Puerto Jimenez and Corcovado National Park

We arrived in Puerto Jimenez, after Drake Bay, in hopes to stay a couple nights and get into Corcovado National Park for a visit.  On our 'travel time,' we didn't realize that it was Easter week, and one of the most difficult times to travel in Costa Rica.  It's called Semana Santa (Saint's Week), and buses often don't run, as well as many stores remain closed.  The most difficult time is Thursday and Friday of this week, when there is a liquor ban in every store, restaurant and bar.  Not such a big deal it seems, but we were so bored in Puerto Jimenez during this week, that all we wanted on Thursday afternoon was a cold beer!

Puerto Jimenez is tourist oriented because of the proximity to the national park, but there's not much to do there...We spent a lot of time walking around, and hanging out on the balcony of our hostel...

Somehow we managed to find a guy selling some brewskies out of the back of his ride.  He opened the door, and had a cooler filled with beer.  We bought a six pack of 'Panama,' which turned out to be quite refreshing in the southern Osa Peninsula heat.  It also poured rain a couple days there...

Some locals playing with a football in the sea in the pouring rain

Corcovado National Park:

Corcovado is a MUST SEE for everyone!  I've never seen so many animals in the wild, in my life.  Day trips are only

$10 to enter, and an additional $18 or so for the transportation in and out of the park.  If you have the time, I highly recommend doing at least one night in the park.  You can start in Carate, and hike into Sirena Station, which is an all day hike, spend the night there, and hike back the next day, or stay another night, in order to enjoy all that surrounds the station.  On my Costa Rica trip in 2009, I spent two nights at Sirena, and saw some epic wildlife, including Crocs, Tapirs, Anteaters, etc...This time around we did the day trip, and it was well worth it.  It's much cheaper, and we were lucky enough to see some amazing things, as well as have the trails all to ourselves.

 

One night in Drake Bay

We had been recommended to visit Drake.  Our plan was to pass through, by way of Sierpe, on the way towards Puerto Jimenez, and Corcovado National Park.  After finding our camp spot, we sort of dreaded our dinner ingredients, as it was just rice and onion...There were a couple guys camping just across from us, and were fumbling with their flashlight trying to cook dinner, and we offered them our headlamp.  They were grateful, and offered us dinner, which turned out to be a delicious pasta carbonara, Tico style.

Drake's Bay gets its name from the famed Sir Frances Drake, the English pirate, who apparently hid some buried treasure near here...The bay was gorgeous.  We camped in our tent, right in front of a resort/hotel called Rancho Corcovado, and were rained on slightly that night.  We woke up to a stunning view of the bay, and a giant sailboat coming in to anchor.  We hiked the trail into the jungle for a few hours, swam in the ocean a bit, then jumped on the 'bus' to Puerto Jimenez.  More of a van really, and it was quite an experience.  One of the tires wouldn't hold air, and we kept stopping to top off.

Hiking through the jungle in Bahia Drake

Sierpe - Best way to get to Drake Bay!

Sierpe is a little town on the river, with a small marina.  We were told this was a must-do, in order to get to Drake's Bay.  So glad we did it.  We left Uvita, and took a bus to Palmar Norte, then a cab to Sierpe.  While waiting for our 3:00 boat, we saw a huge crocodile cruising through the river eating fish.  The boat ride from Sierpe to Drake is quite unbelievable.  It only takes about an hour, and you race through the wide river, then into narrow mangrove passages, then the boat jets out into the river mouth, dodging waves, until out in the open Pacific ocean.  We were then dropped off right on the shore of Bahia Drake, where everything is close by.  Highly recommend it!

Uvita...Beautiful beach and national park

We left Dominical that morning, and jumped on the bus to Uvita.  It's only about 15 mins down the highway, but not recommended to walk, due to the lack of space on the side of the highway, and fast, crazy drivers.  We arrived and got off the bus right across the street from the "BM" supermarket, and were a little clueless as to which direction to go.  We then decided to head to Flutterby House, and jumped in a cab.  Turns out, it's right down the road, about 1km, and we should have walked...

Uvita is awesome.  It's a small town that's fairly spread out.  The beach (part of the Marino Ballena National Park) it unbelievable.  Long, sandy beach, with hardly any rocks, makes for great swimming, and surfing.  At low tide, the 'whale's tail' can be seen, and it is just that...Up in the hills, about an hour's walk, is a beautiful waterfall, and an amazing little restaurant just above it.  Might I recommend the fish taco...The water hole just beneath the falls, is deep and very refreshing.  

Flutterby House, the hostel we stayed at, is one of the most unique you will find!  It was our first real hostel experience of the trip, and we met some great people there in our almost week of camping at Flutterby...There was Pete, the surfer from Maine, who ran after us on our departure to deliver my sunglasses I had lost, Esteban, the Tico working the counter, Jason and Maria, the couple working there as well, Ian from Alaska, Dave from Northern California, Pat from Alabama, Autumn and Elden, and the owners Pam and Kim, among several other travelers who were staying as well...As I mentioned, we set our tent up on the premises and stayed about a week.  Had a bonfire one night on the beach with Autumn and Elden, the East Coasters, and ended up playing a little concert in front of the bar one night.  Great place, with one of the best kitchens to date, and a beautiful design on their property, with treehouses, and places to camp...Love to return someday!

