Blogs from San José, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean - page 4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgS5hRErx_M I spent the better part of my stay in San Jose walking the streets and exploring museums. There wasn't much street food to try. The hostel where I stayed felt like a guesthouse and the people there were not so friendly. Maybe, its me...It seemed like only the older travelers were friendly. So, I left that hostel and found a new and more isolated one. I had a brand new room to myself. I had 1 roommate out of one night there, but other then that, it was just me. I was a lot more comfortable there than I was at the other hostel. I enjoyed the vibe of San Jose. It was a capital city with small city vibes. One interesting fact that I learned about Costa Rica was that it doesn't have an ... read more

Completely Costa Rica – August 2017 I have visited this Central American country previously, but never explored it to the extent I intend to on this adventure. I’m going to cover the country from the Caribbean to the Pacific…care to come along for the ride? An overview: All trails lead to waterfalls, misty crater lakes or jungle-fringed, deserted beaches. Explored by horseback, foot or kayak, this country is a tropical choose-your-own-adventure land. Rainforest hikes and brisk high-altitude trails, rushing white-water rapids and world-class surfing: Costa Rica offers a dizzying suite of outdoor adventures in every shape and size – from the squeal-inducing rush of a canopy zip line (I’ve already arranged to do this!), to a sun-dazed afternoon at the beach. National parks allow visitors to glimpse life in the tropical rainforest and cloud forest, simme ... read more

25.6. Wir fahren heute nach Quepos, weiter im Süden. Die Strasse führt durch Felder und Wälder, über Hügel und durch Dörfer und schliesslich wieder der Küste entlang, die Fahrt dauert rund fünf Stunden. Die Strasse ist meistens in tadellosem Zustand, Verkehrsregeln werden von den Einheimischen allerdings meist nur als Empfehlungen angesehen, was uns bisweilen entweder zu einer Verkehrsbehinderung macht oder in Gewissenskonflikte bringt... Vor Polizeikontrollen - die erstaunlich regelmässig am Strassenrand stehen - werden wir von entgegenkommenden Autos jedoch zuverlässig mittels Lichthupen gewarnt. An die Bodenwellen, die zu Entschleunigungszwecken vor Ortschaften eingebaut sind, haben wir uns bereits gewöhnt. Sie haben uns auf der ganzen Reise durch Mittelamerika immer wieder genervt (in dichter besiedelten Gegenden führten sie zu einem unangenehmen steten Gasgeben und Abbremsen unse... read more

We waved goodbye to Monteverde, as we headed towards San Jose this morning. On the way, Fabian spotted a cashew tree and asked the driver to stop. He picked a cashew fruit off the tree to illustrate why cashews are so expensive. Each cashew fruit contains only one cashew nut. You must pick multiple fruits to get a bunch of cashews. Cashews must be roasted; in their raw form then are poisonous. The cashew fruit is edible but their stains are impossible to remove from clothes. When we arrived at Puntarenas beach, it was early afternoon and incredibly hot. Fabian booked at room at Puntarenas Beach Hotel, so the group had a choice to either head over to the beach or to stay at the hotel pool. Renata and I decided to head over to the ... read more

Pura Vida is Spanish for “Pure Life.” The phrase runs deep in Costa Rican culture. Costa Ricans use the term for multiple purposes: to say hello, goodbye, I’m great and everything’s good. Pura Vida is a relaxed, simple way of looking at life; no stress, no worries, being thankful and not dwelling on the negatives. People say you don’t quite understand what Pura Vida means until you come to Costa Rica. So, here we are, two sisters, on our epic journey to live the “Pura Vida Experience, Costa Rican style. Our first stop Costa Rica’s capital city, San Jose. We arrived at Juan Santamaria International Airport at around 1:00pm. Getting through customs took a gruelling two hours and with traffic we finally arrived in San Jose around 4:00pm. However, we were not discouraged. It is all ... read more