- Costa Rica is very touristy (menu’s in English quoting dollars and soo much hotel development everywhere?!)
- Almost everyone here spoke English (as a result my Spanish went backwards)
There were far fewer police and less military presence than in Colombia - Too many gringos for my liking! Think spring break and frat parties! Obviously this was not the case in all places, but certainly close to the airports
- Lots of surfing and way more waves than I saw in Colombia (gimme time!)
As far as similarities go you would have to say that both places are stunningly beautiful and packed full of tropical wonders. Travelling with Aly meant that there obviously had to be strange fruit and food sampled from as many street vendors as possible...just to try! Well I am still suffering from a tummy some five days after leaving Costa Rica! It feels as if some small and angry jungle animal with nasty claws is living inside me. How did it get in there?
Anyway, onto some cleaner and more relevant topics. So the trip started on the Pacific Coast at a pleasant little beach town called Playa Samara. A nice spot and pretty quiet. We were able to do some surfing and basically relaxed for the first couple of days. Aly and I hung out with her parents (Hope and Barry) and the Hotel where we all stayed was a lovely digs. I missed the family on Christmas at the customary beach house piss up, and it seems that it was more of the same as dad apparently went shirtless at one point in the drunkenness. Ah, yes, the Johnson’s know how it should be done. Charlotte had also just returned from Paris and I was sad not to have had the chance to see her before I left.
The beach at Playa Samara and my first view of the Pacific!
A little taste of home in Costa Rica!
The beach in front of the Hotel where we stayed
So, on the 27th we moved to the volcanic and rain forested central part of Costa Rica. We stayed at a place called Monteverde which is close to the town of Santa Elana. On the way there I was co-pilot and Aly was driving with Hope and Barry in the back. Now to say that Hope is a nervous passenger would be somewhat of an understatement. We had heard that the road to Monteverde could get bumpy at stages and hence the hired car was a 4 by 4...a very small Daihatsu 4 by 4. Once we had left the national road the conditions seemed to deteriorate rapidly with us somehow ending up on what can only be described as a rough mountain track / path at best. Suddenly there were no other vehicles to be spotted either and things got mighty quiet. Still Barry and I seemed to think that this must be the right way. We are men after all and renowned for our ability to interpret maps! I must confess to being really impressed with Aly’s driving and this little Daihatsu’s ability to get over this mountain path. It was literally like rock climbing with a car at stages as we all (except and because of the periodically gasping and squealing Hope) tried to remain calm and held onto the belief that we were going the right way. We passed some farmers who seemed to look at us quizzically and motioned for us to continue onwards and merely said ‘4 by 4, si?!’, ‘Monteverde, si!’ , ‘ Veinte minutos, si!’ when I tried to get some more info out of them. sick bastards! 20 minutes my @ss!
Aly looking quite calm as we take a break on the way to Monteverde
Half way up at one of the steeper and scarier points I spotted what looked like a moerse Puff-adder snake (more than a meter long) slowly slithering off the road. As luck would have it the only other person who saw it was Hope and as I mentioned it casually, Aly immediately stopped the car on this major incline. Big mistake! Well this was almost too much for Hope as pandemonium seemed to break out in the car with the fear of the snake and the incline combined reducing her to a white-knuckled, seat grabbing, incoherent, screaming wreck. We didn’t stop for long.
This was the view from the top of the mountain track
About 1.5 hours later we seemed to emerge onto a main dirt road and the first signs of civilizations started to reappear. Not a moment too soon I reckon. Turned out later that we had taken a ‘short cut’ and that it was really only meant for 4 wheelers! no kidding! I swear if I ever find those damn farmers!
Some hummingbirds at a feeder where we stopped for coffee. Amazing little things
So Monteverde reminded me a little of Pilgrim’s Rest in Mpumalanga except with more hotels. It was generally a most charming little place but seemed to have developed just a tad too far with some major hotels looking out of place on the hills around town. Adverts for the activities were pasted all over town and a stay there obviously meant carefully planning each half and full day activity for the duration of the trip. Some of the activities included canopy / zip-line tours, walks in the cloud forest, night walks, ATV 4-wheeler rides (annoying!), horse-riding, coffee tours, butterfly tours, orchid tours, trips to the snake and frog park, suspension bridge walks...and all at a moments notice it seemed. Gringo’s take their holidays seriously! Well we only ended up staying two days in the end as it was super rainy and windy and hanging out at the hotel really wasn’t that fun. Aly and I did however get a chance to go on the zip-lines and that was really amazing. Some of them were over 750 meters long and more than 400 meters high! We seemed to cross entire valleys and at speed! very cool.
