Oct 28, Tue eve, Atenas, Costa Rica
Big old laptop in front of me, I‘m sitting in the lovely dining room at Atenas B&B, in the hills west of San Jose. Earlier, Mary, Annie, Jerry & I finished off a couple rounds of Flor de Caña (Nicaraguan rum) & grapefruit juice, with a chunk of fresh pineapple added. Considering the red-eye to Miami last night, I’m feeling surprisingly alert. We landed in San Jose late morning. 'Got escorted to the National Car rental, where, as expected, we ended up with a sizable add-on for insurance, despite my letter from MC, re our insurance coverage via the card. As we followed Highway 1 westbound, I took the wrong fork—the 2 lanes leading in to downtown Alajuela. It would have saved us half an hour if I had stayed left on the single lane that I now conclude was Highway 1. We didn’t see any road signs to help us choose. Hopefully we won't rue the decision to pass on the $12/day for GPS. While a relatively small country, travel times are easily under estimated. The rain started while we were on the road, but really came down, along with lightening & thunder, after we arrived at this hilltop B&B.
Mary knows Annie from her acupuncturist's office, from which Annie retired about 6 months ago. And from Salem's Saturday Market, where Mary sells organic, fresh-roasted coffee & Annie is a master gardener in residence at times. Her husband, Jerry, is a retired forester. We’ve been planning this Central American trip for months. One agenda is coffee: Mary roasts the coffee she sells at the market. She hopes to connect directly with small organic coffee growers in our too-brief 2 & ½ weeks, ending with a visit to Arturo’s farm in Honduras. Mary met Arturo at a coffee fair in the States a couple years ago.
Oct 30, Orosi, Costa Rica
After a beautiful morning in Atenas, appreciating the lovely hilltop location at Atenas B&B, including meeting a Dutch couple who have spent a whole month in Costa Rica, we packed up & made our way to Café El Toledo, where we had a superb coffee tour with Gabriel. After his father became ill due to traditional coffee farm use of chemicals, 15 years ago they began to pursue organic alternatives. A work in progress, Gabriel is still learning & enthusiastic about better health for himself, his family, their workers & the land. Mary bought a kilo of green beans from him. Annie gave him some new information, from Dr Bruno, the acupuncturist she worked with, about arthritis & un-organic coffee.
For pics of Atenas, go to
https://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/AtenasCostaRica#
(Hit “Slideshow”, then Back Arrow to return to blog)
After our 3-hour visit to Finca El Toledo, we hit the road, destination Orosi. I lost us a few minutes by turning the wrong way on Route 27—heading toward the coast by mistake. Turned around, we made good time until we encountered a stretch of freeway closed for construction. City streets near San Jose led back to the freeway, but we may have made the wrong decision in a round-about & again were stuck in surfaced streets for some time. We arrived in Orosi after dark, found a placed for dinner, where the owner called Walter for us. Walter is owner of Hostel Casa del Café. Originally from the Netherlands, he decided Holland was too crowed & over-regulated, so he began traveling, looking for a place to live. While visiting Cuba, he met Suzanna. Now married, they have 4 & 2-year old boys.
This morning, before breakfast (it gets light early here), Mary & I went looking for natural hot springs along the river. Following paths thru the coffee, we made it to the river, but no luck spotting the hot springs. It seems ironic to display on the tourist map of the area a prominent notation of the “best kept secret of locals”. In fact, despite the map & asking numerous locals, Mary & I had no luck finding the hot springs. Mid-morning, we went looking for coffee-wood carvers in nearby Cachi—Casa del Soñador. 'Nice brothers, with a quaint workshop, continuing the artistry of their father. Mary commissioned a carving of a hummingbird--from a coffee root—to display in her Songbird Java booth at the Salem Saturday Market. We went in search of Brewha, a hostel reportedly run by young northwesterners who also make beer. No wonder locals didn’t know them—we did find their location on the mountainside, with a “For Sale" sign on the fence. We visited Tapati National Park in the afternoon. Only about 10 km up the Orosi River from town, but very rough road—mostly rock & very bumpy. We made it & the road in the park was much smoother. We hiked down through the rain forest to the river. I “jumped” in, scooting downstream until I found deeper water. Next time I'll look for a deeper pool for my refreshing dip.
