8- Monteverde, Costa Rica

19th to 24th of Jan 2019 - San Jose/ Monteverde, Costa Rica

Spent 2 nights in San Jose & Katrin left me on the 20th of Jan to fly back to Germany 😭.
San Jose seems always a bit cooler & more windy than the other places in Costa Rica.
But that’s nothing compare to Monteverde, I have to say. There was a strong wind day & night about 45km/h. Thanks got it was sunny daily and therefore I felt freezing cold only during the night. I was actually planning to do laundry, but that failed as I had to wear all of my clothes. And (for the first time since I arrived here) I was very happy I carry the hiking boots & the jacket with me.
Getting in occasionally contact with people is relatively easy. They just start talking to me. After my arrival at the hostel in San Jose an American girl asked me if I wanted to go to dinner with her, as it’s better to not go out alone after dark. We had a nice time. Or as I was reading Pablo Neruda in a cafe, the waiter and myself had a nice talk about the book... I am loving these beautiful & very unexpected situations.
The Monteverde Cloud Forest is nice, but I don’t think you would miss it, if you hadn’t seen it. Especially if you used to live in Ireland. It’s an old forest with lots of moss and the occasional sunshine peaking through the green & the fog are nice. Pay in US$ if you can, they charge you much more if you can only pay in CRC & it’s already expensive.

It’s f... crazy windy here

7- Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

15th to 19th Jan 2019 San Jose, Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

Stayed in San Jose for one night. While waiting for the shuttle to Puerto Viejo the next day, the security guy from the building next to us came over to gave us some chocolates. How unbelievable unexpected & cute.
Puerto Viejo is very nice. It’s a small relaxed tiny town with many many tourists, shops & restaurants. There are gorgeous beaches all along the Caribbean coast, that you can walk up & down. The beach right next to the town has black sand, which is very shiny. Like diamonds - absolutely stunning!! I have never seen that before. Unfortunately it gets extremely hot in the sun, so put your shoes on, as it feels like it’s burning your feet.
In Puerto Viejo many people are cruising around on bikes. I will come back here in a few days/ weeks & rent one as well. Going out late at night (ie. to celebrate a birthday) seemed a bit difficult here. As in all the places we were in Costa Rica, Puerto Viejo is not a party location. It’s more about enjoying beaches, animals & landscape & going out usually means having a beer or a cocktail (or both- always a tricky decision for me anyways) in a restaurant or a bar. And there is definitely nothing wrong with that 😊. But we did found a location with live music by the beach. They stopped playing by 11pm.
Our days were filled with enjoying the beautiful beaches around and we also went to the Cahuita National Park. If you hire a guide, you will see lots of animals. You will definitely see not that much without a guide, but the park is still a beautiful place & beach. It closes at 4pm, which is worth to know for planing. The park is donation based at the entrance at Cahuita town (we took a public (MEPE) bus from Puerto Viejo).
In this part of the world everything starts a little earlier and doesn’t go as late. We usually start our days around 7am, to get the chance to enjoy the full day, as it’s usually pitch black outside by 6pm latest.

Handmade from palm leaves 

Kolibri - its hard to get a picture 

Our transport in CR

Beach walks

Breakfast

A bat hiding in a leaf during the day

6- Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

09th to 14th Jan 2019
Manuel Antonio (Nationalpark), Quepos

Spent a lot of time at the beach. Sun is brutal & very intense here, got sunburned although used SPF 30 & applied it multiple times during the day - so bought 50 & Aloe Vera gel. It’s fine, but I have to be a bit more careful.
Did a tour at Manuel Antonio National Park. Saw many animals, butterflies, monkeys, sloths, tucan... Spent a lot of time at the beautiful beaches & watched gorgeous sunsets. The view from our hostel is amazing, especially during the sunset.

