Mon 6th 0935 Incidentally thoroughly confused about what food is left by old guests and "shared" and what is private. Fuck knows.
Sitting with weakish coffee (sock type drip thing) in kitchen. Jack in hammock, some other not super communicative guests (some of who seemed to feel it smart to leave kettle on lit stove after they'd finished with it??) around earlier but gone.
Slept OKish, woke up and didn't look at time but must have been super early. Maybe got up 8ish but that feels wrong, maybe earlier. Sweating a bit and feeling inappropriately dressed, though TBH not sure it would make much difference. Illicitly washed a top after cleaned teeth - tap water not supposed to be drinkable here and forgot to take water bottle so bit shitty cleaning teeth with no water.
Slightly torn about staying on. Gut feeling is I will, while I have vague iffiness re ability to get access to space in kitchen to cook as more guests turn up, the reality is that with essentially nothing to do all day I can almost certainly manage. And the idea of (albeit inappropriately dressed and hot) doing very little except reading and the odd walk on the beach etc for a few days is quite appealing.
Slightly uncommunicative maybe French couple this morning talking in mix of English and French about Sierpe and Bahia Drake (they had a guide book, I think) and filled with vague irrational worries it will be "too busy" when I get there and no space for me in accom/tours.
All that notwithstanding I do incline to the extra night. For all it's crude and superficially overpriced except by CR standards, it *is* a private room, the idea of playing Robinson Crusoe for a bit is vaguely appealing and I also kind of feel I don't want to be rushed/rushing. If I am just thoroughly sick of doing nothing, eating tuna+rice+beans and drinking warmish beer on the day of the third night and one more day feels undesirable, that's a shame but at least I'll (as per F33W?) feel I've thoroughly exhausted the appeal here, am bored and be keen to move on. And if - as I suspect - that doesn't happen, at least with a fourth night I am more likely to feel "this is/was fun, but it is time to move on" . And as per itinerary sketched out other day despite vague running out of time worries, the reality is that I have plenty of time to see Osa peninsula and head back north without being frantically rushed.
Charging power bank on table here BTW, as in hostel dorms (TBH everywhere has felt pretty "reputable" and like no one would steal, but maybe fool's paradise) charge+power bank sufficiently low value I am comfortable leaving them there all day unattended, though if power bank hits full will take back to room anyway.
Oddly edgy about "committing" to the extra night. Technically I can leave it til later, although the hostel in Uvita may book up for the night I'm "moving" to the end of my stay.
Given how early I woke up and presumably the locals do too it's probably not a big deal for them to arrange a taxi for me to ferry with plenty of time in hand to get 930 bus to Uvita, and although I'd *rather* get there early and not stuck with a huge wait at the bus station, there is a 1430 IIRC bus as a fallback and *maybe* that 1100 one listed on bus co website but not mentioned by guy at terminal.
I was a tiny bit (almost pleasantly) cold in bed this morning (probably borderline daylight, hard to remember) but pulling the thin sheet up over me fixed that just fine. I did feel vaguely unpleasantly drowsy in bed but also sort of nice. Hard to describe.
0954 Just checked and the hostel in Uvita does have availability (for a fresh booking) on the extra night. Would still be good to sort this soon. I really do think it's silly to worry about "kitchen availability" with so much time available. I feel slightly uncomfortable with a few people sitting around solo and all of us not talking, but we don't need to talk, I don't desperately want to talk and it's fine. Also all else being equal I will naturally feel more comfortable one way or another the longer I'm here.
I don't think I'm adding an extra night gratuitously in an attempt to "pretend" I'm unhurried. Draft itinerary kind of proves I have plenty of time for what I'd half-planned to do, and this is a fairly unusual and interesting and mostly-pleasant experience.
And just to be clear, any possible unforseen issues about getting the 0930 bus to Uvita apply equally whether I stay an extra night or not.
It's perhaps silly but I might wait until it's "time" (got to spread things out over the day) to cook, obv pop out to supermarket for supplies (and maybe a beer, if I'm willing to trust evap cooling experiment, although maybe best to go buy one 5pmish) and cook and if it goes OK (having to wait an hour to get access would not automatically constitute "not OK" ) I'll probably feel happier about the wisdom of the extra night, although I'm not sure this is rational. Realistic and probably unlikely worst case result of delaying is just paying a few extra dollars for a dorm bed on the moved night.
Just FTR my room is the lower left of the block of four - the upper two rooms have balconies and presumably sea view, but I didn't want to pay the extra for one and I don't regret that at all.
FWIW youngish French couple I somewhat unfairly branded uncommunicative are booking via a phone call a room somewhere for tonight, so I guess they're leaving today.
Rambling but laundry this morning bit stuffed by oddly narrow plughole in stone (concrete?) sink stopping my universal plug keeping water in. But now I know I could stopper it up with a sock; I just didn't have one handy.
I thinkg TBH there's an element that needing to decide whether to exercise my option to stay another night is slightly corrosive - I am "hanging around" trying to decide, rather than it being a done deal where I just make the best of it.
1117 Killing time a bit uncomfortably. Will try to hold off on shopping expedition for lunch til 12. Just remembered I asked Marco last night about difference between Imperial Original and Silver and IIRC he said Silver is less malty while Original has a stronger flavour - this affects the colour of the beer too, which I will never have seen (even if I remembered the colours without seeing them side by side) as I nearly always drink out of a can and probably haven't seen Silver in a glass. On this basis (and IIRC, which I may not, previous inclinations) I probably should prefer Original, if both are available.
1142 It's a small thing but I'm getting a bit fed up of not having a cloth to dry my hands on after I wash them. Have to keep leaving them wet or using trousers, both of which are unsatisfactory.
1148 Just had brief chat with owner (in English) as he brought some water out for the communal kitchen supply - apparently they extract it from a well with solar power (electric pump? didn't ask) and then filter it. I think based on overhearing something yesterday at some points in year they use rainwater, but not now (dry season of course).
1313 Been out for food. Jack cooking as half expected and youngish French couple (she appears very fluent in multiple languages though) are still here too say maybe they are staying. He is eating so maybe they've already cooked. I will wait for Jack to finish, I'm not actually desperately hungry - but obv need to cook at some point, and it's something to do - but rather not be trying to squash round cooker with Jack, plus rather annoyingly French bloke is at the sit down table eating while she's eating at the high bench so they're really occupying up plenty of space.
1351 OK, don't actually care but taxi coming for young French couple in a few minutes. Waiting for Jack to finish eating before I cook.
FTR I have white salt-sweat (I assume) tide marks showing on my black trousers. Deeply unhappy with clothing issues, although TBH my brief attempts at analysing this (practical and mental aspects) stumble on my extreme reluctance to continually be slathering myself with sunblock on practical, cost and "does the damn stuff actually work?" grounds. I don't *think* it would make much difference if I had an absolutely amazing body, I don't think that's a big part of it.
1601 Amused to note there's a copy of Robinson Crusoe on the table - someone, perhaps Jack or a new guy I have exchanged a few words with, left it there.
1630 Yay, massive booking fuckery. booking.com won't let me change the dates - when I do, it says "price has changed due to restrictions" but doesn't, you know, *show* me the new price or anything - it acts like an error. And if I search for a fresh booking at same place it's now USD54ish+tax despite fact my existing booking is at USD33ish and I can book the one extra night at USD11+tax, so I honestly don't see why I can't just change my dates to be one day later and pay virtually nothing different. I have messaged property but no guarantee they can or will help in time - if not resolved by midnight I will have to cancel anyway otherwise I will be stuck with unwanted booking.
I feel vaguely guilty but I have booked for the whole of the new three nights at another (higher rated, but it has a pool which I don't like) hostel in Uvita with free cancellation until end of tomorrow. It is about 40+tax but not sure, feeling a bit frantic. So it is now certain I will be cancelling *a* booking and I generally prefer not to, but they offer the option and they (booking, at least, not individual hostels) are being awkward so.
All this has at least cemented my "I want to say here another night" feeling, if only out of bloody-mindedness - I don't want to cancel the extra night here just because booking.com website is being unreasonably stroppy about modifying my existing booking.
Have vague feeling my ears are a bit sunburned but I definitely put sunblock on this morning and can't seriously believe I forgot my ears. They feel vaguely sticky when I touch them but it could just be sweat. FWIW beyond 14 mins walk to supermarket and maybe a bit of sun-getting-lower-coming-in-sideways into kitchen (which has a high roof and open-air sides) I haven't really been out so if I *did* forget to do them I might hope we're not looking at major burning.
French woman from older couple offered me a coffee while I was fretting and fiddling with phones, I accepted and hope I managed to appear gracious. She speaks moderate English and a little Spanish - I asked, we didn't have a proper chat yet.
Altho I have my two cans I will prob pop back out to LJ2 for a litre bottle or something in the next half hour or so.
"Hostel" (let's just call it that) internet is down, so had to do all this via hotspot from G5 (K1 has booking.com password and by using Chrome on it I avoid "it's your browser" problems), lucky really I *do* have mobile data as otherwise I could have got caught out here. And still might I suppose.
Great. Auto message from new accom saying no check in before 2pm unless you pay USD35 extra. This isn't a *killer* but given I could potentially be there 12ish if all goes well it's a bit annoying - they seem to be implying you can't get in at all, though haven't studied message too closely. FFS.
1804 somewhat confusing message back (not helped by booking.com auto-translating so I thought they were writing in English so I wrote in English when they were actually writing in Spanish) but may be OK, see what happens.
Went out for beer, nothing in fridge (which has broken sliding door) v cold and only litres of Imperial Silver and there's the returnable deposit shit *and* the bottles had caps and I hadn't thought to check if hostel had an opener so got 2x473ml Imperial Original for 2500 - shit (they were also only borderline cold) but better than bar next door. had a can on beach just because I could with a can unlike a bottle but sunsets here not up to much tonight or last night, v cloudy etc. dogs came out with me. Little yappy fucker squeezed under some barbed wire and pursued me on approach to hostel gate but not too big a deal, and one of the hostel dogs also followed me and felt vaguely protected.
One of the four hostel dogs - the one that sort of snapped when I was being shown round - had a bit of a go at me earlier as I walked out to get beers, but woman there subdued it. It has been wandering round grounds and I think it's ignored me then so maybe it just doesn't like me near-ish the house.
Half wonder if all the hassle (even before this date shifting fuckery) of extending by a day has kind of negated the benefit of *having* the extra day - arguably today has been spoiled by it - but I think that's probably a silly argument.
Feel sweaty as fuck despite it being dark now.
Phantom keyboard gestures auto-deleting text firing a bit.
1937 Somewhat convivial evening with older French couple (Patricia and Joseph) and Jack - Jack speaks French (he may be Dutch, but not sure) but I could kinda sorta understand a bit (I just cannot speak even schoolboy French since I stopped using it and the Spanish drove it out) and although I felt a bit of a third wheel it was quite nice.
Still exchanging slightly cross-purposes messages with the hostel re change of dates, I don't think this is language issues but a certain carelessness/different people dealing with it, but who knows? Apparently price was higher cos of some festival ending today, which is fine, but neither my old nor new dates overlap the festival so why is this an issue? *Maybe* some IT limitation means this is the "restriction" put on booking.com to avoid some kind of exploits re date changes and the festival, but still. It's a fact *I* cannot change the dates and I'm asking them to but since they seem to keep missing the point they haven't. If they don't sort it for me by 11pm-ish or maybe earlier I'll just have to cancel the booking because otherwise I'll be stuck with the old dates. Just maybe - the "new" hostel is not much more expensive and has a better rating, but I have an irrational-ish preference for the old one - if I do cancel, tomorrow once festival has ticked off the calendar and there's one less booking because of my cancellation, I will be able to do a new booking at old hostel for the right dates at a decent price and then cancel the booking at new hostel I made this afternoon to hedge my bets.
Moderate amount of lightning and little bit on thunder IIRC earlier. Jack says it might have rained a bit once in the week he's been here but he's not sure. So although to me this kind of weather presages rain, I am not sure it's like that here.
While a smidge awkward due to language etc it was v kind of French couple to offer me wine etc (which I accepted, but declined food). And this kind of thing is something there's (probabilistically) an extra night of with the extra night's stay, even if (which I think is overblown) the hassles associated with staying an extra night and bumping up existing accom have totally ruined today.
2233 Right, still no final response - conversation died about 1840. Don't like to on all sorts of levels but going to have to cancel the booking, I can't wait til tomorrow in hope they make the change for me as by then they'll have me over a (modest) barrel.
Been watching some YT in bed in room, did some semi-illicit laundry of underwear and had a shower first. Bit warm and sticky weather still but not terrible.
2237 OK, cancelled. I do at least have *a* booking at another hostel (with a damn pool) at only slightly more money and I just had a quick attempt to rebook at original hostel and it still shows as USD54ish. I *may* try this again tomorrow, but tbh it's not as if the difference in hostels is huge and if I do rebook the fact there was a cancelled booking may confuse matters and it's probably not guaranteed that I can check into the original hostel early either.
Mildly peeved but it's all OK really.
Kind of wish I could have shaved earlier as proto-beard lightly irritating but there was no mirror in bathroom apart from maybe feeling a smidge rushed.
Let's actually get "properly" into bed and be willing to fall asleep etc. As I say, mildly peeved but there isn't an enormous problem here. If I decide to keep new booking I will request a lower bunk tomorrow and if they can't do it it isn't the end of the world.
Oh, there was a biggish frog hopping up against wall in "corridor" outside room when I came back earlier. Wondered what it was but didn't flip out and quite cool to see it.
Tuesday, 7 March 2023
Monday, 6 March 2023
Quepos, Sunday
Sun 5th 1438 In open air kitchen bit of new accom. All OK. Will write up last night and today in a bit but want to do some rough planning - not necessarily to follow, but to kind of check times. I am toying with staying here an extra night subject to availability (I have free cancellation on next booking til end of tomorrow, so could presumably nudge it along one day) but really this is valuable even if I don't.
Date are check in/out.
Sun 5th-Thu 9th Quepos, with extra night
Thu 9th-Sun 11th Uvita
Sun 11th-Tue 14th Sierpe (probably utterly unnecessary, apparently not much there)
Tue 14th-Sat 18th Bahia Drake (4 nights)
Sat 18th-Sun 19th Sierpe (playing it safe, as I spoke to a couple last night who had been down to Osa peninsula and I think you have to transit Sierpe to cross it - not nec any need to overnight there though)
Sun 19th-Thu 23rd Puerto Jimenez (4 nights)
Thu 23rd-Sun 26th Golfito
Sun 26th-Wed 29th Palmar Norte (really winging it from here, some of these places may not be worth visiting really or not that big a deal)
Wed 29th-Sat 1st Buenos Aires
Sat 1st-Tue 4th - San Isidro
I fly back on 7th and would also have liked to squeeze in Cartago (which is I think a natural stopping point before hitting/transiting San Jose) and I probably want to be in Alajuela for the last day or two (and maybe have a crack at Poas as an easy thing to fill the day with, and if it falls through/is cloudy there's always another time).
