Posts tagged costa rica

10/12/2011
10days in one place gave us itchy feet so we rented a quad. We set off towards Playa Hermosa to see what the waves were like, it felt good to be moving, wind in our hair, flying over the bumpy gravel tracks. We headed towards Hermosa and then up a steep hill where we got an incredible view of a a-frame breaking somewhere in the distance. Further down the track we were off-roading, realizing why there were no buses or cars that headed in this direction. Completely impassible unless you´re a 4x4. Its just dirt, dirt and more dirt, the beach to your left, forest and mangroves to your right. You could hear the waves and the sounds of the jungle while youre driving. I sware a Puma was chasing us. At Manzanillo we took the quad for a trip down the ebach and then headed inland.

For the next hour the one thing that struck me was how empty the ´roads´were. We took the gravel tracks round the windy roads and up and down mountains with no clue where we were heading. We kept going, passing thick valleys of forests and fields filled with huge white cows. We assumed we were heading back across the middle of the peninsular and because i don´t think i have ever met anyone with as little sense of direction as Jess and I we were wrong. We were content on our little path until we hit a river. We figured this had to be the end of the road for us and we would have to turn back.

No. There was another couple at the end of this dirt track facing the river, assessing how deep it was and how do-able it was to drive the quad across. They were like, lets do it. and that was that we were going for it too. They zoomed accross, the quad roaring through the river as it got deeper. Then it was my time to drive.The thought that we could just lose the quad and consequently the rest fo our holiday money had my pulse raised but in the end we just raced it through and had a adrenaline burst on the other side when we made it.

After that I ifgured that would be our only challenge on this trip but oh no wait, river number two approaching. There was no river test this time we just went for it as it was smaller than the last. but deeper, towards the other side of the river, the water was splashing up over the front fo the quad and i thought it was a goner but it impressed me and made it through river number two. The adrenaline rush continued

…until we reached river number three. Which was three times the size fo the first one we cross and with no indication of how deep it was. That was me done for the day, I wasn´t going to push it. We went back, stopping for a Pilsen in the most empty bar you´ll ever come across before Jess drove us back to Santa Teresa after a full filled day quad bike river crossing!

01/12/2011
6am and we were walking along the beach (in the wrong direction) to check the place ou. After a pancake breakfast we heading in the other direction for a solid 2 miles in the rising sun, which apparently is hotter between 9am and 12pm than it is in the afternoon, to check out some places. A few hostles and house viewing later we found Playa Cabinas which was perfect for what we needed. Two double bed, en-suite, hammock, beer fridge and a stroll to the waves for a happy $12.50 each

30/11/2011
Vernon picked us up from our Hotel in Manhattan (after 2 hours sleep) at 330am and dropped us at JFK. Being sleep deprived meant it took us about 15 minutes to try and work out how to print our fricking boarding pass! Our effort was rewarded when the lovely! Jet Blue lady let us check in our boards for free!

Flight to Orlando- horrendous. Just could not sleep and was hating the stuffy aeroplane air. We smashed a huge slice of pizza at the unsuitable hour of 9am and boarded our final flight to San Jose. Still no sleep but a sick view of the blue beneathe us. In San Jose our boards had been opened and checked.

Stepping out the airport was exactly how i expected; first you´re hit by about 20 middle aged men shouting ´taxi, taxi, taxi´at you, second you´re hit by the pressing heat. After spending the appropriate amount of time standing around looking like a tourist with the Lonely Planet we just gave in and told the taxi driver to drop us at the Coco-Cola bus stop. Fair-play to him he stuck to his word and after we battled the Sna Jose Traffic we got to the bus station and hopped on our bus.

The bus journey was not fun. For the single fact that I had had no sleep for about 3days. The scenery was green and hilly and huts lined the roads but all I wanted was to get there. We cheered up considerably when we saw the sea becuase that meant we could get off the bus and on the ferry.

Two empanadas later we were on board the Ferry with a local beer in can finally realizing we were on holiday…for the next four months. The ferry journey was relaxing and the sunset beautiful as we inched ourway towards the Nicoya Peninsular. Unfortunately we had another 2.5hours of bumpy bus to go. Fortunately the first place we stopped had a room so that was us checked in for the night!