Entering Costa Rica: Monteverde, San Jose, Quepos, Uvita and arriving in Drake Bay

Again apologies for the lateness of this post. In the jungle it is easy to lose track of time!

Continuing from last time.....

Time was ticking- we were aiming for a volunteer project in Costa Rica, so it was soon time to leave Nicaragua. We decided to skip Isla Ometepe (one of the most popular destinations in Nicaragua), as we would be returning to Nicaragua after volunteering in Costa Rica. So we headed off on a chicken bus to Rivas, with hordes of other travellers mostly on their way to Ometepe. A couple of French girls invited us to share their taxi to the border and caused us a great amount of stress when we found that they were heading to Ometepe instead. Needless to say, we wasted some money, half an hour and many frustrated/angry words on the taxi back to Rivas and were unceremoniously dumped on a street next to a man selling puppies in a cage, to wait for the next bus to the border.

Great Tailed Grackles at dusk
in the central park of Liberia

Once we got on the bus, things went pretty smoothly. By now, we are used to being heckled by lads on bicycles telling us the border is too far to walk and that they should take us there instead. To get into Costa Rica, it is required to show proof of leaving the country. Fortunately (and perfectly legally), Copa airlines has a 48 hour cancellation policy, where you can reserve a seat on a flight which is automatically cancelled. We showed our flight reservation at the border and were waved through.

We hopped on a bus to Liberia and were soon on our way. Staying overnight in a hostel, we discovered what most Costa Rican cities are like; basically, a run-down US town. Unlike Nicaragua and the other countries we have visited so far, Costa Rica does not really have markets, has very few street traders and buses are similar to the UK with schedules.

The next day we set off for Monteverde. Although we were told that the bus may take 4 hours to get to La Irma, a cross roads where we would catch bus up the mountain, the bus actually took 1 and a half hours. We arrived at the cross roads at 11, despite the next bus being at 3. After buying some ice cream from the conveniently located gas station, we attempted to hitch-hike. We ended up getting a ride with a family on their way to Monteverde who apparently ran a shuttle business. We paid a fare comparable to a bus ticket, so it turned out all right. The road up to Monteverde/ Santa Elena is steep, winding and largely unpaved. As we approached the Nature reserves, we began to see banners next to the roads advertising night walks, aerial tours and hostels. The town of Santa Elena itself was nothing special. Completely aimed at tourists, there were no cheap places to eat and even the supermarkets were expensive. Fortunately our hostel had a decent kitchen, so we were able to cook for ourselves.

It is recommended to visit at least one of the reserves in the area. However, put off by the high entry price (ranging from $15 to $25) and hordes of daily visitors, we never entered a single one.

We set off to find a fig tree near the town which you could apparently climb. A 10 minute walk from the town, as soon as we left the street we were surrounded by forest. We soon came across the first fig tree and clambered up the inside. The next day we headed off to the telephone pylons on top of a hill. I had read on a blog about some paths around there that you could follow so we decided to go and check it out.

We walked up the horrible track up to the pylons, which was pretty unexciting, although we did take a wrong turn and spotted an agouti when cutting through someone's garden! We reached the top which was covered in cloud and extremely windy. I’m sure the view would have been good but it’s called “cloud” forest for a reason!

Cloud Forest

We continued along the path and stopped at the Green hermits gift shop. We were invited in for a coffee and bought some jewellery. We then continued down the path, which became pretty steep and slippery. The path formed a loop at the bottom of the hill. We explored the forest. Unfortunately we didn’t see many animals as the weather was poor. It is also pretty hard to see animals in such dense undergrowth, however, we did spot a pair of Black Guan (Chamaepetes unicolor)- large, turkey sized birds that forage in trees.

Black Guan (Chamaepetes unicolor)

The next day we returned to the pylon hill and took a different path. We walked through the pristine cloud forest for several hours and ended up popping out in the Biological Station grounds. Unfortunately, we didn’t see many animals on our walk. However, as we entered the town, we saw an armadillo on the road next to a posh hotel!

Armadillo

The next day we left Monteverde to head to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica.

To be perfectly honest, San Jose was nothing special. There were a few nice pieces of architecture but unlike the other Central American capital cities we have visited, it lacked the chaotic vibe with few street sellers and no markets.

We decided to head to Quepos; a town on the Pacific coast. Quepos is most well-known for being the town near the most popular nature reserve Manuel Antonio. However, on arrival, we decided not to go there. Apparently the monkeys are really tame, to the point of stealing peoples camera bags. About to spend a month in the jungle, we decided not to pay for the park. On a couple of walks we took down to the beach, we saw at least two species of monkeys, two species of iguana and two species of basilisk.

We then took the bus to Uvita, one of the next towns down the coast. Walked to a waterfall and met our friends Ali and Jen who we had met in Guatemala and were now volunteering at Flutterby House in Uvita.

The next day it was off to Drake Bay on the Osa Peninsula to find our Workaway!

We left Uvita for an early bus to Palmar Norte. Having been told that the bus would take 30 minutes, in normal Central American style, we took multiple detours into the nearby villages and the trip tooke about 1.5 hours instead! Once we were off the bus, we took a taxi to a cash point to stock up, and then off to Sierpe to find a boat.

Drake Bay is accessible by road, however, the bus apparently takes about 6 hours on muddy, bumpy roads. We opted for the boat, which turned out to be a good choice. Although it cost $15, the boat ride was more of an adventure-speedboat-tour. The boat weaved in and out of floating vegetation iin the river, past mangroves and rainforest. We arrived in the open sea and were ominously instructed to put on our life jackets. The boat then sped out at top speed, dodging 5 ft waves and heading straight towards some rocks. We zipped between two huge outcrops in the water as waves broke next to us. Entering a sheltered bay, we reached Drake Bay: a tourist town surrounded by primary and secondary rainforest.

After leaving the boat, we headed off to our hostel for a couple of nights of luxury before entering the jungle. Over the next couple of days we hired a kayak and paddled out to a bay and walked along the coastal path, spotting spider monkeys and toucans.

Stocking up on some snacks, we were then ready to head into the jungle.

Hopefully the next blog won't take to long!

Feliz Viaje,

Bryony & Greg