This probably over allocates time in Sierpe. Based on speaking to that couple last night you can book tours in Bahia Drake from places further north (inc prob Uvita) and it's good to book 2-3 days in advance but while writing the above I threw in a stay in Sierpe and I gather it's basically somewhere you get on/off the boat. If we include the Sierpe time allocation anyway, the above schedule has 13 days for the Osa peninsula. I just checked and as I posted yday guide book says 5-7 days is about right for a leisurely exploration of the peninsula, and the above schedule allows nearly double that. So if I want to I can easily throw in another day or two in some place, but given I am not intending to attempt to do everything going - I might come back and if I don't it won't be a deathbed regret, you can't possibly see *everything* - even if I have the odd day lost to slackness or just extending because a hostel/town feels comfortable friendly despite nominally nothing to do there, the above schedule is still quite generous with time allowed and I would therefore quite probably end up following that itinerary very roughly with time to spend 3-4 days in Cartago and a day or two in Alajuela.
Current gut feeling is I'm not going to try to visit San Jose itself properly, although if my various safety margins etc mean I am arriving around Cartago/San Jose/Alajuela with a few extra days in hand I may do, either staying in the city or "commuting" in to do my touristing by day (some people say SJ is "OK" but no one raves about it and I get the impression it's not super safe to be out after dark) from Cartago or Alajuela.
1504 OK, I've just made a free cancellation booking here for one night on booking.com. I think based on speaking to a guy here (been here about a week, longest resident I think) that during the week it's fairly quiet but this is effectively a free option. As with the existing Uvita booking I can cancel up to end of tomorrow, so I can see how I sleep etc and then tomorrow morning I can either cancel the booking for the extra night here or I can try to bump the cancellable booking in Uvita along one night.
I am kind of inspired by Katie and "the Syrian guy" (I was going ask his name when we said goodbye, but he had to rush off, and Katie didn't know either - don't think either of us forget, we just nenver knew) and their "if it feels nice somewhere stay on" approach, although this isn't something totally alien to me anyway, and although I am still kind of jealous of the open timeframes some people seem to have (while remembering I'm still doing pretty nicely, and do have non-nuclear options to have more freedom myself) I am trying to ensure that as I come near (hardly "close" , yet) to the end of the trip I don't rush myself unnecessarily.
So last night I popped out about 5 to get floss at supermarket as it's been running low for ages and I suspected it might be hard/expensive to buy some here (it's a few km from where I was before, but the ferry and the vague "edginess" of parts of the area make it feel more remote) and had been meaning to get some for ages I decided I'd better do it.
Bumped into Syrian guy on street as I came back and he was going to watch sunset on seafront and I asked if he minded me tagging along. So we did and he told me a lot of stuff (we've already spoken a lot - incidentally I think he lived in Miami for years, lived in Cambridge UK for a bit and may live in Israel now, but not sure) about how good Mexico is even as of a few months ago (tempting me to give it another try) and moaning a bit about the sewage in the streets and how CR is not really as "eco friendly" as they like to make out and how everything is insanely expensive here and how he feels everyone saying "pura vida" all the time when they're living somewhere a bit polluted etc is a bit stupid (and that sometimes people might say it sarcastically or whatever).
Back to hostel, had shower, spoke to a South German couple who'd just come back from Osa peninsula and got tips informing the above, then ended up chatting most of the evening (I *hope* not too boringly - I think it was fine, though usual self-doubts after) with guy called Scott who lives in a beach community near LA and is a programmer or something similar and is taking a month off between jobs.
This morning woke up maybe 8ish, perhaps earlier. Had watermelon, coffee, milk (in coffee and on own, to finish), glass of coconut water (left rest for anyone who wants it - got a laugh, poss not entirely "not at me" , but not too mean-spirited, by asking genuine question if it had laxative properties, and it may do) and chatted a bit with Syrian guy and Katie who were both leaving today - him finally having decided to try to get up to Santa Elena in one day tho bus information contradictory, here for 20-25 days at an airbnb in San Isidro to work on an idea she had for a book (!). I was fiddling with my pack outside a shop round corner after had said bye to both (SG leaving first, then K and I checking out together) when the "Osa" couple came past and wished me a pleasant trip, which felt nice.
No major difficulty getting here. I had looked at map and found a "simpler" route through the very vaguely iffy neighbourhood to ferry. Multiple small boats doing the trip, I asked guy if it was 200 and he said 250 but meh, if the tourist premium is 50 colones who cares? I managed to use five of the ultra lightweight ultra fiddly 10 colon silver coins to make up the 50 anyway, so I almost feel like I diddled him as these coins are practically worthless and annoying to have in my pocket.
Three-ish youth types smoking weed and drinking beer on bench at the other side of river. A lot of more "decent" types around but also a guy wandering with beer can and it was 1115 while pickup arranged for 1130 so rather than hang around and risk hassle I walked semi-purposefully up the road and waited outside La Joya #1 supermarket. I texted the accom and although I wasn't exactly asking and I don't know if it's sarcastic the guy said it is "scary but no worries" at ferry platform and after seeming mildly peeved rearranged the taxi to pick me up where I was.
Bit edgy re taxi as he had two guys in back when he pulled up but he had to turn round at ferry area and taxi empty when he got back. I say taxi and it was - I had fairly decent chat with driver en route to accom - but I was worried as I had originally assume it would be someone related to this accom picking me up, rather than the local taxi driver (Don Alex).
Checked in fine, paid USD60+500ish colones for my three nights. Four dogs here and one was a bit snappy when I went to stroke it and owner fastened it up, but the others all seem amiable and guy I met in kitchen (and who is sleeping in hammock now) - Jack - said they're all fine and not too concerned.
The place is kind of like I imagined but maybe not quite - there are photos on booking.com but I hadn't studied them extensively. It's a big dusty-ish patch of land with a private stretch of beach (which I haven't been on yet) and some wooden shacks etc. It kind of feels like I imagine the mythical beach cabins in Asia I always read about in traveller advice web pages is like, although who knows if it is or not.
Had reasonable chat with Jack, went out to look nearby - just walk up and down one street - one loose dog sort of barked at me and came running up a bit but I didn't flap too much and as expected it was fine. Advised not to go out at night but safe during day - think this is wrt crime not dogs.
I found the mini supermarket (La Joya #2) and bought a tin of black beans and some tuna and an onion and came back and cooked with those and (although I brought my rice and coffee and smoked paprike from last hostel) some free eggs here and some whole rice and a bit of ginger and ate it and have subsequently been reading on phone and writing this.
I would like a cold (soft) drink but it's not end of world. There is a place nearer than LJ2 (which is about 7-ish mins walk) which sells cold beer, so I may get one or two just before sunset.
As I say I am toying with staying here. It feels like a quietly friendly sort of place, I *do* have a private room which is nice (in some ways USD20 for a shack feels ridiculous, but compare that to USD15 for a cheapish dorm bed and it's not so bad) no matter how "primitive" it is, and there's a sort of (not quite right way to put it) "playing at Robinson Crusoe" vibe which appeals. If I eat nothing but tinned tuna and rice for four days that's not the end of the world.
I think I might go have little wander now and see private beach etc and maybe get a feel for where a sunset beer might work.
2122 Moving towards bed. Going rather well. Went for brief (40 mins) walk on beach, the black and tan dog accompanied me. Costa Rican couple (Marco and Iliana) had met briefly earlier while first speaking to Jack invited me (not just me of course) to join them for some fish they'd bought after sunset. Went to bar nearly next door and got 4x350ml Pilsen at 1.5k each (won't do that again - as suspected and asked Jack, can get 1 litre bottle Imperial for 1.8k plus a one-off deposit at La Joya #2 - which reminds me if didn't already say I took my bottle back this morning but you can only buy a new full bottle without paying a deposit when you return, you can't just hand bottle in and get your deposit back - but even if I only buy one or two 1l bottles at LJ2 it's still better than paying bar price next door) - I didn't "need" that many but I wanted something to share if it worked out that way (it didn't, so I've drunk two and will have the other two at some point - I am experimenting with evaporative cooling with wet towel).
French couple (vaguely my age, smidge older) around during dinner, we all spoke to them a bit. Fairly chuffed to have *mostly* followed/contributed to Spanish conversation, though when owner/wife/child all there as well and talking to CR couple it got a bit frenetic and I didn't get everything. Two poss American youngish women turned up in kitchen just as we were leaving (dinner was quite a long and pleasantly social affair with Jack, Marco and Iliana - sp?, incidentally) but we didn't speak much.
They are going back to Cartago (with their dog Guafle (sp)) on motorbike tonight at about 2am as she has work at 6am (this is considered good, as you do 6-3ish and that gives you afternoon free - he is freelance home appliance repairman so not quite so constrained) so won't see them again tomorrow and while Jack seems a nice chap and the French couple speak a little English etc I don't necessarily expect it to be so matety tomorrow night, but all the same pleasant and I incline towards staying the extra night, but see how tonight goes.
I had a shower (in a cubicle thing in middle of compound with plants but no light - there is at least one with lights which I just used to clean teeth, but it was busy) after sunset so getting dark and used torch, but fine.
Bed has mosquito net, not sure if it's critical (*think* owner's wife who showed me round this morning said not such an issue this time of year) but will use it of course. Quite possibly first time I will have ever slept under a mosquito net. May be false confident but so far not been worrying about spiders, but I guess being under net - though it kind of drapes on the ground - may add a tiny bonus there.
Light in room is working (off central battery) but a tiny bit not exactly dim but as it's on wall illumination is bit uneven.
Can charge phone (or rather power bank in my case) in kitchen during daylight (only, presumably as there's excess solar power their single battery can't absorb - woman told me they used to have two but one is bust in some way I don't remember) but I haven't today as I came away with it fully charged and will top up phones from it in bed.
Was going to do semi-illicit (they have a sign near entrance saying laundry $5, presumably a load, which isn't too bad *if* you have a big load - *but* nothing saying you can't hand wash) spot of laundry in sink when cleaned teeth but forgot to take stuff with me. No rush, will try tomorrow.
May well want to add more later but I think that's about it. Oh, I said "realicé" and (given we'd been talking for ages I think it's nice they felt "able" to correct me) was told it should be "me di cuenta" , which I did kind of know, but maybe this will help me remember in practice.
Room not theoretically super private even with curtains drawn given the big gaps in the walls (it's all wood here) but in reality no one is going to be peering in.
I also found out (through conversation, mentioning my dad loves it but it's hard to get in UK - we were talking about "unusual" foods - and I remembered I'd seen huge quantities of it at the butcher counter where I bought steak the other day) that tripe is called "mondongo" - I had seen the word but not got round to looking it up. Dictionary has (and I originally used) "tripa" , but one of dictionary meanings is intestine and I think when I used the word it was interpreted as meaning intestine in the traditional sausage skin sense.
Nearly forgot to lock door with wooden rotating latch, although in practice prob not super necessary.
Jack told me this morning it can get quite cold in the night, but I'm not dressing for bed on that basis. Right now it's just on the pleasant side of warm and *very* slightly stickily humid. Can hear surf pounding which is kind of cool and there's something "making a tent with sheets" about being under the mosquito net.
Several holes in net but I guess it still helps.
Date are check in/out.
Sun 5th-Thu 9th Quepos, with extra night
Thu 9th-Sun 11th Uvita
Sun 11th-Tue 14th Sierpe (probably utterly unnecessary, apparently not much there)
Tue 14th-Sat 18th Bahia Drake (4 nights)
Sat 18th-Sun 19th Sierpe (playing it safe, as I spoke to a couple last night who had been down to Osa peninsula and I think you have to transit Sierpe to cross it - not nec any need to overnight there though)
Sun 19th-Thu 23rd Puerto Jimenez (4 nights)
Thu 23rd-Sun 26th Golfito
Sun 26th-Wed 29th Palmar Norte (really winging it from here, some of these places may not be worth visiting really or not that big a deal)
Wed 29th-Sat 1st Buenos Aires
Sat 1st-Tue 4th - San Isidro
I fly back on 7th and would also have liked to squeeze in Cartago (which is I think a natural stopping point before hitting/transiting San Jose) and I probably want to be in Alajuela for the last day or two (and maybe have a crack at Poas as an easy thing to fill the day with, and if it falls through/is cloudy there's always another time).
This probably over allocates time in Sierpe. Based on speaking to that couple last night you can book tours in Bahia Drake from places further north (inc prob Uvita) and it's good to book 2-3 days in advance but while writing the above I threw in a stay in Sierpe and I gather it's basically somewhere you get on/off the boat. If we include the Sierpe time allocation anyway, the above schedule has 13 days for the Osa peninsula. I just checked and as I posted yday guide book says 5-7 days is about right for a leisurely exploration of the peninsula, and the above schedule allows nearly double that. So if I want to I can easily throw in another day or two in some place, but given I am not intending to attempt to do everything going - I might come back and if I don't it won't be a deathbed regret, you can't possibly see *everything* - even if I have the odd day lost to slackness or just extending because a hostel/town feels comfortable friendly despite nominally nothing to do there, the above schedule is still quite generous with time allowed and I would therefore quite probably end up following that itinerary very roughly with time to spend 3-4 days in Cartago and a day or two in Alajuela.
Current gut feeling is I'm not going to try to visit San Jose itself properly, although if my various safety margins etc mean I am arriving around Cartago/San Jose/Alajuela with a few extra days in hand I may do, either staying in the city or "commuting" in to do my touristing by day (some people say SJ is "OK" but no one raves about it and I get the impression it's not super safe to be out after dark) from Cartago or Alajuela.
1504 OK, I've just made a free cancellation booking here for one night on booking.com. I think based on speaking to a guy here (been here about a week, longest resident I think) that during the week it's fairly quiet but this is effectively a free option. As with the existing Uvita booking I can cancel up to end of tomorrow, so I can see how I sleep etc and then tomorrow morning I can either cancel the booking for the extra night here or I can try to bump the cancellable booking in Uvita along one night.
I am kind of inspired by Katie and "the Syrian guy" (I was going ask his name when we said goodbye, but he had to rush off, and Katie didn't know either - don't think either of us forget, we just nenver knew) and their "if it feels nice somewhere stay on" approach, although this isn't something totally alien to me anyway, and although I am still kind of jealous of the open timeframes some people seem to have (while remembering I'm still doing pretty nicely, and do have non-nuclear options to have more freedom myself) I am trying to ensure that as I come near (hardly "close" , yet) to the end of the trip I don't rush myself unnecessarily.
So last night I popped out about 5 to get floss at supermarket as it's been running low for ages and I suspected it might be hard/expensive to buy some here (it's a few km from where I was before, but the ferry and the vague "edginess" of parts of the area make it feel more remote) and had been meaning to get some for ages I decided I'd better do it.
Bumped into Syrian guy on street as I came back and he was going to watch sunset on seafront and I asked if he minded me tagging along. So we did and he told me a lot of stuff (we've already spoken a lot - incidentally I think he lived in Miami for years, lived in Cambridge UK for a bit and may live in Israel now, but not sure) about how good Mexico is even as of a few months ago (tempting me to give it another try) and moaning a bit about the sewage in the streets and how CR is not really as "eco friendly" as they like to make out and how everything is insanely expensive here and how he feels everyone saying "pura vida" all the time when they're living somewhere a bit polluted etc is a bit stupid (and that sometimes people might say it sarcastically or whatever).
Back to hostel, had shower, spoke to a South German couple who'd just come back from Osa peninsula and got tips informing the above, then ended up chatting most of the evening (I *hope* not too boringly - I think it was fine, though usual self-doubts after) with guy called Scott who lives in a beach community near LA and is a programmer or something similar and is taking a month off between jobs.
