20/5/23
We had one day in San Jose before we were off. We said our goodbyes to dad, who had an early flight back home and then headed down to breakfast where some others from mum’s tour group were also eating. We ate and chatted, and then we went to make a plan for the week sat by the pool.
Afterwards, we walked into town for a walking tour that was meant to be at 1pm and then read a whatsapp that said the tour would start an hour later. We turned around and heard music. We followed our ears to find a festival in the park! It was fab! There were loads of independent sellers on stalls selling either goods or food, as well as a massive stage with a live band as well as a zip line for the kids. After some dancing (with much appreciation from the locals) and some food, we headed back to the square in time for the 2pm tour.
The tour took us around a few different areas, including some very beautiful bits that looked like Paris! We also saw parliament and the 9ld brewery. Afterwards, we returned to an art gallery and coffee shop for a fancy coffee and cake. Then we walked home before it got too dark. We needed to collect our bags and move to our new place. We g9t a taxi through town and pulled up outside a swanky apartment block, Dubai style. It was sleek inside and was on the 13th floor, so we had great views of the city and its surrounding hills, a similar vibe to Quito, Bogota and Medellin! We chilled a little, had a beer watching the sunset, and then headed out for dinner in the cute neighbourhood we were staying in.
We got dressed up (as much as possible out of a backpack!) and found a nice restobar with outside seating and fairy lights. We got nibbles and drinks and then went to a gorgeous cocktail bar called Apothecary afterwards and drank margaritas. We wandered on home after our drinks and slept well.
21/5/23
Another moving day! We got a bus from San Jose first to Puntarenas after breakfast in the apartment and then got a taxi to the port and got in the ferry just before it pulled off! The boat ride was pretty slow, smooth and the views were pretty. It was quite different to the San Blas boat and a darn sight cheaper too, costing $1.60 each! On arriving the other side, we got a local bus to the town, Paquera and then found a place for lunch. Then we asked our hosts to pick us up from the supermarket after we did a quick shop since we were staying in the sticks.
We were kindly picked up and welcomed to our new place by the Costa Rican-Dutch owners. Our tent was pretty epic, worh a double bed, two singles and two old school but very comfy leather armchairs! We had a tour of the site before cracking out dad’s remaining supply of beers. Then we were shown some howler monkeys in the dark by one of the owners. Afterwards, we snacked and decided we would hide from the swooping bats inside. The owner came to check on us and I told him ‘tenemos miedo’, we were scared of the bats!! He reassured us ‘princesas’ and built us a fire. Of course, the fire tempted us out and then we spent the rest of the evening chilling fireside.
22/5/23
We had a breakfast of granola with banana and a coffee, and then after a bit of a chill and book read, we headed to the beach. We were heading to a more or less private beach, a twenty minute walk from our tent. We set off through the forest, past banana plantations and mangroves, seeing many lizards and crabs along the way until we came to a bridge. The so-called bridge was less a bridge and more a log lain over the river, and mum was not keen. I went over first and put my stuff on the other side. Then I tried to convince mum, who does not like heights or drops to come. We spent a while at various points across the first quarter of the bridge until mum decided to call it and head back. I carried on, through some more mangroves before emerging on a big, deserted beach. I chilled there a while with my book before going for a paddle and heading back to meet mum.
We headed into town on bicycles down the bumpy road, which took me quite some time after my electric bike incident in Sicily in October! We went to buy bakery goods which we took to a hotel with a pool and drank jugos de mora en leche (berry milkshakes) by the pool. They were soooo good, and thankfully, they were really bad at estimating how much would make a drink, so they gave us two shakes each to save wasting the extra!! Mmm! We had to put the WiFi to good use while we had it since our tent did not have it, so we made a plan for the next few days and booked our accommodation. Afterwards, we headed back to our tent to chill a little with a coffee before heading on our plankton tour. The son of the owner of our place did bioluminescense tours in kayaks, which sounded very cool, so we went for it!
We got a pick up from our place to the harbour and bounced about in the open back with a spare tyre and some ropes. When we arrived, we got a refresh on how to row, and then we were off. The night became darker, and the plankton brighter!! It was beautiful! Apparently, plankton light up when they are stressed by a potential danger to send a signal to other plankton to watch out! It was a pretty good day for the plankton, and while we were in a kayak, there was still a distinct Tinkerbell vibe around the sparkling waters around us!
We had dinner on returning to the tent, having found the energy to cook some pasta for tea! Then we played cards and drank more coffee before bed.
23/5/23
Moving day! We spent the morning moving from Paquera to Montezuma by local bus and arrived in Montezuma in the afternoon. We got shakes in a cute cafe overlooking the beach (and bus stop/car park) and then ordered cansado, the traditional Costa Rican lunch featuring a protein, rice, beans, plantain and salad. We had fried fish, which was yummy. After some lunch and a few rounds of cards, we left our bags in the cafe and went for a beach wander. It was a beautiful beach, but there were loads of driftwood on it along with loads of microplastics.. Afterwards, we headed to the supermarket to buy beer and a simple dinner of cheese, bread, and olives. We collected our bags and got a taxi to our place.
