Day - Very Hairy Scary Driving 1

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It is so hard to start this first entry because yesterday when we landed I had a thousand things in my mind to tell everyone about and now I feel my words will only be a shadow of the descriptions I was writing in my head as we headed to Quepos.

I think I could of flown in, seen the terrain and got on a plane and left immediately - not because I was deterred from what I saw but because it was so beautiful that I could not imagine seeing anything better. I have visited a lot of places in the world, seen all sorts of lands but nothing quite like this - rolling green mountains with red clay edges, bright green valleys and the clouds - they are so low and puffy they make you feel like you are a mystical fairy tale.

The process of getting on the road was a little arduous as immigration had a long line and the Adam ( Elena’s boyfriend) never got one of his bags so it took about an hour to get his file claim and make arrangements. We stepped outside and the shuttle for the rental car was practically waiting for us at the curb. The rental agency was courteous and thanks to reading a lot on renting cars in CR we were able to get everything we needed and ensure that when we brought the car back there was not going to be any mysterious fees.

Of course there were nerves hitting the road, here we are four gringos in a land of no street signs or clue what direction we are heading in, but we forged out and I am really pleased to say that even with our street signs it was super easy to get here, it just takes a looooong time, which 31/2 hours doesn’t seem like a lot, it was a tiring trip thanks to the adrenaline waves you experience driving up and down some of these mountain roads, especially the ones where half the road is gone thanks to a mudslide and a steep drop into the valley below and if that weren’t enough a giant tour bus headed in your direction in the opposite lane and we have to come to a complete stop with some other us on our tail - YIKES!!! But we did some amazing things.

Can you just imagine, there we were driving up this steep and windy road and then all of a sudden the clouds decend and you can only see about 4 - 5 feet ahead of you, the whiteness of the clouds and then the crisp bright greenness of the vegetation is beautiful ( scary from driving) but beautiful. Alll along the raods are “sodas” little shack-like structures where you can stop and get a plate of chicken and beans or a coke. We stopped at one right after hitting the road because we were starving but just got drinks because we knew we had a long drive ahead of us and it was already 2.30pm and didn’t want to get caught in the dark in a mountain road.

Eventually we did stop at a gas station and picked up some cookies, chips, drinks and candy to sustain us till dinner since we had not eaten lunch we could believe for the amount of stuff we had got, we paid the equivalent of $10 - yes it was a lot of junk food but there are no quick drive through Mickey D’s down here and we needed something.

For a lot of those I talked with and even Jay commented, we just did not think this was going to the “foodie” journal like our honeymoon one was but we might have been wrong, it just might be a little different. We were driving in what I guess you would call a gully, we had two huge red clay Cliffside sandwiching us, we saw this little fruit stand with a big sign for pinas ( pineapples) and since we all in the car like those we did an “outback U-turn” and went back, we got 2 pineapples for $1 and a watermelon and a bunch of bananas for another $1, we couldn’t believe out luck and now had our breakfast for the next morning! Jay already tried a banana and said they were super sweet, I have hidden one from him in hopes of luring my monkey feeding hope for the trip

Costa rica has very diverse terrain, like I said one minute we are praying to god as we navigate winding steep mountain roads and then we hit the surf town of Jaco and from there to our hotel we had these lush fields with cows and horses, palm trees and a very level diriving path.

Surprisingly 95% of our roads were paved with not pot holes, one three times did we witness the sudden disappearance of the road where it had just dropped off into the ravine from sort of weakening of the foundation.

The last 40 minutes drive seem to take forever because it was dark and we had to go over three bridges that only one direction of traffic can use at a time, one particular one which we had seen a video of before coming called the “Bridge of Death” by the videographer, we probably sat at for 15 minutes while these huge semi-trucks came over it, I told Jay seeing that I had no fear of going over the bridge on our little Toyota C-RV. We did though go over one bridge that they are working on and had completely taken down one of the side barriers - that should have been the bridge of death it was scary!

Our hotel is nice and we have an amazing view of the jungle and ocean. We have a porch with a dining table, hammock and two lounge chairs, then a small living rooms with a coffee table and kitchenette with a stove and fridge, coffee pot and everything we would need to cook a meal should we choose to. Then you have the bedroom with a queen and a twin bed and a closet you can lock up your valuables in and then a big bathroom with this shower that you have to step into and the shower heads all around you.

I am typing our blog on the balcony, when I look ahead I see the ocean and a big rock island with the surf crashing into it, then to my right is the lush huge trees they must be 30 - 50 feet tall and we have birds nesting and flittering about this morning. Wild birds of paradise taller than any I have seen before are next to our door.

All through the night you could hear monkey’s howling, birds chirping, frogs and crickets thanking god for the rain that day and it is all so peaceful and tranquil.

Today we will be going to the Manuel Antonio National Park, either taking a tour or doing a self guided one. Our other plans while here are to visit a butterfly farm, Jay and I are doing a zip line canopy tour, I think Elena and Adam will be surfing and then a spice farm before we head to our next area.

Talk to you soon
Love Lara and Jay

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