San Jose, A City Vibe
This morning our local rooster crows to wake us up one last time before we depart for the city, we were sad to leave the relaxing rural life behind as we boarded our boat transport to La Pavona. After a couple of bus transfers, we make our way to San Jose. Humidity and temps were high in our jungle environment. Even after a couple of weeks, we struggled to adapt.
While Uber driving is illegal in San Jose, it is oddly available everywhere. It is our preferred transport, as it offers a fair set price. We Uber for 15 minutes to our Airbnb, where Luis our Airbnb host met us. Surprised to have three keys, 2 gates & an alarm for this 3 bedroom, 2 bath house. Luis said, ” We added this outside gate since the homeless would hang out, sleep and smoke outside, the inside door, to stay dry.”
Today is laundry day, as everything was musty from our visit to the Tortuguero swamp, the rainiest part of the country, with over 200 inches a year! Chicago and the USA get an average of 38 inches a year.
The following day, we considered a slum tour of a two thousand person squatter community north of San Jose, where promising young leaders, lead the tour. However, the girls opted for the three museums, all within walking distance from our Airbnb. We all got a grumbly stomach. I think it is most likely from petting dogs, my girls & I can’t resist. We likely have giardiasis, said to usually pass on its own. While the girls were over it in one day, it persisted for Nancy & I.
We purchased a multi museum pass and toured the National, Jade and Gold Museums. It was better context to see the museums after being in Costa Rica a couple weeks, the nature & culture displays were more meaningful that way. On our way home, we were once again caught in a deluge. It was nice to have a washer/dryer in our Airbnb.
Reuniting with a Guatemala Friend
Eduardo, a friend I visited 25 years ago during my first visit to Guatemala, before the start of my Passion for Adventure journey, joined us for dinner. He chose an old house restaurant in the area where government officials work. It was a special treat and the best meal of our trip. We caught up on our lives, travels, kids, and other adventures. After sharing a story of our night time turtle nesting tour, he said, ” I remember I was extremely lucky doing the turtle night watch when I was around 13 years old. It was at a desert beach in Guanacaste, with one of the workers of my Uncle’s farm in Conchal, I still remember it as if had happened yesterday.”. It was so rich to hear his childhood story.
We took the Uber to the bus to Manuel Antonio. The scenery along the way was breath-taking. Our Airbnb is 70 yards from the National Park entrance. We walked around town and quickly saw monkeys on electrical wires above us. One was missing an arm but still moving along well. Later at night, the frogs were croaking loudly as Nancy & I went for a walk.
We spent a few hours the next day body surfing in the waves. The sun is very intense and you have to remember to reapply sunscreen every few hours. My girls got a good burn, despite all our efforts to reapply sunscreen. Walking the beautiful beach with spectacular rock outcroppings was a wonderful treat. Rain & a thunderstorm greeted us again in the afternoon. Still fraught with occasional grumbly stomachs, I am beginning to suspect a parasite. All the caution in the world cannot help you if restaurant plate or food has contaminates.
Manuel Antonio National Park
Sunday, we decided to explore the Manuel Antonio National Park. It had well maintained trails, with beaches, so there was a lot to do and see. We finally saw a squirrel monkey and a bunch of spider monkeys playing on the look out tower. They were way too close for comfort. These monkeys are famous for opening bags and taking your food! Many lizards, viper snake & colorful crabs all over with one claw larger than the other. The beaches were beautiful with lots of jagged rock. The girls wanted to body surf but the waves were incredibly rough and the lifeguards kicked them out of the water after 45 minutes. We had a nice walk around town and found a reasonably priced outdoor restaurant called Art Costa Linda.
Theft On A Bus
We woke up to Howler monkeys. They are loud during mating season.
Lots of running water in the streets after a hard night’s rain and then another morning thunderstorm. We got on the noon bus to San Jose. These bus stop at places that have the best food. Unfortunately, our oldest got her purse stolen on the bus. It was pulled out of her backpack when she wasn’t aware.
Having enough of public transportation, we took a pricey Uber plus to our B&B near the airport for our final night’s stay. The Uber driver shared with us that Uber is illegal in Costa Rica, and taxi drivers box in Uber drivers with their cars and call the police. It is a $4000 fine, 6 month suspension of drivers license but its hard to prove. Dinner was with Gabriel and his family. He had very good English and was quite knowledgable on the area, answering our many questions and offering insights on our varied experiences.