Georgia Was Like: From the Pacific to the Caribbean

San Jose, Costa Rica

Cool structure in the park in front of the
National Museum of Costa Rica.

The airport we flew into SJO (Juan Santamaria International Airport) is actually about 15 miles outside of San Jose. Immediately when we landed, we hopped on a public bus to the city. Upon arriving, we set out to find our hostel The Costa Rica Guesthouse. It is SO easy to get turned around in this city. There are no town maps and the police officers can't even give solid directions. Since we traveled so much throughout the country and San Jose was the hub for the buses, after our 3rd visit we finally began to somewhat understand the avenida (avenue) / calle (street) system. I would try and explain but I think I better just say... good luck. The hostel was nice, we got a private room for about $20 a night/per person. You get free breakfast in the morning, but there is no communal kitchen. After we set down our loads, we went exploring in the city. There are abandoned lots with trash heaping within the fences, there are huge holes in the sidewalk just waiting for someone to twist their ankle in, the cars fly down the streets and don't care about pedestrians. It's a big, dirty city. I didn't like it at all. We were starving so we started looking for something to eat... again all I gotta say is good luck. If you don't have a good knowledge of Spanish food words you're going to have a hard time picking something out. There are a few sit down restaurants but everything looks grimy, especially the small eateries with food under glass displays. There are a bunch of museums in the city to check out, but keep in mind most of them cost money. We didn't go to any. There is a cool park in front of the National Museum of Costa Rica (Museo Nacional de Costa Rica) that's worth walking through.

La Fortuna, Costa Rica

The watering hole with a rope swing.

This is the view of the Cerro Chato we were supposed to see.

This is what Arenal Volcano looks like on a clear day.

This was one of our favorite stops and our purpose there was to visit hot springs and see the Arenal Volcano. The town has really died down since the volcano stopped erupting 4 years ago. Now it's dormant, but still makes a beautiful view. Our hostel was called Hostel Backpackers La Fortuna .There was a nice courtyard with hammocks, a bar (you get a welcome drink!!), a pool table, and a communal kitchen. We were only spending a couple days in La Fortuna, so we booked an 8 hour guided hike where we would see and swim in the Cerro Chato volcanic lake, see the Arenal Volcano, go to the museum that documents and tracks the volcanic activity, see a waterfall (which I can't remember the name of), and go to a hot spring. You could definitely do the Cerro Chato hike and hike to the observatory by yourself, but we enjoyed this guided hike we took through Red Lava because we learned things we wouldn't have otherwise and got to cram a lot into one day. Of course it was raining the morning we set out on our hike. When we go to the top of our 3,740 ft. climb, we were supposed to be greeted by a breathtaking view of the Cerro Chato... but noooo. It was completely enveloped in fog. So we started to descend in order to swim in the lake. It was so foggy you couldn't see more than 20 ft. in front of you. It was eerie like Nessie might swim through the haze and gobble you up. When we got to the volcano observatory, we were greeted once again by thick white. We weren't too disappointed. The hike was awesome and challenging and we were deep in the rainforest, so we couldn't complain. We crossed a few hanging bridges and saw some Rainbow Eucalyptus on the way to the observatory. Since there was no view to gaze at, we left early via bus to go to the hot spring. There are many springs in La Fortuna that you have to pay to swim in ($30+), but we went to a local spot that was right

Catarata Fortuna

in the parking lot of the Tabacon Hot Springs. The warm water flows under a bridge and is completely free of charge. Another free thing you can do in La Fortuna, is find the swimming hole with a rope swing. You pass the grocery store and cross a yellow bridge with animals painted on the railings, keep going over two more bridges and you will see the spot. It's awesome! The rope swing is probably a 15-20 ft. drop. One day we spent walking to the big waterfall in La Fortuna, Catarata Fortuna (200 ft.). There is a $10 entrance free, but the waterfall is spectacular and there are some cool trails to walk on that crosses over a hanging bridge and to a lookout to see another waterfall.

Junquillal, Costa Rica

Bored, naked photo shoot with giant Elephant Ears.