This morning woke up maybe 8ish, perhaps earlier. Had watermelon, coffee, milk (in coffee and on own, to finish), glass of coconut water (left rest for anyone who wants it - got a laugh, poss not entirely "not at me" , but not too mean-spirited, by asking genuine question if it had laxative properties, and it may do) and chatted a bit with Syrian guy and Katie who were both leaving today - him finally having decided to try to get up to Santa Elena in one day tho bus information contradictory, here for 20-25 days at an airbnb in San Isidro to work on an idea she had for a book (!). I was fiddling with my pack outside a shop round corner after had said bye to both (SG leaving first, then K and I checking out together) when the "Osa" couple came past and wished me a pleasant trip, which felt nice.
No major difficulty getting here. I had looked at map and found a "simpler" route through the very vaguely iffy neighbourhood to ferry. Multiple small boats doing the trip, I asked guy if it was 200 and he said 250 but meh, if the tourist premium is 50 colones who cares? I managed to use five of the ultra lightweight ultra fiddly 10 colon silver coins to make up the 50 anyway, so I almost feel like I diddled him as these coins are practically worthless and annoying to have in my pocket.
Three-ish youth types smoking weed and drinking beer on bench at the other side of river. A lot of more "decent" types around but also a guy wandering with beer can and it was 1115 while pickup arranged for 1130 so rather than hang around and risk hassle I walked semi-purposefully up the road and waited outside La Joya #1 supermarket. I texted the accom and although I wasn't exactly asking and I don't know if it's sarcastic the guy said it is "scary but no worries" at ferry platform and after seeming mildly peeved rearranged the taxi to pick me up where I was.
Bit edgy re taxi as he had two guys in back when he pulled up but he had to turn round at ferry area and taxi empty when he got back. I say taxi and it was - I had fairly decent chat with driver en route to accom - but I was worried as I had originally assume it would be someone related to this accom picking me up, rather than the local taxi driver (Don Alex).
Checked in fine, paid USD60+500ish colones for my three nights. Four dogs here and one was a bit snappy when I went to stroke it and owner fastened it up, but the others all seem amiable and guy I met in kitchen (and who is sleeping in hammock now) - Jack - said they're all fine and not too concerned.
The place is kind of like I imagined but maybe not quite - there are photos on booking.com but I hadn't studied them extensively. It's a big dusty-ish patch of land with a private stretch of beach (which I haven't been on yet) and some wooden shacks etc. It kind of feels like I imagine the mythical beach cabins in Asia I always read about in traveller advice web pages is like, although who knows if it is or not.
Had reasonable chat with Jack, went out to look nearby - just walk up and down one street - one loose dog sort of barked at me and came running up a bit but I didn't flap too much and as expected it was fine. Advised not to go out at night but safe during day - think this is wrt crime not dogs.
I found the mini supermarket (La Joya #2) and bought a tin of black beans and some tuna and an onion and came back and cooked with those and (although I brought my rice and coffee and smoked paprike from last hostel) some free eggs here and some whole rice and a bit of ginger and ate it and have subsequently been reading on phone and writing this.
I would like a cold (soft) drink but it's not end of world. There is a place nearer than LJ2 (which is about 7-ish mins walk) which sells cold beer, so I may get one or two just before sunset.
As I say I am toying with staying here. It feels like a quietly friendly sort of place, I *do* have a private room which is nice (in some ways USD20 for a shack feels ridiculous, but compare that to USD15 for a cheapish dorm bed and it's not so bad) no matter how "primitive" it is, and there's a sort of (not quite right way to put it) "playing at Robinson Crusoe" vibe which appeals. If I eat nothing but tinned tuna and rice for four days that's not the end of the world.
I think I might go have little wander now and see private beach etc and maybe get a feel for where a sunset beer might work.
2122 Moving towards bed. Going rather well. Went for brief (40 mins) walk on beach, the black and tan dog accompanied me. Costa Rican couple (Marco and Iliana) had met briefly earlier while first speaking to Jack invited me (not just me of course) to join them for some fish they'd bought after sunset. Went to bar nearly next door and got 4x350ml Pilsen at 1.5k each (won't do that again - as suspected and asked Jack, can get 1 litre bottle Imperial for 1.8k plus a one-off deposit at La Joya #2 - which reminds me if didn't already say I took my bottle back this morning but you can only buy a new full bottle without paying a deposit when you return, you can't just hand bottle in and get your deposit back - but even if I only buy one or two 1l bottles at LJ2 it's still better than paying bar price next door) - I didn't "need" that many but I wanted something to share if it worked out that way (it didn't, so I've drunk two and will have the other two at some point - I am experimenting with evaporative cooling with wet towel).
French couple (vaguely my age, smidge older) around during dinner, we all spoke to them a bit. Fairly chuffed to have *mostly* followed/contributed to Spanish conversation, though when owner/wife/child all there as well and talking to CR couple it got a bit frenetic and I didn't get everything. Two poss American youngish women turned up in kitchen just as we were leaving (dinner was quite a long and pleasantly social affair with Jack, Marco and Iliana - sp?, incidentally) but we didn't speak much.
They are going back to Cartago (with their dog Guafle (sp)) on motorbike tonight at about 2am as she has work at 6am (this is considered good, as you do 6-3ish and that gives you afternoon free - he is freelance home appliance repairman so not quite so constrained) so won't see them again tomorrow and while Jack seems a nice chap and the French couple speak a little English etc I don't necessarily expect it to be so matety tomorrow night, but all the same pleasant and I incline towards staying the extra night, but see how tonight goes.
I had a shower (in a cubicle thing in middle of compound with plants but no light - there is at least one with lights which I just used to clean teeth, but it was busy) after sunset so getting dark and used torch, but fine.
Bed has mosquito net, not sure if it's critical (*think* owner's wife who showed me round this morning said not such an issue this time of year) but will use it of course. Quite possibly first time I will have ever slept under a mosquito net. May be false confident but so far not been worrying about spiders, but I guess being under net - though it kind of drapes on the ground - may add a tiny bonus there.
Light in room is working (off central battery) but a tiny bit not exactly dim but as it's on wall illumination is bit uneven.
Can charge phone (or rather power bank in my case) in kitchen during daylight (only, presumably as there's excess solar power their single battery can't absorb - woman told me they used to have two but one is bust in some way I don't remember) but I haven't today as I came away with it fully charged and will top up phones from it in bed.
Was going to do semi-illicit (they have a sign near entrance saying laundry $5, presumably a load, which isn't too bad *if* you have a big load - *but* nothing saying you can't hand wash) spot of laundry in sink when cleaned teeth but forgot to take stuff with me. No rush, will try tomorrow.
May well want to add more later but I think that's about it. Oh, I said "realicé" and (given we'd been talking for ages I think it's nice they felt "able" to correct me) was told it should be "me di cuenta" , which I did kind of know, but maybe this will help me remember in practice.
Room not theoretically super private even with curtains drawn given the big gaps in the walls (it's all wood here) but in reality no one is going to be peering in.
I also found out (through conversation, mentioning my dad loves it but it's hard to get in UK - we were talking about "unusual" foods - and I remembered I'd seen huge quantities of it at the butcher counter where I bought steak the other day) that tripe is called "mondongo" - I had seen the word but not got round to looking it up. Dictionary has (and I originally used) "tripa" , but one of dictionary meanings is intestine and I think when I used the word it was interpreted as meaning intestine in the traditional sausage skin sense.
Nearly forgot to lock door with wooden rotating latch, although in practice prob not super necessary.
Jack told me this morning it can get quite cold in the night, but I'm not dressing for bed on that basis. Right now it's just on the pleasant side of warm and *very* slightly stickily humid. Can hear surf pounding which is kind of cool and there's something "making a tent with sheets" about being under the mosquito net.
Several holes in net but I guess it still helps.
Sunday, 5 March 2023
Quepos, Saturday
Sat 4th 0842 Woke up about 7ish mildly desperate for piss, finally got up 8ish (?) despite late (not very drunk) night.
Before I lose times, I asked at bus terminal on way out to sunset watch about bus to Uvita and guy wrote the four times on a paper and I'll lose it soon so they are 6am, 9:30am, 2pm and 5:30pm. No mention of the 11am bus which *was* on the company that runs it's own web site, but maybe these ones are safer for a just turn up and go deal. 9:30am may be doable without too much pain despite being on wrong side of ferry.
0853 So last night was a French-Canadian guy's birthday and though I felt a bit awkward about it as had hardly spoken I went out with them - fortunately thanks to influence of Syrian guy (who is 66 incidentally) we went to a bar/casino (found by wandering round) before they went to a club about midnight (me and Syrian guy didn't go in). Not a bad night, and stayed chatting with Syrian guy until maybe 1:15amish when the others came back and bit of chat with them.
Feel vaguely guilty at not "doing much" today (well, not planning to do much) but prob OK. I might go sit down by harbour for a bit for the breeze, it would also be good to see if I can find a cheap barber to shave my head.
Have messaged tomorrow's accom to see if can arrange pickup from ferry about 11:30 - I want to eg try to return as-yet-undrunk beer bottle to supermarket and given people are nice-ish here I will probably hang around and have some watermelon for breakfast or something til check out at 11, and as it's nominal midday checkin at new place this fits quite well.
1253 Pretty lazy day. Popped out and got hair cut at Kevin's just up the road - 2k, not bad. Considered buying postcard in souvenir shop but they were all generic CR ones so not ideal, plus I realised post office prob shut by time I could write them today and it's Sunday tomorrow and I'm moving so they'd get crumpled in bag. Maybe in Uvita. Went down to waterfront and enjoyed breeze briefly (may pop out again in a bit) and then to supermarket for 415g steak, a jalapeño to slice and cook with it and a watermelon for tomorrow's breakfast and a new 1.8l milk. Not super restrained but not too bad - bit tempted by some of the sweet bread snack things but resisted.
No reply from tomorrow's accom yet.
1556 Poking at guide book, maybe Palmar after Uvita - the lithic spheres sound oddly call, and it's near Sierpe so on the way towards Puerto Jimenez. OTOH I could see it being a good spot to visit on the way back north again (probably before Buenos Aires/San Isidro) as well, so maybe if there is a bus eg Uvita-Sierpe or Uvita-Puerto Jimenez that might work better. Without having read guide book or researched kind of thinking it might be nice to get a boat across to Golfito and start back northbound from there, which might avoid a modest amount of backtracking.
Quite lazy and slightly boring afternoon. Oscillating between seafront where there's a breeze and hostel where I can read etc or chat but no breeze. Had bit of chat with a drink seller on seafront. Bought some coconut water from little stall near supermarket on way back, not amazing but good to try it and is slightly growing on me - have offered it round a bit too.
Feeling a little bloated but not in a terribly bad way.
Getting *slightly* edgy I'll run out of time "halfway through" visiting that peninsula area in south. Probably won't and hardly end of world if I do. Slightly jealous of other people I'm meeting who seem to be on open-ended trips, but then I "could" do that if I made certain changes. And except for cost of flights being more significant on short-ish trips, nothing major (money, but not necessarily cripplingly) stops me doing more travel, just in up-to-90-day chunks.
May go to watch sunset, will perhaps not have a beer given I have this litre in hostel fridge (and it's glass bottle so don't want to drink out of it at beach). Half wish I hadn't bought it but hardly a big deal and had there not been that unexpected birthday excursion I would have drunk it myself/shared it out at hostel last night.
Ah, guide book says 5-7 days is about right for leisurely exploration of Osa peninsula and you could do a bit more. So even if I'm inefficient and/or lazy, given I'm (assuming nothing odd happens) expecting to leave Uvita next Saturday with I think a whisker under 4 weeks left on the clock, it seems quite likely I'll be heading back north feeling relatively unhurried with still about 2 weeks left on the clock.
Corocovado sounds a logistic nightmare based on guide book. However, I am assuming the situation wrt organised tours will be clearer once I am in Sierpe/Bahia Drake/Puerto Jimenez and if push comes to shove I am willing to pay a few hundred dollars for a "memorable" experience etc.
2243 Bed.
Before I lose times, I asked at bus terminal on way out to sunset watch about bus to Uvita and guy wrote the four times on a paper and I'll lose it soon so they are 6am, 9:30am, 2pm and 5:30pm. No mention of the 11am bus which *was* on the company that runs it's own web site, but maybe these ones are safer for a just turn up and go deal. 9:30am may be doable without too much pain despite being on wrong side of ferry.
0853 So last night was a French-Canadian guy's birthday and though I felt a bit awkward about it as had hardly spoken I went out with them - fortunately thanks to influence of Syrian guy (who is 66 incidentally) we went to a bar/casino (found by wandering round) before they went to a club about midnight (me and Syrian guy didn't go in). Not a bad night, and stayed chatting with Syrian guy until maybe 1:15amish when the others came back and bit of chat with them.
Feel vaguely guilty at not "doing much" today (well, not planning to do much) but prob OK. I might go sit down by harbour for a bit for the breeze, it would also be good to see if I can find a cheap barber to shave my head.
Have messaged tomorrow's accom to see if can arrange pickup from ferry about 11:30 - I want to eg try to return as-yet-undrunk beer bottle to supermarket and given people are nice-ish here I will probably hang around and have some watermelon for breakfast or something til check out at 11, and as it's nominal midday checkin at new place this fits quite well.
1253 Pretty lazy day. Popped out and got hair cut at Kevin's just up the road - 2k, not bad. Considered buying postcard in souvenir shop but they were all generic CR ones so not ideal, plus I realised post office prob shut by time I could write them today and it's Sunday tomorrow and I'm moving so they'd get crumpled in bag. Maybe in Uvita. Went down to waterfront and enjoyed breeze briefly (may pop out again in a bit) and then to supermarket for 415g steak, a jalapeño to slice and cook with it and a watermelon for tomorrow's breakfast and a new 1.8l milk. Not super restrained but not too bad - bit tempted by some of the sweet bread snack things but resisted.
No reply from tomorrow's accom yet.
1556 Poking at guide book, maybe Palmar after Uvita - the lithic spheres sound oddly call, and it's near Sierpe so on the way towards Puerto Jimenez. OTOH I could see it being a good spot to visit on the way back north again (probably before Buenos Aires/San Isidro) as well, so maybe if there is a bus eg Uvita-Sierpe or Uvita-Puerto Jimenez that might work better. Without having read guide book or researched kind of thinking it might be nice to get a boat across to Golfito and start back northbound from there, which might avoid a modest amount of backtracking.
Quite lazy and slightly boring afternoon. Oscillating between seafront where there's a breeze and hostel where I can read etc or chat but no breeze. Had bit of chat with a drink seller on seafront. Bought some coconut water from little stall near supermarket on way back, not amazing but good to try it and is slightly growing on me - have offered it round a bit too.
Feeling a little bloated but not in a terribly bad way.
Getting *slightly* edgy I'll run out of time "halfway through" visiting that peninsula area in south. Probably won't and hardly end of world if I do. Slightly jealous of other people I'm meeting who seem to be on open-ended trips, but then I "could" do that if I made certain changes. And except for cost of flights being more significant on short-ish trips, nothing major (money, but not necessarily cripplingly) stops me doing more travel, just in up-to-90-day chunks.
May go to watch sunset, will perhaps not have a beer given I have this litre in hostel fridge (and it's glass bottle so don't want to drink out of it at beach). Half wish I hadn't bought it but hardly a big deal and had there not been that unexpected birthday excursion I would have drunk it myself/shared it out at hostel last night.
Ah, guide book says 5-7 days is about right for leisurely exploration of Osa peninsula and you could do a bit more. So even if I'm inefficient and/or lazy, given I'm (assuming nothing odd happens) expecting to leave Uvita next Saturday with I think a whisker under 4 weeks left on the clock, it seems quite likely I'll be heading back north feeling relatively unhurried with still about 2 weeks left on the clock.
