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Published: December 14th 2012
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Heading out on a road trip is always exciting.....pack up the car, load the kids (oops scratch that!) dig out the map, and off ya go! Well here in Costa Rica it is double the fun because you always get lost....a couple of times a day, and the road them selves can be as exciting as a pants peeing roller coaster ride!
So off we head out of Tamarindo heading for a Ferry. The story of our lives; trying to coordinate our schedule with that of the Ferries. Tamarindo is on a peninsula much the same as Gibsons on the Sunshine Coast back in Beautiful British Columbia is, so we are used to the run for the ferry. The roads are unpredictable and we gave ourselves plenty of time to make it. We got there with about an hour to spare which gave us time to figure out how to buy a ticket because our Spanish still sucks and outside of the major centres, Tico's struggle with English as badly as we do with Spanish. The Ferry across the inlet from Playa NarnYa to Puentenaura takes about an hour. The boat was about ¼ full with locals making up 99%
Ferry off the "Coast"
With the wind in our faces - like a hair dryer!
of the majority. A cooking hot day with the wind in our faces to cool us off or more like a hair dryer to the face.
After the ferry trip we started to head up the mountain. Monteverde (Green Mountain) is located at 5000 ft above sea level, so the only way there is up! I had no idea what to expect except it has been highly recommended as a great place to visit. We booked 3 nights in a hostel...( more about that later) the drive up the mountain was spectacular. The scenery stunning as you gaze over the edge of a cliff that is straight down on a dirt/ rock road that is single lane in places and without guard rails. I have memories as a child with my parents, driving up the Alaska Highway to go camping. My dad had a jeep, and he would turn off the hwy onto what looked like a deer trail at times. We would bump along , winching our way over logs and through rivers....and eventually come to a cabin in the middle of no where, hours later. Well, lets just say this road brought back many child hood memories.
Local Ferry
There is a restaurant and seating below the car deck. But you can imagine the surprise when we reached the top to find a bustling little town, full of tour buses, a gas station, a grocery store and many souvenir shops! The view back down to the ocean was amazing, along with the sunset we saw. The sun was the brightest and biggest I have ever seen.
The hostel was a hoot. I was a little nervous about staying in one as it was a first for me. I had different ideas of what went on in them . After reading many reviews though, Ian found the perfect place called "Camino Verde" which translates into "green road" not sure where they got that name from.....as it was on a dirt road. We had a private room with a bathroom, and although it was quite rustic it was fun. We met some interesting like minded people. We got some great tips on places to go.
We went on a coffee/ chocolate tour one after noon and learned everything you could ever want to know about the process of making coffee. We even picked some coffee beans! We were rewarded with coffee at the end and some chocolates!
We
Check out the ramp
The landing man adjusts the ramp with a block and tackle and when the ramp is down its every man for himself. No traffic control at all. also went on a 3 hour cloud forest hike through the jungle. We had a great guide who was raised in Monteverde and obviously loves his job as he is so passionate about preserving Costa Rica's forest and the wild life there. We saw many interesting critters from hummingbirds in their nests to white faced monkeys, coati's, miniature toucans And one of the most highly sought out, nearly extinct bird, the Quetzal.
The temperature in Monteverde was quite different from the beach. We had to put on our "sweeters"....yes sweeters, that's what they called them hehe.
After a few days in Monteverde, we packed up our sweeters and the rest of our stuff which somehow is mysteriously growing in size, and headed back down the mountain. Within an hour the temperature started to soar and we were back into the heat and Humidity. A nice little break it was!
We have landed in Jaco - pronounced "ack-oh" for those who care. Rented a lovely condo and will post more of all our amazing (and terrifying ) adventures here!
Until next time...Nano-nano!
The are 26 pictures posted in all, so remember to keep scrolling to the
Pipas Frias
Stopped for lunch in Puntarenas after docking there very bottom past the ads to see the rest of them.
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