Costa Rica Recap: Day 9

Started the morning with a lovely couple of hours at the Samara beach. It really is the best beach I've ever been to. The water is soft and warn with just slap of cool every so often. The tide was still quite high when we went out to play, but even then the waves were gentle enough for the kids go out on the boogie boards. Ry and I spent time building sand castles and letting them wash away and we did some wading out to deeper water. At this beach the flat sand stretches out for a long ways without sloping our dropping off so you can wade far out into the waves without the water getting much deeper than waist to shoulder height on an adult. Rylen and I waded quite a ways out and it was only chest deep on him.

There are two levels of beach sand... higher up the sand is composed of tiny little rocks. They're all rounded and not at all painful to walk on. They are very deep, though, so it can be hard to get your footing as the rocks slip beneath your feet. This is especially true if you're standing on the rock sand when a wave washes in ... It's like standing in quicksand at that point as the rock sand just disappears beneath your feet and you sink and possibly fall.

It's better when you move out to the hard-packed silty sand. It's almost like mud, but not quite quite. It's easy to walk on and fun to run through your fingers or bury your toes. Then you can sit or stand and let the waves rush over you.

After we forced ourselves away from the water and cleaned up, we packed our things into the car for the transfer to our next area: Monte Verde and Santa Elena. Phyllis came out to see us on our way. She was an excellent hostess and I would definitely stay there again... I just would insist on the deluxe unit with ac.

We stopped in town to pick up our clean laundry and grab some breakfast/lunch. Excellent Tico food as usual. The kids picked out some small souvenirs at a local stand and now we're of to deal with the crazy drivers on the road again.

The road to Santa Elena is what I've come to think of as Costa Rican standard: very steep and winding, not quite 2 lanes wide, and intermittently paved. You climb so far up into the mountains that you can see hours back behind you and see the ocean and coast on the horizon. It's incredibly verdant and green, even for Costa Rica. Greenery clusters over the road so thickly at times that no light reaches the road. The mountains are steep and fall away dizzyingly from the road with little to no barrier between you and a frightening emptiness.

It's only 26 miles from Las Juntas at the bottom of the road to Santa Elena at the top, but the road conditions mean that you're lucky to drive 15-20 kmh. We are in hopes that the high temperatures will drop some at higher elevation. So far we have dropped from 31 C - 28 C. Fingers crossed it will continue to drop.

We are currently stuck behind an enormous luxury bus that takes up 3/4 of the road. We thought it was crazy when a small bus... kind of the size of a large airport shuttle... had to squeeze post the huge bus. Then the bus met another huge tour bus on its way down! I have no idea how they managed to squeeze past each other... each of them partially tipped off their respective sides of the road and there was barely room to slip a paperback between the two buses at the center.

Still climbing higher and higher on this tiny road carved from the jungle on the steep side of the mountain... And suddenly we pass a jogger? Who is this crazy person and how far did she have to jog to get here to the middle of nowhere?

The views off the mountainside are incredible! Steep mountains and rolling hills, all with a covering of smooth green velvet. Exuberant bursts of green trees thrusting above the general canopy level. Occasional pops of white from cows grazing... how they keep their footing on the steep hillsides I don't know.

The road has a few ups and downs now... When it goes down it's at a steep blind hill and you have to take it on faith that the road actually exists after you go over the top. 22 degrees C now.

Hillsides around us are slightly gentler now and dotted with houses ranging from very nice to tin and concrete shacks... but almost every one boasts a bright orange Claro satellite dish.

After reaching the town we drove all over trying to find our hotel. It was very hard to locate with the sketched map we had received but we finally stumbled across some signs that lead us to the cabinas. The setting was gorgeous. Beautiful flower gardens everywhere, small hiking trails around the cabins, trees and greenery everywhere you look. Just so pretty. The cabins themselves are red and slightly run down. Very Tico typical construction. I'd have had no trouble with any of that, but the cabin was just a bit dirty around the edges, with plenty of spider webs in corners and grit on tile floors. But it was really large, 2 big bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen area with fridge, microwave, stove... 2 double beds and 2 twin beds. And only $90/night, so I won't complain too much.

The kids loved it because they were able to run wild and explore all around the cabina. There were several small hiking paths on the property. Haley took possession of the camera and went looking for things to photograph.

 

After getting settled in, we went in search of dinner. We found a friendly little soda with fantastic food. Before even finishing the meal we had decided to come back to eat here again. Back to the hotel and everyone to bed. 

Costa Rica Recap: Day 7

We got up in the morning and went out into Samara to find breakfast... We found a nice panaderia (bakery) serving desayunas (breakfast) and had a lovely morning meal of pastries, fresas (fruit juice), batidos (smoothies), and gallo pinto. Then back to the hotel and headed straight out to the beach. We played in the waves and tried boogie boarding, built some sand structures and had a grand time for about 3 hours. When the rising tide made the waves a bit too big for our small kiddos, we headed up to the pool and spent another 3 hours playing there.

