Back in the city
Trip Start
Aug 30, 2007
1
14
Trip End
Jun 30, 2008
San Jose, Costa Rica,
Costa Rica
Sunday, June 8, 2008
JJ and Farah joined us from London on 20 May. We met them at Managua airport, Nicaragua, and introduced them to Pepita. I think they thought we were kidding. "Yeah right, where's the real car?" I thought Chris might have mentioned to them that they'd be spending their three week safari bumping, sliding and jolting around on plastic bench seats without belts in the back of a jeep. It's an adventure, right?
We brought them straight to Granada, the colonial town in southern Nicaragua that we had visited on our first leg. Reckoned capital cities usually best avoided in this part of the world, and that a couple of architects could get some mileage out of the attractive, colourful buildings in the town. Spent a day wandering the streets, took in a museum, and passed several tense hours watching Chelsea lose to Man United in the Champions league final much to poor JJ's despair. Morale not buoyed by the average Mexican fare we consumed afterwards. Following pizza, rice and beans and disappointing coffee, J and Farah were at this point getting initial suspicions that Central America is not a culinary destination. Hmm, that could be something else we didn't mention. Oh, and the rain? That would be another.
The night's entertainment took us to El Club, a stylish bar, for a first taste of Flor de Cana, Nicaragua's celebrated rum, and moving on to Cafe Nuit for cocktails and the briefest of live music performances.
On Thursday, we visited the town of Masaya, famous for it's artesania markets. (And, boy, does JJ love a market!) Masaya is famous for large and beautifully woven handmade hammocks. One whole sector of the town is just house after house of family hammock makers. We were tempted, of course, but just this once we considered the practicalities and denied ourselves.
We drove on to another part of the town that the guide book recomended as a home of craftmakers, but couldn't find any. Surprisingly, Chris yelling "Donde esta las artesanias?" (Where are the handicrafts?) to passers-by yielded little response except for expressions conveying a weariness with "stupid foreigners".
We headed up to the much lauded Catarina Mirador to get a view of Laguna Apoyo and have lunch. Stunning views, shame about the atmosphere. Desperate restaurant proprietors hounded us from all angles and once we'd chosen a table we were beseiged by guitar trios and vendors of tourist trinkets. I suffered horrible fish "nuggets" and soggy chips, but I think the other's had reasonable meat. Nicaragua still not setting the tastebuds alight, and JJ loves his food even more than he loves a market.
Early the following day, Farah's 30th birthday, we caught a ferry to Ometepe, an island in Lake Nicaragua (Lago Cocibolca) that is formed of two volcanoes, one of which is still active. Much of the island is covered in primary forest and the coastal populations live by farming and fishing. We found a wonderful place to stay, Tresoro de Piratas, on the south side of Volcan Concepcion. The cabins were right on the sandy lake shore, with hammocks, kayaks, plenty of shade trees and owners that went out of their way to do anything we asked, even cook our own food in the restaurant kitchen! Which is what we did that evening for Farah's birthday meal, accompanied by copious amounts of Flor de Cana, several games of cards, and a plague of huge attacking cicada-type insects that kept trying to commit suicide on our candles.
In the morning we took the kayaks out across the lake to another smaller island, and swam in the delicious clear water. Later on I gave JJ (and a half-hearted Chris) a yoga lesson by the side of the lake. All so tranquil. That day, at least, it was sunny and warm. And, result, the home-cooked food back at the cabins was impressive and welcome - tasty whole fried fish and yummy crispy patacones (fried plantains).
After all that relaxing we headed to a farm hostel in Belgue on the north coast of Volcan Maderas (the non-active one, at 1394m) for the night, before hiking up to the summit the next day. We started early, full of rice, beans and enthusiasm. About 10 minutes of steep climbing later we were all dripping wet with sweat and panting furiously. The humidity was intense and the ascent pretty relentless. On it continued, seldom flattening out, but we took plenty of rest breaks and concentrated thoughts on the views, the refreshing crater lake and the sandwiches we had in our packs. And tried not to think about coming back down. With swimwear packed and something of a sweat on, imagine our dismay when we found not a lake at the summit but little more than a muddy swamp, not in the least accommodating for tired smelly hikers. Still, we had done the hard bit, hurrah, and we had our sandwiches to reinvigorate us for the second leg. Or maybe not. Eagerly opening our package prepared for us by the hostel as found one horrible unappetising concoction of tasteless white bread and unidentifiable fillings. Boo.