Corocovado sounds a logistic nightmare based on guide book. However, I am assuming the situation wrt organised tours will be clearer once I am in Sierpe/Bahia Drake/Puerto Jimenez and if push comes to shove I am willing to pay a few hundred dollars for a "memorable" experience etc.
2243 Bed.
Saturday, 4 March 2023
Quepos, Friday
Fri 3rd 1551 Fairly successful day's touristing so far, low key but unexpectedly rewarding.
Before I write day up so far, let me waffle about where next. Looking at guide book there is some hiking type potential down in far south and as a carless person probably Puerto Jimenez is my ideal base. In the short term I need to edge down that way and it looks like Dominical or Uvita would be good intermediates.
Dominical has *no* cheap accom on booking.com for 8th March for two nights - not even dorms. Uvita has some cheap dorms, privates not so great but I will have had private at next place so prob dorm OK. Poking at buses there is a direct bus Quepos-Uvita though perhaps only the one that day at 1130, but despite being on the wrong side of the ferry that morning when I check out it may well be reasonable to get that. I think Dominical is a smidge easier as there are more buses, but both on a "distance covered towards south" and "price" grounds Uvita probably better, plus is may have a marine park of interest. I think there is also scope for a double bus Quepos-Dominical-Uvita trip in a single day, though buses not so frequent this is ideal. Will sleep on it but might book free cancellation hostel in Uvita now by way of hedging my bets.
1650 Back on balcony, popped out to get cash - wd 160k and got it all in 5k bills! This is convenient for spending but a bit of a wodge for my hidden belt, still, hardly end of world. Will write a bit and pop into town for beer and maybe quick chat first at bus terminal re buses to Uvita, if not may talk to them tomorrow.
Also bought 1 litre bottle (1.7kish, though have been stung for approx 400 glass bottle charge which may be refunded - will try tomorrow or morning after, a linguistic challenge if nothing else) of Imperial Original at supermarket this afternoon, which will prob have and offer to share if anyone wants some this evening in hostel.
So I woke up a bit in night - oh, first time was about 0030 for massive piss (drinking lot of coffee+water) and it felt like 4am - but slept broadly OK, confusedly thought room fan was rain noise at 6amish. Last up in dorm but was still out by 930 - had leftover bit of watermelon for breakfast because I could, tiny bit of chat.
Walked over to seafront bit by harbour, quite nice views and going there for sunset, then down to and round Parque Nahomi - few people about, quite nice views, could see a little cove off in distance. Open air gym there but no suitable bar so didn't try HP but did look!
Then decided I'd walk on down to Playa Macha which guy been speaking to in hostel had mentioned (Katie - German woman - told me he's Syrian BTW, though still don't know his name) and with aid of OSM and sheer pluck and getting lost a few times and lucky encounter with a French couple who pointed out a turn off I did get there in the end. It's quite a challenging walk, loose gravel and dry leaves (prob said before there's a vaguely autumn vibe here despite it being "summer" , and at one point a few days ago I constantly had "forever autumn" running in my head) but with care not lethal - that said, as you head down to the beach, there are some bits where the path has kind of caved in to leave steep slopes at right angle to path (and French couple had turned back as they thought these were slops you had to go down) and there's not much in the way of path surface left and picking my way across the narrow (but not long) pseudo-ledge across these gullies was a tiny bit stressful but exciting.
Lovely viewpoint up at the top, had had "Oblong of Dreams" in my head as walking up so listened to it on phone (speaker to ear - no headphones) there before pushing on.
Down on beach sat for a while staring etc, then some people from hostel turned up - Syrian guy came over to say hi. I had had a vague idea they were going but didn't really want to ask to join them and given I made it more fun to find way on own. They went for swim.
I tried to push on round to Playa Vaca but either I couldn't find the right path or there was a borderline nasty 60-70 degree slope of a couple of metres with seriously iffy looking footholds and I decided fuck it.
Oh, on way out I went down steep path halfway along the trail not shown on OSM and it came out onto the little cove I'd seen
from park with gym earlier, which was kind of cool. I also unintentionally ended up back at other end of this cove on return trip as I seem to have missed the trail, so (with advice from couple swimming) I walked along cove "beach" to the place I'd gone down and up on the way out.
Couple of people around on both beaches, paths felt coolly but also slightly edgily deserted but after I did encounter some people nearer PM I felt even less edgy about it.
Felt like a fairly solid bit of exercise and the kind of cool little experience which the guide book would never bother to mention but which was fun to do. Beaches nice enough but viewpoint down onto beaches easily the highlight. Think I got back to town 1330-1400 ish, went into supermarket near hostel and got 455g (asked for 400g - it's a butcher counter) of steak for about 3k (7.xk/kilo, I asked- they only that the one type of steak) and a watermelon segment and 1.8l milk and some cheap coffee (as free hostel coffee was low and I'd drunk most of it and thought it might have been left by someone rather than hostel supplied, but when I got back the hostel (or someone) had replaced it so I will prob take my unopened pack on with me til I can use it) and came back to hostel and fried the steak (with half a jalapeno leftover from yday sliced and cooked with it and served on top, as I recall from arrachera in Mexico in 2006 - this worked well, I should do it again) and had it and drank some milk and had three cups coffee with milk and bit of chat with Katie and then sat down out here to research onwards travel which is where I started.
0210 Bed!
Before I write day up so far, let me waffle about where next. Looking at guide book there is some hiking type potential down in far south and as a carless person probably Puerto Jimenez is my ideal base. In the short term I need to edge down that way and it looks like Dominical or Uvita would be good intermediates.
Dominical has *no* cheap accom on booking.com for 8th March for two nights - not even dorms. Uvita has some cheap dorms, privates not so great but I will have had private at next place so prob dorm OK. Poking at buses there is a direct bus Quepos-Uvita though perhaps only the one that day at 1130, but despite being on the wrong side of the ferry that morning when I check out it may well be reasonable to get that. I think Dominical is a smidge easier as there are more buses, but both on a "distance covered towards south" and "price" grounds Uvita probably better, plus is may have a marine park of interest. I think there is also scope for a double bus Quepos-Dominical-Uvita trip in a single day, though buses not so frequent this is ideal. Will sleep on it but might book free cancellation hostel in Uvita now by way of hedging my bets.
1650 Back on balcony, popped out to get cash - wd 160k and got it all in 5k bills! This is convenient for spending but a bit of a wodge for my hidden belt, still, hardly end of world. Will write a bit and pop into town for beer and maybe quick chat first at bus terminal re buses to Uvita, if not may talk to them tomorrow.
Also bought 1 litre bottle (1.7kish, though have been stung for approx 400 glass bottle charge which may be refunded - will try tomorrow or morning after, a linguistic challenge if nothing else) of Imperial Original at supermarket this afternoon, which will prob have and offer to share if anyone wants some this evening in hostel.
So I woke up a bit in night - oh, first time was about 0030 for massive piss (drinking lot of coffee+water) and it felt like 4am - but slept broadly OK, confusedly thought room fan was rain noise at 6amish. Last up in dorm but was still out by 930 - had leftover bit of watermelon for breakfast because I could, tiny bit of chat.
Walked over to seafront bit by harbour, quite nice views and going there for sunset, then down to and round Parque Nahomi - few people about, quite nice views, could see a little cove off in distance. Open air gym there but no suitable bar so didn't try HP but did look!
Then decided I'd walk on down to Playa Macha which guy been speaking to in hostel had mentioned (Katie - German woman - told me he's Syrian BTW, though still don't know his name) and with aid of OSM and sheer pluck and getting lost a few times and lucky encounter with a French couple who pointed out a turn off I did get there in the end. It's quite a challenging walk, loose gravel and dry leaves (prob said before there's a vaguely autumn vibe here despite it being "summer" , and at one point a few days ago I constantly had "forever autumn" running in my head) but with care not lethal - that said, as you head down to the beach, there are some bits where the path has kind of caved in to leave steep slopes at right angle to path (and French couple had turned back as they thought these were slops you had to go down) and there's not much in the way of path surface left and picking my way across the narrow (but not long) pseudo-ledge across these gullies was a tiny bit stressful but exciting.
Lovely viewpoint up at the top, had had "Oblong of Dreams" in my head as walking up so listened to it on phone (speaker to ear - no headphones) there before pushing on.
Down on beach sat for a while staring etc, then some people from hostel turned up - Syrian guy came over to say hi. I had had a vague idea they were going but didn't really want to ask to join them and given I made it more fun to find way on own. They went for swim.
I tried to push on round to Playa Vaca but either I couldn't find the right path or there was a borderline nasty 60-70 degree slope of a couple of metres with seriously iffy looking footholds and I decided fuck it.
Oh, on way out I went down steep path halfway along the trail not shown on OSM and it came out onto the little cove I'd seen
from park with gym earlier, which was kind of cool. I also unintentionally ended up back at other end of this cove on return trip as I seem to have missed the trail, so (with advice from couple swimming) I walked along cove "beach" to the place I'd gone down and up on the way out.
Couple of people around on both beaches, paths felt coolly but also slightly edgily deserted but after I did encounter some people nearer PM I felt even less edgy about it.
Felt like a fairly solid bit of exercise and the kind of cool little experience which the guide book would never bother to mention but which was fun to do. Beaches nice enough but viewpoint down onto beaches easily the highlight. Think I got back to town 1330-1400 ish, went into supermarket near hostel and got 455g (asked for 400g - it's a butcher counter) of steak for about 3k (7.xk/kilo, I asked- they only that the one type of steak) and a watermelon segment and 1.8l milk and some cheap coffee (as free hostel coffee was low and I'd drunk most of it and thought it might have been left by someone rather than hostel supplied, but when I got back the hostel (or someone) had replaced it so I will prob take my unopened pack on with me til I can use it) and came back to hostel and fried the steak (with half a jalapeno leftover from yday sliced and cooked with it and served on top, as I recall from arrachera in Mexico in 2006 - this worked well, I should do it again) and had it and drank some milk and had three cups coffee with milk and bit of chat with Katie and then sat down out here to research onwards travel which is where I started.
0210 Bed!
Friday, 3 March 2023
Quepos, Thursday
Thu 2nd 1821 On balcony at hostel with last of today's 1.5l pepsi zero, charging K1 from power bank as write this. Just dropped a biggish load of laundry off downstairs, 1.4kg @ 2000CRC/kg, not too bad and it will be a morale boost in terms of comfort and also a psychological load off to get this done. Also rinsed PackTowl and security belt out in sink with just water under tap, wrung towel out and left it on bag in dorm and security belt hanging on line out here.
Vaguely tempted to go out and get a beer but have resisted.
Everything is really OK but I feel like I've hit a bit of a flat spot in the trip. Although prob not direct cause, and I've been aware of it for a day or two at least, I fly home 5 weeks today so now playing the back nine, so to speak. It will probably be nice to be home but also feels a little bit of a shame.
I slept borderline OK. Woke up ahead of alarms, had 2/3 of watermelon slice bought yesterday (lightly salted) for breakfast and got bus to park OK. I was for some reason in a bad mood, the bus terminal felt slightly confusing, and althought I thought I'd (and actually had) allowed ample time I was under time pressure from the 9-940 entry slot at the park which just cast a cloud over everything (eg bus drops you about 5 mins walk from entry, which is fine - I asked driver and he pointed the way and I slightly rudely pushed along feeling the time pressure - but not so good when worried it might be miles and OSM won't show you a scale etc). I was being a bit of a whiny bitch TBH and I'm not 100% sure where it came from. Maybe it was just the time pressure.
Bag checked at entrance but I just had yday's pepsi bottle full of cold water.
I felt I had no energy at all walking round the park. I *think* this is the heat+humidity - maybe I'm not dressed ideally (though not sure that *is* a problem) but dressed same in hardly chilly places like Montezuma. It is all super paved and it's not "hard" to get round in principle, but just everything felt like such hard work. Phone phantom keyboard actions and esp auto delete really playing up BTW.
Incidentally v little breeze on balcony and it would be cooler in dorm where aircon is on (though prob higher than 24/25 as various people asked them to turn it up) but although I'm happy being solo here it also feels nice to sit here in semi-public and be "open" to chat, so to speak.
Mood not helped by park being pretty damn busy; I had been warned, but dread to think what it must be like at weekends. On the narrower paths you often can't get past without (technically) leaving the concrete trail when there's a guide or two with attendant coma of tourists around. I would try to see what guide was showing but usually failed. Didn't see any sloths, but did see some capuchin monkeys, heard but didn't see howlers (neither of those "novel" but still cool, and one capuchin was just slowly puttering along the path among us, super used to people), a black iguana with spines, a cute-ish thing I thought might be an agouti but was probably too small and (perhaps best) a maybe same animal (which wasn't agouti as a guide told someone what it was in Spanish - I probably have it on a video soundtrack) which had dark red/brown fur and was sitting right on the trail eating a seed utterly unconcerned by anyone.
Some of the trails were closed, which is annoying. OTOH not all bad as TBH I was kind of slogging round trying to keep my mental state moderately positive and thinking (with a mixture of anticipation and "edginess" about eg whether kitchen would be rammed) how good it would be to get back to hostel (via supermarket for some extras) and cook myself a monster sausage+rice+veg meal, and also how annoying it was that I'd be hot and sweaty while doing that as eating would make me sweat and clean clothes at a premium so no point showering before cooking+eating. So a bit whiny but not too bad. I was also reminding myself that eg two days ago I was feeling cold in the water at top of waterfall, that I wasn't going to be perpetually hot and sweaty, etc.
Park shuts 4 but I had walked all the trails and was ready to leave about 230. Maybe I "should" have milked it but food+relaxation was too tempting and really I'd just have been miserable. It wasn't a bad day really, and the park is nice enough, although frankly I struggle to see why it's the most popular park in the country. It doesn't seem that special compared to other foresty type places I've been in - maybe the beaches make the difference for some people, but I just kind of looked at them and didn't take too much interest as such.
There also seemed to be very little wind, when there *was* a bit it did help make things feel almost pleasant, but generally pretty still and humid and sticky feeling. The view of serrano point was nice enough etc. Nothing "wrong" with the park as a park, except for its excessive popularity and (for me, in my current state of adaptation/clothing) the heat.
Of course despite gagging for my rice+sausages I saw a fried chicken type stall by bus terminal as we came in and they had empanadas and I fancied one, but I didn't.
Just had brief chat with German woman in kitchen who is cooking herself a big chunk of chicken in frying pan and it's rekindled my desire from other day to buy myself a steak and cook it. I am thinking (partly but not exclusively stimulated by that conversation) I might take it easyish the next couple of days and maybe just wander round town and have an empanada and perhaps watch sunset (apparently good, and may treat myself to a beer) and cook a simple but hearty steak only dinner at the hostel mid afternoon or something.
I *would* like to hike the waterfall at Bijagua but I am not super keen in this heat etc to slog back to Jaco then struggle to find how to get to the fall without a car then hike it then come back here. Jaco is far enough and the buses are infrequent enough etc it's not trivial.
I have also had personal security esp wrt the ferry and this rural place in a couple of days on my mind. I keep telling myself that actually it didn't look that bad round on walk yday, and even the nominally iffy guy who was talking to me was in fact fine, plus I'd be going "one way" when I go to the rural place rather than doubling straight back past anyone iffy, etc. I think (conv just now sort of helping with this) I've just been in super-touristy places so long that very minor "real life" weird local characters (that guy who talked to me, pebble thrower outside mini supermarket, the odd drunk/homeless guy sleeping in a park) feel slightly scary. Woman just now who had been agreeing with me about sketchiness yday said she felt fine walking the few minutes back from harbour bit to this hostel after sunset and that there were loads of tourists round there etc.
