Uvita Beach, Costa Rica

Although I was half and hour late I successfully picked up Kai at the San Jose airport and we had (overpriced) breakfast in Alajuela (town near the airport) before heading for our planned hike in the Baurilio Carillo National Park.  We were disappointed with all the traffic driving through the park but eventually went down a tiny unmarked lane and found a trailhead.  The walk was better than expected – both of us seeing quicksand for the first time (see the comparative photos showing the stick in the ground and out of it), as well as some kind of anteater, and a bright red (tiny) frog.

Another Aviary for Me, Flutterby Hostel, Costa Rica

We returned to San Jose for the night and went out to some dingy bars around the center, sidestepping the abundant prostitutes around the hotel. In the morning we started out preparing to drive through the mountains through to San Isidrio and down to the coast to the Corcovado National Park on the Osa peninsula. We arrived in Uvita on the coast at 4:30pm still 2 hours  from the park and it started to rain heavily so we decided to spend the night there instead.  We eventually found the Flutterby Hostel and had a good time talking to the owner over beer during the evening.  I have to partially retract my last post at this point as the Uvita beach was really undeveloped and quite nice.

In the morning in order to make it to Panama City we drove all day. The border crossing was exceptional – especially the Panamanian side – helpful clerks, no ‘helpers’, no lines, easy… was a Sunday.

Kai is flying out in two days and I’m supposed to get up tomorrow at 4am to drive to the Kuna Indian territory in by the Carti river where I’ll get my bike on a catamaran to sail to Columbia… Anxieties about sinking, rough weather, the state of my bike by the time it arrives are developing in earnest.

Quicksand in Costa Rica

Kai, Heredia Pali Supermarket, Costa Rica	Quicksand stick in, San Jose, Costa Rica	Quicksand stick out, San Jose, Costa Rica	San Isidrio, Costa Rica
San Isidrio, Costa Rica	San Isidrio, Costa Rica	San Isidrio, Costa Rica	Flutterby Hostel, Cabin, Uvita Costa Rica
Another Aviary for Me, Flutterby Hostel, Costa Rica	Uvita Beach, Costa Rica

San Jose, Costa, Rica to Uvita to Panama City, Panama

Sergio Zuñiga, Artist in Residence at Hotel Diria, Tamarindo, Costa Rica

I had another coffee at Buon Appetito and prepared to leave Tamarindo, Costa Rica intending to drive south on the unpaved roads alongside the Pacific ocean on the Nicoya Peninsula. While driving I kept noticing the endless advertisements for this or that ‘eco’ (as in ecologically sound or sane) housing or apartment complex development.  The entire peninsula is being rampantly developed with vacation houses for foreigners all with the tag-line of being ecologically sound. I’m not sure if this is to assuage the guilt of the foreign buyers for destroying the turtle habitat, a and beaches (Tamarindo gives ear infections due to the raw sewage during the rainy season entering the sea), while contributing more trash, power consumption, and pollution. Or perhaps the requisite ‘eco’ label is just a result of the developers responding to the Costa Rican governments extremely successful branding of Costa Rica as some sort of ecologically sound country.  Either way, the clear-cutting of the land, sprawling development, parade of SUVs, and raw sewage going into the ocean don’t correspond with the message.

Taiwan Amistad Bridge from Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica

Near Monteverde, Costa Rica

To be fair, the countryside is not strewn with garbage as it is from Mexico to Nicaragua. While driving I crossed three rivers fairly easily and then cut east across the Pan-American highway and from Las Juntas the dreaded end-of-pavement sign appeared.  The roads became rocky, as I wound slowly up through the central mountains towards Monteverde – one of the “7 Wonders of Costa Rica”. Narrowly missing runny over a male iguana in full flight from a small dog I was again wondering about the sustainability of Costa Rica’s environmental message as well as my part in destroying it.

And without a further thought I roared down the hills when I found pavement again and drove in the dark unable to see much through my dirty visor’s glare as I passed trucks on the single lane Pan-American highway.  I found the San Jose airport by mistakenly driving right into the arrivals lane and half an hour later had found a (non-love) hotel in which to spend the night before picking up Kai at the airport at the ungodly hour of 6:30am tomorrow.

