A 25-day adventure by Lisa Read more
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  • 25days
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  • 16videos
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  • Day 15

    Crossing the Nicoya Pensinsula

    July 17, 2022 in Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    The cool thing about having a car is that you can stop wherever and whenever you want. Thats what we did on our roadtrip from Montezuma to Santa Elena in Monteverde. Before leaving the hostel we went for a walk at the beach where we found very pretty shells and stones. We started driving around 11 and took Sebastian and Anton with us. They hopped off at a busstop a couple of kilometres away from Nicoya. They were heading to Samara and hoped to get on a bus in that direction. Noah and I stopped to get some fresh coconut water and buy very cheap fruit for breakfast the next morning. Our next stop was the „puente de amistad de Taiwan“ or something like that. It wasnt that crazy of a place but since it was on our way and we wanted to get out of the car for a while it was great. Then we stopped at a food truck place where we drank a cappuccino and a mochacchino. Noah‘s mochaccino was already veery sweet and even though it already had a strong chocolate flavour he even put more sugar in;) After 3 hours of driving we started getting closer to the monteverde forests. We felt the air getting cooler and the vegetation around us changing. The street we were driving on was asphalt, however it was quite narrow, there were many curves and it was extremely steep. Noah drove like a pro, he managed to bring our car and us up this mount everest in one piece. We started seeing the foggy rainforests of monteverde at some point and got aut of the car a couple of times to get a better view. We arrived in Santa Elena at the OutBox Inn Hotel in the late afternoon.Read more

  • Day 16

    EXTREME adventure Monteverde

    July 18, 2022 in Costa Rica ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    We thought the Roads up to Monteverde were much worse and deifficult to drive on than they actually turned out to be. As we were driving up the narrow but still asphalted roads we started feeling the cool and fresh air from outside and knew we had almost reached our next destination. Santa Elena is located in a forested mountainious region at 1600 meters above sea level and is biologically the most diverse place in Costa rica, due to its cloud forest that has established thanks to the cold and humid climate. When we arrived we checked in at OutBox Inn Hostel, a very modern hostel in the center of Santa Elena completely made out of wood, with an outdoor kitchen on the balcony. We walked around Santa Elena and explored the tiny center. We saw a beautiful Sunset and were joined by a dog who accompanied us back to our hostel. We cooked in our outdoor kitchen and tried to make lentil pasta with eggplant and kale, but the stove heated up veeeryy slowly. After all we did it and had dinner, although it got pretty late. The next day we were picked up after breakfast and brought to the Selvatura Park where we did a hanging bridges hike through the cloudforest. It was very nice and we even had an encounter with a cute monkey walking past us. In the afternoon a dream of mine came true: we went bunjee jumping. Apparently it‘s the highest jump in whole central america, 146 metres above the forest and 60 metres of free fall! When we got there apart from us there was one other girl, Sandra from Germany, who told us it was already her fourth bunjee jump. As we got on the platform which was like a Gondola that brought us to the middle of the canyon, I expected myself getting really nervous and excited and full of adrenalin, but actually no. I didnt feel anything except for happiness to try something new. When they asked who wanted to jump first and the others ones didnt say amything I just went. They attached my feet to this long blue rope and brought me to the edge of the platform. They did a doublecheck, I asked again if I could really just jump, looked forward and jumped. Only the seco d I jumped off I felt the adrenaling rushing through my veins, a feeling which while I was falling was replaced by doubt if it would actually hold me, especially as the forest was coming closer and closer. However already a couple of seconds later on I felt something lifting me up from my feet and pulling me upwards and I knew for sure I was safe. I rebounced a couple of times which was awesome because It felt like flying until they gave me the second rope where I could attach myself in order for them to pull me up. Noah was next and aswell did it quite easily. Sandra took about a minute because she was pannicking in the beginning. After bunjee we went to a coffee place, read our books for a bit and relaxed from all the excitment. Subsequently we rented a motorbike and drove around the coty and nearby hills we both drove it by turns and I have to admit than other than the car, I might even be a better motodriver than Noah. I guess the streets of The dominican Las Terrenas have taught me a lot. We saw the sunset while we were driwing which was beautiful. Sooner or later we returned the bike and cooked Quinoa- Lentil Curry with PakChoi, Kale, Potato, Tomatos and Zucchini, while drinking cocktails from a bar close by. I really hope Noah doesnt die from my healthy food, I think he already has a massive deficiency and lack of bread and carbs im his system.. or at least that‘s what he sais;)
    We went to bed, where I cuddles with persephone, the sloth, our newest family member!🦥
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  • Day 17

    Back on the Road to la Fortuna

    July 19, 2022 in Costa Rica ⋅ 🌧 24 °C

    From Santa Elena we drove on a beautiful road, crossing parts of Guanacaste‘s flatlands and hills, passing little cities and villages until we got to the Lake Arenal. We drove around the whole lake on the highway, stopped for Nachos and Smoothies at a Restaurant and drove on to our next place for the night: Casa Torre Eco Lodge with view on the Arenal Vulcano.Read more