I have until midnight tomorrow to cancel the rustic place but it *will* be a kind of adventure plus a nice little "do very little" break which may be what I kind of need in this flat spot. I shouldn't let an *actually fine* encounter like the one with the guy who spoke to me and walked with me put me off, just because it was superficially scary.
FTR the grey trousers have gone in for the "pro" wash today.
I have this vague "I should be doing more" feeling but I don't think it means I "should" . I've been doing plenty - my time in Montezuma was pretty active, going up the falls twice and also that long hike up the beach chain to the other falls twice. And although not super strenuous, both yesterday and today had a "must be up to do something at a specific time" element which is a tiny bit of a psychological strain (over dramatic phrasing but just trying to get idea across).
Shopping today for second cooked self meal was 1648, so it's roughly 7k for the two days, and that includes (not healthy, but "nice" ) 2x1.5 pepsi and a big watermelon chunk when compared with paying roughly 7k for two casados (seen quite a few places here advertising 3.5k, prob including juice). I didn't cook in order to save money, it was an experiment (confidence-ish) and also a way to enjoy a different and "substantial" meal.
I spoke to guy who I was speaking with yday afternoon while cooking this afternoon, he was cooking too but had mostly finished when I started. Don't know his name or nationality - he seems to live in US but he seems to have a vaguely French accent to his English.
I guess also sitting out here in mildly sticky weather on balcony (but at least with clean clothes) may help acclimatising.
I forgot to note weather while in Montezuma but assuming it hasn't changed, for tomorrow AccuWeather has 32C with "RealFeel" 36C and 32C shade. While for Quepos they have 34C with RF 40 and 36 shade. (No actual humidity number shown for these "day as a whole" forecasts.) So I guess this does back up some kind of idea that it really is "hotter feeling" here - if RF is remotely accurate, it's as hot in shade here as it is being in direct sun in Montezuma.
RG makes no mention of "bijagual" and based on a quick web search that is the right spelling for the waterfall place.
2204 Bed. Quite lot of chat. Casual touristing tomorrow, will set alarm for 930 but it's not critical and prob wake up earlier and if I feel tired I'll sleep in.
Vaguely tempted to go out and get a beer but have resisted.
Everything is really OK but I feel like I've hit a bit of a flat spot in the trip. Although prob not direct cause, and I've been aware of it for a day or two at least, I fly home 5 weeks today so now playing the back nine, so to speak. It will probably be nice to be home but also feels a little bit of a shame.
I slept borderline OK. Woke up ahead of alarms, had 2/3 of watermelon slice bought yesterday (lightly salted) for breakfast and got bus to park OK. I was for some reason in a bad mood, the bus terminal felt slightly confusing, and althought I thought I'd (and actually had) allowed ample time I was under time pressure from the 9-940 entry slot at the park which just cast a cloud over everything (eg bus drops you about 5 mins walk from entry, which is fine - I asked driver and he pointed the way and I slightly rudely pushed along feeling the time pressure - but not so good when worried it might be miles and OSM won't show you a scale etc). I was being a bit of a whiny bitch TBH and I'm not 100% sure where it came from. Maybe it was just the time pressure.
Bag checked at entrance but I just had yday's pepsi bottle full of cold water.
I felt I had no energy at all walking round the park. I *think* this is the heat+humidity - maybe I'm not dressed ideally (though not sure that *is* a problem) but dressed same in hardly chilly places like Montezuma. It is all super paved and it's not "hard" to get round in principle, but just everything felt like such hard work. Phone phantom keyboard actions and esp auto delete really playing up BTW.
Incidentally v little breeze on balcony and it would be cooler in dorm where aircon is on (though prob higher than 24/25 as various people asked them to turn it up) but although I'm happy being solo here it also feels nice to sit here in semi-public and be "open" to chat, so to speak.
Mood not helped by park being pretty damn busy; I had been warned, but dread to think what it must be like at weekends. On the narrower paths you often can't get past without (technically) leaving the concrete trail when there's a guide or two with attendant coma of tourists around. I would try to see what guide was showing but usually failed. Didn't see any sloths, but did see some capuchin monkeys, heard but didn't see howlers (neither of those "novel" but still cool, and one capuchin was just slowly puttering along the path among us, super used to people), a black iguana with spines, a cute-ish thing I thought might be an agouti but was probably too small and (perhaps best) a maybe same animal (which wasn't agouti as a guide told someone what it was in Spanish - I probably have it on a video soundtrack) which had dark red/brown fur and was sitting right on the trail eating a seed utterly unconcerned by anyone.
Some of the trails were closed, which is annoying. OTOH not all bad as TBH I was kind of slogging round trying to keep my mental state moderately positive and thinking (with a mixture of anticipation and "edginess" about eg whether kitchen would be rammed) how good it would be to get back to hostel (via supermarket for some extras) and cook myself a monster sausage+rice+veg meal, and also how annoying it was that I'd be hot and sweaty while doing that as eating would make me sweat and clean clothes at a premium so no point showering before cooking+eating. So a bit whiny but not too bad. I was also reminding myself that eg two days ago I was feeling cold in the water at top of waterfall, that I wasn't going to be perpetually hot and sweaty, etc.
Park shuts 4 but I had walked all the trails and was ready to leave about 230. Maybe I "should" have milked it but food+relaxation was too tempting and really I'd just have been miserable. It wasn't a bad day really, and the park is nice enough, although frankly I struggle to see why it's the most popular park in the country. It doesn't seem that special compared to other foresty type places I've been in - maybe the beaches make the difference for some people, but I just kind of looked at them and didn't take too much interest as such.
There also seemed to be very little wind, when there *was* a bit it did help make things feel almost pleasant, but generally pretty still and humid and sticky feeling. The view of serrano point was nice enough etc. Nothing "wrong" with the park as a park, except for its excessive popularity and (for me, in my current state of adaptation/clothing) the heat.
Of course despite gagging for my rice+sausages I saw a fried chicken type stall by bus terminal as we came in and they had empanadas and I fancied one, but I didn't.
Just had brief chat with German woman in kitchen who is cooking herself a big chunk of chicken in frying pan and it's rekindled my desire from other day to buy myself a steak and cook it. I am thinking (partly but not exclusively stimulated by that conversation) I might take it easyish the next couple of days and maybe just wander round town and have an empanada and perhaps watch sunset (apparently good, and may treat myself to a beer) and cook a simple but hearty steak only dinner at the hostel mid afternoon or something.
I *would* like to hike the waterfall at Bijagua but I am not super keen in this heat etc to slog back to Jaco then struggle to find how to get to the fall without a car then hike it then come back here. Jaco is far enough and the buses are infrequent enough etc it's not trivial.
I have also had personal security esp wrt the ferry and this rural place in a couple of days on my mind. I keep telling myself that actually it didn't look that bad round on walk yday, and even the nominally iffy guy who was talking to me was in fact fine, plus I'd be going "one way" when I go to the rural place rather than doubling straight back past anyone iffy, etc. I think (conv just now sort of helping with this) I've just been in super-touristy places so long that very minor "real life" weird local characters (that guy who talked to me, pebble thrower outside mini supermarket, the odd drunk/homeless guy sleeping in a park) feel slightly scary. Woman just now who had been agreeing with me about sketchiness yday said she felt fine walking the few minutes back from harbour bit to this hostel after sunset and that there were loads of tourists round there etc.
I have until midnight tomorrow to cancel the rustic place but it *will* be a kind of adventure plus a nice little "do very little" break which may be what I kind of need in this flat spot. I shouldn't let an *actually fine* encounter like the one with the guy who spoke to me and walked with me put me off, just because it was superficially scary.
FTR the grey trousers have gone in for the "pro" wash today.
I have this vague "I should be doing more" feeling but I don't think it means I "should" . I've been doing plenty - my time in Montezuma was pretty active, going up the falls twice and also that long hike up the beach chain to the other falls twice. And although not super strenuous, both yesterday and today had a "must be up to do something at a specific time" element which is a tiny bit of a psychological strain (over dramatic phrasing but just trying to get idea across).
Shopping today for second cooked self meal was 1648, so it's roughly 7k for the two days, and that includes (not healthy, but "nice" ) 2x1.5 pepsi and a big watermelon chunk when compared with paying roughly 7k for two casados (seen quite a few places here advertising 3.5k, prob including juice). I didn't cook in order to save money, it was an experiment (confidence-ish) and also a way to enjoy a different and "substantial" meal.
I spoke to guy who I was speaking with yday afternoon while cooking this afternoon, he was cooking too but had mostly finished when I started. Don't know his name or nationality - he seems to live in US but he seems to have a vaguely French accent to his English.
I guess also sitting out here in mildly sticky weather on balcony (but at least with clean clothes) may help acclimatising.
I forgot to note weather while in Montezuma but assuming it hasn't changed, for tomorrow AccuWeather has 32C with "RealFeel" 36C and 32C shade. While for Quepos they have 34C with RF 40 and 36 shade. (No actual humidity number shown for these "day as a whole" forecasts.) So I guess this does back up some kind of idea that it really is "hotter feeling" here - if RF is remotely accurate, it's as hot in shade here as it is being in direct sun in Montezuma.
RG makes no mention of "bijagual" and based on a quick web search that is the right spelling for the waterfall place.
2204 Bed. Quite lot of chat. Casual touristing tomorrow, will set alarm for 930 but it's not critical and prob wake up earlier and if I feel tired I'll sleep in.
Thursday, 2 March 2023
Montezuma-Quepos
Wed 1st 1742 In kitchen at new hostel. Had bit of chat earlier and have spoken v briefly to a few people, feels fairly nice on whole.
Bit of an odd day. Will just go chronologically. As I write this the boat feels like years ago.
Didn't sleep that well, perhaps too cold with fan on and/or edgy about missing boat. Actually got up about 650-7 as was already awake for a while and figured no point clinging on in bed. Packed, went out to see about coffee, kitchen not open but went back to room or something like that and it was then open and managed to get two cups of coffee.
Double-checked room, handed key in and went to wait by place where bought boat ticket. Said I was waiting for it to guy there, feeling tiny bit edgy as time got past 820 but guy said we were waiting for a few more people and that made me feel reassured. Maybe about 840 but not sure he told me to go with some other guy and we walked just round corner through refugio place onto the beach (guy took my bag at this point, I half wish I'd had it on my back and then maybe he wouldn't have) and along the beach. I had been warned (by RG and by guy at ticket place this morning) I'd need to take shoes off as it's a beach landing, not a big deal - I didn't fall over in surf and ruin phone/camera. They put my backpack in a plastic bag and carried it on for me.
Smallish boat, six passengers and three crew, I estimate boat might have held 15ish full-but-comfortably. Had to wear lifejacket, not a big deal but as I was putting mine on and looking down as a result we started moving and the mixed visuals/movement made me feel a bit queasy. But I was fine once I started actually looking out of the boat.
Quite bumpy (reminded of "Deed you see that beeg rock?" bit in James Herriot) but kind of cool, felt like we were going pretty fast. Another boat probably doing same taxi run sometimes in front and sometimes behind us. No sightings of any marine life en route. Was a tiny bit worried cap would come off but in reality nothing to see ahead (I held cap on for safety - prob have been fine anyway) so I was looking slightly to rear most of time as thus wind less likely to catch brim of cap and whip it off. Orange wool top v comfortable for this stage, though anything else probably have been fine too.
1825 Bit of chat by accident as walked out onto balcony and someone else was out there.
When we landed at beach in Jaco I thought I was done with the transfer I'd paid for and was putting shoes/socks on when guy came over and offered me a sneaky "bargain" deal to go to Quepos for USD15. I declined - partly simply because I wanted to take the cheap public bus, partly as I wondered if he was a scammer. He then said we were 7km from town and that he'd take me to bus terminal for free. I was in paranoid mode and wondered if this was a scam but (despite it being super bright and hard to see screen) I managed to check on Google Maps and we were indeed 7km from town so I figured I'd have to chance it, and then of course I recognised my fellow passengers (very little chat among us in general, incidentally, though pretty noisy on boat anyway) and felt reassured.
Got off at bus terminal which turned out to be just a stop at side of road. I asked a guy there and he asked where I was going and he told me the green buses went to Quepos, we had a bit of a chat intermittently which was nice (understood about 70-80%), he used to be in San Jose but retired and now has a big house here with just him and his wife but his four grown up sons and their families come to visit at Easter and Christmas.
I happened to mention the tallest waterfall in the country to him, thinking it was down south, and he said it was near here. I need to research this, which I will prob do tomorrow night, but I'm sure he's right and if so that was lucky as otherwise I'd probably have missed it.
I was sweating a lot and annoying dark patches visible on orange top. Legs also sweating a bit so not necessarily down to the orange wool top but maybe. Honestly don't know if it's generally hotter here than Montezuma or it was just random and/or lack of breeze. Youngish guy joined us at one point, we all exchanged a few words, I was broadly suspicious of him but he seemed generally nice and I wasn't exactly concerned with all those people around.
Got on bus and there was at least a breeze as we moved. At one point a youngish quite clean-cut guy sat next to me and after a minute or two (I had paid no attention up to this point, he was just guy sitting next to me on bus) he showed me a translation app on his phone with a message in Spanish and English saying something like "Hello my friend, will you be the one to help my wife gotzpl the kimbotz" - the g and k words are made up, because they made no sense so I can't remember them and I could see they were the same in the Spanish and English versions and I didn't recognise them in either language.
[Ha, just had *another* chat - motherlode here - and a woman saw my K1 on table and recognised it and said she has the exact same model. What are the odds? :-) She also said no point paying for guide at MA park, FWIW.]
I said "lo siento" and he didn't seem to get upset and moved away a few minutes later. *Maybe* he physically can't speak, but surely he'd put that in his (begging?) message. And what's with these two obscure words Google (I assume) Translate doesn't know that his wife needs help with? Have to put him down as slightly and not threateningly weird.
Got off bus and found hostel fine. No one here, cardboard sign on wall saying check in 1500, ring bell and wait few mins if no one here or call one of these three numbers. Long story short I hung around for maybe 15 mins and did call once and left a voicemail (so at least my phone probably worked with Claro SIM) and then all of a sudden a woman turned up inside and asked if I had a reservation and we got it sorted. Paid USD60+400 colones for the odd amount over USD60, got lower bunk, place is actually pretty nice and dorm is airconned at night to 24/25C.
I had been thinking on bus (also prompted by watching people cook themselves breakfast at hostel this morning) that maybe I'd experimentally cook for myself here, I hadn't originally thought to do it today but then during journey I thought "yeah fuck, do it today" - I didn't expect there to be much to "do" here today, and that way any more-than-one-day supplies I bought would be usable over next four days (and also I could maybe take them to next place, given it is a few km away).
So - being a bit of a whiny bitch TBH - I headed out about 1-2pmish to get supplies, I hadn't seen anyone in hostel but I figured it would be good to cook in relative privacy to avoid awkwardness, esp first time.
Went to mini supermarket down street, few vaguely iffy looking guys outside, decided not to go in but had to cross road to go to (actually nonexistent) bigger supermarket just round corner, one of the guys stepped back and said "hola amigo" and I said "hola" back and kept walking and maybe he called something else but I didn't understand and had already gone past, and as I went round the corner I felt a pebble bounce off my back. Maybe I imagined it but I dunno. Nothing else happened but bit weird.
