Day 10 - The long drive to Puerto jimenez

We woke up at 5:30 and were on the road at 6:30 headed to Paquera to catch the 8am ferry. We arrived at 7:40 and the ferry was looking pretty full of vehicles. I ran into the office to get our tickets and was able to get on just in time as a truck and bus were behind me and took up the very last spots.

We hadn't had any breakfast but nothing looked too good from the snack bar on the ferry so we settled on a few beers to quench our thirst. Once agian the ferry ride was about an hour with beautiful scenery and weather. Once in Puntarenas we unloaded pretty quickly and were on our way through the city and on to the coastal highway. We stopped at a gas station near Jaco to use the bathrooms and get some snacks and didn't stop again until Quepos where we stopped to stretch our legs and watch an animated crowd cheer on a soccer game.



South of Quepos we drove over the bad road to Dominical but south of Dominical were some of the best roads I've driven on in all of Costa Rica. We got to Uvita at about 1pm and were making such good time we decided to press on and drive all the way to Puerto Jimenez. We got some cash from an ATM and then filled up the tank at a gas station where the attendant washed our filthy windows.

Once past Uvita it rained a bit as we passed though Palmar Norte but soon cleared up again. We took the turn off the mail highway towards the Osa and were on a twisty road with occasional stunning views of the Gulfo Dulce. Once past Rincon the road turned to gravel and was extremely dusty. We got stuck behind another vehicle and the dust was so bad we could barely see the road in places.

We arrived into Puerto Jimenez at about 4pm and found The Palms Hotel. We were greeted by Pablo who got us a good deal on our rooms for $40/night (I was quoted $65/night by the owner in a previous email). He got us some beers and helped us to our room. After unpacking, we were pretty hungry and craving some Mexican food so we walked to Juanita's but the kitchen was closed so we just had a few beers. We walked around the town a bit and then went back to The Palms to eat in their restaurant where Pablo (who was also the cook) made some incredible chicken enchiladas with mole sauce. Kat then went to bed while I stayed up drinking some beers and talking to Pablo and some other people staying at the hotel