Amazingly huge Bahia Ballena Beach

Flutterby House:

Dominical: Pacific surf beauty

Our first time away from our friends, and on our own.  We left Perez Zeledon that morning, jumped on the very packed bus to Dominical, and arrived within about 2 hours down the winding mountain road.  Spent 2 nights in Dominical, met some cool people, and continued on our way.  We spent our first night at Tortilla Flats hostel, which was kind of scummy.  We arrived just at sunset, and the first two hostels we tried were full, so we kept walking towards the beach and found Tortilla Flats.  It's literally right on the beach, so the location is great, but the room was upstairs from the bar, very noisy, and there were bugs in the bed.  At about 4am, the trash men came to empty the dumpster, and the room was instantly filled with the scent of rotting papaya, which is not a pleasant smell!  Our second night was spent right down the path, at Antorchas hostel, which was cheaper, and much better.  Some points of interest in Dominical:

Maracatu: It's a restaurant with a vegetarian theme, serving fresh seafood as well.  They often have live music, and they serve a local Costa Rican craft beer on tap.  

The Refuge: A killer burger joint just down the beach, towards the south.  It's underneath the hostel called Pyramis.  Huge burgers, made with fresh ingredients.  Really a treat, when traveling!

Dominical has a couple small markets, an ATM just up the road on the highway (walking distance), and several hostel options.  You can also camp on the beach.  Infact, most places in Costa Rica you can camp on the beach, but you should use caution, especially if you walk away from your belongings even for a minute.  We witnessed a guy, on his last night in Costa Rica, camped on the beach in Dominical, walk over to the bar for a beer, and when he returned to his hammock and bag, they were both gone.  Luckily his passport was in his pocket, but it was a necessary reminder to us, and all, to watch your stuff!

  

San Isidro de El General: Pura Vida!

We arrived in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, and went straight to the Musoc bus station to get to San Isidro (Perez Zeledon).  After about 3 and a half hours in the dense fog of the mountain pass, we made it to Perez, and were dropped off at the Musoc station downtown.  We had no cell phone, only a number, and a local was kind enough to let us borrow his cellphone to call my friend Terry.  Terry, a California native, who grew up in Costa Rica, since about age 7, is the one who originally introduced me to this beautiful country.  We met, while he spent a summer working in the states, and visiting his grandmother.  When he left California, he told me I had a place to stay if I ever felt like venturing south...The rest is history, and this trip is my third time visiting Costa Rica.

Terry and Gabby arrived in an old Mercedes Benz SUV, which looked like a tank.  We stopped at the local supermarket, and picked up beers, wine, and a whole chicken.  We then drove up the mountain to their house, where we proceeded to stay for almost 2 weeks, camping in the yard, under the overhang.  That night, Terry roasted the chicken on a tin can in the oven, with the can filled with spices and water, so that the steam rose, into the chicken while cooking, with the result of 2 hungry travelers being served an amazing meal of some of the tenderest, most delicious chicken ever!

San Isidro is an awesome town.  I'd say the population is around 200,000, so it's not huge, but there's everything you might need.  There's an amazing farmer's market ("Feria"), downtown, I believe 2 days a week, and I think it's Monday and Thursday, but don't quote me on that...It's the best, and biggest farmer's market I've ever seen!  There's everything from the freshest tropical fruits and veggies, to fresh meats and seafood.  We went there 2 times during our stay in San Isidro, and ate very well.

We were sort of secluded for our almost two weeks with Terry and Gabby at their house in the hills, so we ended up playing quite a bit of music there as well.

Our friends

Farmer's Market in San Isidro

Downtown San Isidro

Jammin' at Terry's house

Setting off! 5th of March, 2013 - LAX to SJO

I'm Andrew, from Santa Barbara, CA.  I've always been fascinated with Latin America, probably due to all the Mexican influence I grew up around.  The language, the food, the culture, the history...

South America has always sounded like a dream to me.  So far away from home, and so much clouded history.  I have traveled to Central America twice now, and have never been south of Panama...Danica, my girlfriend, has never been out of the country, so we're obviously both very excited about this...

And we're off!  From LAX at midnight on a tuesday, to a random 5 hour layover in Ft. Lauderdale at 5am, to finally touching ground at SJO (San Jose International Airport) smack dab in the middle of the Central American nation known for its coffee, beaches, lush vegetation and exotic animals...

We purchased our plane tickets almost 8 months in advance, and continued working, saving money, and selling everything we could, in order to finance this whole thing...It wasn't easy, and still isn't, but it's one of those things that you really only experience once.  This goes to anyone out there interested in traveling, in any way, shape or form...DO IT!!!