Costa Rica

Costa Rica reportedly to be the most expensive of all the Central American Countries and having the worst roads. About the bad roads, they are not so awful just a few pot holes, but the ones they do have are car damaging ones with a few speed bumps. The cost of visiting Costa Rica is higher. Food both eating out and buying at the supermarket is at least three times what I have been paying so far in my travels. Public bus transport is good and cheap, but no central map of the bus system to aid the traveler in getting around (too bad, it is desperately needed). Tours and attractions can be pricey but if you find a way to go without the tour it is cheaper.

Santa Rosa National Park, Guanacaste is just inside the northern border of Costa Rica next to Nicaragua. This park was a delight to stay in. I camped there for the first week I was in Costa Rica. When coming be sure to bring enough food to last for your stay, there is only a small restaurant that charges $10US per meal (dinner only) and has the only WIFI. Electricity for

recharging batteries is at several places put not at the campground, but water, bathrooms and coldshowers are available. An abundant of flora and fauna like birds, three kinds of monkeys, iguanas, turtles, and so much more is around for your enjoyment. Easy well marked hiking paths are throughout the park. A real poor road will get you to the beach, but you had better have a 4WD with oversized tires and a snorkel during the rainy months. I did not make it to the beach with my 91 Toyota 4Runner water did come up passed my floorboards. Entrance fee to the park is $10US, and camping is $2US per day, standard at all Costa Rican National Parks.

San Jose, San Jose, Costa Rica is an intriguing city made up of many small villages that grew together too fast and with a lack of proper planning. It seems to be functioning but with an extremely disjointed feel to it. Sidewalks are too thin for even two people to walk side-by-side; many streets are too thin for a smooth flow of traffic. But all in all it is a lovely city and well worth visiting. It has a mix of old and new buildings, a lot of banks, Wal-Marts, McDonald's, market places, street vendors, hustlers on the street corners, buses, taxis, a visible police presence, no army, friendly people willing to help tourists and many other things working for it.

Manuel Antonio National Park, on the Pacific Cost of Costa Rica, sits in the province of Puntarenas, 157 km south of San Jose, 7 km south of the city of Quepos. It is situated in a humid, tropical forest life zone. It protects primary and secondary forests, mangroves,beach vegetation, and marine resources. Some of the floras to be found are silk cotton tree, cow tree, bully tree, guacimo colorado tree, a mangrove swamp, almond trees, mayflower, coconut, and manzanillo tree. The most common wildlife is raccoon, white nose coatis, agouties, sloths, iguanas, snakes, jacana, hawks, laughing falcons, and monkeys to name a few. Contact information is www.coopealianza.fi.cr

 

Toucan Rescue Ranch mission is to rescue and rehabilitate rainforest wildlife through a model of conservation, education and research and well worth a visit. They are currently caring for several different kinds of owls, a monkey, two and three toed sloths, lovebirds, parrots small and up to the macaws, a hawk, four of the six different toucans, just to name a few. It does cost $24.00US for a two hour tour that needs to be scheduled. They are about 15 minutes outside of San Jose and have two guesthouses that can be rented. Contact info is info@toucanrescueranch.org, www.toucanrescueranch.org, toucanrescueranch5@blogspot.com, twitter/toucanrescueranch.com, phone (506) 22689-4041.

The Lankester Botanical Garden, Science and Orchids Conservation Center have more than 30,000 orchid species. Orchids are the largest and most diverse plant family in the world, beneficial to me because I love orchids. They also have a Japanese Garden with several different species of bamboo, also cacti and succulents, secondary forest, ferns (1,200 species), zingiberales, bromeliads (2,500 native species), and palms. All laid out in an exceptionally attractive garden for easy viewing, well labeled and enjoyable walking. Open every day at a cost of $7.50US, contact information is , phone (506) 2511-7939, email jardinbotanico.lankester@ucr.ac.cr.
www.jbl.ucr.ac.cr

Costa Rica Love Hostel in Santo Domingo ran by an exceptionally likeable couple. They have a charming house with private, semiprivate and dorm rooms. I found the couple immensely helpful in finding things to see and do. They run an excellent shuttle and tour service to many unique spots around the country. Contact information is costaricalovehostel@gmail.com, and they are on Facebook at Costa Rica Love Hostel and you can book them through www.hostels.com. 