After finally dragging all kids from the water we went out to explore Santa Cruz - one of Aaron's mission areas. He showed us places he remembered and even the house he'd lived in. The kids were quite fascinated with all the chickens running free everywhere. We had to hear the "why did the chicken cross the road" joke MANY times.

Since it was Father's Day back in the States, we splurged on a nice restaurant; in Santa Cruz that means Chinese. We had some delicious food and headed back to Samara just in time for early bedtime (as usual).

Gorgeous greenery along the way.

a supermarket... notice the fencing and razorwire around the parking lot - they're very serious about the parking spaces

I found it amusing that there were 4 large funeral homes directly across from the main entrance of the hospital

Aaron used to live in this house!

Lots of shoe stores... they like to display dismembered feet in the front window

Chinese restaurant for Father's Day dinner... nicer inside than it looked on the outside.

It was just us and a few guys at the bar watching soccer.

Rylen loved the dinnerware and insisted that I take a picture.

Sunset on Playa Samara - so pretty!

Costa Rica Recap: Day 6

Up early this morning. We wanted to head out before breakfast to find a small local waterfall. At breakfast one morning we sat by a very hippy-ish older guy who told us all about this great waterfall that was so close and so easy to get to. So we set out this morning to follow his directions. We never did find a waterfall, but had some adventurous times 4-wheeling through mud and streams and up and down incredibly steep hills. The kids all agreed that it was fun even without playing in the waterfall. 

Back for breakfast at Cafe Ensuenos for the last time, then packed up the car and headed for our next stop in Samara, Costa Rica - another beach town. We were lucky enough to be able to take the InterAmericana for most off the way, meaning we had easy roads for travel. 

We drove partway and reached Carara national park. This park has paths through the jungle where you have a chance to see wildlife and plant life. It's a pretty easy hike, as the paths are paved or graveled, but it is omg hot! Stepping out off the car I could almost immediately feel sweat running down my neck and back. We saw a few iguanas before we even got to the trailhead, then another on the trail as well as monkeys and leaf cutter ants. It probably seems strange that I keep mentioning the ants, but honestly, watching the huge organized trail of ants, each carrying a bit of leaf or flower back to the nest, is fascinating. 

Bubba and I only made it a half mile or so before he was just done. He was hot and tired and didn't care about any more possible animals. He and I headed back to the car so the rest of the family could continue exploring. We sat in the car and played candy crush and bubba had a snack. Still hot, but at least we were parked in the shade and you could get more of a breeze in the open parking lot that in the closed-in jungle.

The others continued on the trek and saw some cool things, including huge mangrove trees, lots of birds, and a lot of woolly caterpillars. They seemed to have a great time. They made it back just as the skies opened up for the afternoon rains. 

We drove for another hour or so then stopped at a restaurant recommended by our hostess in Samara. It had an enormous concrete bull and concrete howler monkey outside. The kids were excited to take pictures with the bull. Older tourists were excited to take picture with the rear of the bull...since it was anatomically correct and disconcertingly well endowed - as was the monkey. 

Costa Rican bbq at that restaurant and it was very good. They even catered to little American children by offering a kids' menu featuring Mac and cheese. Definitely not Kraft - it was delicious! The restaurant also had a great playground to entertain the kids while we waited for the food to come. This was especially appreciated by our kids, who dearly love to work off their energy at a playground and playgrounds are few and far between in CR. There was also an ice cream shop next door, so we treated the kids to a little cone before heading on our way. 

We ended up traveling in the dark for the final part of the trip. We were lucky in this since the road had recently been paved and striped; it was pretty easy driving. The most dangerous part is avoiding the pedestrians. In CR in general, and especially rural areas, everyone walks everywhere. But none of the roads have shoulders and sidewalks are practically unheard of. So there is nowhere to walk but on the edges of the road. It gets dark so early here - fully dark by 6:30 - that people are still out and about at dark. This means that when you are driving at night you have to constantly watch for walkers and bicyclists popping up out of nowhere. And of course there's are always the motorcyclists - many with no lights - or other vehicles with no lights. 

Finally we arrived at the hotel. It's a very nice place, but it's kind of a strange setup. Phyllis and Bob are the owners... Bob seems pretty hands off and leaves it to Phyllis. A grandson is living with them and helping out... don't know if it's permanent or short term. He seems to live in one of the hotel units. There are also some nephews around living in one off the units; again, can't be sure if this is long term or temporary. A sister and brother-in-law have a unit... this seems to be fairly long-term, as the sis supplies the fresh-baked pastries available at breakfast. And then there's grandma - don't know if she's Phyllis mom or Bob's, but she also lives in a unit. And they all just hang around the pool and beach all day. That sends to leave just 2-3 units actually available for guests, which seems very odd. They are all super friendly and nice though.

