The Trip 2013 - San Jose to Puerto Viejo

Note: This is a condensed version of the pictures I took with some added narrative. The rest of the pics can be viewed in the album The Trip 2013 - San Jose to Puerto Viejo. Each picture can be clicked to see a larger version and comment / like.

After finishing my 17 day adventure from Antigua, Guatamala to San Jose, Costa rica and sadly said farewell to most of my fellow travelers I had a few days rest as recuperation with Kelsie before she had to return to Australia. We spent most of the 4 days chilling out and exploring the city.





We spent some time exploring the compact market places, there were some interesting shops..





I even had some time to do some shopping for some new shoes that were destroyed up Concepcion.



I found San Jose to be a rather gloomy, concrete jungle of a city with much of the architecture reflecting that feeling



There also seemed to be a lot of homeless and poverty



Sadly I finally had to say goodbye to Kelsie too after nearly two months of travelling together.



I was now on my own again, my first time by myself in Central America. Oh how I wish I knew more Spanish, it would have made everything much less intimidating. My first solo destination was the seaside town of Samara, Costa Rica





My main reason for being there was to learn to surf





I was relatively successful at first and found that I was able to stand up on the board even on the first attempt





The board however was a long board, which made things quite a bit easier:



Evenings in Samara were spent chilling out, drinking imperial and enjoying the glorious sunsets







On the days I was too sore or too tired from surfing I explored some more of the long beach. At one end I found this incredibly refreshing waterfall



I also rather foolishly decided it would be a good idea to try to swim the gap between the main beach and a small island nearby



Not the smartest move as the waves and currents were rather strong and the rocks incredibly sharp. Still I made it back only with only a few cuts on my hands and feet.

Sadly after a week of bliss it was time for me to move on. I was trying to work my way across to Panama City eventually. On the way I decided I was going to spend a couple of days exploring the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, specifically the town of Puerto Viejo





I didn't really like the town. It felt kind of sketchy and was riddled with drug dealers and associated dodgy characters. It didn't help that it rained for a large portion of the time I was there. Fortunately the hostel I was staying in (Pagalu) was great.





The hostel had a great atmosphere that encouraged people to become friends. I immediately hit it off with the people in my dorm, I will remember Puerto Viejo fondly mostly because of them, cheers guys!

The Trip 2013 - Monte Verde to San Jose

Note: This is a condensed version of the pictures I took with some added narrative. The rest of the pics can be viewed in the album The Trip 2013 - Monte Verde to San Jose. Each picture can be clicked to see a larger version and comment / like.

After Ometepe we crossed the border into our final country on this trip, Costa Rica. The first destination for us was the beautiful town of Monte Verde high in the hills of northern Costa Rica.



Of of the main attractions of Monte Verde is all the extreme sports on offer. I decided I was going to do the jungle zip lining first.



The site in which we did it boasts the longest zip line in Latin America at 1590m.



The ride takes the best part of a minute and a half which I managed to record in the super-man position:





The final zip line wasnt a zip line at all, rather it was a giant tarzan swing. To get there you had to walk across a rickety bridge before you reach the platform that you jump from.



After zip lining I decided I wanted to have a go at something I have been meaning to do for a long time, bungee jumping.

While we were getting suited up in our harness a friendly Makaw decided to join us. It seemed to have a fetish for peoples feet however.



To get to the bungee jump spot you had to ride in a small cage across the steep valley



One by one the people in the cage took the plunge over the edge until it was my turn. I shuffled up to the edge (my feet were tied to the bungee) before the countdown 5..4..3..2..1.. and I felt the not-so-proverbial boot up the bottom and jumped:



The jump was exhilarating tho the way the rope caused you to spin afterwards did make me feel a little nautious.

While I was doing the jump some members of our group went off on a coffee tour.





The following day we took a bus and a boat across to La Fortuna the town that rests at the foot of the Areal volcano in northern Costa Rica.





Like Monte Verde, La Fortuna offers a great many adventure sports for the adrenaline addicted traveler with deep pockets.

As soon as we arrived a few of us decided we were going to go canyoneering.



Canyoneering involves hiking and repelling down waterfalls and is great fun.





Some of the waterfalls are so high that you basically have to zip line down.



There were a couple of 'surprises' along the way too such as a dive bomb into a pool.





The other was a 'Tsunami'. We were wedged into a small crevice then the stream was blocked from above. After a few minutes the dam was broken releasing a huge torrent of water down onto us.





I loved the canyoneering, I may have to see if I can do more of it on this trip!





When we returned from the canyoneering we found the other half the group having fun in the hotel pool.



They had been drinking sangreer all afternoon in the sun and had come up with a game called 'Limeball'. It basically involed letting a lime sink to the bottom then in teams you have to try to get it to the opponents end by just using your feet.



The tricky thing was that it was really tough to see the lime through the chest high water so often everyone would loose the lime until someone would sneakily kick it towards the other side.

The following day I decided to continue on my adventure sports with some ATV'ing.



I had never done it before and was pleasantly surprised at how powerful the small things were.



We stopped after a few hours and took a break at a small river in the forest.







That evening we took a break from all the adrenaline and visited the hot springs at Los Lagos.



The pools are supplied with hot water fed by the volcanic activity deep underground. Unlike the springs in Hondorus that were built on a hill side deep in the jungle these were much more formal built up affair and were basically hot swimming pools. One of the pools even had a swim up bar which I made good use of.



We had dinner at a buffet in the hotel. During the meal we practiced a little "1912'ing".





The following day we left La Fortuna and headed to San Jose. Along the way we stopped ot do a spot of white water rafting.



The guide in our raft thought it would be funny to stick twigs in our helmets



We had an awesome time though it made me yearn to do some harder rapids in the future.







During the ride we had an opportunity to 'ride the bow' which involves sitting on the front of the boat and hanging on for dear life as you sail down the river.



It was all good fun until Meike, a Dutch girl in our boat was thrown off and landed on her knee onto a rock.. ouch!



Halfway we stopped for some pineapple and a little cliff jumping.





After the rafting we headed to our final destination, the capital of Costa Rica, San Jose. There we spent one more night together as a group getting drunk in a local club.

Im going to miss these guys, I had a phenomenal time, sharing so many good memories. I got on with all of them, each person had their own unique qualities that made them great to hang around with. I wish I could spend the rest of my trip travelling around with them. Thanks guys!