Monday 14 April 2008

Monteverde - Liberia: 120km / 75mi (4 hours)

For a change we have breakfast a bit later than before: 7 am. We leave in a Westerly direction via the bumpy roads towards Juntas. We make about 35 km in more than 90 minutes! On our way we get marvelous views on the Pacific Ocean. We gradually descend from 1200 metres to sea level. At  Las Juntas de Abangares, a former gold digger village, we reach the Interamericana, highway #1, part of the thoroughfare from Alaska to Central Chile.  We fill up our tank at a large petrol station, where have a coffee too. We continue along the  Interamericana northbound. We are in Guanacaste province now

The road is not very busy and we make good progress. We have to pay good attention, though, as road goes right through villages, where local traffic, pedestrians, horse carts and the like mixes with highway traffic. Sometimes enormous - US sized - lorries cause long tailbacks. In the villages around schools  it is not allowed to drive faster than 20 km/h (13mph).  Traffic police armed with radar guns is checking the speed at unexpected places. Around 11.30 we get to Liberia. Liberia is one of the older towns of Costa Rica and has kept a certain colonial charm, which has disappeared everywhere else. It is often called the white city or  Ciudad Blanca, because of the white washed colonial houses, still standing in the centre. It is a small town built along a simple grid structure, with numbered avenidas and calles that intersect rectangularly . We look for the Calle Real or Calle Central, where most of the restored colonial houses are. We make some pictures. Via the central square and cathedral we drive out of town back to the  Interamericana which we follow for another 6km North. Here we leave the highway for a narrow and bumpy road. Once outside the inhabited world the road becomes dusty and the landscape rough. In the distance we see the high mountains. We drive for 17km in the direction of  Ricon de la Vieja National Park, so called after the volcano with that name. After twenty minutes we arrive at the porters lodge of our hotel  Hacienda Guachipilin, where there is a check of the guest list. It is another 3 km until we get to the Hacienda - a sort of ranch - and hotel. The check in is quick, but the room is not ready yet. We get a welcome cocktail and wait. An hour later we can get into the room. The room is spacious and comfortable. The hotel is part of a working ranch with cows and cowboys or sabaneros.  There is a pool and there are all kind of adventurous or relaxing activities to choose from. We take the buffet lunch and after a break we walk to a waterfall nearby. On our way there we see a snake crawl away from us into the foliage. The small waterfall is about 30 minutes away and nice enough. We walk back and have a nice cocktail at the bar. At night it is buffet time again. 

 Weather: sunny and very hot 31°C / 89°F. There is a nice breeze coming from the mountains

 Tuesday 15 April 2008

We rise early and find ourselves at the breakfast table by 6.30. After breakfast we drive to the Las Pailes entrance of  the national park Rincon de la Vieja. The park ranger gives us some information and a map with track details (in Spanish). We choose the 6km loop, that can be done in 2,5 hours. The alternative is to climb the volcano (8 hours return), but that sounds a bit to heavy to us. At 7.30 we are the first walkers to get here. Accidentally we start the loop in reverse direction. We first get to couple of bubbling mud pools (pilas de barro) exhuming sulphurous steam. We knew that already from New Zealand (2002) and Iceland (2005), but it is still fascinating to see. We continue into the Sabana and see lots of steam vents (hornillas) in the soil. We should not approach the to closely as the temperatures go up to 106°C (220°F). After that we cross a stream and get into the jungle. We have to climb over huge tree roots and steadily climb to a higher level. We see a couple of Tucans and a Central American Agouti. And to round things up we see a big Boa Constrictor , hanging in a tree by the side of the track.  As the morning progresses we meet more and more walkers and when get back to the ranger station we see a large group of American students getting ready for the walk.  

We drive back to the hotel. I go for a horse ride to the Oropendula waterfall. Two hours on horseback with a (exclusively Spanish speaking) guide, called David. The horse quite tame and knows its way around. He only has to follow David and his horse. And that is a good thing as my riding skills have to develop. Now and than the horse increases speed and gets me bumping in all directions. It is fun though. The final bit towards the falls is on foot and involves some climbing and agility. It is a niche sight. David asks me if I want to swim, but I friendly decline. We go back and the horse seems to be in more of a hurry and gallops more often. I have to correct him a couple of times when he wants to go the wrong way. In the afternoon we go to the hotel's Spa a mile or so from the ranch for a full body massage. Lovely feeling. After a nice cocktail we have dinner again. Not buffet style this time, as we try the à la carte. The kitchen's logistics are put to the test apparently, as our starter and main course arrive at the same time.   

Weather: sunny and warm. 31°C / 89°F. Windy.

Wednesday 16 April 2008

Liberia - Playa Samara: 143km / 90mi (3 hours)

We have an early breakfast and drive off to Liberia. There we take out money at the ATM - both dollars and Colones - before we drive to the post office to buy stamps and mail our postcards. We drive out of town in the direction of Nicoya on the peninsula with the same name. The roads are not too busy. After a good 2 hours we are in Playa Samara on the Pacific coast. Samara is a small and quiet sea side resort on picture perfect bay. We stay in a casita at the pensión LazDivas, which is run by a German/Swiss female couple. Berit is a bit of an eccentric and a bit difficult to communicate with. The casitas are superbly situated on the beach front. Hammock are strung between palm trees and there is no one in front of us on the beach. It is a brilliant bounty lie ambiance. We have lunch in the village and spend the rest of the afternoon idly laying about in our hammocks, only getting up for an occasional dive in the blue sea. At night we have a cocktail on the beach at La Vela Latina and eat delicious fish and shellfish next door at  La Anclia. We finish the evening with a night cap on the beach at La Vela Latina.

