I'll Follow You

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So, I’m back in Redondo and back to reality, but I still need to fill you all in on my last couple of weeks in Costa Rica. My trip in Bocas Del Toro was coming to an end and I wanted to get back to Costa Rica and see and do a few more things that I had been planning on. I had an amazing friend that planned a way for me to get back to the north of Costa Rica by researching bus times and scheduling shuttles, but unfortunately I messed everything up by missing my first boat taxi at around 5:45am. I was so upset with myself because I not only wasted my friend’s time, I was wasting valuable daylight. It ended up taking me over 14 hours to travel from Panama to La Fortuna, Costa Rica by public bus. Plus we had to wait at the border in Panama for 2 hours because the electricity was out. It all worked itself out though and I was so relieved to be back at my favorite hostel in La Fortuna by around 11pm that night.

That weekend I went on a hike with a few good friends from the hostel to Río Celeste. This place was beautiful. The river was an incredible, electric, bright blue color. The color is made by the chemical mixture of sulfur and carbonate which come from the nearby Tenorio Volcano. The sulfur reeked like rotten eggs, but other than that, the hike was awesome. The muddy path twisted and turned around the blue river until eventually, we got to the waterfall. Signs everywhere said no swimming in the river or the waterfall and I’m not sure if it was because there are hot spots in the river from the volcano or if they are trying to preserve the park, but we of course disregarded the signs when it came to jumping in the waterfall. There were a few other groups getting in the water too, so I didn’t feel too bad about it. The water was really cold, but the perfect refreshment after a few hours of hiking through mud.

The next day I got a chance to go white water rafting again! One of my favorite tours to do in Costa Rica and I got to do it twice. I was so shocked and grateful. We were trying out a bran new company (Costa Rica Descents) who do their rafting tour down Río Balsa, with class 3-4+ rapids! The water wasn’t as blue as Río Pacuare, but the rapids were more consistent and much faster. It was a great tour and I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for an adrenaline rush.

The next week, I traveled to the Nicoya Peninsula (the epicenter of the earthquake that happened on the 5^th) with one of my best friends I made on this trip. It was an adventure just to get to our destination. The ferry to get to the peninsula the fast and easy way was out of service because the road off the ferry was too badly damaged from the earthquake, so it took us an extra 3 hours to get there. We had to drive through two rivers and down a rocky beach to finally make it to Santa Teresa. Off-roading is really exciting for me though, so I loved every minute of it. There were a couple of times where we thought we were stuck for good, but we eventually made our way out.

Santa Teresa was like a ghost town, probably because it was the slow season and because the ferry made it too difficult for many cars to make it there. But it was a cute beach town surrounded by beautiful, deserted beaches. The second day we were there, we rented an ATV and explored the entire coast north and south of Santa Teresa before traveling around the peninsula to Montezuma. Montezuma is a charming, hippy beach town with street vendors selling art and jewelry. There were many people sporting their dreads, tattoos, and piercings (which kind of reminded me of Venice Beach, California), but I loved how it was the epitome of enjoying life slowly, pura vida. Everything was easy going there and tranquillo. When we first arrived on our ATV, we drove past a bar with live music out on the porch. The entire band consisted of police officers all dressed in their uniforms, having a great time jamming together. I thought it was so cute! There is something really cool about seeing police having a good time. After exploring the town a little, we made our way up to the Montezuma waterfalls. There are three waterfalls, each one higher than the next, but because we got there so late, it would have been completely dark by the time we got to the third, highest waterfall so we decided to hang out and swim in the first one. The water was cold, but surprisingly not as cold as the waterfall in La Fortuna. The thing I liked most about the Montezuma waterfall was that the trail there isn’t very clearly marked so it involved a lot of exploring down the river banks in order to make it to the falls.

We had dinner two nights in a row at a beautiful restaurant called Brisas del Mar. This is definitely a restaurant worth checking out if you find yourself in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica. The seating area is a huge deck that overlooks the entire town and coast. At night, there are no lights so you can see millions of stars above you and the bright dust of the Milky Way. Stars are incredible to me and I hardly get to see them, being from southern California, so needless to say, I was mesmerized.

The next day we traveled around the peninsula again to see a waterfall that dumps straight into the ocean. The waterfall wasn’t as big as I expected, but it was still awesome to see something like that. Fresh water flowing off a cliff into a rocky ocean beneath it was something so natural and beautiful; it’s hard not to love.

The last day in Santa Teresa we went back to Montezuma to catch a speed boat tour to Isla Tortuga, an island off the coast of the peninsula. The island was beautiful with the softest white sand that I had felt in Costa Rica. We went snorkeling and had a great lunch on the beach and spent the rest of the day swimming in the warm water of the ocean. The island had been changed into a new tourist attraction equipped with bathrooms and a souvenir shop, but they also had parrots that spoke Spanish which was pretty entertaining. A couple locals went fishing for oysters in their wood canoe and I got to try a few. I was a little apprehensive at first, but decided I can’t say I don’t like them without first giving them a shot. The oysters were seasoned with lime juice, hot sauce, and onions, so that was pretty much all I could taste, which was delicious to me anyways.

After the Tortuga island tour, we made our way back to San Jose, but not without first meeting a tico who invited us to his bull fight. It was probably the most authentic thing I did in Costa Rica, but we couldn’t stay long because we still had a long trip back to San Jose. We had food and drinks and talked with the bull owner for a while and headed out, back on the road.

My dad got me a room at the Double Tree near the airport and once I was there, I got treated very nice. The stay included a free buffet breakfast and free drinks and snacks in the evening. I had an amazing trip and am so grateful to my dad for giving me the chance to do all these incredible things. The thing that makes your trips great, especially while travelling alone, is the people you meet along the way. I am so happy I met the people I did from every hostel I stayed at, especially from La Fortuna who showed me so much more of Costa Rica than I ever would have seen alone. I know I am coming back sometime in my life. Costa Rica is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen and some of the nicest, most helpful people live there; a truly incredible country. Two thumbs up! ¡Pura vida!

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Photos

A Toucan of La Fortuna
One of my favorite birds of Costa Rica

The Defender
This baby safely took us through rivers, mud, rocks, and sandy beaches. "Your car can go fast, mine can go anywhere."

Tambor Waterfall
flowing straight into the ocean

Street Art of San Jose
The best part of San Jose...