I have to give my girlfriend Kali a lot of credit. I had her fully convinced that we would be staying in hostel dorm rooms and traveling in chicken buses, all during Costa Rica's rainy-season, and she still wanted to visit me! Considering we haven't seen each other in four months, and we were only going to have a week together, I decided to step up the quality of the accommodations and rent a car to make our travel time more comfortable: She definitely deserves it!
I picked her up at the airport in San Jose, and we drove north to the area around Volcan Arenal, an active volcano, and the lesser known and dormant Volcano, Cerro Chato. We checked into a really nice cabina that supposedly had great views of Arenal, but the rains had already begun, leaving only the base of the volcano visible.
We awoke to a clear and sunny day, with the smoking Arenal looming outside our window. Not wanting to let this rare moment of sun pass us by, we jumped into the car and set off to hike Cerro Chato. On the way into town, the car was making a weird noise and after arriving at the market we realized that our right-rear tire was flat. Ironically, I've traveled over 13,000 miles on this trip and haven't had a flat. Fortunately, with a car it's a five minute job that doesn't require breaking the bead or patching tire tube.
The hike up Cerro Chato was fun, although I think I enjoyed it more than Kali, who had not yet adjusted to the higher altitude. The weather held out too, so as we stood on the rim of the volcano we had excellent views of the lake-filled crater and of Arenal. We climbed down the steep inner-wall of the volcano to the lake, and let our legs rest by the water for a while; little did we know there was a huge storm approaching. By the time we had climbed back up to the rim, we were in a torrential downpour, and the path down the volcano was quickly becoming a river. The trail was treacherous enough with exposed roots and rocks, and now we had to navigate it while stepping down into unknown depths of water. But to make things even more exciting, a lightning storm hit us head on, with several heart-stopping close contacts. We finally reached the edge of the forest, leaving more than a mile hike down the hill, through an open field with scattered trees.
Crouching in the grass on the forest's edge, we did our best to judge how close the storm was. Right when one of us would say, ''I think it's far enough away,'' another bolt would hit and encourage us to hang tight for a while longer. This is also the point where I realized that I hadn't read up on lightning like I had wanted to after the storm in Kansas. Of course we all know that you should stay inside or in a car when there's a storm, but when A or B isn't an option, what's better? Crouching in the forest or laying in a field away from trees? How far away from those trees do you need to be? Do you get extra points for walking in a river through said forest? If everything is wet, does that change things? Hopefully, I'll have that all sorted out before next time. We eventually decided to go for it, and made our way down in a semi-crunched run/walk, as if the extra foot from standing upright would make or break a lightning strike. We made it down the slippery slope safely, and we couldn't have been happier to climb into the car. When it was all said and done, I finally looked at Kali and admitted that our descent down the volcano was scary as hell.
That night the skies cleared and we were rewarded with a perfect view of the lava flows running down the side of Arenal. The next day we made the long drive to the Monteverde Cloud Forest, made longer by an hour-plus detour around a point where the road had washed away. The dirt road to Monteverde is a potholed mess, so the four hour trip felt like forever. When we arrived in Monteverde the rains began again and continued into the morning, ruining any chance of enjoying an outdoor activity. These rains aren't like normal New England showers, they are the type that force you to pullover on the highway because you can't see the hood of your car. We decided to cut our losses and made the long ride back out of Monteverde to the Caribbean Coast.
It was bad enough to have wasted a day riding into Monteverde and a good portion of the next day riding out, so we pushed as far as we could towards the Carribean Coast to minimize the following day's drive. Of course we pushed a bit to far, and when it was getting dark and we needed accommodation, none could be found. There are plenty of truck-stop brothels along the highway, but nowhere I'd really like to spend the night. We saw a nice looking sign for an Eco-Lodge that seemed promising, so we turned off the highway at the next intersection. It was pitch black and for some reason everyone in the town had the desire to ride their bikes in the middle of the unlit road. Neither of us had seen anything like it. There were people and bikes everywhere. None of the bikes had reflectors, and the clothing of choice was black. We had no idea how far the place was from the highway, but the quality of the Eco-Lodge's signs were quickly deteriorating to the point where I wasn't sure if the place would be open. After making our way through the town, down a deserted paved road, and then down a deserted dirt road, we were starting to wonder if this was some sort of a sick joke, or if we were going to be eaten alive by bed bugs that night. We finally arrived at the lodge, and our headlights illuminated a locked gate, that could or could not have belonged to a condemned property. The area was completely dark, but I saw a faint light coming from deep within the property, and I could see a shadow walking towards us. They were open, and to no one's surprise they had vacancy. The Eco-Lodge was actually really nice and the on-site restaurant cooked a good dinner and breakfast.
We eventually found paradise on the Carribean. Cahuita National Park is a postcard perfect beach, and it has a great hike through the forest as well. In the park we saw Capuchin monkeys, Howler monkeys, and a yellow pit viper in a tree. We had our hearts set on seeing a sloth, but didn't have much luck spotting an animal that barely moves in the forest canopy. We wrapped up our stay at the beach with third-degree sunburns for us both, and with another flat tire on the morning we had to head back to San Jose...yes, another flat tire!
After fixing the flat and about 2 hours into the ride to the city, the most dissapointing thing to happen on the trip happened. We were waved over by a cop at a speed trap, and informed that we were traveling 93kmh and had also crossed the yellow line. The fact that the car could go 93kmh without the help of a 30% grade, was news to me, but the radar gun ''doesn´t lie''. With that being said, I knew where this was going to go. He asked me to get out of the car and explained that I would have to pay a $90 ticket. He then pointed out that this was a rental car, so I would have to pay a $70 tax at the rental office. In a dramatic display of simple math, he laid all of this out on a notepad, and circled the grand total of $160 while shaking his head in disbelief that I would have to pay so much. He then went on to tell me that I was a really nice guy, and that my Spanish was really good, and that he just hated the idea that we were even in this situation...like a couple of long lost buddies with a chance reunion at a speed trap. And then he said it, ''I want to help you. If you pay me the $90, then you won't have to pay the $70 at the rental office''. He then crossed out the $160 and the $70 on the notepad, and circled the $90 with so much enthusiasm you´d think he had just found a cure for cancer. I told him I didn't have much money and suddenly $70 became the magic number. I only had a $20 bill and a couple colones, so I told him I could pay $20, and that suddenly became the magic number. I handed over the cash like a sucker, and was on my way. As soon as I climbed back in the car, all the ''what I should have said'' and ''what I should have done'' scenarios set in, but it was a done deal. More than anything else I was dissapointed. I really thought I could make it through this whole trip without playing the corrupt cop games, but it happened, and in Costa Rica of all places. If there wasn't a credit card tied to the rental vehicle, and if Kali wasn't in there, I would have been a little more insistant on a real ticket and maybe things would have turned out differently. But paying the $20 was definitely the fastest way for us to get back on the road and enjoy our last day together.
Kali flew out early the next morning, and if one things sure, it's that the goodbye's certainly haven't become any easier. The eight days together were the best of my trip, but certainly not enough. After returning the car, I made my way back to the Carribean that same day, and crossed into Panama the following day. I've ridden rather quickly across Panama. I'm happy with my experience in Central America and ready to move on to something new in South America. I'm in Panama City at the moment sorting out transportation to Colombia. It looks like I could be in Panama for a week or two while the sailboats make there way back from Cartagena, Colombia. Until next time...
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