Weather: sunny, 32°C / 90°F gr.

Thursday 17 April 2008

We sleep under a mosquito net and still we are pestered by those annoying creatures. I am covered in itching bite marks. Obviously we forgot to kill the mosquitoes inside the net before we went to sleep. We have some other uninvited guests in the casita, like a big lizard, but he is not doing anything. Around the house squirrels and iguanas are running around. It takes some time to get our breakfast but we can eat it outside under a gazebo with a view of the ocean. After breakfast we take our positions in the hammocks again. Around 11 I take a surf lesson at Jesse's Samara Surf School. They promise to teach me surfing in an hours. It is not as easy as I thought. It is hard work and after a while I feel exhausted by personal instructor Diego's well intended instructions. It is frustrating to see that it seems to cost hardly any effort for this  young lad.  I get back to the casita completely knackered. We have lunch on the beach at Locanda and fall back into wholesome lethargy for the rest of the afternoon. Of course we do take the occasional dip into the ocean to cool things off. Around 4.30 we drive to Carillo, a village further down the road for a sunset view from restaurant Mirador, but that has ceased to exist. The view from hotel Guanamar is very nice too. It conspicuously quiet here, but the food and drink are not bad at all. The ambiance is luxurious. No idea what's wrong. After dinner we drive back, tired yet satisfied to Samara. 

Weather: sun with occasional light cloud. Warm, 30°C / 88°F.

Friday 18 April 2008

 Playa Samara - Tarascol: 185km / 115mi (4 hours)

Last night we slept much better. The night before we the mosquitoes and the itching drove us up the wall. I've been bitten almost everywhere, in spite of using DEET. They always seem to find a spot or moment to strike. Last night we checked the mosquito net on the inside for insects and tucked the net in under our mattress. But once we got up the little monsters got to us when we were in  the bathroom. We drive via Nicoya to the Puente de la Amistad de Taiwan (Taiwan Friendship Bridge) in the direction of Puntarenenas. This bridge over the Tempisque River shortens the trip considerably. In the old days you had to make a giant detour to reach the coastal highway. The bridge was built with the help of Taiwan, because Costa Rica was one of the last countries that still recognised Taiwan as the real China. We drive on to Tarascol and the hotel Villa Lapas. They first offer us an all inclusive package for $130 pp, but after some haggling we can get a double for only $139 per room including breakfast! The hotel is fairly quiet. It has all the facilities (pool, jungle, shops, bars etc), but it is a bit outdated. Around 1pm we get a heavy storm to deal with. It lasts about 20 minutes. Erik is too tired to visit National Park Carara, so I go it alone. The part open to the public is very small and you easily walk it in less than two hours. I see hardly any animals, but that can be because of the late hours, the heat and the rain. Only an armadillo and an agouti show themselves. I was hoping to see some Red Macaws, but that is not going to happen.  It is very humid. After the walk I drive to the bridge over the Tarascol river. There are some 30 crocodiles floating  in the water under the bridge. It is a remarkable sight. A couple of Red Macaws flies overhead toward their location to spend the night. The bridge used to be notorious for muggings and robberies, but now there is a police presence. Later I go back with Erik to show him the crocodiles. The policeman is gone, but there are still lots of crocodiles and tourists. When we walk back to the car and American couples comes driving towards us crying that all their baggage has been stolen from their car. Very sad. We drive down the road to have dinner at  "Steve and Lisa". The open air restaurant is beautifully situated on the Gulf of Nicoya and the view of the sunset is breath taking. We have a decent meal and go back to the hotel. We finish the day with a drink at the hotel bar, listening to the frogs in the pond. 

Weather: sunny 32°C / 90°F. One shower in the afternoon 

Saturday 19 April 2008

 Tarascol - Manuel Antonio: 85km / 53mi (2,5 hours)

We have an early breakfast and are on our way before 8am to Manuel Antonio. We follow the coastal highway, the Costanera. On our way we see a Costa Rican cowboy, a Sabanero, in action. On horseback he drives a group of cows over the prairie. We arrive in Quepos around 11am. We have to pay good attention there, not to miss the right turn to  Manuel Antonio. De climbing and winding road along the coast is cluttered with hotels and restaurants. After 5km we arrive at  Villa Roca, our (gay) hotel. Of course the room is not ready yet, but we can make use of the pool. That is what we do. The ocean view from the "infinity pool"  is great. We go for lunch at El Avion a restaurant with a great view and a plane in the middle of it. The plane was shot down in Nicaragua in the 1980's serving the "Contras" in their insurgency against the Sandinista government. The owner of El Avión bought the wreck and had it shipped to Manuel Antonio.  In one of the trees in front of the deck we see a sloth sitting, unmoved. When get back to the hotel, our room is ready. It is a nice one with good views of the forest and ocean from the balcony. We take it easy and go for the Jacuzzi, about 40m down hill. The hotel complex is on the flanks of a mountain. We relax secluded by the trees. After the Jacuzzi it is back to the pool where we chat with some of the other guests. Later in the afternoon Michael the bartender comes to cheer things up. He gives every guest a flirting wink and prepares delicious cocktails. d

At night we have dinner at Plinio restaurant, for an Asian style dinner. The food is fine, but a bit too much and the courses come very fast after one another, as so often in Costa Rica. Still it was a good meal. In darkness we drive back to our hotel. Most of the restaurants and hotels along the road have a security guard watching the parked cars. The rapid tourist development has also attracted criminal elements, so it seems.  

Weather: sunny, warm and humid  33°C / 91°F  Some cloud in the afternoon