The descent was slow, slippery (all of us slid and fell at least once) and torture on the knees. JJ and I in partcular hobbled most of the way down, feeling our age in our creaky joints. But the skies were clearer so we enjoyed great views across to the other volcano. Good sense of accomplishment to get to the bottom and the best tasting cold beer I've ever had.
We spent the next morning driving around the island in the drizzle searching for the stone carvings, or petroglyphs, that the island is famous for. We paid a dollar to one woman to trudge through her mucky cow field in torrential rain to see some rocks half buried by weeds with a few just about discernible pictures of spiders and monkeys on them. They were very old (over 1,000 years in fact) but we were very wet and very cold so perhaps weren't quite as impressed as we ought to have been. Sightseeing done with, back at the Piratas cabins we got straight into lunch and didn't move from the restaurant for over five hours. Five hours of ordering food, drinking rum and playing cards.
From Ometepe we went to San Juan del Sur, the beach destination of Nicaragua. The town itself sits on an attractive horse-shoe bay, but the bay is full of boats and quite built up. We spent a cloudy day doing chores - internet, shopping, laundry, breakfast and lunch. Then we hired a couple of body boards and set off to the more isolated, attractive beaches to the north. We came upon a great self-catered house in a settlement in the forest near one of the best beaches. Our own kitchen, all mod cons. Shame about the rain. But J cooked us dinner, we had a bottle of wine and hoped for sunshine tomorrow.
Ah, but Mother Nature had other ideas didn't she. It thundered down all night and we awoke to floods all around and the news that Hurricane Alma was a-brewing and heading our way. Apparently, we were told, the roads were already impassable. Our first instinct was to get provisions and ride it out, but then the skies cleared for a bit and we deliberated for hours about wasted days and getting stranded. Finally, we made the decision to run away to Costa Rica that night. Our trip to the beach ruined. Heck, I didn't even SEE the beach! How rubbish!
Still, our spirits remained positive as we got to the border at about 7pm. Pepita obviously realised she was back on home turf and reverted to form by not starting just as we want to pull out of the Costa Rica border post. A mexican dude jump started us and we drove to the Tico town of Liberia, arriving just before 10 pm. In a moment of insanity we fell desperately into a Pizza Hut. Fortunately, good sense prevailed even before we read the menu and the effort to find somewhere a little less crap up the road paid off.
On Friday we made it to the beautiful, rolling hills and lush green rainforest region of Monteverde, Costa Rica, where Chris and I had visited in January. We found another self-catered house, bought loads of good food and wine and settled in for three nights. At last, no driving and chill out time. JJ and Farah did the zipline canopy tour that we did last time (whizzing above the tree canopy suspended from a steel cable - very thrilling!) while Chris and I drank tea and read books. After dark we went on an animal-spotting walk through the rainforest, but it seemed the animals weren't up for it so all we saw were a few frogs and big-ish spiders. Fun tramping through the forest by torchlight though. The third day we had a hike and a picnic (a Thermos and Tupperware kind of picnic no less) in the Santa Elena rainforest reserve where the tantalizing song of the quetzales followed us everywhere but always eluded our gaze. Saw a tarantula too.
Nearly there. Honest. On Monday 2 June, we returned to San Jose and to our home for the next three weeks - Mi Casa Hostel near La Sabana park. Good place - we have a garden, a terrace and a big room, and little tortoises ambling around the garden. Monday night we took J and Farah to a restaurant near our old home of Santa Ana, followed by a "jam session" at the new jazz club in Escazu. Cool venue. I felt strangely proud of good old San Jose and appreciated anew the good things that I'd forgotten the big old city has to offer. (Give me three weeks.)
Tuesday morning, J and Farah caught an early flight to Tortuguero on the Caribbean coast where we hoped their animal-spotting and sun-worshipping opportunities would improve, Chris got up for work and I made a start on promoting my website.
They got back Thursday and, hurrah, they had had a successful, sunny, animal-filled, well-fed trip to the beach! I spent Thursday with them touring the delights of San Jose - two more markets (the souvenir shopping really having taken off for both of them by this point), the gorgeous national theatre, the life-sized cow sculptures lining the main shopping street, and, most importantly, the iced cappuccinos from Pops. The best. For their final evening we went to Tiquicia for typical Tico food, fine-dining style, and amazing night city skylines.
Then, they left. Chris and I are here until 26 June. We're currently sheltering from the familiar daily thunderstorm. Yesterday we were back at the Multiplaza, Automercado and all the usual places doing chores and it felt like we were home. Like we never left. Costa Rica really is a wonderful country. Sad to leave, but excited about the next stage.