Aly preparing for the next zip line
We decided to head back to the beach and our next destination a day earlier and so set off for a spot that was further North but still on the Pacific, called Playa Del Coco. The name should have been a warning. Coco beach?! Well I’m not going to say too much about this place except that it was a horrible nest of Gringo’s and rich Costa Ricans all gathered into one small space that looked like rich people’s vomit pasted onto the hillsides next to the coast. Concrete, building sites, tourist and estate agent offices, casino’s, ATV’s, crowded beaches and sun burnt drunkards. yuck. We actually found a fairly quiet nice place to stay in a complex close to the sea on the mildly calmer next beach called Playa Hermosa (Pretty Beach?!).
Taking a drive in Playa Hermosa
So one of the funny / memorable / dangerous moments happened there on new years eve. We booked to have dinner at a nice Spanish Tapas restaurant called Ginger. A couple of cocktails and a wonderful meal later we decided to take our mellowed out selves to the beach for the countdown and festivities.
New years dinner with Hope and Barry
Barry and Hope came with and apparently the Four Seasons Hotel was going to put on a major fireworks display from across the bay. As we got onto the beach the party was raging at a number of beach bars with fireworks already going off periodically. We sat amidst the crowd and waited for the countdown. As we sat down some fireworks went off quite close to us and I remember glancing over at Barry and Hope nervously as we tried to focus elsewhere. At the stroke of midnight and with the crescendo of cheering just starting I looked behind us just in time to see a firework rocket land right next to us. A massive bang and explosion, white light and my ears were ringing as I tried to register what was going on. Amazingly nothing went into my eyes, but I was more worried about Hope and Barry as it was far closer to them. Hope and Aly were running away from the scene with Hope furiously rubbing at her head as if something was burning. It appeared to be nothing too serious though and Aly seemed fine. It took me a while however, to spot Barry. He was some 50 meters away by this time and running at some pace towards to the water while grabbing at his back. Have any of you seen that scene in in Taladega Nights with Will Ferrell where he is in a car accident and then believes he is on fire? It was sort of like that with Barry also convinced that he was on fire and leaving the rest of us for dead in a desperate attempt to get to the water to douse the flames. Man did he move fast! I couldn’t help laughing but that spelt the end of our new years and we got off the beach pretty quickly, cursing the crazy Tico’s and thankful that none of us got really injured. Hope did have a small patch of her hair burnt off and blister on her scalp where the hair used to be. Fireworks...not cool!
Moments before we are almost blown up and burnt alive!
So Hope and Barry left for the States from there on the 2nd and Aly and I had to then decide where we wanted to go. I searched the Lonely Planet and found a spot diagonally on the other side of the country which sounded really nice. The guide book talked of jungle, long beaches, the biggest waves in Costa Rica and Caribbean vibes. I was sold. Aly and I then decided to rent another car and set off on this journey which took the better part of 9 hours to complete in the end. The roads were also packed with people going back to San Jose after the new years parties / explosions. Soon after going through San Jose (about half way and we got totally lost in the city) we hit rain and one of the national parks known for its rain forests. It seemed to carry on for hours as we descended from the highlands closer to the more tropical low-lying areas. Then suddenly the rain was gone and we were in the province of Limon! It was stunningly beautiful and everything I would have imagined Costa Rica to be with jungle, forest and rivers creating some breathtaking scenery.
The road to Puerto Viejo. Stunning.
Puerto Viejo at sunset
We got to the little town of Puerto Viejo at dusk that evening and stayed in a charming guest house run by some old hippy geezer who looked well stoned when we pulled in there. I was so happy to see black people again, I can’t even explain. The charming caaaraabeeeyan accent could be heard even through the Spanish. yay!
The next couple of days were spent doing some relaxing and fun things like riding bikes along the coast, going for massages, eating sushi (I hadn’t seen a sushi place since I left SA!), drinking fruit smoothies made from every imaginable and as yet undiscovered fruit, going for massages and surfing. I also got to see this legendary reef break monster wave called the Salsa Brava. Its not for beginners as you could get smashed on the shallow reef, but certainly forms part of a larger surfers paradise in the area. I loved this place and it seemed like a really international spot too with over 40 languages apparently spoken by the residents of the little town. What made it different to the previous place we had been was that there seemed to be a real focus on protecting the natural surroundings and customs of the local people. Very balanced and healthy looking.
