My flight was a long one, as I had about a five hour lay over at LAX, then the plane to San Jose, Costa Rica left at 23:30, and stopped in Guatemala City for a bit before continuing on. I was actually a bit impressed with United Airlines, as the dinner was not too bad, and I had a two choices, along with complimentary wine. The breakfast kinda sucked, though. The stewardess even accused me of sleeping when she missed me, even though I watched her go right by. When I landed, I checked at four car rental places at the airport, and finally got a car at Budget for about US$250/week.
I thought about which way to go, and I decided to hit the Atlantic, so I drove through San Jose, only getting mis-tracked twice, and then kept on to Cartago, the long way, before I had to pay a $60 Colone toll with a $1000 Colone note.
I was driving down the road when I passed a sign saying "Lankester Gardens", so I decided to stop and visit, as it's on the tourist route. It's really neat to see all the tropical plants, and how many species there are, especially palms.
I continued down through to the coast on a nice winding drive, which is not used that much, but is sure twisted and hilly. When I got to Siquirres, things sure changed, as this is where the two roads from San Jose meet, and all of a sudden the much better road was full of traffic with an unbelievable amount of trucks.
Limon has many trucks, more than I think I have ever seen, and is actually a big port, especially for bananas. I drove around the city a bit, and was not too impressed, and then drove in dark (unintentionally) to Cahuita, where I found nice little cabanas for $35. I woke up and saw guests swimming naked, which was cool. The staff were Negroes, and they even speak Spanish, English and kraut. A Swiss guy owns it. However, there is no beach, as it's a totally rock shore.
While driving on the way down, I was wondering about whether there was a kilometre charge on the car, and I finally read the contract, and realised that car could cost me 70 Colones per Km. This would be quite a stiff charge, and probably cost me about US$500 more total. While it really bugged me, I finally accepted it, as what the hell, I was on holidays.
I went to a funky little town that was my destination, Puerto Veijo, which is actually larger than I thought, strung out along the beach. I picked up two little schoolboys hitchhiking, then a little girl, then two nice local girls, Alejandra and Jennifer, along a road that was near utter hell. Surfing was no hell either, but I got wet in the Atlantic ocean, for the first time in 30 years. It would be okay to spend time here, but it's spread out a little too much, and somewhat difficult to get around. I realised after I was back in Mexico, that I was only about 8 Km from Panama, but it would have taken a 26 Km drive down a rough road to get to the border crossing, and who knows what then. I did have to go through an army check point on the way back.
I drove back up and then I stopped at a small, place
to try to contact my step bother Doug's step father
Emanuel again, and this time I was fortunate enough
to get his friend in San Jose, who said that Emanuel
was in Limon, and he gave me the number. I phoned
that, and the guy said than he had just left at ten
that morning for Panama, so we were in the same town
the day before, and he probably went right by me that
morning. I then drove to and around Limon,
subsequently, there was a big rainstorm, and it must
rain a lot over there, as most people carry paraguas,
and it IS jungle.
I missed my intended turn off north to Puerto Veijo (another), which would have taken me the back way to Volcano Arenal, and that was maybe karma, as could it could have been long drive in the country in the dark, so I ended up taking the highway up over monta¤as and a tunnel to San Jose, and through rush hour traffic, back by the airport, and then down to Punta Arenas.
On this portion, I realised that I missed the thermometer I wanted to bring, as there were none to be found in Puerto Escondido last year, and I wanted to check the water temperatures. The air temperature there is always 33 plus or minus 1.
This was my third time in Punta Arenas, (sand point), which actually does not adequately describe the filth and squalour there. Even though I paid US$40 for my room, the toilet still did not have a seat. I finally had my first meal at 20:45, as I had been in Costa Rica for about 36 hours without eating anything. I actually was not even that hungry. I guess that travel will upset the body somewhat.
Lago Arenal is about 600 m elevation, and the power
station says 157 MW, which is not actually that big.
The lake is huge and beautiful, pretty
impressive at first sight. I could see the Arenal
Volcano at the other end, but I suspect that this is a
rare occurrence. The are many huge wind turbines at
the lake's end which does say something about the
climate. After driving part way around the lake, and
giving up on a dilapidated road, I stayed at a neat
little place called Blue Bay Cabins, which is actually
a little motel. It rained really heavy most the night,
and guessing tropical rates, I would bet at least 100
mm. I left the next morning in the dank cold, thinking
that it could have been like this in Vancouver.
I was on my way up to Liberia to visit Tamarindo where Jenny's (my travel agent's boss) relatives live, when I stopped by a little restaurant next to a phone booth and a river, and I got the chica at the desk to try to look up the phone number, which she could not find. So I sat down and had an OJ and a ham sandwich, and saw a nice big iguana sitting on a branch, which initiated thoughts about going to Quepos, where there is so much neat wild life to see.
I then tried the phone again, and notwithstanding the worst connection that I have ever had, I did talk to Mazim, who said to call when I got into Tamarindo, so off I went. The drive through Guanacaste was very rural and pleasant, and everything was green which I doubt will be the case in a few months. The terrain was much flatter than other Costa Rican parts, and the roads are paved well, and there is almost no garbage, altogether a pleasant experience.
