Nikki and Mal in Central America

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Leg five: Nicaragua to Costa Rica



On Saturday 23 we headed to the local Tica bus terminal to catch a ride to Liberia (Costa Rica), our next stop off point. There was some sort of religious celebration going on as there was a marching band going door to door with a massive statue of Mary and Jesus. Listening to the music certainly passed the time!



We left Granada just after one and arrived at the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica within an hour and a half. Similar to the road borders for when we crossed from Guatemala into Belize, there was one station for exiting and another separate area for entering and immigration. Unlike with leaving Guatemala, however, our exit stamps were retrieved for us - our bus driver simply collected everybody's passports and handed them over en masse. When it came to entering Costa Rica, however, we had to get out of the bus with all of our luggage and pass through immigration and customs. It was much quicker than at Belize as we didn't have to wait for our bus at all. After another two and a half hours we arrived in Liberia at our hotel, the local Best Western. It didn't quite meet up to our expectations of a supposedly luxury hotel and we were glad that we only spent one night here before heading off to La Fortuna the following morning.



To get to La Fortuna we used a company called InterBus, which pick you up from your departing hotel and take you to the door of your destination hotel. The journey from Liberia to La Fortuna can take anywhere from two hours to four and a half due to the windy mountain roads which are present for most of the journey. Due to the torrential rain and a lengthy stop at a roadside cafe, ours was the latter 4.5 hours and we were relieved when we arrived at hotel Bromelias just in time for lunch.



As we only had two full days in La Fortuna we decided to head straight out into the town and research the various tours and activities on offer so we could make the most of our time here and we also shopped around to get the best price we could. We settled on horseback riding to a waterfall in the nearby Arenal park (home to the Arenal volcano), ATV driving (like quadbikes) and white water rafting. We managed to negotiate a deal for all three activities. As it was due to rain a lot during our stay we tried to plan our activities around this and thought we would plan the rafting for the day when most rain was due (since we would be getting wet anyway).



On Monday 25 we were picked up from our hotel at 8am and headed just 10 minutes uphill to one of the many local horseback riding centres. I had never properly ridden a horse before and so I was a little nervous. Mal, however, had done it before and was fairly comfortable with what he needed to do, which is just as well considering his horse was quite a bit taller than mine and it had a penchant for trotting! When I first mounted my horse, Cookie, I felt a little unsteady and unsure. I didn't really need to do a lot though as these horses trek the same route day in, day out and they know exactly where to go. The only thing I tried to get my horse to do was to stop going right up against other horses so that my leg was right near their backsides, which he seemed to like doing. I, however, was not willing to get my leg covered in horse poo and so made him ease off whenever he did that.



The trek to the waterfall was 4km of ups and downs and took around 45 minutes. Once we were at base camp we had to descend 475 steps through the jungle, and also cross a wobbly wooden suspension bridge which was at least 100ft high (we can't find out exactly how high it was but the bridges in the park range from 100-1000ft high). This bridge really put our fear of heights to the test but we both wanted to see the waterfall so we mustered all of our bravery and perservered. We both felt so proud and seeing the stunning waterfall up close was definitely a worthwhile reward for our efforts.



After half an hour chilling out at the waterfall, we started to make the trek back up the steps. As you can imagine the journey back up is much harder than the descent. I like to think that I'm in reasonably good fitness as I work out 4/5 times a week but even this made me a little out of breath. It was certainly nice to get back on the horses, though I wasn't too keen on going down the really steep cobbled hills on horseback when it had been raining so much as the horses were sometimes struggling to get their footing.



On the trek back we stopped off at a Maleku village - a village belonging to one of several of the different tribes indigenous to Costa Rica. Their houses are made from bamboo/ wood and thatched roofs, with a glowing fire in the middle. We were shown traditional clothing made from tree bark, as well as instruments and masks depicting various animals, each one symbolising different character traits. It was really interesting. Shortly after we were back to the start, quite a bit wetter than when we started due to the rain, and we went back to our hotel to change and have lunch.



