Pura Vida (POO-rah VEE-dah) Costa Rica ~ My Travel Blog (MyTrB)

SJO (San Jose, Costa Rica) is only 4 hours away from IAH (Houston, Texas)

Unlike LIR (Liberia, Costa Rica) SJO is a modern airport with jetways and air-conditioning.

The line at Alamo car rental was fairly short but it took us 2 hours to get to the clerk. Our online $140 reservation for a 10 day car rental quickly transformed into a $720 rental. After we insisted that our credit card covers everything and substituted 100% liability with 20% liability we ended up paying $260. After that, it took only one hour to wash the car and bring it to us.

A view from our first stop - Hotel Tryp Sabana San José ($90 a night).

The rooms were big and the breakfast was a decent buffet. The wi-fi was strong and internet connection was fast. The neighborhood is safe and just a walking distance (30 minutes) from the downtown.

Next morning we left for Irazú Volcano (Latitude: 9° 58' 46.896" N Longitude: 83° 50' 51.594" W).
Warning: Google maps might try to trick you into taking dirt roads, but there is no need to do so.
The road was good with a very few potholes and typical Costa Rican views.

Fruits for sale (for tourists). Almost all the fruits cost $1 a pound.

At the entrance we paid $10 (a standard fee, for foreigners, to visit a Costa Rican national park). Like many volcanoes in Costa Rica, Irazu was covered in fog. So taking pictures of ourselves was all that was left to do.

Patience wins the race. After 2 hours of waiting the fog disappeared ... alas, only for 10 minutes.

On the way to the second (9° 58' 35.7" N 83° 51' 13.35" W) trail we discovered a new kind of coffee lover.

The second trail was half a mile long and was supposed to have a good view of the main crater. But all we saw was fog.

On the way back to San Jose we stopped by at a soda place (a local dinner, not to be confused with American soda). 9° 57' 40.956" N 83° 50' 16.71" W

From a farmer, we bought some local cheese and homemade dulce de leche. Both were delicious.

And continued to Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph (9° 51' 49.8" N 83° 54' 46.446" W).

Walked around the city of Cartago (a neighborhood of San Jose).

Surprise! We found more churches.

Then we drove to Parque Nacional Tapantí (9°44'59.3"N 83°47'02.5"W). Part of the road was dirt road but our Toyota Yaris did pretty well.

The park has a couple of good hiking trails and lots of local people doing bbq.

After another night at Tryp we departed for La Fortuna.
The first surprise was the cloud forest (almost zero visibility).

Beware of locals walking on the "highways."

Sometimes the road becomes a dirt road.

And almost all the bridges through the Rios (rivers) are very narrow so you will notice a sign or just a writing on the road saying Ceda (yield). Despite my fears locals drive pretty well and almost always yield (even if its their right of way). A world of warning though, traffic lights and road signs (especially Velocidad Máxima) are rarely followed by the locals. The good thing though if you do follow the speed limit, the locals will not horn or tailgate you, they will just quietly pass you.

After arriving at La Fortuna (4 hours from San Jose) we immediately drove to Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal. There we climbed to the observatory (7 kilometers of well maintained dirt-road), paid $10 and went hiking (10° 26' 13.962" N 84° 43' 23.238" W). The trails were a real deal - a tropical forest with proper sounds and tropical plants.

A glimpse of the Laguna de Arenal

If not the fog the view of the volcano would be breathtaking. It was still okay though.

Back to the hotel, La Fortuna what a beautiful city!

At the hotel, we bought tickets to Baldi hot-springs ($35 with a dinner, much cheaper than buying at the hot-springs). The dinner was a fairly good buffet (but nothing special).

We stayed at La Fortuna hotel ($80 a night, never got lost!) and it was good. The wi-fi was strong and internet connection was fast. The breakfast was simple (and always the same); eggs, toast, jam, and fruits.
On the road again...

This time to the Venado Caves (10° 33' 12.942" N 84° 46' 6.33" W). It is a little bit hard to find them but these caves are a must (especially if you are claustrophobic)! The cost is reasonable $22 for a 2 hour tour. The caves are located in a small town named Venado (can be found on google maps). To get there turn southwest off highway 4 in Jicarito toward Venado. Proceed through town on to the dirt road for about 2 km and you will see a gate.

And the bats making a hole...

Quartz

Calcium deposits

Birth canal...

Arachnophobia...

And our wonderful guide.

