Our last two days in Costa Rica were filled with some transit, some beaches, and some near-death experiences.
Our boat back to La Pavona didn’t leave until two, so we got to hammock for a few more hours before lunch. Sweet beach hammock, how we would miss you so.
Little did we know, we would soon trek all the way across the island village of Tortuguero in search of food. Because it was the low season, there were very few places open before noon. We first tried the Buddha cafe – closed! – and then dragged ourselves to Wild Ginger. By the time we reached it, we were sweating buckets and really had to pee. They too did not have lunch, but the very kind owner let us use the bathroom! Too bad we wouldn’t get a chance to enjoy their food again.
We finally found lunch at the dock. Delicious! This country is surprisingly good at (and obsessed with) crepes with seafood in them and cheese on top.
Finally, two o’clock rolled around and we headed to the other dock, las lapas, to meet our boat from jungle Tom safaris.
It was actually a full boat of people, for once! It was seemingly more river-worthy than the first one too. We began our float up chocolate milk river, which was considerably less angry and flooded than when we arrived Wednesday. We saw some more monkeys and many birds, and the guide stopped the boat a few times to point them out.
Right before we docked, we rounded a bend and saw basking on a sandy beach a big crocodile! A real crocodile with its mouth open a bit, plotting to eat us. I think it was an American crocodile. Cool!
Surviving our croc encounter, we docked and transferred to our van for a four hour bumpy ride back to San Jose. There were no parts of the road which were flooded, and it was marginally less bumpy in this van.
It was a relatively uneventful ride until we got to the rainforest highway. Our guide informed us that it was one of the most deadly highways in Costa Rica, due to the large amount of rainfall and presumably very unsafe drivers.
It was predictably rainy on the rainforest highway as we wound through the mountains. My side of the van varied between misty valley views and cliff faces that went straight up at least a hundred feet. Lauren’s, however, was often right up against the edge of the road, which ended in a sharp drop of several hundred feet.
In the U.S., there would have been a steel barrier.
In New Zealand, it would have been a barbed wire fence.
In Costa Rica, Darwin ruled. No barrier was present. If you slipped off the road, that was it for you!
Fortunately, our van stayed on the road, and we made it to San Jose in one piece.
Our hotel was tucked away on a quiet side street, and we were able to get dinner at a nearby hotel. The cheerful bartender gave us free tasty shots and made rainbow cocktails. He seemed legitimately sad that we would not be joining him for breakfast.
The next morning, our hotel called us a cab and away we went to the airport. The airport is tiny – it has just fourteen gates.
We took our last actual vacation selfies and I boarded my slightly earlier plane.
When the agent scanned my ticket, it beeped and told me I had an invalid seat assignment. Great. This was going to be like the time I was nearly bumped off my flight to Bangalore in Paris.
Fortunately, the gate agent had significantly better news for me. I was magically upgraded. Phew! I now consider the travel gods just a little bit even with me for that horrific Paris incident.
Back in Atlanta, the first thing I did was marvel at the fact that I could now flush my toilet paper again. Yes! What a lucky travel day 😉
See you next time, Costa Rica! Pura vida!