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

Day 2 - Drive to Dominical

We woke up early and had the Orquideas Inn’s delicious buffet breakfast. Breakfast included: fresh fruit, gallo pinto, potatoes, sausage, orange juice, tamales, plantains, coffee, juice as well as a made to order omelets and pancakes. After breakfast the driver from Tricolor car rental arrived right on time at 9am. We checked out of the hotel and he drove us back to the office near the airport. The paper work was completed quickly and we were on the road by 10am in our Daihatsu Terios.

Since we were headed to Dominical we had to get through San Jose but fortunately I had some good directions to avoid going through the downtown area. We missed the turnoff from the highway but I was able to make the next exit and then backtrack. The directions we had were excellent for getting through San Jose and onto the Pan American Highway except I somehow took a wrong turn and we ended up stuck in traffic in Cartago where there was some sort of street fair going on and the streets were jam packed. After about 45 minutes we were able to find our way back onto the highway and onward towards the Cierro del Muerte (road of death) which got it's name from long ago when crossing the mountains from the Valle Central meant a three or four day journey, on foot or on horseback, and many ill-prepared travelers succumbed to the cold and rain.

It was a nice drive up the mountain but once we crossed the summit at 11,000' it became pretty foggy and then was pouring rain. I started getting a bit nervous since we were almost out of gas but had just enough to get us to San Isidro where we were able to fill up.

The drive towards the coast was nice but once we arrived in Dominical at about 2pm it started to rain REALLY HARD. We didn't have any reservations but checked out a few places that I had looked into (Dominicolos and Rio Lindo) but they were both full. Since it was raining and we were tired and hungry we found Cabanas San Clemente and settled on a crappy room for $30/night but at least it had a/c and hot water.

We hadn't eaten since breakfast and were quite hungry. We checked out Tortilla Flats but their restaurant was packed (a good sign) so we went to the San Clemente restaurant (same owners as the hotel but a much nicer place located a few blocks away) had some good tacos and beers for lunch and then back to our room for a nap.


We woke up at about 6pm and it was still raining really hard. There was so much rain and watter and mud we piled in the car and drove the 100' to Tortilla Flats. We hang out there for a while - it was fun place and the bartenders were very cool. We wanted some tequila shots but they had run out of tequila so the bartender gave us some free shots of vodka with some juice. Later in the evening they ran out of beer! Whomever does the ordering there needs to get their act together - as there were still lots of thirsty people at the bar!