As my time in Nicaragua comes to an end

As I reflect back over the last few weeks of being in the San Juan del Sur area of Nicaragua. With snorkeling, turtle watching, Howler Monkeys, chili pepper crabs, surfing, swimming in the ocean, reading and swinging in a hammock, bird watching, watching the sunsets, hiking and not to forget visiting with people from around the world (Italy, Scotland, Spain Germany, France, Australia, French Canada, Holland, Florida, Belgium, Sweden, just to name a few) these last few weeks have been immensely enjoyable. 

San Juan del Sur, the town is quite the little tourist town with local town feel. It has many of the tourist attractions like canopy tours, snorkeling, scuba diving, horseback riding, turtle tours, surfing and lessons, sailing and  fishing trips just to name a few. 

Many excellent restaurants and street food at night, hotels and hostels with a verity of prices, banks and ATMs (that give both US and local money), Pali store (Nicaragua version of a small Wal-Mart), for your convenience, makes this area a perfect place to visit.  

There are chicken buses for the local transport that run four times a day out to the beaches and surfing areas. 

Here are some websites for you to checkout for information only; I do not endorse any of them per say, but they are intriguing. www.casaeloro.com  www.hmerida.com  www.andayanicaragua.con  www.casamaderas.com www.chillinnhostel.com 

Snorkeling Trip

There were nine secondary students (eight girls and one boy) and two teachers here from Germany for a few days. They were in Nicaragua as part of an exchange project involving a village inland from here. A few days before returning to Germany they had some fun things planned. One of them was to go snorkeling three beaches north of here; the only way to access this beach was via boat. I was invited to go along. The beach we went to is Playa Blanco (White Beach) and the beach owned by the guy that owns the two breweries here in Nicaragua. Water visibility was not clear enough for satisfactory photography, but the day was excellent.

 

Turtles laying their eggs on the beach

I and several others went to the Refugio De Vida Silvestre La Flor, a reserve, 20 km south of San Juan del Sur, to watch the turtles lay eggs. One thing that I learned; is whatever reserve or beach you go to be sure you are there at the beginning of high tide not the end. Turtles prefer to come ashore during high tide and not low tide. We only saw one turtle and the group of people scared her way, so she did not lay her eggs. Next time I will do a better job and get some photos. I am looking forward to the turtles and reserves in Costa Rica. 

 

About 45 days ago a turtle laid her eggs right in front of the door to Camping Matildas the eggs were dug up and moved inside, and now we have a nest of eggs due to hatch any day that I can photograph. 

On the 17^th and 19^th, turtles came ashore and laid eggs. A person from down the beach came and moved the eggs to their yard for safe keeping.

Time in Nicaragua

In this little piece of heaven that I have found here in San Juan del Sur; it turns out to be even better than Mexico City for meeting people from around the world. In the first five days, and I have been here I have already met people from Germany, France, Australia, French Canada, Holland, Florida, Belgium, and two from the states working in Costa Rica. Only time will tell what tomorrow will bring. One reason for my travels was so that I could meet people from different parts of the world; this is just over and above even what I had planned. Lucky me as I am living the good life...   

One thing I enjoy about this part of my travels is that I get to walk down the beach around the next point, to the beach restaurant where a lot of surfers hangout so I can access the internet. Along the way,  I look for any new seashells that I may be able to make into a necklace or earrings for my granddaughter. I enjoy the crabs that dart out of the way, the surfers in the water waiting for the next perfect wave, people that stroll down to the beach for a day’s outing. Sometimes I enjoy just the sound of the waves and watch the clouds as they dance across the sky; it is never the same twice and ever boring.  

Then there are days like Sunday. With San Juan packed with people, cars, chicken buses, surfers, and tourists; so many that the streets were clogged and cars that had to back up to let another car pass coming from the other way. After I returned from the city and brought in some of my groceries; a chicken bus loaded with some young well-built men poured out onto the beach and started playing American Football. It was immensely entertaining to watch this beach load of men, dressed only in their swimsuits run up and down, tackling each other, rolling around in the sand, running through the water, taking a quick ocean cool down dive into the waves… I might be 63 years old, but I am not dead yet, I still enjoy looking at healthy looking men…

The produce truck comes by here twice a week; this last time I bought two pineapples, six bananas, eight tomatoes, three onions, two avocado, five limes and one cucumber all for 100 Córdoba’s or $4US. Buying local is always best at home, or when you travel.