We checked in and were shown the plunge pools. One of the plunge pools had a veg patch next to it, and the owner told us to take some chilli’s. We did, and I had one bite of one with my cheese, and my mouth was on fire – he wasn’t lying when he said they were really bloody hot! We chilled in our hammock and read and ate and played cards until it was bedtime.
24/5/23
We had breakfast in our apartment and chilled by the pool for a while before having a quick lunch and walking the steep road into town. We went to our usual cafe for a shake and then went to the beach to read. On our way there, we stopped to look at the monkeys. Soon enough, they were doing a catwalk down the top of the fence post before jumping up into the trees. Some of them had babies on their backs, and it was very cute. One monkey climbed up a palm and was frantically trying to shake the coconuts down – it was quite the performance! We read our books on the beach and watched two dogs tear through the sand together.
We headed back into town for a sunset cocktail in a beachfront bar. We had margaritas, and it was glorious! Then we headed to dinner at a venue with live music. We shared a pizza and a chicken salad and enjoyed some tunes. Then we went to top up our food supplies before grabbing a taxi home.
25/5/23
Today was adventure day. We were going to go to a national park, the first national park in Costa Rica. We walked into town to meet the 09.00 bus only to be told when we arrived at 08.48 that it had gone three minutes ago. The next bus was going at 14.00. We considered our options. In the end, we took a taxi and wrote off our losses. We arrived at the entrance to the national park to find no-one. Further up there were a few cars and one guy at a desk. We passed by some kind of jungle peacock, paid pur entrance fee, and headed into the ‘dry forest’, which felt very humid and much like a rainforest to me, but what do I know?! We bumped into a deer almost immediately – mum spotted it through the trees. Then we passed a small snake, and a jabouti (with the booty), or something like that, a kind a massive looking guinea pig! We could hear the howler monkeys in the tops of the trees. It sounded like they were on the war path, and if we hadn’t already been told that they stay in the trees and don’t interfere with humans, I would’ve been tempted to turn around! We walked past massive trees, vines and vines wrapped around trees that were sapping the life from the trees slowly over a hundred years or so. Wild! After a couple of hours of hiking up and down, we made it to an opening to a glorious white sand beach, with trees lining it on one side and the turquoise waters the other. It was beautiful. We ate lunch, and I paddled in the overly strong waves and consequently got my shorts pretty wet!
After lunch, I refilled my water in the showers and we headed back stopping to see capuchin monkeys run through the forest and climb up trees as well as another snake and a beautiful deer, as well as countless lizards and crabs! When we returned to the bus stop early to catch the bus back to Montezuma, it was nowhere to be seen! We waited until 20 minutes past the leaving time and gave up and started walking. It was around 10km to walk and 14.30 so we could do it, but it wasn’t a fun prospect as the road was long and dusty and in full sun. Since we didn’t have a choice, we started to walk to the first village. We wanted refreshments. Sadly, all the cafes were either closed or closed down. It wasn’t high season, so I think some businesses just didn’t bother at all in these times, the same as the bus, it seemed! After reaching the first village, I decided perhaps a hitchhike was worth a go since it was so hot and my boots were beginning to rub! Most people going past were on motorbikes, but when a car drove past, I held put my thumb, and they stopped right away. Since the road only went one way, he was, of course, going to Montezuma, so we hopped in. I started in my shit Spanish before he asked if perhaps we didn’t speak English or French. Turns out he was French Canadian and was basically flipping houses to sell them to Westerners. He drove us to Montezuma and then asked if we wanted to go further since he was going there anyway. He took us back to our guesthouse, and we thanked him, and off we went. Mr Canada had saved our afternoon, and I had avoided blisters so all was good.
Mum headed down to the pool, and I showered before spending the afternoon lounging in our hammock with my book. We headed back into town for dinner, getting caught in a rainstorm on route. We arrived dripping wet to a local restaurant, or Soda, as they’re called 6 we’re welcomed all the same. We ordered fish in coconut sauce with the usual side of rice, plantains, and salad and then went to a cafe so I could get my coffee and cake fix. I had a brownie and an iced coffee, and mum had a beer with two alarming big scoops of my brownie!! Afterwards, we bought breakfast from the shop and got a taxi home.
26/5/23
Our tine was up. Today was moving day. We were going all the way back to San Jose. After breakfast, we packed up and got a taxi to the bus station. We were nearly an hour early for the bus, but we weren’t taking any chances this time!! We sat on the beach and read our books awhile before moving to the bus stop and then the bus. We got the bus back to the port in Paquera, grabbed a snack, and then the ferry across to Puntarenas. Then we got a bus back to San Jose and arrived back to pur San Jose apartment in the afternoon by which point we were starving.
We freshened up and headed out for food, settling for Lebanese food in a place that didn’t look dissimilar to the one in Harborne. It was scrummy, and we had margaritas too! Afterwards, we walked into the city and tried to figure out if we could go to the theatre. When we got there, everyone was dressed up and the thing was sold out. No Messiah’s Requiem for us. We headed back to our patch of town and went back to Apothecary, the cocktail bar from a week before, and had coffee and cake. Then we went back to our apartment to get a good night’s sleep! Mum was flying in the morning.
wanderingwelshie2 travels 