My debit card got locked, brilliant. I can only use it for online purchases now, but no longer whenever a PIN is required. So it’s basically useless. This can only be unlocked at an ATM which has PIN service. What a shit, as these AIB service does only exists in Ireland. Suppose it happened in the hostel as they told me at the check in that the machines connection to the bank broke down twice during the payment, so the PIN was required multiple times. AIB’s service does basically not exist. They told me they can not do anything. I still have a credit card, but it’s limited. So if the worst case happens & something goes wrong with this card as well, I have to fly to Ireland to unlock the debit card. Unbelievable.
Still trying to enjoy the hols, but it does bother me, especially as I have over 4.5 months of traveling left.

Daily magical sunsets at the Pacific

A sloth at the Manuel Antonio National Park

5- La Fortuna, Costa Rica

06th to 09th of Jan 2019
La Fortuna Arenal
Took a shuttle from Tamarindo to La Fortuna along Lake Arenal. Beautiful landscape. Saw monkeys and raccoons along the way.
Did a (2hr) hike to Volcano Arenal through a rainforest & along lava rocks. Swam in a lake & in the hot springs from river Tabacon which has very warm water created by the volcano and creates little natural pools and waterfalls along the way. Water is about 26Degree warm & it’s very very relaxing to hang out there. We also did a mud mask from volcano earth.
Lessons learned: Don’t drink the tab water on the go, even if the locals tells you it’s fine. 2 days of sickness are not worth that. Outch.
We also did a night hike & saw some animals, many frogs & spiders, but also geckos & a slot.


06.-09.Jan 2019
La Fortuna, Arenal
Mit dem Bus von Tamarindo nach La Fortuna (ca 4Std). Die Fahrt ging entlang Lake Arenal, dem See & war holprig, aber landschaftlich sehr schoen. Wir haben Affen & Waschbären auf der Fahrt gesehen.
Wir machten eine etwa 2Stuendige Wanderung zum Vulkan Arenal durch den Regenwald & entlang Lavagestein. Wir schwammen in einem Vulkansee & in den heissen Quellen den Flusses Tabacon. Der Fluss fuehrt durch den Vulkan sehr warmes Wasser & man kann in den angelegten Becken sehr gut entspannen. Wassertemperatur ist etwa 26Grad. Sehr nett da eine Weile rumzuhängen.
Gelernt: Trinke niemals das Wasser aus dem Hahn, selbst wenn die Einheimischen sagen es ist okay. Aua.
Wir machten außerdem eine Nachtwanderung & sahen Froesche, Spinnen, aber auch Geckos & ein Faultier.

Volcano Arenal

Rainforest / Regenwald

Lava rocks / Lavagestein

Holding a baby turtle during the night walk

Relaxing in hot springs with a mud mask

Sitting on lava rocks & enjoying the view

4- Tamarindo, Playa Grande, Costa Rica

3rd to 5th of Jan 2019
Took a plane from San Jose to Tamarindo. Flight time about 45mins. Very relaxed and tiny airport (Aerobell). Not only our luggage was weighted, also ourself. Very interesting. The plane had space for up to 12 passengers in full, but it was only the two of us. A private flight, how amazing is that?! The flight itself was very shaky and bumpy & I felt very very nervous & even not really safe for the first few minutes. But it got much better shortly & I really enjoyed the ride & the amazing views. Unfortunately taking pictures were not allowed.
Spent 2 nights at Playa Grande & 1 at Tamarindo. Enjoyed a lot of beach time, surfing (bodyboard) & did a turtle watching tour at nighttime (laying eggs).

03-Jan-2019

Flug von San Jose nach Tamarindo. Etwa 45min Flugzeit. Der Flughafen ist winzig & es wurde nicht nur unser Gepäck gewogen, sondern auch wir. Interessant Erfahrungen. Die winzige Propellermaschine hat 12 Passagiersitze, aber es waren letzten Endes nur wir 2, Pilot & Co-Pilot. Also eig ein privater Flug. Grandios!!

