Montezuma

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Hola!

This weekend was SO AWESOME. I think Montezuma is my favorite place so far in Costa Rica. It was a long trip to get there from San Jose but totally worth it. We left on Friday morning really early, around 5am. First, we took a taxi to the bus station near downtown. Then we got on a bus (pretty nice, kind of like the Greyhound we sometimes take to the airport). After about three hours, we got to the Nicoya Gulf, where we got on a ferry. We rode the ferry for about an hour and a half. The ferry charters cars too so our bus was below deck somewhere. Once we crossed the gulf, we got back on our bus for about an hour and a half. Then we had to change buses one last time. In total, the trip was between six and seven hours. We were pretty tired by the time we finally got there.

We hadn’t booked anywhere to stay ahead of time because none of the hostels reserve rooms by phone. We weren’t that worried though because it is the low season for tourism. We were right. As soon as we got off the last bus, there were a lot of locals trying to get all the tourists to stay at their hotel/hostel, buy their handmade bracelets, or buy a guided tour package. We were the victims of one very talkative woman who scalped us as soon as we stepped off the bus. Because we had nowhere to stay yet, we decided to see what her offer was. It turned out to be a pretty nice little cabin right on the beach. There was a bedroom, dining room, and kitchen. For $10 each we decided it was a pretty good deal, and went with it. The first day we mostly relaxed because we were tired from our trip there. We bought lunch at the grocery store and ate it on the beach. We hardly saw anybody else. If any of you ever have the chance to visit Costa Rica, go during the off season because there are fewer people and it is cheaper! Later in the afternoon be decided to go swimming. When we walked outside there were a bunch of people standing in front of our room looking at the ocean. We assumed it could only be whales or dolphins so we asked. “¿Qué es – ballenas?” The man said yes. We looked out towards the horizon and sure enough there were whales! Really big ones too because they were waaaaaaay out there, but when they jumped out of the water, they were clearly visible. It was probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. I may have almost cried. We finished this awesome day by cooking pasta in our little kitchen and watching harry potter.

The next morning I went for a run on the beach. There were a ton of shells, really neat ones, not like at home. I passed a turtle hatchery on the way. It didn’t look public, so I didn’t explore it very much, but I could see the little plastic mesh fencing protecting what I think were the nests. A man was guarding the area. Just for fun we decided to move to a new hostel and checked in at the Luna Llena (http://www.lunallenahotel.com/). It was definitely worth the switch because it was one of the coolest places I have ever stayed. And only $10 a night. It reminded me of a tree house because it was located a little bit farther back into the jungle, but it had an awesome view of the ocean. There were hammocks, a nice kitchen, lounge areas, and two cute kitties. We could also hear howler monkeys but never saw any. That morning we left for a hike to a nearby waterfall. It was advertised as only a twenty minute hike, but this was not the case. I think in total we probably walked about 2 hours, but the last 40 minutes were extra slow. During this part we had to climb on some pretty slippery rocks and across a river. But it was totally worth it because the waterfall was soooo cool! It was super strong and loud because it’s the wet/rainy season here. We ended another awesome day by making black bean soup and guacamole.

Nobody wanted to leave but we had to catch the 6am bus back to San Jose on Sunday. The road back to the larger town was dirt and covered in pot holes. Our driver seemed to know what he was doing, even while using his iphone. In some ways I can consider Costa Rica a third world country, but when the majority of people have iphones and tvs it doesn’t seem like one. The ferry ride back was so much better than the one there. Clear blue skies, white clouds, beautiful blue water, and islands everywhere. We did see a lot of fishermen in little boats, in Montezuma, and in the gulf. It made me wonder if any of them were a part of the shark finning trade. It is supposed to be prominent in Puntarenas (the province we were in). But apparently, Costa Rica’s president just passed a law banning the trade – although Sea Shepherd says its bull. I don’t know…maybe it will raise more awareness.

Again, I can’t believe how little money I spent given all I did. To travel here is soooo cheap. And because we all shared meals and bought food from the grocery store, that was cheaper too. I think over my midterm break I am going to try and go back to the Nicoya Peninsula, maybe Cabo Blanco National Park. I really like the Pacific side, even though I haven’t visited the Caribbean yet. And my host family has told me the Pacific side of Costa Rica is generally better.

I’ll have more to report soon, it’s my last week at the language academy!

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Photos

emily and kelsey
a little waterfall behind the big BIG one