Costa Rica

Nov 29, 2019: Liberia, Costa Rica (Hospedaje JJJ, $28.25)

• Black Friday!

• Still raining reasonably hard, so got the hell out and drove on to the Catarata Llanos de Cortés (the hell with the thermal baths in the area).  Fine looking waterfall, with assorted tourists hiking in from both sides (I chose the side without the $8 parking charge).

• Still raining, on to Parque Nacional Rincón de la Vieja.  A little rain in the beginning, but it gradually cleared up.  Five or six stops on the way for fumaroles and other volcanically inclined sites.  Best was the waterfall (best yet in Costa Rica), a troop of monkeys, and a squawking band of green parrots.  And virtually nobody else on the trail (although there sure were a lot of tourists at the restaurants - cowards!)

• Selected the Hotel Liberia Restaurant from (guess where) my faithful Lonely Planet Costa Rica, and enjoyed a fine coffee and ceviche.  It was still too soon for the restaurant to open for dinner, but they took pity on me, and made an exception.  Yummy.  With the restaurant WiFi I booked my hotel via Booking.com, found it on maps.me, and voila!  I’m set for the night.

• At my very cool, blue-fluorescent common roomed hotel I was greeted by Julio (one of the three J’s - the other two J’s are also Julios, all three related) and a drink of sugar cane water, pineapple juice, and cinnamon.

• I planned to walk around the town a bit, but took a turn into the Bar La Selegna, where I was informed by the German gentleman on my right that it was the best bar in Liberia.  Two beers and another ceviche, plus news on where to stay and where to eat on the coast, and I was set for tomorrow.

Nov 30, 2019: Bijuaga, Cabinas Las Nubes  (again)($25.42)

Drove to the coast, saw a few beaches, including the famous powdery white Playa Pan Azucar.  Right.  Lots of people, lots of big hotels, lots of nothing very special.  I’ll take our beach at Punta Mita any day.  So rather than spend any more time on the coast, and In the hopes that it would clear up, I drove back to Bijuaga and the same hotel I stayed in three nights earlier.  Pizza for dinner, my first (?) in Costa Rica.  Not great, but not bad.

Dec 1, 2019: Arenal Backpacker’s Resort, La Fortuna (tent: $35)

• No luck on it clearing up for a second try at the Parque Nacional Volcán Tenorio, so drove back to La Fortuna and the same hostel I stayed in before (pool is nice, and familiarity helps).

• Side trip to Hanging Bridges Arenal, for a nice trail through ferny jungle with a few Capuchin monkeys sighted.  Then checked on buses to San Jose (tomorrow at 9 AM to San Carlos, change for bus to San Jose).

• Damn, sprinkles again.  Will the rainy season never end?

• Deciding against a visit with Andrea & Astrubal: logically difficult, and where to go next?  Instead, may just take the buses to San Jose (3 hr), and another to Manuel Antonio or Quepos (3 1/2 hr, from Terminal Tracopa, every 1-2 hr).  Easy day.  Then do the park the next day (because it is closed on Mondays).  Then Dominical (Hacienda Baru pre-Colombian site) > Uvita  (Uvita Adventure Tour: kayaks through mangroves; Cascada Verde Hostel) > Ciudad Cortés > Palmar Norte  (last ATMs) > Sierpe > Bahia Drake 

• Paso Canoas has ATM

• Buses between San Vito and Neily (via Agua Buena not Cañas Gordas) pass the entrance to the Wilson Botanical Gardens.

• San Vito > Guácimo > El Carmen > Altamira > AsoProLA ($18; can arrange homestays) > ranger station for Parque Internacional La Amistad.

• Near Rio Clark: hermit: canoe tours & more

• The San Pedrillo to Sirena trail remains closed indefinitely.

• Bus from Puerto Jimenez to Carate (camp in front of pulperia) > 1 hr walk to La Leona (camp) > Sirena (Sirena Biological Station?) > ferry to Bahia Drake

• Dos Brazos: hiking, some cheap hotels; Sendero El Tigre for day trip into Corcovado.

• Finca Cántaros: pre-Columbian cemetery; petroglyph; Laguna Zoncho; camping $10

• Sierpe > Bahia Drake: 11:30, 4:30; Bahia Drake > Sierpe: 7:15, 2:30

Dec 2, 2019: Hotel Ceciliano, Quepos ($24)

• Rain again.  Glad to be heading to the coast.

• Finca Cantaros (near San Vito): pre-Colombian site

• Three buses, 9 AM to 5:30 PM La Fortuna > San Carlos > San Jose > Quepos.  Total cost: about $10.  This is a great country for buses - and an expensive one for car rentals.

• A local found me the hotel, then another local found me Luca’s, where I will drink beer and eat grilled fish.  

• Rain the last hour or so, but dry for the moment.  We’ll see if my plan to do some hiking around Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio works out.  

• Ask to see the guide’s Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) license.

Dec 3, 2019: Hotel Ceciliano, Quepos ($24)

• A day at Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio.  Lots of tourists, but nice walks, beaches, and views, amid sunny skies (finally).  Saw more sloths, lots of cheeky capuchin monkeys (one tourist got scratched and had some soap stolen from her backpack), two deer, and some howler monkeys.  Followed by some fish ceviche, a banana milkshake, a takeout bagel and cream cheese (for later), a chocolate milkshake, and an iced coffee - in three different eating establishments.  Woo woo!

Buses for Uvita: 6, 9:30, 2:30, 5:30.

Reservation at Tucan Hotel.

Uvita > Palmar Norte: several, about 30 min

Palmar Norte (last ATMs) > Sierpe: 7 daily, 40 min.  Buses to Sierpe depart from in front of the Gollo store.

Sierpe > Bahia Drake: 11:30, 4:30 (colectivo boat)

Dec 4, 2019: Tucan Hotel, Uvita, Costa Rica ($28)

• Huge blowout last night.  Didn’t quite make it to the toilet at 4 AM, but exploded with big mess all over the place (second day of diarrhea).  Left the bathroom a shambles.  Just a coffee today.  Here’s hoping the 2 hr bus ride to Uvita is uneventful...

• Oil palm plantations.

• Cute hotel, with open common area, pool table, hammocks, garden, sofas ... and no other clients?  I love being here in the off season.  Banana shake to get me going, then a walk to the “ Whale’s Tail” beach when the tide goes down (2 hours from now).  Stomach ok, but will take it easy food wise, just to be safe.  Sunny and hot out, time for a rest under my fan.

Uvita  (Hertz) > Palmar: 8:30, 1:00 (1 1/2 hr)

Palmar > Sierpe: 5, 6:30, 8, 9:30, 11:30, 2:30, 5:15 (15 min?) taxi 5,000

Sierpe > Bahia Drake: 11:30, 4:00 (colectivo boat)

Bahia Drake > Sierpe: 7:15, 2:30

• Long walk to and then on the lovely wide Parque Nacional Marino Ballena beach - best Costa Rican beach so far.  Long, wide, smooth, backed up by tropical jungle, a handful of people.  And not too hot, when I walked close to the water.  No whales though - it is between the seasons for the arrival of the whales from the Antarctic and from California.

• Hoping I can get all the way to Bahia Drake tomorrow - we’ll see.

• Time for a lemon margarita and a buffalo chicken (?) wrap at Restaurante Los Laureles.

• Talked with Caren - she will text me on Dec 12 with news on the sail drive work schedule.  If all goes well, I should arrive on Dec 14, and off we go on the 15th to the San Blas islands.  Woo woo!

• Big dump just outside my room at 4 AM.  Sure hope I get passed this diarrhea before tomorrow’s travel.

What creatures made these tracks?