Dir Maschine ist sehr laut & hat anfangs gewackelt wie verrückt. Da hatte ich echt Schiss. Aber dann wurde es besser & ich konnte den Flug incl der grandiosen Aussicht in vollen Zuegen genießen. Leider konnten wir keine Fotos machen.
2 Naechte waren wir in Playa Grande & eine Nacht in Tamarindo. Wir verbrachten viel Zeit am Strand, waren surfen (bodyboard) & machten eine naechtliche Tour zum Schildkröten beobachten beim Eier legen.

3- Alajuela, Costa Rica

1st day in Costa Rica (Alajuela). The day started with realizing that our entry stamp in our passport shows 01-Jan-2018, instead of 2019. As it is illegal to stay in Costa Rica longer than 90days without a visa, we went to the airport and asked for help at immigration. Unfortunately they could not help, but told us that the entry at the system is correct & that there should not be any problem when leaving the country. Let’s hope for that.
After a walk around in the area of Alajuela & a lunch break, we went for a tour with our hotel owner Jorge. We visited 2 coffee plantations (Doka & Alsacia) it was very nice & interesting. We watched the sunset on a terrasse at the Alsacia plantation & went for dinner and a beer later one in a local restaurant.

Erster Tag in Costa Rica (Alajuela) begann mit der Erkenntnis das unser Einreise Stempel im Reisepass 01-Jan-2018 zeigt & nicht 2019. Da es illegal ist ohne gültiges Visa laenger als 90Tage in Costa Rica zu verweilen fuhren wir zum Flughafen um das zu klaeren. Leider bekamen wir lediglich die Auskunft das das bei der Ausreise keine Probleme bereiten sollte, da der Eintrag im System korrekt ist. Hoffen wir das beste.
Nach einem Spaziergang in der Gegend rund um unser Hotel und dem Mittagessen fuhren wir mit unserem Hotelbesitzer Jorge zu 2 Kaffeeplantagen (Doka & Alsacia). Es war sehr schoen & interessant. Wir genossen den Sonnenuntergang auf der Terrasse der Alsacia Plantage & nahmen unser Abendessen & ein Bier in einem lokalen (mexikanischen) Restaurant in der Naehe des Hotels ein.

2- Ankunft/Arrival CR

Am 31.Dec mit dem Bus nach Berlin (traurige Verabschiedung von Mama). Kaesefondue bei Katrin & dann auf eine Bruecke in Koepenick zum Feuerwerk schauen. Sekt mit Strohhalmen aus der Plastikflasche geschlürft (umgefüllt).
Am 01.Jan fast den ersten Flug nicht bekommen, obwohl wir mehr als genug Zeit eingeplant hatten. Bus zum Flughafen Tegel (aller 5 min) fuhr etliche Male voll an uns vorbei. Taxi geschnappt. Stundenlanges Anstehen bei der Gepaeckaufgabe & Security, als letzte in den Flieger gehechtet. 1Std Flug nach Amsterdam, Highlight des Tages die 5min Geraete Massage am Flughafen. Dann weitere knappe 11Std nach San Jose, Costa Rica.
Ziemlich kaputt angekommen & gleich mal Taxi rip off - typisch. Aber egal. Unsere Unterkunft fuer die naechsten 2 Naechte ist Hotel Santamaria in Alajuela.


Took the bus to Berlin on 31-Dec. The good bye to Mom was hard. Stayed at my friends house in Berlin. We had cheese fondue for dinner & spent midnight on a bridge to watch the fireworks. We had Prosecco from a plastic bottle with straws as we didn’t wanted to bring the whole glass bottle.
Time on 1st Jan was very tight, although we calculated more than enough time. The bus to the airport Berlin Tegel (every 5 mins) didn’t stop multiple times, as it was full already. Next time we will take the bus directly from the central bus station. So at the end we took a taxi. Than we spent a very long time at baggage drop off & security & were the last ones boarding the plane to Amsterdam. We had a few hours at the Amsterdam airport (got a very good massage 5mins for 2€) & then took the 2nd flight to San Jose (almost 11hrs). Got a taxi from the airport to our 1st accommodation for 2 nights (Hotel Santamaria) at Alajuela.