January 26: 92 degrees

Today, we leave Montezuma to explore southern Costa Rica along the Pacific coast. We are not exactly sure of our final destination but know that we will be taking a water taxi to Jaco. The water taxi is about an hour ride across the gulf. The boat is relatively small and boards about 12 people and their bags. We get started and are quickly filled with excitement for the experience. We love being on the water and today, the sun is warm and we have a pleasant and constant breeze on our faces. We look off into the distance periodically to capture any signs of wildlife that may be around us. About 40 minutes into our trip, I look off to the left and see something spectacular! I point it out to the crew...it's a whale!

The crew quickly steers the boat in that direction and as we get closer, we realize there is more than one. We spent the next 15-20 minutes following four whales along the coast. The crew was as excited as the rest of us and explained how rare this sighting was at this time of year. The whales tend to come around during the rainy season which ended in December. The whales were playing by jumping out of the water and splashing their tails. This, by far, was the coolest and most unexpected part of Costa Rica to date.

We finally get to Jaco and the beach we land upon is absolutely crowded. We learn that we are actually just outside of Jaco and they have arranged for a cab to take us into town. When we get into town, it is very busy and bustling. Small shops, bars, surfing, lots of cars, etc. It just didn't feel like a place in which we wanted to stay. In fact, we were advised that there wasn't much to see and do there and our time is much better spent a little south.

We begin to walk the streets in search of a car rental. We stop to three places within a half mile of each other with no luck of an available rental for that moment. Looks like we are going to bus it. We know that we would like to end up in the Quepos/Manuel Antonio area. We catch the bus and for the next couple of stops we are picking up others who were on the water taxi from Montezuma as well. It appears that a lot of us "backpackers" are on a similar logical travel itinerary. We are finally dropped off at the bus station in Quepos and trying to decide if we want to grab lunch and a room there or if we continue on to Manuel Antonio. We turn around and a couple are grabbing a taxi and ask us if we would like to split the cost. In a flash, we decide to march on to Manuel Antonio.

We are dropped off near the National Park and it has the feel of Disneyland. Cars scouting for parking and people being dropped off by the bus loads. It is close to sunset, it has been a long, hot travel day and we still don't have a place to stay. We walk up and down a narrow road of hotels and restaurants when we were approached by a gentleman selling tickets to the park. Seeing our bags, he also asks if we need a room for the night. At first we tell him no but, again, it is getting later in the day. He shows us a room in what looks like a motel and it is basic, clean, has a shower, ideal price range and within feet of the National Park that we would like to visit in the morning. We take it and just as the gentleman hands over the keys, he informs us that the park is not opened on Mondays. Shit. At least we have a place to stay for the night. We will figure out the rest mañana.

We drop off our bags and head to the beach to catch the sunset. It never disappoints.

Our Blog

Whales!

Our Great Adventure