Costa Rica 2009

I flew from JFK to San Jose, Costa Rica on Friday March 6 REALLY early in the morning. I landed in San Jose around noon, took a shuttle to Costa Rica Backpackers hostel and started making plans for my week in country. I paid for my shuttle and three nights at the hostel up front in cash because I was told if I didn't I would lose my reservation for the other nights. Moments later the tourism guy at the hostel has explained a kick-ass way to backpack through the cloud forest, see a volcano and wind up at Playa Jaco in time for my reservations at another hostel. The only problem is I've already paid for three nights in San Jose andthe hostel doesn't allow refunds or for you to transfer your money for other services like food at the cafe or shuttles. They gave me credit toward my final night in Costa Rica for Thursday the 12th, so that was good, but I was out the $12 for the third night I'd paid for. Basically CR Backpackers is a hostel factory- a huge company owns the hostel which is good because the grounds are really nice but bad because they're not very flexible.

That evening I shared a room with two women about  my age from Montreal named Lisa and Adrielle. They wound up booking the same type of plans as I had, so we basically spent the weekend together. The next morning we left at 6:30am for a rafting trip on the Rio Pacuare, which was awesome (for any serious paddlers who may be reading this, please don't judge me. I simply don't have the technical skills to kayak in CR yet and just wanted to get out on the water.). 

Lisa and Adrielle on the boat.

After a long day of rafting we took a shuttle to La Fortuna, home of the volcano Arenal and several amazing hot springs. I was so excited to hike a volcano and then chill out in some hot springs but Mother Nature simply wouldnt' have it. The rain started before we got to our hostel in La Fortuna, so we just relaxed for the rest of the evening. I decided that, regardless of Adrielle and Lisa's plans, if the weather was nice the next day I would stay in La Fortuna for the volcano and hot springs. The next morning we awoke to thundering rain, so we decided to use it as a travel day instead. We booked a Jeep-Boat-Jeep transfer to Monteverde for 8:30am and made our way into the cloud forest.

A very full boat. 

Some scenery from the boat, it was rainy then too.

While in the second "jeep" (it was actually a taxi style van with 4WD to handle the undeveloped roads) the driver made a 20 minute stop at a little shop with a cafe so we could grab food, hit the ladies' room, etc. While there Lisa and Adrielle recognized some younger girls also from Montreal who they knew through a friend. Next thing we know our group of three is a group of 6, which was even more fun. The 6 of us found Hostel Tranquilo, which is run by the cutest young family in Monteverde and had an available dorm to take over. The hostel owners booked zip line canopy tours for the Canadiennes and a hike in a nature reserve for me (I don't do zip lining). 

I met a very nice group of four older English folks who were on an all-inclusive style vacation. They hiked behind me rather slowly, but at one point they caught up to me and offered to take pictures of me in the forest. The hike had a series of hanging bridges to view the canopy from, which was amazing. It was a little bit wet, but no more so than some hikes I went on in Juneau last summer, so I was fairly content.

The canopy is really beautiful and the cloud forest is full of the most intensely green plant life. I really enjoyed this hike and, after two days of sitting in rafts or vans it was great to really stretch my legs. 

(Trisha, Lisa, and Ashley)

That evening the six of us went the Tree House restaurant in Monteverde, which was a cool place that had a massive tree growing through the middle of it. It was pretty pricey at about 10,000 colones per person, but it was our last night as a group so we decided to make it into a party. 

Alicia, Adrielle, and me

The next morning the six of us were all heading to the Pacific Coast, but I was going to Jaco and everyone else was going to Santa Teresa on the Nicoya Penninsula. We all had to make our way to Puntarenes though, where they would catch a ferry and I would catch a bus down the coast. We split a taxi for the 2 hour drive at about $20 per person, which is a lot more expensive than a public bus but also more comfortable and safer, so it was worth it in the end. The views on the way were spectacular and our driver was kind enough to pull over on occasion to show us iguanas and particularly impressive views. 

 Once we got to Puntarenes and said our goodbyes I bought a ticket for Jaco for 1,800 colones (about $2.50). Puntarenes is pretty much a ghost town anymore and there's nothing to see but the water and the sun, but that was lovely after 4 days of rainy mountains. You can actually see the Nicoya Penninsula in this picture past the pier.

Jaco is fantastic and really hot all times of the year. I arrived in the town via bus by 1pm and made my way to Las Camas Hostel, a new place opened by some Hungarian ex-pats about a year ago. They're a really nice young couple and they run the place with pretty much no rules. The decor is wild and there are tons of hang out areas, including the roof with a barbeque. First order of business when I dropped my bag on my bed was to ask the hostel owners for a surfing lesson. They set me up for 1pm the next day with a small company they know of. The lesson went surprisingly well, considering my lack of athletic ability particularly when trying to stand up on a moving object. I rode three waves from crest to shore without falling by the end of the 2 1/2 hour lesson. The next day I rented a board and went surfing during high tide and again at mid tide around sunset. It was amazing. I hope to continue surfing when I have the chance.

Everyone who stays at Las Camas is usually really cool and it's easy to make friends. Within a few hours of getting settled I had met a bunch of undergrads from various schools and a few "older" travelers like myself (meaning not undergrads, so it's a pretty broad category) just looking to chill out at the beach. I shared a room with three surfer types from Florida State who were really fun to hang out with and met others throughout the week. 

Erin, Stephen and Juan from Florida State. Really nice kids. We shared my rented surf board after there's broke in half at Playa Hermosa. I was really thrilled when they said I surfed extremely well for someone who had just learned the day before. Plus Stephen and Juan were kind enough to grill some Mahi Mahi I'd bought at the Pescadoria because I don't know how to use a charcoal grill. 

One night the hostel owners took the lot of us up to the lookout where you can see over the whole town and across the bay to the Nicoya Penninsula. The lookout is an old structure that's really beautiful, it was either a restaurant or a mansion at one point. Either way it's now a great place to sit and drink beers with new friends. After the lookout we took over a local restaurant in town and had casados. It was a really fun night. Later some folks hit up some of the bars and gawk at hookers and the like, but I was pretty beat from my surfing lesson so I hit the hay. 

My last night in town we ate fish off the grill on the roof of the hostel and then piled into taxis to go to Playa Hermosa for a party at a beach front bar called Backyard. It was a really cool place with pretty good gringo music, really sexy dancers keeping things going and free admission and drinks for women. The line to the women's bar was really long so I didn't drink much, but it was still really cool because the back of the bar opened onto the beach and there was a bon fire going. Things got a little out of hand at a few points, but in all it was just a good time. 

Claude from Lille, France managed to get a really drunk Costa Rican guy to take our picture. Later these kids from Virginia swarmed us and made him speak French then found out I was from Virginia and thought that was SOOO COOOl (they were really, really drunk). At one point we got stuck babysitting one of the guys while he threw up on the beach, not fun, but luckily he was OK and eventually walked out on his own. 

Our group stayed until the bar closed around 2:00am and then we cabbed it back to the hostel. I must say it was a great way to spend my last night in Jaco, which was probably the highlight of my trip. The beach was fantastic, I tried a new sport and met a lot of new friends. I was very sad to be leaving, especially with such beautiful weather and knowing I have so much school work waiting for me. By the time I left Costa Rica I had invitations to visit Montreal, the South of France (I met a girl who is moving there in June on my way to the airport and we hit it off very quickly), to meet up with my new friends from Florida and a lawyer I met from Boston. Plus I now know I have to return to Central America to see Panama, volcanos, and more natural wonders that I just coudn't fit into a week long trip.