World Trip – Stage 48, From the mountains to the coast

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14-17 July

Monteverde 

Leaving Jimmy and Warner, we set off to forge our own route to the Panama border, down the Pacific Coast. We had heard about travelling by Interbus, a tourist shuttle bus, which worked well for us. We were picked up promptly at our hotel, with other passengers being collected in the same area. 

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Then off at great speed to a hub mid-point, where other Interbus minibuses descended. After a coffee and comfort break, we joined another bus, going to our destination, Monteverde at 1500 meters elevation, where we were dropped off at our hotel for the next two nights.

We liked the mountainous Monteverde, where the trade winds from the Atlantic meet the warm winds from the Pacific on the ridge dividing the continent. You can literally see the clouds moving and enveloping the area with condensation and moisture, or indeed torrential rain. 

The town is small and is visited by tourists wanting to visit the nature reserves in the Cloud Forest, of which there are very few on earth. We hadn’t previously encountered such a busy breakfast room before 7am! 

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Something about Monteverde reminded us of Ella, in Sri Lanka. Maybe its laid-back vibe, its hillside positioning or just that it could rain at any moment!

Our B&B was quirky. Sometimes you could see the Gulf of Nicoya on the Pacific side, from its terrace, other times just cloud. The guys working the reception were really helpful, printing off the documentation that we hope will suffice us to get past the Panamanian Border.

We opted to go to the Curi-Cancha reserve with a guide, Johnny (Jonny Loves Nature…!), early the following morning. We spent two hours with him and a small group, spotting numerous birds, including fantastic humming birds, a family of mottled owls and a sloth sleeping on a branch. 

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After the tour, we opted to stay on and explore the trails in the reserve, and were delighted to spot a Motmot ourselves (Lynne recognised its call!), as well as enjoying the forest, beautiful plants and a huge lair of coatimundi. The reserve was pretty deserted as it was lunchtime.

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We walked the 4 km back to our lodging. It was very hot but by evening the rain was torrential.

It was still damp when we left the following morning, picked up by an Interbus. This time we remained on the same bus, taking us directly to our next destination. We still exchanged some passengers at another hub, en route. We travelled over the famous crocodile bridge at Tarcoles, which was thronging with sightseers. We didn’t see any crocodiles from the bus, nor did we desire to revisit the bridge.

Jaco

Jaco, our home for the next two days, was very hot and humid. We went on a long walk trying to figure out how to catch a bus to Uvita. Public transportation in Costa Rica is operated by private bus companies, and it’s not always clear where the bus stops are, what the timetable is and whether you need to go to the bus station of the relevant bus company to buy tickets in advance. 

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Lynne’s research suggested that we would need to catch a bus to Quepos and another one from there, with the timetable very approximate and the fare payable on board. 

Our expedition to find a bus station was fruitless, taking us out of town, with Lynne’s flip-flops providing inadequate ankle support. We settled at a bus stop and with only small change for one fare, so Lynne took a local bus back. Peter arrived at the same time, having hot-footed it along the street. 

Peter was determined to find another tourist shuttle to take us door to door, more safely and quicker. We believe that he has succeeded; only tomorrow will tell! At least we have a Plan B!

Jaco is the complete opposite of Monteverde. It’s on a beach famous for its surfing waves. The Main Street is lined with souvenir shops, fast food restaurants, tattoo parlours and spas. It caters to Costa Rican holidaymakers and is a mixture of old-fashioned accommodation and brand new, taller swish apartments and hotels. 

We stayed in an older Aparthotel right on the beach. We had quite a lot of administration to do and spent some time in our cool room, tackling it.

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We went to a highly rated restaurant, The Green Room, for dinner, where we enjoyed great seafood and fantastic Latin music. Something didn’t agree with Peter so he had to repair to our room – luckily for him before the dancing started. We were asleep by 9pm, despite the cacophony of music all around us!