Are We There Yet, Costa Rica
After almost two years traveling, we found ourselves in a bit of a funk...missing family and friends, the conveniences of house life, the mom and pop restaurant that greeted us by name, the honey from the beekeeper down the street, the smell our of local food coop. The dry heat and blowing dust of Nicaragua wore on us. We were done with being able to write notes in the powdery film on the counter inside the van. In our minds, we reviewed the photos of Costa Rica from magazines and commercials...tropical rain forests, soft sand beaches with palm trees and turquoise waters. The allure of baby sloths and elusive Quetzales promised to captivate and comfort us, so we were impatient to leave the coast of Nicaragua and get into some damp and fascinating places further south. I guess we needed to learn our lesson one more time, consistent with many other parts of Central America, not all of Costa Rica is humid and lush. Once again, we found ourselves searching for some relief from the dry heat and wondering how we didn't know that part of Costa Rica supposedly resembles the grasslands of Africa during the dry season.
What We Did
Penas Blancas: Nicaragua to Costa Rica Border Crossing
Although not overly time consuming, this was by far the most frustrating and nonsensical border crossing yet. We arrived at the Nicaraguan side around 8am after passing a few kilometers of semi trucks and parked in a large lot with tour buses, small vehicles, and food stalls. We paid $1 each for a municipal fee and $2 each for exit fees and our passports were stamped out of Nica. We then wandered around the parking lot and nearby food stalls, hallways, and shady spots to find the official in the light blue shirt with the clipboard (not just any light blue shirted official with a clipboard, but the right light blue shirted official with a clipboard) and the police officer with the stamp to have our vehicle paperwork completed. We took the completed paperwork and Nicaraguan temporary import permit to the Aduana desk, running into a traveler whom we first met in Canton, Canada (what a small world), where our exit form was completed and provided to us. We drove to the boom, handed in the exit form, and continued to Costa Rica.
To enter Costa Rica, we parked near and entered the Equipaje building which houses immigration. We completed and submitted our entry forms and got our passports stamped. We picked up a vehicle form at the Aduana shack directly across the street and made copies of the passport stamp page ($0.36) at the neighboring shed. The official in the Aduana shack checked all our paperwork, had us show him the van which he solely focused on it having a real metal license plate and left hand drive, before he signed off on our vehicle form and handed us an additional small square of paper. We then drove to the Aduana building a half kilometer up the road, parked, and purchased insurance ($40 for 90 days), provided our completed vehicle form and the original and two copies of all required documents to the Aduana official, and received our Costa Rican temporary import permit. We drove to the boom, showed our documents, handed in the small square of paper, and were free to explore Costa Rica. All the officials were friendly and we were through in around two hours.
Finca Canas Castilla, Guanacaste
After a shorter than expected border crossing, we arrived at Finca Canas Castilla in the late morning. We definitely would have had time to continue on to a location further into the country, but we hadn't actually planned any further than the Finca and we're so glad we didn't skip it. There are three marked hiking trails on the property, which is a lovely mix of forest, river, and pastures with chickens and turkeys running around and cows and horses grazing. We were lucky to see a sloth sleeping the day away next to the coconuts and troops of monkeys moving through the treetops. We couldn't resist the breakfast for $7 per person with some of the best homemade bread we've had on the trip. We made an exception to our hand washing habit and paid $5 to use the fancy European style washing machine, our laundry came out sparkly fresh. Camping costs $5 per person per night which seems expensive if you've come from Nicaragua, but is a bargain compared to other Costa Rican camping.
Casa Camping Avellanas, Guanacaste
We checked out a couple recommended beaches before we reached Otto's place and decided we should stay put. We had initially planned on staying only one night, but John noticed that our power steering pump was leaking again after kilometers of washboard dirt road so we needed to regroup. We stayed three nights at a cost of $12.73 (7000C) per night while we planned for repairs and waited out the weekend. We ended up loving it at Casa Camping Avellanas. A good beginner surf and boogie wave is just a short walk to the right and at low tide a great protected swimming area is revealed directly in front of the camping area. While Otto's facilities aren't fancy, there was a nice breeze, the monkeys slept in the trees overhead, there was just enough dappled shade, and Otto was warm and welcoming.
El Mirador de los Quetzales, San Jose
After running around San Jose and receiving an outrageous quote for our replacement pump from the Ford service center, the kind mechanics at the Iveco shop confirmed that we needed a new pump but were in no imminent danger of steering failure. They said it was okay to drive the van as long as we didn't let the fluid get too low and we knew that April was high season for Quetzal spotting, so we decided to take our best shot and headed to El Mirador de los Quetzales.
Camping in a parking lot has become a regular, although not often awesome, occurrence. The parking lot at El Mirador de los Quetzales has a beautiful mountain view and camping with use of WiFi and a bathroom and shower up the hill at the reception area for $15 (a discounted rate is available for camping only). We took a Quetzal spotting tour the next morning at 6:30am for $20 per person. We saw a pair of Quetzales during the tour, although we were unable to get any proper pictures, and our guide Oscar even came to our van early the next morning to show us the Quetzales in the trees above and behind the reception building. While we were at El Mirador, eating soup, drinking hot tea, and enjoying the cold weather, we booked flights to the US for the following week to visit family and friends and to retrieve a new pump and myriad additional "necessities."
Suenos del Bosque, San Jose
We wanted lower elevation and more convenient facilities to prep and pack for our trip to Florida and Suenos del Bosque was highly recommended by friends. At 7,200 feet we don't feel the effects of altitude but still get the cool temperatures that allow us to throw a blanket on the bed. The campsite overlooks a babbling creek and there are multiple hiking trails nearby. We were told Quetzales visit the area also, but we never went looking. We hiked a trail through blackberry fields to a small waterfall and spent hours taking pictures in the gardens and pond on the property in between our chores. Because we stayed multiple nights, we were able to negotiate a small discount, we paid $18.18 (10,000C) per night.
Honorable Mentions
While we don't list every place and thing we do there are some that stick in our minds. Weeks later we catch ourselves mentioning them to others or just savoring the memory of the exquisite cuisine we consumed. Here are a couple standouts.
Cafe Kahawa, San Jose
When we hit road construction on the way to Suenos del Bosque, we decided to wait it out at Cafe Kahawa. We sat on the open deck overlooking a breathtaking creek and ate made in house chicken fingers and fries, a chicken wrap, homemade flourless chocolate cake, and two fancy non-alcoholic beverages. All in it cost us $28 and it was money well spent.
Country Inn & Suites San Jose Aeropuerto, Alajuela
We needed a place to stay near the airport so we could drop the van off at the storage facility and suspend our vehicle temporary import permit the day before our flight to Florida. While driving around San Jose I noted the Country Inn because it appeared to have adequate parking and be in a decent area. We booked it online and were happy with the facilities and the friendly bilingual staff. There is a shopping center next door with a Fresh Market grocery store, multiple restaurants, and an ATM. We paid $86 per night which included a sunny pool, fitness center, and hot breakfast buffet.
You guys are awesome.
Take care.
Where are we now
Look Rock, TN
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