Trogged the brief distance into town and the two "supermarkets" on map both v small. Then spotted one actually right near hostel so went up there. It was bigger but I was still being a whiny bitch (heat/laundry concerns, maybe I "wanted" food but it was way earlier than I'd normally eat so can't really blame that) but did buy some stuff. Can't believe a tin of sweetcorn or similar is like 700-1200 colones. Didn't buy that, in the end I got a fresh onion, 12 "ready to eat" hot dog sausages, a red pepper, a pack of smoked paprika (the only spice hostel has is salt, I wished I'd kept the chili packets from my Liberian pizza, but coulda woulda shoulda etc), some rice and a 1.5l pepsi zero (the latter surprisingly cheap at maybe 600ish?). The lot came to about 5500 - I have receipt in pocket and may dig it out in a bit. *Not* cheap, and I'd seen several sodas/restaurants offering casado+drink at 3.5k here, but this is partly an experiment and also this is food for at least 1.5ish days and it's nice to be able to eat a big meal. Oh, I got a chunk of watermelon too, it's generally cheapish here and as I rather like watermelon but don't buy it in UK as it seems pricey and had been eyeing them longingly for weeks I finally got some - I haven't touched it yet, it's still in (emptyish) fridge here.
Brief chat with some other guy (Brit?) during cooking and eating but mostly left to my own devices, which suited me. Oh, when I checked in the guy told me there were some free eggs in fridge left by departing guest, so I chucked one of those in as I was cooking too. Meal was slightly odd and the hot food plus the "metabolic heat" generated by eating made me sweat more, but it was at least nicely substantial and I felt vaguely stuffed and the cold pepsi was a nice little treat.
OK, got receipt out. 1.61kg (?) slice watermelon 1005.84, 1.5l pepsi 778.76, onion 261.30, 10g smoked paprika 451.33 (all these prices are without 201.49 tax shown on receipt), red pepper 198.02, rice 940.59 (1kg? not checking packet now), sausages 1752.48.
Then had fairly long chat with another guy (seem to be lot of new people turning up) and went out for walk about 1630. I walked up to where ferry goes to rustic place in a few days and maybe it's the chat I just had talking about him getting mugged and his daughter having problems in a park - none of this anywhere in Costa Rica except San Jose - or maybe it was real or maybe the guys outside supermarket earlier freaked me out, but I felt vaguely edgy even though generally it seemed fairly respectable if slightly round and quite a few people about. Maybe it being an hour or so before sunset didn't help, at least in my mind.
Anyway, I pushed on as far as the ferry. Youngish guy with beer and carrier bag spoke to me in street leading up, I said I didn't speak Spanish and he spoke fairly good English, I replied but kept walking. 50ish metres down street was the ferry terminal and a respectable looking local guy obviously clocking I was a tourist said in English "are you going to <name of rural place>?" and I said "in a couple of days" . I turned round and of course youngish guy still there. He kept saying he had a bad face but was not a bad guy and people/tourists were always edgy and he showed me he had red snapper in his carrier bag and said he was working but had been in prison and I'm *trying* not to appear too nervous but probably failing and he kept following me/walking with me and he showed me the street he lived on and I'm not daring to get phone out so hoping I'm remembering the turns back correctly (I was) and finally he asks where I am staying and I say and he says it's over there (where I though) and veered off down some street. So presumably he *is* a decent guy (and personally his face didn't look "bad" , it's just cos he's a youngish guy and rightly or wrongly I have vague bad vibes from the area/town) and wasn't trying to mug me but I still felt relieved, and TBH although as I say people broadly seemed respectable round there (lot of clean looking school kids coming out in uniform etc) and I will be doing it morning not just before sunset I am a smidge edgy about walking (or even taxiing and hanging around terminal) up to terminal with my backpack.
Had another chat - honestly, just struck chat motherlode here, one is going on in kitchen behind me but as I've already spoken to two of them I don't feel "excluded" - with a German woman tonight who had just got here but has been in CR for a month or more and she said she felt there was something a little bit sketchy about the town. Fuck knows, maybe there is. Maybe I am also being influenced by a not-negative review on rural place I'm booked for saying something to the effect that it's in a bit of a slum but the owner sort of makes a virtue or it (paraphrasing from memory).
Anyway, I had a shower after "escaping" from that guy and before chat with that German woman. I *still* feel a bit sweaty - wearing water-only washed black raging sport top, which I will wear tomorrow for doubtless sweaty day at park then change into clean blue rs top and my clean trousers. I got a chance to ask the staff guy about laundry when I was eating and he said they do laundry for 2k a kilo or there's some soda in town, but I think I'll give this hostel a load tomorrow night. There are signs up saying no hanging damp clothes in dorm (though there are washing lines on balcony, but staff guy didn't say anything about hand laundry being an option, though I didn't ask) and the two sinks are in an open area near niceish bathrooms so no privacy for sneaky hand washing. But I don't mind paying for a proper wash and that should see me through to rustic place and there may be washing (and perhaps given how "rural"/off-grid it is, even hand-washing) options there.
Think that's about everything.
If I didn't say, the sea slug things in the waterfall pools at end of Montezuma beach chain were white.
Free coffee maker (drip home-style filter gadget, not industrial urn style) here so going slightly mad on coffee, not nec sensible given feeling hot but fuck it. Manfully resisted temptation to buy a beer in supermarket earlier.
1924 Seeing mention (astoundingly un-pejorative) of palm oil plantations in RG, I believe I had noticed what looked like deliberately dense-ish palm "forests" from bus on way in.
Guide book makes out you have to buy bus tickets three days in advance during dry season. WTF? I had zero trouble getting on bus in today, so will assume no trouble getting out.
Dorm here is nicely spacious and there is a double socket by each bunk, albeit not right at the head end. Lent my charger to German woman, who came abroad at 5 days notice a month or so ago and has managed to get by without one til now, incidentally.
RG says nothing about Quepos being rough, tho quick web search on subject turns up some 2014ish stuff saying RG used to say it was, although at the time the comments on that thread were mostly "nah, it's fine, the odd scuzzy person round but nothing really to worry about" FWIW.
1942 Trying to research waterfall, may not be *the* tallest but the local one is probably "manatial de agua viva" at Bijagual.
Struggling a bit to find how to get there. However, looking at Google Maps, it is more-or-less as close to San Jose as it is to here. So *maybe* I could visit it from San Jose at end of trip, or of course leave it for a future trip. But I'm not writing it off for now, just making the observation.
Incidentally German woman said her experience on east coast (not super sure where) was that people did *not* speak English. But maybe she was in more rural areas.
2143 Bed. Sign in kitchen says "no phones in dorm after 10pm" , hope no one tries to enforce this as I use mine to read myself to sleep. Anyway, all surprisingly OK today despite weird poss-fine-really sketchiness of the town.
Bit of an odd day. Will just go chronologically. As I write this the boat feels like years ago.
Didn't sleep that well, perhaps too cold with fan on and/or edgy about missing boat. Actually got up about 650-7 as was already awake for a while and figured no point clinging on in bed. Packed, went out to see about coffee, kitchen not open but went back to room or something like that and it was then open and managed to get two cups of coffee.
Double-checked room, handed key in and went to wait by place where bought boat ticket. Said I was waiting for it to guy there, feeling tiny bit edgy as time got past 820 but guy said we were waiting for a few more people and that made me feel reassured. Maybe about 840 but not sure he told me to go with some other guy and we walked just round corner through refugio place onto the beach (guy took my bag at this point, I half wish I'd had it on my back and then maybe he wouldn't have) and along the beach. I had been warned (by RG and by guy at ticket place this morning) I'd need to take shoes off as it's a beach landing, not a big deal - I didn't fall over in surf and ruin phone/camera. They put my backpack in a plastic bag and carried it on for me.
Smallish boat, six passengers and three crew, I estimate boat might have held 15ish full-but-comfortably. Had to wear lifejacket, not a big deal but as I was putting mine on and looking down as a result we started moving and the mixed visuals/movement made me feel a bit queasy. But I was fine once I started actually looking out of the boat.
Quite bumpy (reminded of "Deed you see that beeg rock?" bit in James Herriot) but kind of cool, felt like we were going pretty fast. Another boat probably doing same taxi run sometimes in front and sometimes behind us. No sightings of any marine life en route. Was a tiny bit worried cap would come off but in reality nothing to see ahead (I held cap on for safety - prob have been fine anyway) so I was looking slightly to rear most of time as thus wind less likely to catch brim of cap and whip it off. Orange wool top v comfortable for this stage, though anything else probably have been fine too.
1825 Bit of chat by accident as walked out onto balcony and someone else was out there.
When we landed at beach in Jaco I thought I was done with the transfer I'd paid for and was putting shoes/socks on when guy came over and offered me a sneaky "bargain" deal to go to Quepos for USD15. I declined - partly simply because I wanted to take the cheap public bus, partly as I wondered if he was a scammer. He then said we were 7km from town and that he'd take me to bus terminal for free. I was in paranoid mode and wondered if this was a scam but (despite it being super bright and hard to see screen) I managed to check on Google Maps and we were indeed 7km from town so I figured I'd have to chance it, and then of course I recognised my fellow passengers (very little chat among us in general, incidentally, though pretty noisy on boat anyway) and felt reassured.
Got off at bus terminal which turned out to be just a stop at side of road. I asked a guy there and he asked where I was going and he told me the green buses went to Quepos, we had a bit of a chat intermittently which was nice (understood about 70-80%), he used to be in San Jose but retired and now has a big house here with just him and his wife but his four grown up sons and their families come to visit at Easter and Christmas.
I happened to mention the tallest waterfall in the country to him, thinking it was down south, and he said it was near here. I need to research this, which I will prob do tomorrow night, but I'm sure he's right and if so that was lucky as otherwise I'd probably have missed it.
I was sweating a lot and annoying dark patches visible on orange top. Legs also sweating a bit so not necessarily down to the orange wool top but maybe. Honestly don't know if it's generally hotter here than Montezuma or it was just random and/or lack of breeze. Youngish guy joined us at one point, we all exchanged a few words, I was broadly suspicious of him but he seemed generally nice and I wasn't exactly concerned with all those people around.
Got on bus and there was at least a breeze as we moved. At one point a youngish quite clean-cut guy sat next to me and after a minute or two (I had paid no attention up to this point, he was just guy sitting next to me on bus) he showed me a translation app on his phone with a message in Spanish and English saying something like "Hello my friend, will you be the one to help my wife gotzpl the kimbotz" - the g and k words are made up, because they made no sense so I can't remember them and I could see they were the same in the Spanish and English versions and I didn't recognise them in either language.
[Ha, just had *another* chat - motherlode here - and a woman saw my K1 on table and recognised it and said she has the exact same model. What are the odds? :-) She also said no point paying for guide at MA park, FWIW.]
I said "lo siento" and he didn't seem to get upset and moved away a few minutes later. *Maybe* he physically can't speak, but surely he'd put that in his (begging?) message. And what's with these two obscure words Google (I assume) Translate doesn't know that his wife needs help with? Have to put him down as slightly and not threateningly weird.
Got off bus and found hostel fine. No one here, cardboard sign on wall saying check in 1500, ring bell and wait few mins if no one here or call one of these three numbers. Long story short I hung around for maybe 15 mins and did call once and left a voicemail (so at least my phone probably worked with Claro SIM) and then all of a sudden a woman turned up inside and asked if I had a reservation and we got it sorted. Paid USD60+400 colones for the odd amount over USD60, got lower bunk, place is actually pretty nice and dorm is airconned at night to 24/25C.
I had been thinking on bus (also prompted by watching people cook themselves breakfast at hostel this morning) that maybe I'd experimentally cook for myself here, I hadn't originally thought to do it today but then during journey I thought "yeah fuck, do it today" - I didn't expect there to be much to "do" here today, and that way any more-than-one-day supplies I bought would be usable over next four days (and also I could maybe take them to next place, given it is a few km away).
So - being a bit of a whiny bitch TBH - I headed out about 1-2pmish to get supplies, I hadn't seen anyone in hostel but I figured it would be good to cook in relative privacy to avoid awkwardness, esp first time.
Went to mini supermarket down street, few vaguely iffy looking guys outside, decided not to go in but had to cross road to go to (actually nonexistent) bigger supermarket just round corner, one of the guys stepped back and said "hola amigo" and I said "hola" back and kept walking and maybe he called something else but I didn't understand and had already gone past, and as I went round the corner I felt a pebble bounce off my back. Maybe I imagined it but I dunno. Nothing else happened but bit weird.
Trogged the brief distance into town and the two "supermarkets" on map both v small. Then spotted one actually right near hostel so went up there. It was bigger but I was still being a whiny bitch (heat/laundry concerns, maybe I "wanted" food but it was way earlier than I'd normally eat so can't really blame that) but did buy some stuff. Can't believe a tin of sweetcorn or similar is like 700-1200 colones. Didn't buy that, in the end I got a fresh onion, 12 "ready to eat" hot dog sausages, a red pepper, a pack of smoked paprika (the only spice hostel has is salt, I wished I'd kept the chili packets from my Liberian pizza, but coulda woulda shoulda etc), some rice and a 1.5l pepsi zero (the latter surprisingly cheap at maybe 600ish?). The lot came to about 5500 - I have receipt in pocket and may dig it out in a bit. *Not* cheap, and I'd seen several sodas/restaurants offering casado+drink at 3.5k here, but this is partly an experiment and also this is food for at least 1.5ish days and it's nice to be able to eat a big meal. Oh, I got a chunk of watermelon too, it's generally cheapish here and as I rather like watermelon but don't buy it in UK as it seems pricey and had been eyeing them longingly for weeks I finally got some - I haven't touched it yet, it's still in (emptyish) fridge here.
Brief chat with some other guy (Brit?) during cooking and eating but mostly left to my own devices, which suited me. Oh, when I checked in the guy told me there were some free eggs in fridge left by departing guest, so I chucked one of those in as I was cooking too. Meal was slightly odd and the hot food plus the "metabolic heat" generated by eating made me sweat more, but it was at least nicely substantial and I felt vaguely stuffed and the cold pepsi was a nice little treat.
OK, got receipt out. 1.61kg (?) slice watermelon 1005.84, 1.5l pepsi 778.76, onion 261.30, 10g smoked paprika 451.33 (all these prices are without 201.49 tax shown on receipt), red pepper 198.02, rice 940.59 (1kg? not checking packet now), sausages 1752.48.
Then had fairly long chat with another guy (seem to be lot of new people turning up) and went out for walk about 1630. I walked up to where ferry goes to rustic place in a few days and maybe it's the chat I just had talking about him getting mugged and his daughter having problems in a park - none of this anywhere in Costa Rica except San Jose - or maybe it was real or maybe the guys outside supermarket earlier freaked me out, but I felt vaguely edgy even though generally it seemed fairly respectable if slightly round and quite a few people about. Maybe it being an hour or so before sunset didn't help, at least in my mind.
