Heading to Golfito

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I am now in Costa Rica at the San Jose Airport waiting for my 3rd flight of the day to Golfito. My flight from Miami to San Jose was really early and immigration lines were really short so I will move my flight up and arrive in Golfito at 1:30. This means that I can catch the 3 pm bus south to the Yoga Farm. In the past I have had to wait so long in immigration that I booked a later flight to allow time to make the connection. I suppose the economy is affected here since the lines in immigration and customs were very short. If I arrive at the farm it will be a day earlier than they are expecting me, but I still don't know my way around Golfito so I cannot be sure that I will make the last bus at 3 pm.

Later on the same day: I landed at the Golfito Airport, actually it was a landing strip. The plane only held 12 passengers normally but there were only 4 on the plane. It was a really nice plane ride for such a small craft. The plane appeared very new and in mint condition and the two young pilots were very friendly. We were up above the clouds some and then follows the shoreline of the Pacific to Golfito. I was nice to see the waves of the Pacific and the different hues of the water. Golfito is supposed to be a big area for sports fisherman and there were certainly many small crafts. The prices I saw for deep sea fishing for a day were $750. But I cannot be sure what that included.

The city of Golfito was much smaller than I expected. One main paved road ran through town down the Pacific and I needed to take a cab to the wharf where I had lunch and then sat and chatted with a older gentleman who was quite proficient in English. I waited for the bus for some time and met up with a young couple from Holland and a girl from Germany. All 4 of us were headed to Punto Banco. I was headed to the Yoga Farm and they were all headed to a nearby hotel.

The bus ride was 3 hours long. At first we started out on a fairly modern bus and went for about 1 1/2 hours. Then all the passengers had to unload because the bus driver said we all needed to change buses. We all loaded on the strange barge with 3 cars (the bus was left behind). Then we crossed a River. It may be the Rio Claro but I could not tell from my map. There was this strange engine that pulled the barge across by utilizing a large wire cable that ran from trees on one bank of the river to the other side.

Then we all loaded onto an old school bus and the really bumpy ride began. At first there were many Ticos on the bus with us but one by one got off at different stops. One there were no passengers in the seat, you could see that the jarring of the bus had loosened the bolts that held down the seats and the seats nearly moved around on the bus. All 4 of us rattled along until the end of the line at Punto Banco.

By the time we got off the bus it was nearly dark. The 3 Europeans ended up exactly at their destination, while I had to lug myself and my heavy luggage up a steep hill. It was getting darker and darker as I headed up and I ended up going for 15 minutes further up the hill with all the luggage. I finally met a young Tico man who helped me find the Yoga Farm. And it was a good thing because I was nearly exhausted and completely drenched in sweat.

Sorry, I am having trouble with my computer and all local computers being able to read my photo card. I am trying to figure out how to get the photos off the card and able to be uploaded.....so stay tuned!

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