Wrapping Things Up in Costa Rica
Sunday, January 20th, 2008After I left Corcovado I spent one more night in Puerto Jimenez so I could catch the 5am bus to san jose. Yuck – up at 4am for a 10 hour bus trip. After confusion at the bus-stop, we all boarded and grabbed a seat wherever we could, lots of gringos. This was called a “direct bus” so I thought it would be like an express bus with limited stops. Fantasy! As we stopped along the way locals got on, with reserved seats, and bumped most of the gringos, including me, into the aisle to stand. I ended up standing for about 5 hours of the 10 hour trip and I was exhausted after my early rise. Whew, but I got there.
I wasn’t thrilled about coming to san jose, but I wanted to buy new binoculars, do laundry and generally take care of business before moving into Nicaragua. My last experience in san jose was driving thru it on a previous trip and it was not a good one. This time my experience has been vastly different.
From the bus station I called several hotels and found a room at Kap’s Place. This place is awesome. Great rooms, common areas, kitchen and prices. I highly recommend it! I also have really enjoyed san jose (on foot!). I found all the items I was looking for in the central downtown pedestrian shopping zone. I enjoyed wandering in the central Mercado and decided to stay another day.
Now I’m planning my trajectory into Nicaragua. I really wanted to cross from los chiles, CR up the river to san carlos, Nicaragua. It’s supposed to be a beautiful trip but once one gets to san carlos, it’s not easy to get anywhere else. I would have to take a 9 hour, bumpy ferry ride to isla ometepe and arrive there at around midnight so I may just opt for the easier trip to the crowded border crossing at penas blancas where it’s a short trip to Revas and a short ferry to ometepe. Not the road less traveled but after looking at a calendar last night I realized that if I want to have a month for Guatemala, which I do, and a month for Chiapas and the Yucatan, which I do, then I only have a little over one month for both Nicaragua and Honduras! Yikes! With the plethora of “must sees” I’ve come across in Nica, I fear Honduras will get the shaft, but we’ll see. I’ll figure it out as I go.
Peggy Rehm