Waterfall Nauyaca

I decided to start the year the same way I hope for the rest of the year to go - exploring, hiking, swimming in a waterfall and spending time in nature.

Waterfall Nauyaca was a good option for a day trip from Quepos, accessible by 1.5hr long bus ride. I went there early, enjoyed the hike, saw some monkeys (by this time I’ve seen so many that they became a “common” sight).

I swam and chilled and recognized a familiar face - a traveler from Italy that Gaya and I kept bumping into ever since La Fortuna in different places.

He showed me that you can actually access the upper waterfall, larger and truly magnificent, so we went there and even though we were not supposed to, entered water, jumped around the rocks, enjoying the views, breeze, and just taking in everything about this cute little wild oasis.

We headed back to make it in time for the last bus at 4pm (both of us asked our drivers) but the bus never came. Then a weird “taxi” (read spooky random guy with the car) came and tried to convince us to give us a ride to the closest town for the crazy amount of money. We refused and he kept pushing which made me feel insecure for the first time on this trip and sure as hell that I won’t be entering that car.

So, logically, we decided for the safer option - hitchhiking. It was already 5:30pm, getting a bit dark, in the hills and 30km from the closest town. However we found a ride in the first 10 minutes - some old hippie Canadian expats gave us a ride in their camper van and we chatted and listen to the mellow blues sounds. There was an accident on the road and that’s why they canceled the bus without any announcement - it took us additional 2 hours in the van to reach the closest town.

We made it home around 7, taking a mix of hitchhiking, taxis and buses, but it was so much fun. A good start for sure, way better than I could’ve had planned.Read more