On the way back we stopped for lunch at Soda Jireh at Jicarito (10° 33' 21.906" N 84° 44' 53.826" W).

The dog refused to eat my rice but was still hanging around us.

Batido de papaya con leche sin azucar (papaya no sugar with milk). yummy!

Casado (typical Costa Rican meal)

Cas (sour guava) juice and ceviche (marinated fish).

The food was so delicious that on the way to Rio de Celeste (10° 42' 40.188" N 84° 58' 48.414" W) we missed a turn... We were supposed to take the red road but instead made a circle and took the blue one. What a huge mistake. While the red road is a normal Costa Rican dirt-road highway, the blue road was an 8 km, 3 hour of ordeal.

The blue road was so bad that I am still not sure how our Toyota Yaris (and its suspension) survived.

And when we almost made it to the red road, we had to wait for another 3 hours for the workers to fix the road (and we were lucky, some other folks waited for 8 hours. but I would rather sleep there than take the blue road agin) ...

The next morning we were on the way to Quepos. What a nice road - a real (Costa Rican) highway.

No air-conditioner - no problem amigo.

And some alligators seen from the Rio Tarcoles bridge (9° 48' 1.926" N 84° 36' 21.3" W).

We stopped by at Reserva Biologica Carara (9° 46' 47.64" N 84° 36' 22.584" W). It has really nice (but short) hiking trails and we got to see many lizards and even iguanas. The most amazing thing about this park is that it borders dry and wet tropical forests.

This tree is pretty strong and smart ...

The highlight of the day was Jose's Crocodile River Tour. May be we were lucky but Jose himself was doing the tour. In just 2 hours, we saw so many birds and crocodiles that I must admit it was our best tour in Costa Rica so far.

Not afraid at all!

And then, thanks to a tip from a local (German) lady we got to see the most beautiful sunset ever, at Villa Caletas (a 5 star resort located at 9° 41' 5.388" N 84° 39' 34.158" W). They have a gate at the top - just tell them you are here for the restaurant.

The cocktails were on the expensive side ($10) but the view paid off for them.

Gangnam style?

That is the place to be with your significant one!

Fortunately for us, La Sirena hotel at Quepos was fully booked so we reserved a room at Kayak Hotel, located at Damas. We did not regret for a second. The breakfast was delicious, The rooms were spacious. The wi-fi was a little crappy but who cares ))

The breakfast was included and made to order.

Fresh bananas (from the hotel's owner plantation) taste so much better than the once we buy even at Whole Foods.

I love Manuel Antonio. You can easily buy a young coconut from a local dealer for just $2, but I prefer them straight from the tree. And there are plenty of coconut trees on the beach. Just make sure you buy a $2 kitchen knife from a local store to open them.

What surprised me is that locals really love running.

Many dogs on the beach - all seem to be friendly.

Cold drinks?

A place to rest?

On the way to El Avion restaurant (9° 24' 8.64" N 84° 9' 12.054" W) we found a boat...

It is definitely a must see place in Manuel Antonio but not a must-eat place (the food is expensive and not gorgeous).

A tree growing from a house?

Back to the beach!

And the ever beautiful sunset.

Friday and Saturday night they even have a bonfire at Manuel Antonio.

Next we decided to visit Playa Dominical (9° 15' 2.49" N 83° 51' 55.59" W) conveniently located 40 minutes away from Quepos. The place is a haven for hippies, surfers, and weed lovers.

A guy from Oregon who was already backpacking for 2 months suggested that we visit a waterfall nearby (9.2304300, -83.8377083) and there we saw the most amazing thing ever.

Not sure how they do it (the water depth is only 5 feet, and the tree is at least 30 feet high)!
For us, the locals just hang a rope there...

Thanks to lovely Kateri and her wonderful mom we found the most amazing local-food place at Quepos. Sabores de Nuestra Tierra (9° 25' 49.728" N 84° 9' 52.11" W).
Patacones (fried plantains) + casado = delicious!

And a movie night at the marina.

Next morning we were back at Manuel Antonio beach...

We had no choice but to visit Manuel Antonio Park. And the reason I say had no choice because the park is frankly overcrowded. Also all the trails except for the "highway" were closed.

One can definitely find Capuchin monkeys there.

Best beach in Manuel Antonio...

And the sunset.

Costa Rica is safe for tourists in general but Manuel Antonio is super safe. I left my 3K camera on the beach and went swimming and never had any issues with that.