Phyllis hangs out with the guests on the patio for much of the day, so maybe it's all a setup to give her plenty of new faces to visit with. Whatever the reasons, it's a very nice beach hotel. There is a bedroom with a huge king bed and a queen futon in the living/kitchen area. You have a sink, stove, and small fridge. Plus a toilet room and nice rock-walked shower. The only real downside is the lack of ac, because it is punishingly hot in that little suite. The screened walls to let in breezes and ceiling fans are nowhere near enough to beat back the heat and humidity. The addition of a little window unit would go a long way. 

Outside is a small but very refreshing pool. There are chairs all around the pool where you can sit and relax on the covered patio. The beach is literally yards away. You can hear the surf pounding constantly and it's great to listen to as you try to sleep (in the terrible heat). You just walk down a short path to the beach and at low tide there is lots of sandy beach to play on. Phyllis even provides sand toys to use. 

This is one of the few Costa Rican beaches on the Pacific coast with no dangerous rip tides, so the low waves are great for playing in the water. Phyllis also provides free use of boogie boards, so the kids took a shot at body surfing and boogie boarding and had a blast. The water here is so warm that it's like a bath. Occasionally a bigger wave will wash over you and bring a splash of cooler water from the deeper areas and it's very refreshing. When you're within a hour or two of high tide the waves will finally be high enough to decide to get out of the water - though bigger kids/stronger swimmers could probably play in the waves at almost any time. This wonderful beach has seriously spoiled me for other beaches, it's that fantastic.

Low tide... absolutely perfect for playtime.

The roughest the waves ever got... still ok to play in if you're a little bigger than our kiddos.

Costa Rica Recap: Day 5

Our plans for the day are to breakfast at our favorite soda, then drive to San Isidro to see the city and visit Mount Chirripo national park... home of Costa Rica's tallest mountain. You can't actually go to the top...that's a 2-day trek for experienced mountaineers. But you can drive in to see some of the highland tropical views and forest.

We get in the car and it reeks like mildew. All the seats are still wet from dripping on them yesterday. We could desperately use some Febreeze, if only they sold it here. My butt is wet as soon as I sit down, even sitting on a towel.

The drive to San Isidro is uneventful and takes only an hour or so because we're on the InterAmericana highway... The best road we've seen so far. It's always at least 2 lanes wide, there are actual pavement markings, and most of it is in very good repair.

We drive through a bit of San Isidro... It's a clean, pretty city. When we leave the city for Chirripo, the roads revert back to Costa Rican standard. And the higher we climb, the worse the roads get. It's enough to give me a bit of an anxiety attack because they are so steep, nothing but muddy ruts and rocks and the road sloughs off to the sides, falling hundreds of feet to the river below. And still you have the motorcycles and buses to contend with.

Finally we reach the entrance to Chirripo. By this time the road is nothing but piles of rock leading vaguely up the steep mountainside. There is nothing like a ranger station... just a sign indicating the trailhead for the 2-day climb. Finally we turn around to head off the mountain. We stop a couple of times for pictures and to let the kids out to run.

Scary as the roads were sometimes, it was completely gorgeous. And nice and cool at that elevation, too. I'm so glad we got the chance to see the things we did!

Finally back in San Isidro, we stop at McDonald's for a quick snack and a bathroom break. McDonald's is mostly the same with the exception of things like lime and lemon sundaes, fried chicken kids meals and pineapple in the kids meals instead of apples.They also have McPatatas, which are seasoned potato wedges. Those are really good. Also, McDonald's here is much more expensive - relative to prices at regular restaurants - than in U.S.

We headed for Dominical and things were fine until Brekken suddenly announced 'Preston threw up.' Yep, he did. Instead of telling us he felt sick, he decided to try sticking his head out the window, so he threw up partly inside, partly outside, and probably at least a little bit on the car behind us. It took an entire pack of baby wipes and assorted napkins and a partial roll of tp to clean up. So gross. The car smells even worse now.

Back to the hotel and the kids are supposed to be resting if they want to do anything else fun today. Instead they are messing around and Preston is reading over my shoulder. So I guess they will get no more adventures today after all. The end.  *Preston goes away.*

The kids never really did rest, but that's ok I guess because we weren't able to go on any adventures either. The rain started at 3 pm and continued for the next 12 hours. We stayed in reading and watching movies on the kindle. We made friends with a gecko hanging out in our room.

We had crackers, tuna, bread and jam in the room, so instead of venturing into the downpour we made our own dinner in our tiny kitchen and headed for bed.