The next stop on our journey was to visit my aunt in Junquillal, which is a very small town on the Pacific about an hour from Tamarindo. There isn't much to do here. It's definitely a place where people have come to retire. Your options range from golfing, yoga, and to eating out at the few hotels and restaurants that are near by. We took walks on the beach to collect seashells and swam in a pretty blue cove everyday. One day we filled an entire pitcher of coconut water we harvested all by ourselves. We used a long gaff my aunt's pool boy had made to yank the coconuts off the tree, opened them with a machete, and then transferred the water to the pitcher. It was delicious. There is a turtle conservatory in the town and you can pay $20 to see turtles hatch. We were going to do it one day, but we walked to the conservatory and by the time we walked back to get our money we had missed it. We went exploring at an abandoned hotel, that was once called Antumalal. We went to a horseback event in the town park where the rider galloped towards a rope with a tiny circle attached and tried to get a pencil through. It looked extremely hard. We visited a beach called Playa Blanca, which wasn't far from my aunt's house and a great snorkel spot. My whole family came to spend Christmas, so we had a nice time. On Christmas Eve, we went to a pot luck that a hotel hosted every year. It was delicious with a wide spread of local foods like tamales. I took a surf lesson on Christmas Day!! It definitely didn't feel like Christmas. For Christmas dinner, we had a three course meal at a new restaurant that was opened recently by my aunt's old maid. One day we met some people from the Czech Republic and had beach bonfire with them. Even though this spot was remote, it was pristine and there was not trash strewn about like at the other beaches we visited.

Fresh coconuts!!

This is what the horseback riders
had to get their pencil through.

My aunt's pimp pad.

Nosara, Costa Rica

Janice trying to catch something despite the wind!

This was by far our favorite place that we visited. Our friends, Janice and Klay, are planning on opening a hostel there. Check out their Facebook page and follow them on Instagram @thenomadic to stay up to date with their plans for the hostel. It won't be long till the hostel is up and running and that will definitely be THE place to stay in Nosara and Costa Rica in general. We stayed with them in their apartment for the time being and they showed us around. Lucky for you, they have listed their apartment on Air BnB so you can stay there too if you want. It was so much fun seeing Costa Rica through the eyes of someone who lives there and they are such good hosts. They took us surfing one day at an awesome surf beach called Playa Guiones. It was only my second time really surfing and the paddle out was a bit far for me, but I made it!! Right across the street from the land they bought for their hostel is a skate park/restaurant. You can order food and go skate while you wait, eat a few bites, and go skate some more. On the website, it looks likes it cost money, but we didn't pay anything and we borrowed a board and a helmet... so I don't know whether it cost money or not. We also were there at night, so maybe it's different during the day. The park has lights and stays open till either 10 or 11 pm, which is nice. One morning we went to a tide pool beach, which had crystal clear pools entrapped in the rocks to swim in. It was on the same beach as the surf spot we went to, just further down. We went on a chartered fishing trip that kind of was a flop because it was so darn windy! We didn't catch anything... My brother is a huge fisherman and really want to fly fish, but that's impossible in wind. I feel like our guide wasn't t greatest and I would put his facebook page here, but he was a really nice guy so I don't want to slander his business. Maybe our day was just a fluke. We stopped at this cute shop called Naked Foods and had the most DELICIOUS ginger beer, called Temple of the White Dog. You have got to try it while you're there! Nosara has a really great recycling initiative and if you bring back your bottle from your ginger beer you can get it refilled for like $1 off or something. KEEP NOSARA BEAUTIFUL!

The skatepark in Nosara.

The tidepools on Playa Guiones.

This is Janice and Klay's pool at their apartment that is now listed
on Air BnB. You could stay here!!

Tamarindo, Costa Rica

Complimentary massages at La Palapa.

We were supposed to only spend New Year's Eve here, but because of missing our bus, we had to spend an extra night. My mom booked us a hotel room at La Palapa and the confirmation e-mail we received said check-in was at 2:00pm, so we arrived promptly. However, the sign on the reception desk said check-in wasn't until 3:00pm. The room was $200 a night, so I wasn't going to tolerate a mistake like this. When I pointed out their error and asked to speak to a manager, there was no manager. This is high season, the rooms cost more during this time... they need to have a manager or someone present who can handle these situations. We waited patiently until 3:00pm only for them to tell us our room STILL wasn't ready. I was mad at this point. They were so unprofessional. Finally, after badgering them we got a small discount on the room and free 20 minute massages. :) I was appeased. Don't stay at La Palapa. But seriously, skip Tamarindo in general. Do not go here. It's gross. We didn't get in the water at all because you could see pipes under the roads feeding dirty water straight into the ocean. It even smelled bad in some places. I was appalled. As for spending NYE there... it was a decent spot. We didn't go to any bars though, just drank a lot of beer and two bottles of champagne with a mariachi band on the beach. The beach was crowded, literally thousands of people. It was like a festival: people walking by saying "blow, weed", fire dancers, fireworks! It was a party!! The next day we spent terribly hungover only to find out we missed our bus and had to spend another night in this dirty, overcrowded city. We walked around aimlessly for awhile and found a public park with a playground and a skatepark. The playground equipment was all breaking and looked like no one had used it in 20 years. The skatepark had been started, but then they must have run out of money because there were exposed wires and crumbling concrete. It had one good bowl. Luckily, we found a hostel called Higher Ground to get a few winks of sleep before we caught our 3:30am bus to San Jose. I'm not putting a link, because there are definitely better places to stay. We couldn't find anywhere else though because almost everything was booked!

