Remember the last place? Let me help you: Montezuma. Remember also that the first night was horrible and I wanted to leave immediately? No? You better read my blogs more careful 😉 Just kidding, fact was, that I didn’t want to leave Montezuma at the end. I could have stayed longer there. But the beat…boat…goes on…
A one hour boat ride brought me from Montezuma to Jaco, a place you want to get away from as soon as possible. Together with the fellow travelers we boarded the next bus leaving for Quepos. In my case, I continued on to Manuel Antonio, boardering village to the namesake national park. It is also featuring a beautiful beach with quite some waves. One nearly swept me over.
Next day I went to the national park. This is the busiest park in Costa Rica and you get time slots when you can go in. During low season it’s not as bad. Unfortunately, it rained in the beginning and then you won’t see many animals. I doubt that even the ones with a guide saw much. I managed to see some deer, iguanas, monkeys and blue morpho butterfly. Good enough!
Thankfully, by midday the rain stopped and later even the sun made it. Which is fantastic because you can enjoy 2 prestine beaches within the park. Sometimes, life is kind.
I wanted to see the Quetzales birds and thought that I would find them in the corresponding Parque nacional.
The question was how to get there as the bus connections sucked. I found a car rental deal online that seemed too good to be true. I mean it was less than half what all the other agencies stated. I remembered from Facebook groups that rental car companies here tend to roll you over with the insurance. So, I was prepared for what was about to come and swore I won’t get angry. At the counter the lady told me that she cannot find the reservation. OK, here we go 😀 She called a colleague and he found the reservation in his system. Long story short, she gave me a car for exactly the price from the agency. Then she asked me “Would you like an upgrade? For free? To a 4×4”. I was like “Ah, yeah, that would be great?”. What a nice lady. I have the feeling somebody was taken advantage off and it wasn’t me this time. Off I rolled with a Suzuki Vitara and into the mountains I went. Google gave me an interesting alternative route. I just didn’t realize how alternative the route was going to be. Thankfully, I had a 4×4. Otherwise, not possible. And I rather didn’t look left either as often the road seemed bitten off by rain and mud slides. But a great adventure it was!
I thought I could visit some historical sites and went in the direction of Cartago. That was a mistake. The hotel I booked was not in Cartago but in the surrounding mountains. The first road Google suggested suddenly ended and during reverse I managed to park the car in the ditch. WTF! Luckily, a guy saw it (“You’re not the first one”) and called a neighbor, who hooked me up to his car and out we were. Wow, what a release. Just to get into the next Google suggestion and having to turn around as I couldn’t get passed the washed out parts, it was dark and didn’t want to risk it. The 3rd alternative wasn’t that good either but I pushed ahead and finally reached the Glamping place at 8pm. The guy was surprised that I came from this direction. Yeah, thanks mate for having the right address in booking.com!
But the view over Cartago and San José was great and sleeping in a hut with warm blankets, while it is bloody cold outside, is something special.
So, Parque nacional de Quetzales. While it is called that the chances of seeing them is very unlikely…at least in the part that is accessible to the public. I followed the rangers suggestion and drove down into the valley to a small community, got in contact with the local minimarkt owner and had a place to sleep and a tour for the next day.
At 7am we went for the hunt. And it is an interesting thing. I go and of course I want to see them and at the same time I am thinking “It’s OK if I don’t see them”. Especially since we didn’t see them the first hour or two. But who am I kidding? Because the relief was palpable both in me and the guide once we saw the first one. And wow, how beautiful those birds are. Unfortunately, they were still far away and the shot is not that great.
I continued on towards Parque nacional Chirripó but also here I decided against climbing the “highest peak”. Instead, I chose a very interesting road to get to Uvita. The creek crossing in the beginning should have warned me what is about to come. But it only got me excited 😅 (BTW, the picture is from the other side, I crossed first and then took the picture).
After the crossing a major uphill, with from rain outwashed deep cracks, awaited me. That was the worst (and best) so far. No idea how I managed it…I guess luck. While coming down on the other side I stopped beside a youngster who was fixing his motorcycle:
Me: Do you need help or are you OK?
Yongster: No, I am OK. Where are you going?
Me: To Uvita
Youngster: But this is not the main road. Do you need help? #smirk
Me: 😅 I know, this is more interesting
Youngster: You cannot go this way (pointing in the direction I came from)
Me: This is where I came from. It was a very interesting road
Youngster: 😱🤭😅😮 (not really sure how I can reflect his face 😅)
With a laugh I drove off.
And with a stunning view over Bahía Ballena the drive ended. What an amazing adventure! 💓
After one night I headed out again. Yes, no long stays this time. I will need some more rest at some point. I wanted to Parque Nacional Corcovado. But I ended up not doing a tour (you’ll find the reason below).
I spent a night in a really cool place nearly in the jungle and totally open (“Are there cougars?”).
I still had the car as I extended the rent and changed the drop-off location finally to Paso Canoas. Thus, I just had to walk over the border. Funnily enough, no complaints as I returned the car. If they would have known.
The rest I’ll tell you next time…inshallah 😀
Some ask me if I have a budget on this (or any trips). I don’t. I mean, I cannot spend indefinitely but I decide more from the gut than from a fixed value. To give you an example. I have no problem renting a car for 4 days when it costs me around 200 USD as I still think I made a bargain. But I am refusing to pay 380 USD for a 2-days-hike in Parque nacional Corcovado. Part of the gut feeling has to do that one is saying yes, while for the latter one it is more of a “I have to do it not to miss it” feeling. Fuck that, life is not a checklist. But yes, there is always a feeling of “What did I miss?” in it 😉
But I’m just on my way to a tour that will cost me 400 USD. But, in this case, I think the adventure is worth it!
I can say that during this trip it is easier to get into conversation with both, locals and foreigners. I don’t know what it is. I can imagine it has something to do with the Costa Rican friendliness (Pura vida). In any case, it gives me less a feeling of being a stranger.
Nevertheless, the last days a feeling comes up that my travel is about to finish. While this is true partially, I still have nearly 2 weeks to go. But it is a good feeling. A feeling of “wanting” to go home rather than “having” to go home. And it is not as urgent yet, so I am sure I will find things to do for the last leg of this journey.
Love,
Matthias