Anyway, I pushed on as far as the ferry. Youngish guy with beer and carrier bag spoke to me in street leading up, I said I didn't speak Spanish and he spoke fairly good English, I replied but kept walking. 50ish metres down street was the ferry terminal and a respectable looking local guy obviously clocking I was a tourist said in English "are you going to <name of rural place>?" and I said "in a couple of days" . I turned round and of course youngish guy still there. He kept saying he had a bad face but was not a bad guy and people/tourists were always edgy and he showed me he had red snapper in his carrier bag and said he was working but had been in prison and I'm *trying* not to appear too nervous but probably failing and he kept following me/walking with me and he showed me the street he lived on and I'm not daring to get phone out so hoping I'm remembering the turns back correctly (I was) and finally he asks where I am staying and I say and he says it's over there (where I though) and veered off down some street. So presumably he *is* a decent guy (and personally his face didn't look "bad" , it's just cos he's a youngish guy and rightly or wrongly I have vague bad vibes from the area/town) and wasn't trying to mug me but I still felt relieved, and TBH although as I say people broadly seemed respectable round there (lot of clean looking school kids coming out in uniform etc) and I will be doing it morning not just before sunset I am a smidge edgy about walking (or even taxiing and hanging around terminal) up to terminal with my backpack.
Had another chat - honestly, just struck chat motherlode here, one is going on in kitchen behind me but as I've already spoken to two of them I don't feel "excluded" - with a German woman tonight who had just got here but has been in CR for a month or more and she said she felt there was something a little bit sketchy about the town. Fuck knows, maybe there is. Maybe I am also being influenced by a not-negative review on rural place I'm booked for saying something to the effect that it's in a bit of a slum but the owner sort of makes a virtue or it (paraphrasing from memory).
Anyway, I had a shower after "escaping" from that guy and before chat with that German woman. I *still* feel a bit sweaty - wearing water-only washed black raging sport top, which I will wear tomorrow for doubtless sweaty day at park then change into clean blue rs top and my clean trousers. I got a chance to ask the staff guy about laundry when I was eating and he said they do laundry for 2k a kilo or there's some soda in town, but I think I'll give this hostel a load tomorrow night. There are signs up saying no hanging damp clothes in dorm (though there are washing lines on balcony, but staff guy didn't say anything about hand laundry being an option, though I didn't ask) and the two sinks are in an open area near niceish bathrooms so no privacy for sneaky hand washing. But I don't mind paying for a proper wash and that should see me through to rustic place and there may be washing (and perhaps given how "rural"/off-grid it is, even hand-washing) options there.
Think that's about everything.
If I didn't say, the sea slug things in the waterfall pools at end of Montezuma beach chain were white.
Free coffee maker (drip home-style filter gadget, not industrial urn style) here so going slightly mad on coffee, not nec sensible given feeling hot but fuck it. Manfully resisted temptation to buy a beer in supermarket earlier.
1924 Seeing mention (astoundingly un-pejorative) of palm oil plantations in RG, I believe I had noticed what looked like deliberately dense-ish palm "forests" from bus on way in.
Guide book makes out you have to buy bus tickets three days in advance during dry season. WTF? I had zero trouble getting on bus in today, so will assume no trouble getting out.
Dorm here is nicely spacious and there is a double socket by each bunk, albeit not right at the head end. Lent my charger to German woman, who came abroad at 5 days notice a month or so ago and has managed to get by without one til now, incidentally.
RG says nothing about Quepos being rough, tho quick web search on subject turns up some 2014ish stuff saying RG used to say it was, although at the time the comments on that thread were mostly "nah, it's fine, the odd scuzzy person round but nothing really to worry about" FWIW.
1942 Trying to research waterfall, may not be *the* tallest but the local one is probably "manatial de agua viva" at Bijagual.
Struggling a bit to find how to get there. However, looking at Google Maps, it is more-or-less as close to San Jose as it is to here. So *maybe* I could visit it from San Jose at end of trip, or of course leave it for a future trip. But I'm not writing it off for now, just making the observation.
Incidentally German woman said her experience on east coast (not super sure where) was that people did *not* speak English. But maybe she was in more rural areas.
2143 Bed. Sign in kitchen says "no phones in dorm after 10pm" , hope no one tries to enforce this as I use mine to read myself to sleep. Anyway, all surprisingly OK today despite weird poss-fine-really sketchiness of the town.
Wednesday, 1 March 2023
Montezuma, Tuesday
Tue 28th 0025 If forgot to say earlier, this hostel (of course) resells the Jaco boat tickets, but I prefer not to give them my business given their persnickety attitude to my microscopically torn bills. I don't know if they were "open" to selling earlier when I knew I wanted the boat day after tomorrow, but a staff member was around so probably. Hope I don't regret this but will talk to someone in town tomorrow and also ask about Quepos - I suspect bus Jaco-Quepos is not hard and almost certainly not expensive, but if I can pay say USD70 instead of 50 and have an extra hour on the boat (I'm assuming seasickness is not going to be a factor) and save hassle, I may splurge.
1921 In room copying photos around (in anticipation of four days in dorm plus maybe limited power supply for three days after that), once that's sorted will go sit outside and write more.
Couldn't sleep super well for no obvious reason. Woke up 6ish thinking it was later. Drowsed fitfully. Bit worried about clean clothes supply (silly - yes my quantity of tops is limited and that makes laundry a faff if I can't wash myself, but obviously all tourists have laundry needs so these can be met one way or another) and also about maybe not being able to get boat ticket and being faced with a massively complex itinerary to make it up (and wondering if the arsiness of the accom industry would mean - totally unfairly - if I failed to turn up on the first night of my non-refundable booking, I would be charged for the four nights and not be able to turn up a day later and use the remaining three).
Finally got up 7:30ish and walked (it's v close, just round corner almost) into town to see about boat. The place I had my eye on first - which advertised service to Quepos - was shut but I went round corner and another was open and brief chat with guy said there was no availability problem, think sign said USD50 and he didn't go to Quepos, only Jaco. Being semi-reassured about availability came back to hostel and after not being able to get a cup (FFS, what is it with this?) for a bit I had a couple of cups of coffee, a second shit and went back out to book boat. The place I'd wanted to go first was open now, he said it's a bus Jaco-Quepos anyway - something like USD25 for private bus or there's a public bus every hour-ish for about USD5. Guess which I preferred? I would have gone round corner and booked with first guy to reward him for being open early, but for some reason this place only wanted USD45 so I booked with them. I have to be outside the shop/kiosk where I booked with my bag at 8:20 tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed don't oversleep etc but should be fine.
Back to hostel, prepped daypack to go out and dice with death a second time on the local waterfall. I am toying with drafting an "actually meant to be readable by other people" blog post offering advice on these falls, although who knows if anyone would ever do so. But let me just bash out today's experiences for Future Steve as-is as normal. Maybe after a little finger cramp break. :-)
1941 Right, on uncomfortable chair on otherwise empty terrace bit just outside room. Not hiding away, although given I'm leaving tomorrow I (irrationally - chat is chat and maybe erodes broader BNM feelings) am not super keen to "meet" anyone.
Fingers still hurt, I think having cut nails (long overdue - but dorms...) yesterday maybe doesn't hurt. But let's push on manfully...
Incidentally woman asking about Cabo Blanco while I was booking boat made me feel maybe I "should" have gone there. But I have seen and am going to see many national parks, it's good to have something for a subsequent visit, etc.
So I got up to the top of the waterfalls no problem, offering semi-solicited advice on where to find the SunTrails steps to a couple of women on the lower approach along the river. Incidentally I deliberately kept my ST wristband on since the other day, so while they *may* insist it only has single day validity (colour change, the guy remembers who he sold to) I could *maybe* have used their trails for free, and of course 2k is negligible if I had had to pay - but I didn't *want* to use their trails today.
A smidge uneasy doing the upper "high difficulty" bit upwards (actually locally downwards, so to speak) but nothing too bad. Tried to be careful the whole way not to be overconfident because I'd done it before.
At top I put trunks on and stuffed trousers etc into 5l dry bag (though tbh it's a bit thin-looking at bottom and not 100% sure I trust it - I think I have a brand new bag of exact same type hidden in a box of Christmas presents back at my parents' place) and semi-gingerly explored the quiet-ish pools above the upper of the three falls. (There is a sort of fourth fall above his point, but it's probably about a metre high and doesn't seem to get counted.)
Water cool, obviously not freezing, kind of pleasant given warm weather but also that "heated swimming pool back in UK" shock to the system on first getting . Bottom quite rocky and uneven and I did slip around a bit. Did feel at various points a bit jealous of people jumping into pool below upper fall/above middle falls, but as noted ad nauseum since I can't swim and this water is well over head height - you can see this as people jump in - while I *might* get away with it, especially in the smaller surface area upper pool where distance to swim on resurfacing would be less, it is really only sensible not to take stupid chances.
Water mostly waist height, but the pool just below the "fourth" fall was neck deep as I crossed the little submerged barrier into it from roughly waist-ish height pool further from it, and I didn't think it prudent to try going closer to falls. Pool small enough I'd probably be fine, but no point being stupid. I also had my backpack on (and maybe shoes in hand?) at this point and although I'm sure the water was neck deep I may have been carrying the backpack because I'm pretty sure it didn't get totally submerged. Memories a bit confused now I mention it. *Maybe* - this sounds plausible - I'm conflating two things. While exploring one of the pools re depth, I ended up sort of a bit above waist and/or I slipped a bit and the bottom of backpack went in, then I took backpack off and perched it on surrounding rocks and *then* had the
I had a quick look inside dry bag to see if trousers (and more importantly phone/camera) were dry and they seemed to be more-or-less (my hand was wet as I was checking etc) and an hour or two later actually dug phone out and tested it and it was fine, and camera is fine too. So dry bag may be OK, or it may be the dry bag wasn't at bottom of daypack (had big bottle of water in bottom) and it didn't get very wet for very long.
In case it's not clear I was wearing two-tone blue plastic top I had worn at beach yesterday, I had rolled the sleeves up and sunblocked my arms/legs when getting changed and hung around keeping dry for 10-15 mins with aim - not that instructions on bottle said much (tbh they kind of say, paraphrasing "assume this doesn't work, even though we say it's waterproof reapply frequency especially if bathing, and don't spend too long in the sun" ) - of letting it soak into skin a bit. To jump ahead briefly, I no-soap washed it and orange wool jumper in sink (incidentally - deliberately? - the sink here is in corridor outside shared bathroom, so no privacy for surreptitious hand-washing, though *maybe* surreptition is not required? before I had a shower, I did them separately and the blue top did give a certain amount of brown dirtiness coming out, presumably just from a mild natural dirtiness present in the water today at falls/yday at beach.
Seeing some small crayfish (as always, creature names purely indicative of "feelings" , I am not a biologist) in waterfall pools reminded me that in a rock pool at waterfall on beach yesterday there were some white aquatic slug looking things, some of them about the size of my thumb.
Fingers hurting so another break...
Putting some photos on shared album for parents, reminded on beach yday there were *loads* of small silver fish, all apparently dead - presumably stranded by tide/wave some time before.
Started to feel bit cold after being in water a bit and sat out on side (trying to stay out of sun to avoid burning) - bear in mind all this swimming stuff is kind of new to me, however obvious it might be to everyone else. I gradually dried off and started to feel better [incidentally two cats here, a ginger and white one and a black with tiny bit of white one, black one is friendly-ish but not overly effusive, ginger a bit flighty, think I have managed to stroke both but tiny bit unsure about finger] and subsequently alternated between brief-ish dips and sitting on side drying off, going into sunnier bits and/or sitting on hot rocks (one so hot it was borderline painful) to dry off quicker. Didn't spend huge amounts of time in water but was sort of nice to spend the time I did.
I did a tiny bit of swimming in the pool I mostly settled one, a biggish irregular one which I think went over the top of the "three" falls at its extremity. Cautious exploration showed it got about neck deep in one tiny spot and was generally between knee and a bit over waist deep. Lack of fitness and/or very inefficient technique meant I managed to swim maybe 5m from my "base rock" where I'd perched bag and shoes, turn round and swim back without stopping once or twice, but I was struggling a bit towards the end and even though I knew I could stand up there was a semi-playful and semi-real feeling of "am I gonna make it?" .
To be fair to myself, because the depth was so variable and there were big rocks coming up to maybe a foot below surface in some places, swimming was hard/inconvenient anyway - didn't try my poor front crawl because I'm sure I'd have smashed my arms on these submerged rocks, so stuck to kind of dog paddle (breast stroke might work, but never learned that really) and a brief backstroke with feet only (which worked, but I was in danger of banging head first into the rocks edging the pool). I am sure the world's best swimmer could not have done much better than I did given the shallow and variable depths. I assume that if you can actually swim properly, a deep pool is much better as you don't have to worry about drowning *or* about submerged rocks getting in the way, but since I do have to worry about drowning I had to stick to the shallow pools with their submerged rocks
The prospect of having to go down was vaguely lurking nastily but not too big a deal.
I was kind of forcing myself to stay up there a bit longer than I maybe wanted - not that it wasn't fun, but kind of "milking" it a bit. In the end I forced myself to go for one final pseudo-swim and spent half an hour or so going for a "final" drying off, and decided I'd do at least the first part of the climb down wearing shoes+socks but otherwise swimming gear as that way maybe if I fell in on one of the not too dangerous but scrambling round edge of pool bits I'd have a better chance and at least wouldn't get trousers soaked. As it happens I decided to just stay like that all the way back to hostel, took small risk of extra scrapes on legs and probably looked a little odd (tho maybe less odd than wearing trousers?) but no one really cares.
The climb down from IIRC top pool to middle pool level was a little iffy but not terrible. The climb up from middle pool level to the "not too scary" intermediate path wasn't that bad really. There was a big lizard around that climb up - I saw from distance, some people were pointing it out when I was having brief rest/psych up/challenging myself not to rush to get it over with at base of that climb up but I couldn't see it then. I was a tiny bit worried it would be in the way as I was trying to get up but I figured it would scuttle off if it was and as it happens it wasn't there anyway.
Went back to hostel, had shower and pseudo-washed those tops as already mentioned, went out to Soda La Artesanal and got decent (left the slightly cheesy pasta) casado de pescado despite having ordered bistec, but I had been so apparently successful in sorting out the undressed salad (guy said it was chimichurri, and described it, and it was nice - *but* I pushed him to describe it, 'cos the chimichurri at the place I ate every day in Santa Elena seemed rather more saucey, judging from photos) that I felt quite cool about it anyway.
During meal and before I had said I wouldn't have a beer, and then having decided that I thought fuck it, I would anyway as it was last night. So broke a 20k (using up a load of smallish change too) at Super Mamatea and took a Pilsen down to beach for sunset, then came back to hostel and started to sort photos/charge camera battery as already noted.
Haven't packed yet but although I probably will and it would be good to "tidy" up my bag etc a bit, it's not super critical.
Feel slightly BNM with group of German speakers having dinner couple of metres from me, but not too fussed.
Not ecstatic about going into dorm but it is maybe better for meeting people and certainly stretches and isn't a huge deal.
Oh, while copying photos I went online (the only way you can do it) and paid USD18.08 for a foreigner ticket for parque nacional manuel antonion for day after tomorrow. I probably didn't need to - I experimented and you can see the spaces available and there were spaces for tomorrow if I'd wanted one - and probably only at weekend is this needed, but felt I'd better play it safe. Annoyingly you have to pick an arrival window so after dithering I picked 9-940 (from memory) - it's not as if I'm generally getting up terribly late on this trip, and guide book makes out there are lots of buses and it's only about 20m from town. Will need to find the bus stop tomorrow afternoon though.
I might go to the park a second day, either solo again or with a guide, but we'll see how it goes.
2112 Left bottle of water on chair to "claim" it while went for a piss and an arrogant cocksucker just put it on floor and took chair. Have come over to another identically uncomfortable chair near the kitchen, bit noisier here.
