On Monday we are once
again in good time on our way to the borders of Nicaragua – Costa Rica and hope
that it will work out without any major problems or border helpers trying to
cheat us off. And this time it is really easy: while I dutifully keep an eye on
our bikes, Pat takes the bureaucratic work. It took again about 2 hours but
simply because one official had to handle all the truck drivers and us – and he
seemed not really to be interested to speed things up. Anyway, we could cross
the border safely and this time without big money racketeering and fortunately right
after a heavy downpour. Since it was quickly cloudless again we decided to camp
that night and drove to the National Park *Santa Rosa”. In our enthusiasm about
the positive border crossing we forgot to buy some food and drinks for the
evening. So I volunteered to drive back the 20km into town while Pat took care of
the camping stuff. It took longer that I had thought and so it was already dark
when I came back to the park. My luck that there was a car from a park ranger
stopping in the middle of the road – otherwise I probably would have taken the
big snake, crossing the street, for a branch and would have simply driven over
it. However, after that “snake-discovery” I wondered what other nice animals
would be around the campsite. And leaving the tent during the night was not
really a pleasure – hearing all the different noises around and not knowing
what it was!
The next day
started with perfect weather (I do not mention anymore that good weather now alsways
goes hand on hand with high humidity!) but soon changed to heavy rains while
driving towards lake Arenal. Well what else could I expect in rainy season….for
a change here the weather does exactly what it should do at this time of the
year, so no complaints aloud. But unfortunately that means that we did not see
anything about the lake or the famous volcano. Luckily the dirt road was still
quite ok for driving and after a really interesting visit of the Eco-zoo of El
Castillo we found a perfect place to stay. The statements made by the local
guides about the various highly venomous snakes and frogs have made it an easy
decision: no tent tonight! The owner and his wife gave us a huge apartement because
there we could park our bikes in an open garage and safe behind their house.
They even brought us their own coffee maker and incredibly fine, fresh ground
coffee from local cultivation. The goodbye the next morning with lots of hugs
and best wishes for our trips. Again, an absolutely great encounter which will
for sure stay in all our memories.
Since Costa Rica copes
its reputation as "Switzerland of Central America" more than just
adequately and you have to pay for practically everything sometimes ridiculous high
prices, we took sort of a shortcut and crossed over to the Carribean side, to
Cahuita and its famous national park. Cahuita and its magnificent beaches had
been about 30 years ago a well-known spot for dropouts; no wonder that the
first I smelled driving into the village was the odor of Cannabis ;-)
Among the many foreigners who had sort of founded this village on one hand many Jamaicans who had been hired for the building of the railway but then on the other hand surprisingly many Swiss who finally stayed here and today earn their living with the management of lodges or restaurants. So I could both in the lodge as well as subsequently at the bar chat in Swiss German - almost unfamiliar, after almost 3 months in English and little Spanish.
Among the many foreigners who had sort of founded this village on one hand many Jamaicans who had been hired for the building of the railway but then on the other hand surprisingly many Swiss who finally stayed here and today earn their living with the management of lodges or restaurants. So I could both in the lodge as well as subsequently at the bar chat in Swiss German - almost unfamiliar, after almost 3 months in English and little Spanish.
On Friday we took a walk through the national park: rainforest right
hand, beach left hand – and even though spent only few hours in the park we saw
countless animals. It really paid off to stand still from time to time for a
few minutes to listen and to observe the surrounding shrubs and trees. We have
certainly seen more than the noisy chattering, reckless groups we passed.
So staying in Costa Rica, although only a short visit, will stay in my memory with colorful plants, incredible animals and well – lots of rain ....
So staying in Costa Rica, although only a short visit, will stay in my memory with colorful plants, incredible animals and well – lots of rain ....
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| a very rare species - as far as I know just seen once in Costa Rica!! |
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