At 2:15 we were picked up and went literally five minutes to the ATV driving place. Mal and I had decided to go for a double bike (i.e. one for both of us), rather than have our own bikes as it was quite a lot cheaper. After a brief talk on safety and about operating the bike, we headed out across the main road to the first mud section - a series of tight turns and slippery tracks which were difficult to navigate and so we kept to gears one and two. Mal had started out driving and after a while we swapped over and I had a decent go at trying to steer the bike along the track but the ever increasing rainfall was making it difficult at times. We swapped back over so that Mal could navigate the harder and bumpier bits in the second section as he had driven the bike for a lot longer than me and so was more used to it. This section was certainly more challenging and most of the drivers got stuck in the same mud rut at the bottom of an incline, as well as veering off course slightly quite a bit!



For the third section we headed out of the farm back onto the main road and we travelled 100m or so before turning down a rocky side street leading into the mountains. The path took us across narrow river crossings, including one where we had to drive across around 15-20 inches of water. At this point the rain was basically a torrential downpour and, despite wearing raincoats, we were both completely soaked! It didn't really matter though as we were having too much fun finally getting to drive in fourth and fifth gear through the mountain paths, getting up to speeds of around 50kph, it was great. Once we reached the top we turned back and drove back to base camp for lunch, wet clothes and all! We were completely exhausted afterwards and ended up having quite an early night.



On Tuesday we were picked up by Arenal Rafting around 9am and drove around 30 minutes to our rafting starting point in the Balsa river. We had a short talk on what to do if we fell in the river (don't panic, don't stand up and float feet first downstream) and also learnt the basic commands we had to follow (forward paddle, back paddle, get down, high left, high right). We had originally booked to do class 2 & 3 rafting, an easier class than 3 & 4 suitable for beginners, as well as children. However, due to the vast amount of rainfall in the area for 50 continuous days, the river was quite a bit higher, faster and had bigger rapids than normal. Hence we ended up riding class four waves, white water and drops after all (mostly at the beginning) but neither of us actually minded. In fact, the first sections of the course were the most enjoyable despite being the most difficult. We had both entered the raft feeling scared at what we were about to do but that fear went away within seconds of starting and we were both absolutely loving it. It also helped that it wasn't actually raining during our time in the river, despite it being forecast for torrential rain again. In fact, it was so sunny that Mal and I came away with sunburn on our arms and thighs (we hadn't put suncream on as the weather forecast showed no prospects of any sun!).



Our instructor, Johnny, and his colleague Danny set us two challenges along our rafting journey. I got challenged to "ride the bull", which is where you sit on the front edge of the raft and hang on tight to the raft ropes between your legs whilst you surf down a set of rapids and waves. It was so much fun and I had to keep my grip quite firm to stop me falling in the river, especially at the end where the rapids went right over the top of me! The second challenge wasn't quite as challenging - both Mal and I were dared to get into the river and let ourselves float along. After the initial temptation to put our feet on the floor, we tilted back and let the current guide us. Whilst floating we spotted our first sloth curled up in a tree. It was hard to spot as it was quite small from where we were but the hairyness gave it away.



As part of our rafting adventure we stopped on the riverbank at one point and ventured on foot into the jungle. Johnny caught a blue jeans dart frog to show to us. It's a tiny vibrant red frog with deep blue legs that is one of the most poisonous animals in the world. Alongside poisonous frogs the jungle here houses a number of spiders and snakes, some of which are also dangerous in their own right. Hence we had to be careful of where we stepped and of where we placed our hands before we moved so that we didn't accidentally touch one. Luckily we didn't come across any snakes or spiders though we were introduced to some of the tree and bird species that were present before heading back to the raft to paddle through the final sets of rapids.



Once finished we were handed a cold beer and a towel for the journey back into La Fortuna centre for a traditional Costa Rican lunch of rice, beans, cheese and salad at a local restaurant just a 5 minute walk from our hotel. As we were completely soaked still we just went back to our hotel after lunch so that we could change into something dry. We didn't really feel like heading back out though and so just chilled in our hotel until dinner time.

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Photos

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Arenal park waterfall, La Fortuna

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ATV driving

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The very high bridge we conquered

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White water rafting

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Maleku village