Tamarindo Beach Morning, Costa Rica	Sun Also Rises on Tamarindo, Costa Rica	Taiwan Amistad Bridge, Costa Rica	Near Monteverde, Costa Rica
Near Monteverde, Costa Rica	Near Monteverde, Costa Rica	Near Monteverde, Costa Rica	$4 coffee, Monteverde, Costa Rica
Near Monteverde, Costa Rica	Sergio Lopez, Tamarindo, Costa Rica

Tamarindo to Belen, Costa Rica

Adrian (from the Netherlands) has been on many long trips with his BMW 1100GS and is great company – his trip log is here

I’ve decided to stop for the night in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. I can’t recommend it to anyone except those that want a mini-Cancun style holiday with surfing. All the shops are US style fruit/smoothie bars, multinational food or hotel outlets, and more non-Spanish speaking foreigners than I’ve seen in a while.  After spending a second day here I can recommend Buon Appetito at the south end of the strip, a restaurant run by an Italian woman where I had the best coffee I’ve had in 7 countries and 3 months or so.  The pancakes were light with strawberries and tropical fruits – well done.  The town has an air of frustrated and bored US/CDN couples airing their grievances publicly, whether about the prices in the supermarket or each other.  The other component are silent surfers who carry a certain stoned disinterest in their surroundings.   Perhaps the Subway sandwich shop is all one needs in paradise.

I forgoed the fancy hotels when I came to town after being informed hautily by a receptionist that it was $70 USD and when I asked if they had anything less expensive she rudely told me It was four stars. So I ended up renting a pretty filthy room in a semi-permanent lodging place where I encountered Sergio the resident Chilean artist.  Sergio’s a decent flatmate although doesn’t shine with his interests in cleaning.

The border crossing should be fairly simple, this one wasn’t.

It took me 4 hours starting at 9am. The steps included:

1) Paying municipal tax and then got across road for a ticket upon entry Nicaraguan side

2) Waiting in line at customs and being told I needed a signature on the ticket from a policeman somewhere outside.

3) Back in line and I’m told I don’t need anything else from Nicaragua. Get stopped to pay $3 USD for fumigation. They must have forgot about it because nobody even splashed water on my tires this time…

4) Go to Costa Rican side and get told to go to customs first for my bike. Customs says go to migracion first.

5) Wait in line for 30 minutes at migration and am told I need an exit stamp from Nicaraguan migracion.

6) 300 meters back to Nicaragua (through checkpoint) and get exit stamp.

7) 300 meters back to Costa Rican migracion where I just push in front of the 200 people waiting and get my stamp from guy playing with his iPhone before doing anything – like handing back my already completed paperwork. No air conditioning and 60 people in the room.

8) Back to customs building – can’t continue, need insurance in other building and copies, but copier is broken.

9) Get insurance $15 USD for Costa Rica and copies of stamp in passport and insurance receipt

10) Back to customes, get everything and am told I don’t need anything else – except a permit to drive in Costa Rica

11) Go 150 meters forward to another unmarked building, wait in two lines (first one incorrect) for 30 minutes. Told there is no stamp on my customs documents.

12) Back 150 meters to customs and get stamp.

13) Forward 150 meters to unmarked building and someone takes pity and says go to the front of the line. Exchange all documents for a printed one.

14) 100 meters forward to checkpoint. Incorrect plate number (A instead of a 4 for the first number on the plate)

15) Back to unmarked building, swearing and sweating. Get new document after short argument about whether it’s a 4 or an A

16) Back to checkpoint. Sorry, last two digits are now reversed (53 shown instead of 35)

17) Back to unmarked building, get new document with correct plates and get cheeky wink from bastard who gave me two wrong numbers.

18) Exit planet idiocy finally and get stopped by two police checkpoints within 20 minutes.

San Juan Del Sur, to Tamarindo, Costa Rica