The last 4 Km into Tamarindo is gravel, but not that bad, although after Puerto Veijo, what could be? The phone system is really bad, as everywhere else in Costa Rica, pay phones will get you what you want, and people will lend you a phone without too much hassle. Not so in Tamarindo, where they will not let you use a phone, and you have to buy a phone card, which is a minimum $500. So I called Mazim again, and he told me how to get up to his house, but I still messed up, and I went around a few times before I guessed which was the correct one.
Mazim and Karim have a nice white three story house on a little hill not too far from anywhere. They say that the phone service and the mail are quite accessible in Tamarindo, and that there is a local ISP that costs about $30 per month, which I though was neat. Mazim took me to find a hotel, and after finding that his friend's place was full, he took me over to the Tropical, which cost $20/night, which in Costa Rica, and a tourist town at that, is really reasonable. It is owned by Italians, which I think almost the whole town is.
On Friday, I finally decided to drive my car up to the beaches that Karim had suggested, and I decided to take a back way, if it was accessible. I started off, and turned left to go to Brasilito and Flamingo Beach. Brasilito is a little village, which has a nice beach, and appears to have acceptable cheap accommodation. I drove on, and after a detour, came upon Flamingo Beach, which was awesome and absolutely beautiful. It has some smaller hotels, and a big resort place, and it looks like a swell place to stay. I drove on, (gravel) and after backtracking due to the detour, I came to a little town called Potrero, and drove through, past some more resorts (how do people ever find these?), saw a Kotamundi cross the road, and finally came to a hill that was too steep to climb, as after three tries, I kept spinning out. So there's another reason why so many people have four wheel drives. Rather than get foolish, I decided to back track, and sure enough, in Potrero, there was another road that even had a sign later pointing the correct way. However, I'd say that this road was also pretty well four wheel territory, and there were some pretty hairy spots. I did have to wait for a big Iguana in one place to get out of my way. However, after a while, I did come on a bigger road that had a hotel sign indicating that it was the same road that I earlier had to abandon.
So, smaller roads led to bigger roads, and there on in, one road led to a paved road, and I came to Coco Beach, which is actually rather dowdy and dirty, and is not where I would want to vacation. I then went and saw Octotal beach, which ain't much, and over to Pez Vela, which was even less.
I went back up the road, and then over to Playa Hermosa, (the second one), which seems to be more or less abandoned, over to Playa Panama which would be also a nice place to stay, as it is a relatively nice and undeveloped village, and then up to a playa which was just being developed with condos or something. On the return, I stopped for a beer at the first Playa Hermosa, which is really nice, and has a little hotel and restaurants, and probably would be among the best playas to hang out at. I then went back to Playa Tamarindo through Filadelfia, as my head hurt, and that was enough for one day.
Saturday morning, I went swimming in the ocean for
the first time, it was pretty warm, and I only felt the
water a little bit. The beach at Tamarindo was very
shallow, and to get a good swim, you would have to go
out several hundred metres, beyond the break. There
are some reefs, so I do not know how nice it would
be. After my swim, I left town, and drove down the
dirt road to Santa Cruz, and then over to the ferry.
On the way I picked up three lady hitch hikers, and
just when two were getting out, they noticed that my
rear tire was flat, so I had to change it there. I
then drove to the ferry, where I had about a 15 minute
wait, and on the other side, after a bit, I picked up
some more hitch hikers, a family from Italy, (the wife
was half Tica), so I had to speak to the women in
Spanish, and she translated to her husband, however, he
knew English a bit anyway.
After a trip on a real
bad road, I was able to stop at a service station,
where the guy put air back in my tire, and tightened a
leaky valve stem. I drove the scenic long way back
through Atenas, and that road is pretty neat, as it
rises up about 1000 metres, and is very steep, narrow,
and curvy. When I finally got to Alejuela, where the
airport was, in the dark, I had a difficult time
finding a hotel at a good price, so I ended up going to
Irazu where I finally ended up in the Best Western for
a special US$48 with a coupon. On the way there I was
driving down a relatively good street, when the car
made a huge bang. I looked in the mirror, and I could
not see anything. A block later I hit another one, and
once again, I could not see a thing. I soon had to
turn around, as I figured that I was going in the wrong
direction (a regular occurrence), and I then saw, that
what I was hitting, were manholes missing their covers!
The next morning I had to get up at 5:30, and when I got to the car rental place, all that they charged me for the week was 58029 Colones , which was only US$239.78 or C$341.35, so that was a relief. On the plane, another stewardess said to a passenger ahead of me after she dropped his menu, "Excuse me sir, your menu is on the floor." Where do they find these people anyway. They are all over forty and overweight. I hope Japan Airlines does not adapt this American efficiency. After I got off the plane in Mexico, and whizzed through customs, I went to the Mexicana counter, and the price to fly to Puerto Escondido was over double last year, 1355 pesos. You win some, and then you lose some. I decided that I was going to pay anyway, especially as I did not get stuck with the extra car charges, and I flew two hours later to Puerto.