in Hermosa but they can organise trips and Jaco is close. The surf is amazing though. Also, we have also just managed to top Hermosa and we both agree it is the best place we have ever stayed. Will hopefully update the old blog soon so you can see. Love to Ami and the little Gerrish Steve and Kate

[Lizi]

That bloody frog
I don't blame you Kate - I was mowing the lawn at the weekend and had to stop because a bloody frog was scaring the hell out of me (admittedly I did think it was a rat to start with because I couldn't see it). All slimey things should be made extinct including slugs and snails. Loving the blog - keep them coming! Hope you're both well and that Steveo is managing to wash (cos he sure as hell ain't managing to shave). xx