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Costa Rica
Dates Traveled: April-May 2000
Santa Elena
I had decided to try and get to Costa Rica for Semana Santa (Easter) rather than hanging out in Nicaragua, so I left at 3:45 in the morning. Had to catch a bus to the other side of the island, a 1 hour boat ride to a small town, and another couple of buses to the border. Exiting Nicaragua was easy, but I should have known it was going to be a long day when I had to show my passport 4 different times between the Nicaraguan and Costa Rican border posts. Many countries state that you can’t enter unless you have an onward ticket or sufficient funds, but that stipulation is rarely enforced….Costa Rica decided to enforce it that day. I was forced to buy a bus ticket back to Managua (cheapest I could get, and one which I had no intention of using) before immigration would allow me to enter the country. With the huge line of people and the additional hassle, it took over 2 hours to get through the border. From there it was a 2 hour bus ride to Canas, a half hour bus ride to Tilaran, and because there were no more buses that day going to Monteverde/Santa Elena, I ended up hitchhiking the last leg. Ride was beautiful, and view out to the coast was spectacular. Santa Elena itself was a very small town, and quite touristy, but centrally located in the mountains (considerably cooler) with a lot to do in the area - a good place to be holed up for 6 days. Spent most days taking hikes through the cloud forests, seeing many birds, monkeys, etc., though one day was spent on a different type of tour. Sky Trek was a 2 hour tour through the cloud forest, but most of the distance was covered via ‘zip’ lines - cables stretched from one platform to another. A climbing harness was attached to a pulley, which was placed on the cable, allowing a person to ride through the treetops. There were about 11 different lines, with the longest being about 1/4 mile in length and 35 stories off the ground. It was a lot of fun and offered a different perspective on the forest.
Arenal Volcano
I ended up borrowing a tent from somebody in Santa Elena and taking a 4 hour ride on a horse, followed by a short boat ride, a short cab ride, and a short shuttle ride, to the base of Arenal volcano, the most active in Central America. Pitched my tent at the base, all the while trying to fend off biting flies that seemed attracted to Off, and settled in for an interesting night. Rocks being catapulted out of the crater and careening down the flanks actually shook the ground on which I was sleeping - sounding extremely close, and the noise was something that I’ll remember, like a forest fire, stampede, cracking ice, jets, or a waterfall. At times the large rocks hurtled down the volcano so fast that they sounded like helicopter blades slicing through the air. At least I was safe in my nylon tent! The next day I hiked up the ‘river of lava’ to the rope barrier with it’s sign proclaiming, “In danger of dead don’t pass”. Again, at least I was safe behind the rope, standing on old lava that was identical to the lava on the ‘dangerous’ side of the rope! Witnessed/heard a large explosion, with a mushroom cloud forming over the crater and more rocks hurtling towards me….quite impressive. At night one could see chunks of red shooting out of the crater. It was definitely worth the side trip, but I needed to return to Santa Elena to retrieve my backpack and continue on to the beach. Buses from the volcano back to Santa Elena took 7 hours - the last 3 hours to cover a mere 18 miles of twisting, gravel, mountain road. Talk about a long day.
Montezuma
From Santa Elena it was a 3 hour bus ride to Puntarenas, a 1 hour ferry ride to Paquera on the Nicoya Peninsula in the Pacific, and another 2 hour bus ride to Montezuma, where I spent 3 days being a beach/hammock bum. Montezuma is the kind of place where travelers decide to put down roots for awhile and so open small shops, etc. Nice place.
San Jose
Reversed the bus/ferry/bus trip as I headed to the capital - San Jose. Spent 3 days there, and enjoyed wandering around. San Jose has a very cosmopolitan, European feel. It’s a place where one could live quite easily. From San Jose it was an 8 hour bus ride to Golfito, which sits right on the gulf. FYI, you can give Golfito a pass if you’re ever in Costa Rica. It is useful as a port for small boats over to a peninsula, but not as a destination in itself.
Costa Rica Is…
As Costa Rica has been more stable than surrounding countries, it is more developed. It also means that more tourists have been visiting, which means higher prices. I did enjoy my time in Costa Rica, but, if you’re willing to work a bit harder, you can experience much of what Costa Rica has to offer in the surrounding countries as well, and pay less for your efforts.
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