We were awake and chatting before our alarm went off, both Leire and I eager to hit the road and start our adventure. Our plans for the next two weeks were quite basic. We had accommodation booked for each day but the details of what we would see on the way were totally left to the moment. Leire was keen to pass by a few towns this morning that were recommended to her by a family friend. Being the driver I left all final decisions to Leire, the navigator and map holder.
Leaving San Jose was no easy task. The roads in all of Costa Rica are poorly marked and most have no names. Addresses are directions not locations and so getting anywhere is a bit of a guess. For example the address for our hostel was '325 meters west of the Spoon coffee shop in Los Yoses' but where is the coffee shop? What makes matters worse is that almost all maps are different, some roads are non existent, or what seems like a main road is actually just a dirt path that you zoom by and miss. The scale of the maps are completely wrong too. I once measured our route to be 10km, it turned out to be about 60km.
After a few loops, wrong turns and beeping the horn to fit in with the local drivers we were on the right track out of the city. We were heading for Monteverde with the intention of stopping at Volcan Poas, and at two towns Leire wanted to see on the way. Leaving the city limits of San Jose we headed toward the first town. We knew where it was on the map but completely missed it. We had driven through a few small villages but nothing ever stood out so we had no reason to think 'oh this must be the town'.
As the scenery rolled on by we listened to my iPod plugged into the radio transmitter I had bought from Edinburgh for only £5, an excellent purchase. We talked about nothing in particular and were both smiling from ear to ear, still so excited to be together driving through Costa Rica with excellent warm weather and beautiful landscapes.
Following the signs to Volcan Poas through a small town we soon became lost. Signs are not very consistent in their placement. Sometimes there are a few signs on a straight road but they rarely appear at intersections. Left or right? Umm, right. A few minutes later and the gut feeling we're going the wrong way we stopped. Leire sticks her head of the window and asks for directions. At this point I'm so thankful Leire is Mexican and speaks fluent Spanish, or we'd really be stuck. We turn around and keep on. It took a few attempts and a lot of stopping to ask for directions on the narrow dirt streets before we finally made it to Volcan Poas which, as you have probably guessed, is a volcano.
After paying the park entrance fee we parked the car and sighed relief, we'd made it!
Following a path up the hill through thick vegetation we stopped here and there to admire the wildflowers, insects and birds. We kept an eye out for carnivorous plants, Leire curious to find any. After 20minutes or so we reached the edge, below us was a simply amazing view of the volcano crater. The desolate crater of dirty sand and rocks reminded me of Lord of the Rings and looked perilous. In the center was a blue green pool of steaming water with a sulfur cloud smoking into the sky. We stood speechless for a few moments then walked up a small platform to get a slightly better view and our picture taken by another couple.
After taking in the view we headed into the forest following another path toward Lake Botero. We took a little side path half way up but it lead nowhere. After a good 20 minutes we reached the top of the trail and were greeted with another amazing view, this time of a beautiful lake with dark green waters, the perfectly warm weather made it very tempting to go for a swim.
Heading back down the trail for one last look at the volcano we then headed back to the park entrance. We had nearly drained the cameras battery and with a full day still ahead of us we decided to recharge it by plugging into the wall by some steps at the tourist shop, while we ate some pears Leire had bought the day before.
We hit the road and continued driving, the road slowly winding higher and higher then dropping back down again before winding its way back up. The view all around was of lush green hilly fields with scatterings of cattle here and there and very few people or cars. We drove through another small town that had strange round multicolored sculptures. Perhaps this was the craft town? Leire recalled her relative mentioning these round things but expected them to be bigger. We couldn’t help but feel like we were missing something but didn’t let it bother us and kept on driving.
We eventually stopped at Grecia, parking next to a pink coloured church. We had been driving for hours and it was way past beer O'clock. This was to be my first experience with authentic Costa Rican food. I ordered the typical dish, mashed beans with tortillas (you pronounce double L's as Y), and these bread things that kinda looked like corn chips but tasted like those yellow potatoes, a slightly thick texture. Leire had meat chunks with yellow potato and those chip things too. The tortillas were amazing, they were soft and fluffy and tasted great. This is how they're meant to be, authentic said Leire. Yum is all I could say and my fear of not being able to live on Costa Rican food soon vanished. We also ordered two beers, Imperials, and as far as beers go it was pretty top notch.
Totally satisfied with our meals and beers we pushed on, following the road to Monteverde. I was quite suprised at how easy the roads were. I was expecting hazardous roads full of potholes and crazy drivers. While there were plenty of crazy drivers the roads so far had been mostly smooth, and the highway we were now on was just a normal paved road..
A few hours later we arrived in the largest town we had seen since leaving San Jose and assumed it was Monteverde, the Arenal volcano clearly visible in the distance. We started looking for our hostel which was meant to be on the main road but which one was the main road? We stopped at a tourist info center and Leire came back with the bad news, we were in La Fortuna, an estimated 4 hours from our destination, time for another beer? sure why not...
Finishing our beers and with some basic directions we were ready to journey onward. We passed the Arenal hot springs which we wanted to visit but must of figured we'd go in Monteverde because we didnt bother to stop. Leire 'Miss Navigator' said to keep a look out for a large lake as that would be our que to turn left, and if we missed the turn then the journey Around the lake would be a significant detour. Eyes peeled!
We came up to a large bridge at a huge lake and saw a car parked with the passengers out and taking pictures. I pulled up next to them eager to get a picture of this large lake too. Then it clicked and we both said, 'hey this is the lake!' and over there was the left turn, a steep rocky road that dissapeared up into the wilderness. Time to test out the 4WD on our Jimmy.
I pressed the 4WD button and Jimmy clicked and whirred into 4WD mode. We cautiously climbed the dodgy path up into the wilderness, not entirely certain this was the right path but with not much choice. The dirt path was littered with rocks, fallen branches and leaf litter. It was a bumpy ride but we seemed to be making good time.
About an hour into our mini adventure high above the edge of the lake, we started to get a little worried. Surely we had reached that point on the map, did we pass it already? Where was the turn? Was it hidden amongst the bushes? We pressed on sure that something would turn up. 30mins later we happened across what seemed like a tiny village.
There was a little house/shack on each corner of the t-junction and a whole lot of jungle otherwise. We turned left and parked the car on the side. A few people were milling about out the front of there homes and we immediately knew from the curious looks that we were in the wrong place.
We entered one of the holdings which turned out to be an office or hostel or something. After a brief chat we were assured that we had come completely the wrong way and our best option was to turn around and follow the road around the lake. This would be at least another 4 hour drive.
Leire got on the phone to cancel our reservation in Monteverde while the manager and his brother talked to me about Australia. What are Kangaroos like? Have I ever eaten one? How big are they? It was a funny conversation which lightened our situation just a little bit.
There was no way we would reach Monteverde tonight. Darkness was slowly on approach and our only options were to turn around and find a hotel along the way or, we could hire a guide to take us down the road we had been on. We would need the guide because the road ends at a lake and the only way to cross is to drive through, which is madness without a guide.
We backtracked to the main road at the damn stupid lake, finally a flat smooth surface, it felt like driving with pillows for tires compared to the dirt path we had been bouncing along.
Following the road around the massive lake we had a banana for dinner then later stopped for gas. By now it was getting dark and 3km from the fuel stop we found a solitary hotel and stopped for the night.
After the days driving, getting lost a million times and trekking through jungle, we were completely exhausted and crashed out around 9pm.