Bowl at the skatepark in Tamarindo.

Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

We went here to check out the national park, Manuel Antonio National Park . It cost close to $20 to get into. We were expecting trails through the forest, but it was very tourist-y and all the trails were paved. I felt like I was at Animal Kingdom at Disneyland or something. All the paths led to look-out points, which were pretty... just not what we were expecting, I guess. We did see a lot of animals: raccoons, different types of monkeys, lots of lizards, sloths, toucans, and eels. The beach within the national park is BEAUTIFUL. The water is so blue. There is supposed to be a waterfall in the park, but it was puny! I think maybe it would be bigger during the rainy season... but I don't know, we were unimpressed. Unfortunately, the public beach, which is only separated from the park by some rocky cliffs is haggard. The water is grey compared to the blue water of the beach within the national park. There is a small estuary that has signs that say "DO NOT SWIM CONTAMINATED," yet this estuary flows straight into the public beach. We didn't go swimming at all, other then in the park. The public beach was also trashed. All the trash cans were overflowing and trash was strewn everywhere. I wouldn't recommend coming here. The park isn't that spectacular and everywhere outside the park is trashed. The hostel we stayed at, El Faro Beach Hostel, looks like it had its prime 10 years ago before the locals found out about it. There was Costa Rican family of probably about 15 who dominated the entire hostel and were constantly filling up the pool and not cleaning up after themselves in the community kitchen. The place itself wasn't bad and I would recommend it to someone if they really wanted to go to Manuel Antonio for some reason, because it is so close to the gates of the national park. We met some pretty nice travelers here also who told us they had just come from an ayahuasca retreat in Dominical, Costa Rica. Ayahuasca is a psychedelic compound that is used in shamanic rituals to help heal the mind and body. Their stories of this community sounded awesome and would definitely be something to experience if you are into that kind of thing. They did it at a place called Florestral Forest Community.

View from one of the lookouts inside the park.

Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

One of the many mosaics at Rocking J's is
the boognish, the demon god of my
favorite band, Ween.

One of our friends lived here for a month and told us it was beautiful, but we had a very different experience. This was one of the most run-down, trashed places we visited. It was very ghetto, even in the town. The beach had trash everywhere. This town is on the Caribbean, so we were expecting blue waters... wrong. The water was grey and choppy, with double overhead waves. My boyfriend was supposed to get dive certified here, but the scuba place wasn't even going to take people out for another month until the storm passed and the water settled. They said they had never seen the water like this. Just our luck, huh? The hostel we were staying at was really cool. It was called Rocking J's Hostel. If you want to visit Puerto Viejo (which I don't recommend), do stay here. The whole place is mosaics and everything is painted. The hostel is an art piece in itself. It was raining almost the entire time we were there, but we did meet a lot of nice people at the hostel. The hostel has a bar with all you can drink Jungle Juice every night for $9, but we got there on the first full moon of the New Year, so they had a special for only $5. So we got really drunk with our new found friends. We slept in an open-air room with dozens of hammocks. It only cost like $7 a night to sleep in a hammock, but they also have other options such as tents, dorm rooms, privates, and bring your own tent/hammock for $1 off. We met a guy named Aaron at the hostel, who had hiked to Volio Waterfall in a nearby town called BriBri and he took us back and showed us the way. He found it on his own, but he spoke very good Spanish. You have to take a public bus to BriBri and then a taxi (tell the driver you are going to Volio) to get as close as possible to the trail, which includes crossing a river in the taxi and then crossing a few more rivers on foot. I could not give good instructions on how to find the trail. Aaron said when he first went he definitely got a little lost, but he found it eventually. Nothing is marked, so if you set out to find it, don't give up! It's there, I promise! It's beautiful and untouched and not tourist-y at all. We saw poisonous dart frogs while we were hiking and I was so excited. They are one of my favorite animals!