2139 Think I might see if I can shave and go back to room. Pretty quiet out here but room is nice enough to sit in and I don't think either of the cats is going to come near me.
2226 Well that was dramatic. Was just peering into shared bathroom prior to going for a piss and a big chunk of wood/plaster suddenly broke loose from the ceiling and smashed onto the bottom of shower stall. Snapped couple of photos of aftermath. Would have been a nasty surprise had someone been in shower, probably not have got head but could well have caught shoulder a glancing blow or something. Bit of a shock as it was, of course.
2243 Kinda sorta packed. Loads of stuff is a bit damp so leaving it out to put in properly in morning.
On a misc note, since in reality I *don't* bother with bundle wrapping clothes - dorms kill it, but it also doesn't work that well with a backpack anyway, and my travel clothes are not super fancy and I just tend not to worry about wrinkles if there are any - I don't need the floppy A4 pouch as a core object, and it would probably be better to replace it with something a little more rigid which would better protect the contents (not that they're super valuable, but any papers in there are going to get crumpled and dog-eared).
2251 Bed. Loads of "semi-dirty" clothes, ie not freshly (even hand) washed but sort of kind of clean enough to wear. Meh. Just might wear orange wool top tomorrow, I suspect I'll sweat like a pig in Jaco if guide book anything to go by about climate of Jaco/Quepos and although I still have a bit of a "wool? no!" feeling the experiment other day was reasonably successful and this will help keep the other tops clean(er). I'll have my pack with me and will keep a lighter top near top of pack so I can change it in a pinch. Do also wonder if it might be a bit cold on boat, I suspect it's just the kind of thing we crossed Lake Arenal on.
Skin is sort of coming away from right thumbnail a bit near the centre. Doesn't hurt and put some Vaseline on it in vague hope that will do some good. Incidentally I lightly grazed a knuckle on the way down from top of falls today, which kind of complements the light graze on a different knuckle I think I got going up the first day. Neither hurts.
Anyway, bed.
OK, last bit - the bloke at the USD45 boat booking place happily took the torn 20s, and I asked him for change in dollars too. (I asked this first and he said yes, then a few mins later when I actually paid I saw him reach for a calculator so I said "in dollars, please" as a precautionary measure. :-) )
1921 In room copying photos around (in anticipation of four days in dorm plus maybe limited power supply for three days after that), once that's sorted will go sit outside and write more.
Couldn't sleep super well for no obvious reason. Woke up 6ish thinking it was later. Drowsed fitfully. Bit worried about clean clothes supply (silly - yes my quantity of tops is limited and that makes laundry a faff if I can't wash myself, but obviously all tourists have laundry needs so these can be met one way or another) and also about maybe not being able to get boat ticket and being faced with a massively complex itinerary to make it up (and wondering if the arsiness of the accom industry would mean - totally unfairly - if I failed to turn up on the first night of my non-refundable booking, I would be charged for the four nights and not be able to turn up a day later and use the remaining three).
Finally got up 7:30ish and walked (it's v close, just round corner almost) into town to see about boat. The place I had my eye on first - which advertised service to Quepos - was shut but I went round corner and another was open and brief chat with guy said there was no availability problem, think sign said USD50 and he didn't go to Quepos, only Jaco. Being semi-reassured about availability came back to hostel and after not being able to get a cup (FFS, what is it with this?) for a bit I had a couple of cups of coffee, a second shit and went back out to book boat. The place I'd wanted to go first was open now, he said it's a bus Jaco-Quepos anyway - something like USD25 for private bus or there's a public bus every hour-ish for about USD5. Guess which I preferred? I would have gone round corner and booked with first guy to reward him for being open early, but for some reason this place only wanted USD45 so I booked with them. I have to be outside the shop/kiosk where I booked with my bag at 8:20 tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed don't oversleep etc but should be fine.
Back to hostel, prepped daypack to go out and dice with death a second time on the local waterfall. I am toying with drafting an "actually meant to be readable by other people" blog post offering advice on these falls, although who knows if anyone would ever do so. But let me just bash out today's experiences for Future Steve as-is as normal. Maybe after a little finger cramp break. :-)
1941 Right, on uncomfortable chair on otherwise empty terrace bit just outside room. Not hiding away, although given I'm leaving tomorrow I (irrationally - chat is chat and maybe erodes broader BNM feelings) am not super keen to "meet" anyone.
Fingers still hurt, I think having cut nails (long overdue - but dorms...) yesterday maybe doesn't hurt. But let's push on manfully...
Incidentally woman asking about Cabo Blanco while I was booking boat made me feel maybe I "should" have gone there. But I have seen and am going to see many national parks, it's good to have something for a subsequent visit, etc.
So I got up to the top of the waterfalls no problem, offering semi-solicited advice on where to find the SunTrails steps to a couple of women on the lower approach along the river. Incidentally I deliberately kept my ST wristband on since the other day, so while they *may* insist it only has single day validity (colour change, the guy remembers who he sold to) I could *maybe* have used their trails for free, and of course 2k is negligible if I had had to pay - but I didn't *want* to use their trails today.
A smidge uneasy doing the upper "high difficulty" bit upwards (actually locally downwards, so to speak) but nothing too bad. Tried to be careful the whole way not to be overconfident because I'd done it before.
At top I put trunks on and stuffed trousers etc into 5l dry bag (though tbh it's a bit thin-looking at bottom and not 100% sure I trust it - I think I have a brand new bag of exact same type hidden in a box of Christmas presents back at my parents' place) and semi-gingerly explored the quiet-ish pools above the upper of the three falls. (There is a sort of fourth fall above his point, but it's probably about a metre high and doesn't seem to get counted.)
Water cool, obviously not freezing, kind of pleasant given warm weather but also that "heated swimming pool back in UK" shock to the system on first getting . Bottom quite rocky and uneven and I did slip around a bit. Did feel at various points a bit jealous of people jumping into pool below upper fall/above middle falls, but as noted ad nauseum since I can't swim and this water is well over head height - you can see this as people jump in - while I *might* get away with it, especially in the smaller surface area upper pool where distance to swim on resurfacing would be less, it is really only sensible not to take stupid chances.
Water mostly waist height, but the pool just below the "fourth" fall was neck deep as I crossed the little submerged barrier into it from roughly waist-ish height pool further from it, and I didn't think it prudent to try going closer to falls. Pool small enough I'd probably be fine, but no point being stupid. I also had my backpack on (and maybe shoes in hand?) at this point and although I'm sure the water was neck deep I may have been carrying the backpack because I'm pretty sure it didn't get totally submerged. Memories a bit confused now I mention it. *Maybe* - this sounds plausible - I'm conflating two things. While exploring one of the pools re depth, I ended up sort of a bit above waist and/or I slipped a bit and the bottom of backpack went in, then I took backpack off and perched it on surrounding rocks and *then* had the
I had a quick look inside dry bag to see if trousers (and more importantly phone/camera) were dry and they seemed to be more-or-less (my hand was wet as I was checking etc) and an hour or two later actually dug phone out and tested it and it was fine, and camera is fine too. So dry bag may be OK, or it may be the dry bag wasn't at bottom of daypack (had big bottle of water in bottom) and it didn't get very wet for very long.
In case it's not clear I was wearing two-tone blue plastic top I had worn at beach yesterday, I had rolled the sleeves up and sunblocked my arms/legs when getting changed and hung around keeping dry for 10-15 mins with aim - not that instructions on bottle said much (tbh they kind of say, paraphrasing "assume this doesn't work, even though we say it's waterproof reapply frequency especially if bathing, and don't spend too long in the sun" ) - of letting it soak into skin a bit. To jump ahead briefly, I no-soap washed it and orange wool jumper in sink (incidentally - deliberately? - the sink here is in corridor outside shared bathroom, so no privacy for surreptitious hand-washing, though *maybe* surreptition is not required? before I had a shower, I did them separately and the blue top did give a certain amount of brown dirtiness coming out, presumably just from a mild natural dirtiness present in the water today at falls/yday at beach.
Seeing some small crayfish (as always, creature names purely indicative of "feelings" , I am not a biologist) in waterfall pools reminded me that in a rock pool at waterfall on beach yesterday there were some white aquatic slug looking things, some of them about the size of my thumb.
Fingers hurting so another break...
Putting some photos on shared album for parents, reminded on beach yday there were *loads* of small silver fish, all apparently dead - presumably stranded by tide/wave some time before.
Started to feel bit cold after being in water a bit and sat out on side (trying to stay out of sun to avoid burning) - bear in mind all this swimming stuff is kind of new to me, however obvious it might be to everyone else. I gradually dried off and started to feel better [incidentally two cats here, a ginger and white one and a black with tiny bit of white one, black one is friendly-ish but not overly effusive, ginger a bit flighty, think I have managed to stroke both but tiny bit unsure about finger] and subsequently alternated between brief-ish dips and sitting on side drying off, going into sunnier bits and/or sitting on hot rocks (one so hot it was borderline painful) to dry off quicker. Didn't spend huge amounts of time in water but was sort of nice to spend the time I did.
I did a tiny bit of swimming in the pool I mostly settled one, a biggish irregular one which I think went over the top of the "three" falls at its extremity. Cautious exploration showed it got about neck deep in one tiny spot and was generally between knee and a bit over waist deep. Lack of fitness and/or very inefficient technique meant I managed to swim maybe 5m from my "base rock" where I'd perched bag and shoes, turn round and swim back without stopping once or twice, but I was struggling a bit towards the end and even though I knew I could stand up there was a semi-playful and semi-real feeling of "am I gonna make it?" .
To be fair to myself, because the depth was so variable and there were big rocks coming up to maybe a foot below surface in some places, swimming was hard/inconvenient anyway - didn't try my poor front crawl because I'm sure I'd have smashed my arms on these submerged rocks, so stuck to kind of dog paddle (breast stroke might work, but never learned that really) and a brief backstroke with feet only (which worked, but I was in danger of banging head first into the rocks edging the pool). I am sure the world's best swimmer could not have done much better than I did given the shallow and variable depths. I assume that if you can actually swim properly, a deep pool is much better as you don't have to worry about drowning *or* about submerged rocks getting in the way, but since I do have to worry about drowning I had to stick to the shallow pools with their submerged rocks
The prospect of having to go down was vaguely lurking nastily but not too big a deal.
I was kind of forcing myself to stay up there a bit longer than I maybe wanted - not that it wasn't fun, but kind of "milking" it a bit. In the end I forced myself to go for one final pseudo-swim and spent half an hour or so going for a "final" drying off, and decided I'd do at least the first part of the climb down wearing shoes+socks but otherwise swimming gear as that way maybe if I fell in on one of the not too dangerous but scrambling round edge of pool bits I'd have a better chance and at least wouldn't get trousers soaked. As it happens I decided to just stay like that all the way back to hostel, took small risk of extra scrapes on legs and probably looked a little odd (tho maybe less odd than wearing trousers?) but no one really cares.
The climb down from IIRC top pool to middle pool level was a little iffy but not terrible. The climb up from middle pool level to the "not too scary" intermediate path wasn't that bad really. There was a big lizard around that climb up - I saw from distance, some people were pointing it out when I was having brief rest/psych up/challenging myself not to rush to get it over with at base of that climb up but I couldn't see it then. I was a tiny bit worried it would be in the way as I was trying to get up but I figured it would scuttle off if it was and as it happens it wasn't there anyway.
Went back to hostel, had shower and pseudo-washed those tops as already mentioned, went out to Soda La Artesanal and got decent (left the slightly cheesy pasta) casado de pescado despite having ordered bistec, but I had been so apparently successful in sorting out the undressed salad (guy said it was chimichurri, and described it, and it was nice - *but* I pushed him to describe it, 'cos the chimichurri at the place I ate every day in Santa Elena seemed rather more saucey, judging from photos) that I felt quite cool about it anyway.
During meal and before I had said I wouldn't have a beer, and then having decided that I thought fuck it, I would anyway as it was last night. So broke a 20k (using up a load of smallish change too) at Super Mamatea and took a Pilsen down to beach for sunset, then came back to hostel and started to sort photos/charge camera battery as already noted.
Haven't packed yet but although I probably will and it would be good to "tidy" up my bag etc a bit, it's not super critical.
Feel slightly BNM with group of German speakers having dinner couple of metres from me, but not too fussed.
Not ecstatic about going into dorm but it is maybe better for meeting people and certainly stretches and isn't a huge deal.
Oh, while copying photos I went online (the only way you can do it) and paid USD18.08 for a foreigner ticket for parque nacional manuel antonion for day after tomorrow. I probably didn't need to - I experimented and you can see the spaces available and there were spaces for tomorrow if I'd wanted one - and probably only at weekend is this needed, but felt I'd better play it safe. Annoyingly you have to pick an arrival window so after dithering I picked 9-940 (from memory) - it's not as if I'm generally getting up terribly late on this trip, and guide book makes out there are lots of buses and it's only about 20m from town. Will need to find the bus stop tomorrow afternoon though.
I might go to the park a second day, either solo again or with a guide, but we'll see how it goes.
2112 Left bottle of water on chair to "claim" it while went for a piss and an arrogant cocksucker just put it on floor and took chair. Have come over to another identically uncomfortable chair near the kitchen, bit noisier here.
2139 Think I might see if I can shave and go back to room. Pretty quiet out here but room is nice enough to sit in and I don't think either of the cats is going to come near me.
2226 Well that was dramatic. Was just peering into shared bathroom prior to going for a piss and a big chunk of wood/plaster suddenly broke loose from the ceiling and smashed onto the bottom of shower stall. Snapped couple of photos of aftermath. Would have been a nasty surprise had someone been in shower, probably not have got head but could well have caught shoulder a glancing blow or something. Bit of a shock as it was, of course.
2243 Kinda sorta packed. Loads of stuff is a bit damp so leaving it out to put in properly in morning.
On a misc note, since in reality I *don't* bother with bundle wrapping clothes - dorms kill it, but it also doesn't work that well with a backpack anyway, and my travel clothes are not super fancy and I just tend not to worry about wrinkles if there are any - I don't need the floppy A4 pouch as a core object, and it would probably be better to replace it with something a little more rigid which would better protect the contents (not that they're super valuable, but any papers in there are going to get crumpled and dog-eared).
2251 Bed. Loads of "semi-dirty" clothes, ie not freshly (even hand) washed but sort of kind of clean enough to wear. Meh. Just might wear orange wool top tomorrow, I suspect I'll sweat like a pig in Jaco if guide book anything to go by about climate of Jaco/Quepos and although I still have a bit of a "wool? no!" feeling the experiment other day was reasonably successful and this will help keep the other tops clean(er). I'll have my pack with me and will keep a lighter top near top of pack so I can change it in a pinch. Do also wonder if it might be a bit cold on boat, I suspect it's just the kind of thing we crossed Lake Arenal on.
Skin is sort of coming away from right thumbnail a bit near the centre. Doesn't hurt and put some Vaseline on it in vague hope that will do some good. Incidentally I lightly grazed a knuckle on the way down from top of falls today, which kind of complements the light graze on a different knuckle I think I got going up the first day. Neither hurts.
Anyway, bed.
OK, last bit - the bloke at the USD45 boat booking place happily took the torn 20s, and I asked him for change in dollars too. (I asked this first and he said yes, then a few mins later when I actually paid I saw him reach for a calculator so I said "in dollars, please" as a precautionary measure. :-) )
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
