Travelogues

Rainy Season in Costa Rica -- under construction

COSTA RICA

Somehow I managed to sleep through most of the red-eye flight to Washington DC. From Dulles to San Jose, Costa Rica, Lora and I were wide eyed with our noses in the guidebooks. We were ready to explore the country as soon as we landed...

HOTELS
Rancho Armadillo (!!!!)
Definitely a great find.. and what I would call a stroke of good luck.

Lora and I were parked at the beach trying to find a hotel in our guidebooks that we could afford. It was probably going to be a hostel night, costing $10/per person. Maybe no hot shower, but a bed to lay our heads down. We must have looked like the most helpless girls, because an SUV pulls up beside us and an older man asks if we're lost.

We tell him we're looking for a cheap hotel and he makes a few suggestions. After he's finished, we thank him and turn back to our guidebooks. Wait, he says, how much are you trying to spend? I tell him $15, maybe $20. He tells us he owns a hotel up the road and he'll rent us a room for $20. Sure, we hop in our car and follow him up and up and up the road...

My jaw drops as we pull up to a mansion nestled in the hillside overlooking Playa Del Coco. The man is Rick, a former Chef from Detroit, who now owns the Rancho Armadillo. The bed and breakfast has a gorgeous pool and breakfast bar with an ocean view. We are given a clean room with a rainforest shower, told that breakfast is free, and even hooked up with a local dive charter.

One nights stay in Play Del Cocos turns into the rest of the week. The location of Rancho Armadillo is great for exploring all the beaches of Guanacaste. Dive chartes leave from nearby for local dives as well the Catalina Islands.

Rick even cooks us dinner two of the night. His barbecue ribs are to die for! We are given access to the kitchen and liquor cabinet and inside tips on places to explore that some guidebooks don't even know about.

SIGHTS
Lora and I went to the Volcan Poas but unfortunately we weren't able to see much because of the cloud cover. The rainy season was difficult in that way. We still hiked around and saw a snake on the road and stopped for fresh strawberries and local coffee.

Our next stop was the Volcan Arenal. The clouds obstructed our view of the active lava flows. We were still able to enjoy the hot springs and the next day managed to glimpse the top of the volcano. At Arenal, we joined a canopy tour and horseback riding in the jungle.

Once we reached Playa Del Coco, our trip was all about the beaches and diving. We joined a dive at a turtle shaped island and saw sharks and rays and many eels.

posted by Patricia @ 5:51 PM 0 comments

Mexico-- Never Boring...

Sometimes disaster just strikes. I think I like to save it all up to happen all at once. It's more interesting that way. I just wait until I'm bored.

When I came back from the cruise, I was greeted by a messy house, drunk roommates, bills, cat care, no sleep, regular hours at work... I needed to get away from it all. I decided to take a couple of days off work and planned a long weekend in Mexico with Courtney. Not just any place in baja though. I wanted to go to the middle of nowhere. And so we did.

Luckily and unluckily the truck can take us there. We spent a night of bliss on a beach with not a soul around us. The only sounds were the waves crashing. The next morning we woke up to find a fog had settled over us. I wanted to get out of there quick as it was getting chilly. We loaded up the truck and started the long haul back into town. I was coming up a slight slope covered in sand and revved the engine a little bit too hard. All of a sudden the clutch went out! I couldn't get into any gear.

Long story short, I managed to flag down some campers. We had luckily entered a more populated area. They were able to get some friend to tow us for a bit. The friend managed to get the truck into first gear and we drove it to a local mechanic named Don Lalo's. He wouldn't be able to get a part from Ensenada for another few days, so we called Jamie to pick us up from San Quintin. It's a good friend who drives four hours there and four hours back to rescue you from Mexico.

posted by Patricia @ 4:37 PM 0 comments