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Published: October 27th 2013
We dont really remember arriving in San Jose having been up for almost 24hours with an hours sleep and lots of waiting around. But my bag had been tampered with leaving Bolivia (surprise) and the taxi driver got very lost driving so it took a futher 2hours to find our hostel. The hostel was more like a homestay and it was very welcoming and like being at home which was just what we needed, we grabbed a few hours sleep and then headed off to explore our surroundings. We were right next to the stadium where the following night Costa (or Coasta) Rica would be playing USA...USA! So the town was already buzzing about this game as the results linked to the World cup.
One thing that is very apparent is how Americanised Costa Rica is. Lots of Americans visit the country for holiday and even retire here which has pushed up prices and granted access for American home comforts to sneak into the country. The country is popular as it has not had any civil war, there is a health service and free education for children meaning its a well educated country with lots of potental, as well as
being safe. It is full of wildlife and its position on the Pacific and Caribbean coast is ideal for surfers as well as families means it has a lot to offer for lots of different types of people (including us of course!). There are lots of big cars and lots of American food chain restaurants such as Pizza Hut, Mc Donalds, Subway, Wendys and the food in the supermarkets also echos the American influence. Its quite nice to have this having come from South America but not quite the travelling we were wanting - We will enjoy it whilst its here to some extent but look forward to things being more unlike home.
We stopped for a couple of nights in San Jose, and heard in surround sound (our hostel being right next to the stadium) USA being beaten by the Costa Ricans (LOL). We also visited the contemporary art museum (quick injection of culture) and also wandered around the fun indoor market in ´downtown´ where we ate a delicious traditional meal, which unfortunetly did not agree with me, shame as it was lovely!.
We decided that we have spent two months on the road and we needed
some R&R time - que beach time for a few days! Its low season so the weather is hit and miss, but we found a place which looked Ok called Tamarindo beach. We booked an interbus which would deliver us door to door to our hostel we had booked at Tamarindo and off we went.
We enjoyed having some beach time for a few days and also had the chance to go dancing which was fun. A highlight was spotting a Crocodile swimming where we had been swimming earlier in the day EEEK!... wasnt expecting that one, needless to say we didnt go swimming again in the sea and didnt relax too much on the beach as we were on Crocodile watch.
We moved on the cheap and easy interbus up to Monteverde which is high up in the cloud forests, we loved it up here and had the opportunity to go on our first canopy tour - think GO APE on steroids! The highlight being the 1.5 KM zip line where we were attached on our back and you felt like superman moving out of the tree line out to the open valley which was at a
drop of around 200 metres! - beats the zip line over the car park at Dalby forest!. Craig braved it up and completed the 145metres tarzan drop swing...l took pictures of him doing it! ha!
We also went on a 5km hike through the cloud forest with a paper map as our guide (this didnt survive too long due to an intense but quick tropical rain downpour), we spotted some Tamarin Monkeys (Marcel from Friends) who im sure looked me up and down and sized me up as a potential meal!...they were swinging right above our heads and after around 10 had gathered l decided it was time for us to move on as l didnt want us to be turned into chilled human brain soup! (a reversal of chilled monkey brain in Indiana Jones Temple of Doom). We loved it up here and the added adventure of being out in the cloud forest/jungle just us! Craig assures me he is big and strong and no monkey or other animal would stand a chance against us!..these words and his suddenly widened body and puffed out chest seem to have done the trick so far! We stayed in a lovely
hostel where we had breakfast in a balcony conservatory and could watch the clouds move through the valley up to us and around us so it was quite special.
Following a trip on a 4x4 jeep, boat and back on a jeep (an adventure in itself) we were in la Fortuna which is further north and inland of Costa Rica. We were lucky enough to be here for Central Americas independence day from Spain and the whole town, horses, bands, and everyone in between was out dressed in their glad rags! It was a party atmosphere on the streets with a parade of local bands, cheerleaders, floats and horses (quick!...get the manure on the roses!) and was great to watch and be amongst.
In la Fortuna there are lots of hot springs and mudbaths as well as a beautiful waterfull which we hiked to and chance a swim in it's cool lagoon trying not to be pulled under from the cascade which had travelled 70 metres from the top of the Cliff. It was very pretty and worth the hike.
From here we took our first chicken bus/tica bus which is used by the locals - this
bus was a doddle with us being seasoned travellers and all!... the only tiny problema was that there was no toilet and we didnt know how long the bus would take so we were walking a fine line between dehyration and pissing our pants for the whole journey!... we were also celebrities for a few hours on this bus (which is fun) as we were stared at by interested locals for the duration of the trip, which surprised us as the country does have so many gringos travelling through, maybe it was the Orangután sitting next to me which was of interest rather than the blonde gringo. We travelled by this bus up to the border town of Puenas blancas, which is in the north west región of Costa Rica where you can walk over the border.
If you have been good friends and family you will know we have had some fun at overland border crossings (Argentina to Bolivia blog) so we were 100% switched on so we did not make previous mistakes!.. We made it through safe and sound, our bags were not even searched here which we think was due to the fact we looked like
such seasoned dirty travellers and the security guy did not want to look through our filthy bags! There were of course the usual shenanigans of not knowing where to walk to get to the immigration office, where the bus stop is or anyone than can help without wanting something!.. One thing we certainly are at border crossings is a $ sign. This is to ALL beggers, taxi drivers, disabled people and so on and so fourth...lots of life experience is gained at these places.
Things we learnt in Costa Rica;
1) Everyone speaks English and you cant practice your spanglish!
2) ALWAYS have a plan of how you are going to get away from the border once you have crossed it so your not stuck!
3) This is the sort of place you could come for a two week holiday if you wanted. Its easy to travel around, quite cheap, and lots to do from sitting on the beach, going to the jungle, hot springs, caribbean islands, canopy tours, rafting, etc etc!
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Momma Toni
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Costa Rica Coffee!
Great looking food made me feel hungry! are you drinking much of the great costa rica coffee? it must be quite nice to have all the fine choices of food and leisure activities as you have been travelling through some rough terrain beautiful but rough! take care lots and lots of love xxxxxxx