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 9 - Mal Pais

After waking up I took a drive up to Cafe Zen for some of the best coffee I've had in Costa Rica. While there I net a girl who lived in my neighborhood in San Francisco! It seems that on every trip we've taken to Costa Rica we have met someone who lives close by - I guess it is a small world!

After going back to get Kat, we went back to Cafe Zen and had a good breakfast although the service was exceptionally slower then when I was there just an hour earlier.



We then checked email at Frank's Place, which also had a fast connection. The previous day I had emailed a few hotels in Zancudo and Puerto Jimenez and they said that the weather had cleared up so we decided that we would head to Puerto Jimenez and spend a night in Uvita along the way.

We went back to the hotel to change into our swim suits - I gave a big bag of dirty laundry to the hotel to wash ($10) and then we drove north to Santa Teresa accessing the beach by a path near the supermarket where we got some beers. On the beach we had a nice shade spot but there was a tico family nearby with a non stop barking dog - I think it didn't stop barking for the 2 hours we were there!

Later we drove back to the hotel for a last dip in the pool and shower before going to get dinner. My laundry was done and it was nice to have some clean fresh clothes.
I wanted to go try to watch the sunset again but Kat wanted to rest a bit in the room. I drove to the end of the road at Playa Carmen and there were quite a few people there selling stuff and banging on drums as the sun went down. Boy did she miss out as the sunset was incredible - the entire sky was on fire.



We had passed an Israeli restaurant in Santa Teresa that some people had recommended so we decided it would be a good place for dinner. We left the car at the hotel and decided to walk there only to discover that it was closed. So we walked all the way back stopping to admire a house with full Christmas decorations complete with frosty the snowman and snowflakes.

We went back to Ritmo Tropical for a delicious Pizza and then went back to the crossroads near Frank's Place for ice cream. Since we had to get up and be on the road by 6:30 to catch the 8am ferry we were in bed by 9pm

Day 8 - Mal Pais

I woke up and took a drive around, looking for somewhere to eat breakfast later on. I found Soda Amistad in Santa Teresa and stopped for few few cups of delicious coffee. After going back to get Kat we went back for a good and inexpensive breakfast of gallo pinto, eggs, quiso fresco, coffee, and OJ for only $9 for the two of us.

After b-fast we drove up Santa Teresa to an internet cafe (fast connection) to check email. Gilded Iguana emailed back and said they didn't have any rooms so we had to decide where to go next... We then got some beers at the supermarket and took a pathway to the beach at Santa Teresa.

Once on the beach there were a few people around - we were able to find a shady spot by a tree to park our towels. The beach wasn't as rocky as in Mal Pais and offered good swimming. We saw a guy kite surfing up and down the beach. At onepoint I was in the water swimming and he flew by and did a killer jump about 10 meters from me.

Next we went back to the hotel for a dip in the pool



Later we went to the beach to watch the sunset but there were too many clouds.

We ate dinner at La Piedras - the BBQ chicken place, We each ordered the 1/4 chicken with comes with a large salad. The chicken was sooooo tender it practically mented in our mouths. It was really good but we wish that we had ordered the 1/2 chicken as we were still a bit hungry afterwards.

We then went to the ice cream store to get a few scoops and went back to the hotel to go to bed.

Day 7 - Mal Pais

After waking up and showering at 6:30 I took a walk along the beach north of town to Ylang Ylang and back. I then had some coffee at El Sano Banano and went back to El Jardin to wake up Kat so we could get on our way to Mal Pais. We had a good breakfast at Cafe Mocezuma and then checked out of El Jardin at about 10am and did the 45 minutes drive to Mal Pais. On our last visit to Mal Pais in 2005 the road was freshly paved but this time it was pretty worn but still a fairly easy drive.

Our first choice in Mal Pais/Santeresa Teresa was Ritmo Tropical but they were full so we went next door to "The Place" which gave us a room in the main building for $60/night - not as nice as their bungalows ($100/night). Our room was nicely decorated and probably had one of the most comfortable beds I've slept on in four trips to Costa Rica. The only problem with the room was that the bathroom wasnt well designed - thre was no mirror in front of the sink and instead it was located on the opposite wall making shaving a bit difficult. Also, the shower only had a hand held nozzle that didn't mount anywhere so you had to hold it in one hand while showering or place it on the floor where it would usually end up flooding the rest of the bathroom.

The pool was awesome along with comfortable lounge chairs scattered about. Breakfast was offered for $8/person but declined and figured we could eat elsewhere while we were there.

After we got settled in our room we headed out looking for a snack and then a dip in the ocean. We drove to Playa Carmen and perked in the lot at the end of the road. We then walked up the beach a bit to Tropico Latino and had some gucamole and chips along with a few pilsens to wash it all down. Afterwards we took a swim in the ocean at Playa Carmen which was a bit rocky.

After swimming a bit we drove back to the hotel and took a dip in their wonderful pool - meeting another family from the US who had been in Mal Pais for a few weeks.

That night we drove to Las Piedras hop-ping to eat their famous chicken (motto is "our chicken is the shit") but they were not open. We ended up going to Ritmo Tropical where we ordered a lot of food ($42) - including margaritas, focaccia (a meal on its own) along with chicken curry and mushroom dinners for the two of us. After dinner we took a walk down to the beach and saw some lightning in the distance. We then walked to the Howling Monkey bar for a few beers and guaro while watching american football. After that we walked back top the hotel and Kat was pretty tired and went to bed while I stayed up and had a few beers at the bar at our hotel and chatted with the bartender