For Orosi & Cartago pics, go to
https://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/CartagoOrosi#
Thurs, Oct. 31, Villa BelMar, Playa Hermosa
After an early breakfast at Casa del Café, we departed Orosi. Walter wanted us to stay longer, given no other guests & he welcomed our being good listeners. He as well at Jonathan at Atenas B&B advised against driving all the way from Orosi to Playa Grande on the north coast in one day, but we decided to go for it. As happened going to Orosi, we got stuck in congestion south of San Jose. Perhaps in part due to missing turn offs or leaving round-abouts the wrong direction. But, I think the highways are not complete, so it's impossible to entirely avoid traffic lights & city streets in southern San Jose. Highway 27, a toll road going toward the coast, was very nice. We expected Highway 1—the Panamerican Highway—to be similar. Not so. Old pavement, no passing lanes, even on hills. Lots of trucks. Even so, we got to the north coast by mid-afternoon. Less than an hour to Playa Grande, where we have reservations for tomorrow night, we decided to stop at the closest beach to Liberia—Playa Hermosa. Several weeks ago, we were considering Villa BelMar here in Playa Hermosa as a destination, but came across a couple of traveler reports that weren’t complimentary & chose Playa Grande instead. But, we were ready to stop as soon as we reach the beach & we found Villa BelMar all but empty. The pool is clean & refreshing. The beach delightful, the ocean too. Awesome sunset. 2 doors down the beach, we had a seafood dinner that matched the wonderful setting, Back to Villa BelMar, for another swim & cigar. It’s getting close to being late enough that I can sleep 'til dawn. Daylight comes early here, with darkness falling early too. While Costa Rica is essentially south of the US east coast, for some reason they are on Mountain time.
Fri, Nov 1 eve - La Marejada Hotel, Playa Grande
Early walk on the Beach in Playa Hermosa today, framing pics with trees. A local pointed out a big monkey in a tree. Soon there was a family. More time in the ocean & pool. Mid-day we packed up & visited Playa Coco (pretty bay with boats but littered beach) & Ocotal—very picturesque.
Pics of Playa Hermosa & Playa Ocotal - https://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/PlayaHermosaCR#
We arrived at La Marejada Hotel in Playa Grande about 4 pm. ‘Looked like a swampy area, a collection of junk across the street. Expecting to be unimpressed, owner Gail greeted us & quickly made us feel welcomed. Pizza & fish tacos at the restaurant next door, we got to the beach via a 3-miute walk, to catch the very end of sunset. We checked with park rangers—There may be leatherback turtle sightings after 10 pm tonight. If so, we can reportedly be quickly escorted to see them. We decided against trying to see leatherback egg laying who-knows-when during the night. With a downpour mid-evening & lots of lightening, probably wise. Early morning walk on Playa Grande. Even with the sun low in the sky, I’m shade-seeking, after getting more color yesterday than I thought. A fishing heron. Jerry doing his yoga amongst the rocks. Back to La Marejada for breakfast, then a boat tour through the estuary (Las Baulas Marine Park), sighting various birds, crocs & howler monkeys. AC quit working in Mary & my room. And, Mary noticed a steady trail of small ants. Gail, graciously moved us to another room. Originally from Boston, after 17 years in the US Virgin Islands, she came here 7 years ago. She & her kids were drawn to the excellent surfing at Playa Grande. Formerly an ER nurse, she gets called on medical emergencies, including people hauled out of the dangerous surf here. She mentioned being unable to save some. The Star Taco dreadlocks owner calls her his hero, after resuscitating a boy of a friend. On the advice of my buddy Paul’s son, Barry, a surfer who loves Costa Rica & will soon manage to return, we found little Star Taco & had a nice chat with the owner, a very nice & interesting guy . I was looking forward to a fish taco on the beach, but he explained fish doesn't keep so he doesn’t offer fish tacos. Checking in with the park ranger about the turtle observation overnight, I was told one leatherback laid her eggs. But, when that occurred seemed uncertain. The time to be prepared tonight is an hour later, with the changing of the tide. If they come ashore near high tide, that looks to be early hours of the morning, so we are going to pass of trying to sign on--$25/person, no see, no pay.
Sunday, Nov 3, early am, Playa Grande
To bed too early, waking up before dawn. Beautiful sunset at the end of a beach walk yesterday. After having Internet access at Atenas & Orosi, I can't get on here. The others can. And, I’m told I have signed on to the Marejada signal & it’s strong, still no Internet for me. So, I’m forced to take a vacation from checking my email. They will figure out apartments issues without me at home. I do hope I’ll have Internet access at future stops, that I haven’t somehow messed up configurations on this oversized, outdated laptop that I’m going to scuttle when I get home. Dawn is breaking. Mary’s awake too—we are heading to the beach for our last sunrise in Playa Grande.
Note on $ exchange: I knew better, but the gal at the airport enticed me with a better rate for exchanging more $--from 425 to 435 colones/$. Most everywhere we’ve been in Costa Rica, $s are welcomed, at 500/1. Meals at restaurants are expensive—often about $15/person, by the time the 13% tax is added on. We keep looking for attractive sodas—where locals eat--but end up at tourist spots. Last day in Costa Rica & border crossing reported in Nicaragua blog.
Pics of Playa Grande & the estuary - https://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/PlayaHermosaCR#
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