Howler Monkeys this morning woke me at 4:30am or about dawn and went on for about an hour with their howling. It sound load and across between wolfs howling and a grizzly bear growling. They are the black cat sized monkeys that inhabit this beach area where I am staying. They sound as if there are hundreds of them, but you cannot see that many because of the extra foliage due to the rainy season. But the ones that I have seen are cute and just interested in eating the broad leaves on the trees here at Camping Matilda’s. They stay up in the trees and do not come down on the ground to go through the garbage or bother anyone. They are truly charming and cute.

Honduras and Nicaragua

 

Just a word for future travel border jumpers on a budget… do only one border pre month; both for financial and sanctity reasons. It can be a trying and expensive indulgence with the vultures that come out of the wood work both leaving and then again getting into each country that my budget will not allow. I just went through Honduras, and now I am in Nicaragua; I need to stay here for a few weeks cheaply so I may stretch my month to match my money. 

My first day the 25^th of July in Nicaragua and with that a rude awakening with the gas prices working out to be $5.55 per gallon… I thought the prices back home in Seattle were bad. It is a good thing that it is a small country and that I need to be in Costa Rica before the first of Sept. I was hoping that I could be there sooner, but dollars are dollars regardless of the country you are in.

As it stands, right now, I am looking forward getting back into the regular routing of a part-time job and collecting my Social Security check each month, as well as enjoying my grandchildren face to face back in Washington State… 

My fist night in Nicaragua I spent in Managua the capital city. I was hoping to get to the Masaya Volcano National Park where I could camp at the visitors’ center, but once in this city the lack of street signage made that awfully hard, even with asking for direction. As it was getting dark I knew that I needed to find a place to stay, sleeping in my car in some parking lot. I was not looking forward to doing. I found a very nice Auto Hotel and got a full night’s sleep, I was up early and found the park right away just a few miles outside of town. You can camp there for $2US per night (no electricity it says water, but I did not find any) and entry fee of $4US. That helps make up for the price of the hotel.    

Masaya Volcano, you can drive right up to the rim of this active volcano. But when I was there the volcano was smoking and smelling a little bit of sulfur. Usually there is a night tour but not for the past few days because the smoke has been too thick and you cannot see down to the lava inside. Since I was the only one here after they closed for the day I did drive up to the rim and looked for myself. They were right just smoke, no glowing lava but a good sunset. I had the whole park to myself. It is undoubtedly worth a visit.

Granada, according to the Church and Church book you can camp on the street in front of the Hotel Central or maybe at Camplejo Turistico by the dock at the lake; but neither looked like anything I would want to do. The town is going through a lot of improvements, better streets and some new buildings. It looks like someone is spending a lot of money to get the tourist in there. 

I left Granada and drove to my next possible spot for camping and again according to Church and Church book there is an Eco-lodge just north of San Juan del Sur at Playa Majagual. Before going, I did try to check it out on-line, but the information was not clear. So I thought I would try it anyway I had nothing to lose and beaches are usually a fair bet for cheap camping. As it turns out the Eco-lodge has been closed since 2006. 

Lucky me there is Camping Matilda’s right on the light brown sandy beach and run by a extremely lovely lady. I am paying 100 Córdoba’s or $4US per night for me and my tent. She has a wide variety of basic accommodation. Guest also has the use of a basic kitchen with a gas stove, small refrigerators are available for a small extra charge. There is a extremely agreeable family run restaurant just up the street they also rent surfboards. You can park an RV (no hookups) in the secure parking lot but with the road being exceedingly narrow and what it is I would not try a long one. It has a beautiful surfing and swimming beach. I highly recommend this place. There are a five unit Castaways place next door to. I will be staying here for a while. The only internet is in down the beach and in San Juan. 

 

I get to hear the constant soothing rhythm of the ocean waves washing up on the shore; the salty taste to the sea breeze as it blows, watching the sea birds diving for their dinner, lizards scurrying about the sand and up the trees, the hurried scamper of the hermit crabs by the hundreds. I hear the chiming of the seashells that have been strung together and decorate the palapa’s along the beach. I have seen an assortment of different colored butterflies that flit and dart about, hear the laughter and screams of enjoyment from the people playing in the waves, watching sandcastles being washed away, children discovering treasures in the sand, white puffy clouds that dance across the sharply contrasting vivid blue sky. I hear birds all over but have not been able to photograph very many and then there are even monkeys darting about the trees, all of this in the rhythm of a day at the beach here at Playa Majagual.