Taking a bike ride in Puerto Viejo
Aly enjoying the scenery
The massage temple in the forest at Puerto Viejo
Gringos get a lesson in Surfing (Puerto Viejo)
I'm showing everyone how its really done here. Grace, balance, poetry...
On the 6th we had to leave super early as Aly had to be in the north of the country at noon to catch her flight. I was dropped off in San Jose as I flew from there the next day and it was an especially sad goodbye. We had a great holiday and a lovely peak at this friendly country.
I was looking forward to getting stuck into life here in Colombia. After the Customary hiccup with Colombian immigration officials (I was the last to be let through as the bastards casually debated I don’t know what. they wouldn’t speak English!) I was back at Sergio’s pad and planning my next couple of weeks.
So far it seems like I’ll be doing an intensive Spanish course at one of the universities either here in Bogota or in Medellin. I’m kind of leaning towards Medellin cus its so damn cold here in Bogota and I don’t deal with the cold!
I’ve also chatted to one or two connections that Sergio has within the National Commission for Reparation and Reconciliation and it appears like there might be some opportunities for me to work with some of the ex-combatants, victims, displaced people and poorer communities in a change management capacity in the coming months. I’m excited about that and will be attending a luncheon to meet some of the people next week some time.
So, that is where it’s at right now. I’ll end with customary note of oddities and strange things I have noticed in the last couple of weeks:
- Two days ago I ate Capivara (or Chiguiro as its called here). For those of you who don’t know, its like a monster rat / guinea pig and is the largest rodent on earth. Found in Latin America, it is apparently somewhat of a delicacy. I found it quite pleasant in fact. …somewhere in between pork and chicken, these fillets were. Yum! Although I couldn’t tell if it was actually yellow or if that was just the marinade?
- Bikers with bibs - All people on a motorcycle must wear a bib (including passengers) with the license plate number of the bike on the back and front. I asked Sergio about this and he said that it was because of the number of assassinations performed by people on bikes. This way, if someone is not wearing a bib that can instantly identify them to the thousands of cops around the city, they are immediately pulled over and fined heavily. Extreme!
- Cold Showers - When I was reading the lonely planet for South America they mentioned that one had to become used to cold water more often than not. I dismissed this as something that would only occur in seedy backpackers. I was wrong! It seems like the entire Latin America really does not place a high priority on hot water. WTF?! I’m freezing my balls off! I need hot water! At best they have these contraptions fastened to the shower head which heats the water when it comes through. Problem is that anything more powerful than a trickle and you have a cold shower. The trickle shower is demeaning and no-one should have to suffer through this. Sergio, exceptionally, seems to have a geezer but he never uses it! Its turned off all the time! Well, I think he noticed the panicky look in my eyes after he showed me how the trickle system works seeing as he has it switched on. Its like a special occasion treat?! And its the same everywhere!
- North Vs. South - Yesterday I went to the northern part of the city for the first time. It was like stepping into another world. Sergio stays in an area called Champinero and its kind of how Sunnyside in Pta was 15 years ago with an artsy Melville edge to it. Lots of flats, bars, music stores and single people. There are certainly some edgier looking people on the street. Well the north is kind of like Hydepark and Sandton all rolled into one with everyone on the street. Massive malls, Snazzy restaurants, designer stores, rich kids oozing labels and cops with dogs checking all the cars that park in the malls for bombs. every single one! money money money! The difference was stark!
- The South American Zuma - So I’ve got the scoop on Hugo Chavez (president of Venezuela). This man is a raging lunatic and seems to represent where Zuma could be in about ten years time. He has this plan to unite all of South America especially the countries that Simon Bolivar originally liberated and which were one country, namely: Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama and Bolivia I think. Plans to assume control of Colombia (the only US ally in South America. Mexico is Central) have him in bed with the guerillas (Las FARC) and that is why he is involved in getting them to release hostages as they have just done. They are reputed to be operating on the Venezuelan side of the border regularly with him even funding some of their operations in Colombia. This guy reckons his hero is Simon Bolivar and wants to re-unite the Bolivaran countries first and foremost. At a meeting some years ago he even asked a seat be kept open next to him for the spirit of Simon Bolivar! He also wants to bring conflict to a head with the United States by pursuing control of Colombia. Chavez reckons that his oil money and the guerillas are more than enough to take the Gringos! He has just had a major public spat with Uribe (the right wing president of Colombia). His own parliamentarians are starting to seriously question his sanity. Dangerous man! His involvement with the guerillas could spill this country into a more all-encompassing war in years to come.
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