  • Day 17

    The Invisible Volcano

    July 19, 2022 in Costa Rica ⋅ 🌧 25 °C

    We got to the Casa Torre Eco Lodge in the early afternoon and chilled a bit first. Then we drove to the Catarata De Fortuna, the Waterfalls. When we arrived at the entrance we started following the path leading to the falls. We saw many signs saying that there were 500 stairsteps ahead and that this path wasnt suited for pregnant, obese, ill and people over 50 and that they should walk it at their own risk. After we had walked down these 500 steps I was delighted to see a very familiar face. Till was standing right in front of me with his bathing suit and glasses, pale white skin as usual and a smile on his face even though he hadn‘t seen me yet:) So I ran towards him, said TILLLLL and hugged him. He was totally surprised and pretty confused in the beginning. He introduced me and Noah to his friend Loris, he is traveling with. We talked for a while and decided to go for a drink in La Fortuna later on. They had been staying in Selina Hostel for 3 days already and I had known they were there but seeing them at the Waterfalls was a total coincidence. Noah and I went to the falls which were way too touristy, went into the water, walked on the stones and decided these were now definitely the last waterfalls we would visit in Costa Rica. At some point we walked back, hiked up the 500 steps, got to the car and drove to the small city. I had expected it to be prettier but at least it had a park with some flowers. Oh and there was a chocolate factory and shop - where I bought some 100% cacao chocolate, I wanted to use for something I learned here and that i‘ll talk about later. We also bought 2 chocolate sweets, one with orange and the other one with passion fruit, just to try. We walked on and drank a coffee. I am very proud to state that with me Noah is starting to drink/like/tolerate coffee! We started off with Latte Macchiato, went straight to Mocha and today we got to his first Cappuccino. It was a mistake, he actually had wanted a mocha but hey, we‘re getting there. (Statement 21.7.2022). At the coffee place we met Till and Loris and went to the Fortuna Pub to drink a Guaro Sour, one of my new favourite Cocktails. As much as I love Amaretto sour, this might have become my new number 1. We also played some Jenga and had lots of fun. When we got back to the Hotel, I was so tired that I fell asleep without even cooking and eating dinner. The next morning we woke up and hoped for a nice volcano view.. well no.. Nevertheless we went to the Nationalpark with Fabian, a guy we met at the Hotel and walked on the paths. There were some pretty viewpoints, still wirhout volcano view and we got to walk on lava fields whoch was interesting. When we got back my dream came true and I saw a sloth from really really close. It was so so so cute. Almost as cute as Persephone. We went to the terrace and relaxed a bit and ate. I ate the rest of the Curry and Noah made 250grams of Pasta with Cheese, yum. Then a bit later finally I took my cacao pieces and started cutting them. When we were in Santa Teresa we met two girls in the kitchen of our Hostel who were making some kind of bewerage and because I didnt really know what it was I asked. She said she was making hot chocolate with pure cacao which was part of a ritual. She told me that it was all about prepairing the ingredients, stirring them all together and while stirring, putting in as much good and positive energy as possible and then putting it in a mug. Before drinking, one should say positive things and think about what makes them happy and what they‘re thankful for. Then drink it slowly. She asked if Noah and I wanted to try and of course we said yes. So she made us one too and gave it to us. We shared it on the terrace afterwards and it was really nice and actually felt good. I actually liked the idea of it so lich that I bought a chocolate block too and made it aswell. Consequently we drank our hot cacao and relaxed a bit longer. In the late afternoon we drove to la Fortuna and picked up Till and Loris to drive to the natural hot springs. They were my highlight of the Fortuna-trip but unfortunately nobody took pictures of it! Still to keep the memory better I tried to draw what I could still see in my head the day after. It was really beautiful. Due to the volcano and the underground heat, the rivers all carry hot water. At the place we went, over time the water and the currents had built some kind of hot pools. Above, the plants had built a ceiling out of leaves, we could still see the sky though. We stayed there until it got dark and even received beer from other people who were there. Imagine - ice cold beer in a hot natural pool, pretty cool right? Oh I almost forgot the best part of it: as it got dark we started seeing fireflies everywhere, it looked really magical. In the evening the four of us went to Anch‘io Restaurant in La Fortuna. There was glutenfree pasta and I was super excited. I ordered Pasta ai frutti di Mare and asked what sauce they would make it with. They told me it was olive oil so I said yes. But then they brought me white sauce and said the olive oil spoon had already been contaminated with gluten so they wanted to be sure. Even though I absolutely dislike white sauce I didnt send it back and ate about an eighth of it, then gave it to Noah since he‘s always hungry anyways. My high expectations being destroyed like that really killed my mood for a while but then it got better with the Guaro Sour we drank at the Selina Hostel later on.Read more

  • Day 19

    Heading To The East Coast

    July 21, 2022 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    We had breakfast at the Organico in La Fortuna. It‘s an almost glutenfree place that serves meals three times a day. I had a coffee, a juice and a smoothiebowl with glutenfree granola and it really made up for the pasta the night before. Then we left with all our things and drove to La Pavona, to the „embarquero de barcos“ the port for the boarts when you want to go to Tortuguero, a place that can only be reached either by boat or by plane. On our way there we stopped twice, one time to buy lychees from a seller on the road and the second time walk around in a park because we had been sotting in the car for a long time. We got to La Pavona and waited for the next boat. It took us one hour to get to Tortuguero later on but we had a very nice view throughout the whole time. We weren‘t really enthousiastic about wearing these stupid life vests though.Read more

  • Day 20

    Tortuguero - where the turtles live

    July 22, 2022 in Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    When we arrived in Tortuguero after about 1 hour of boat, we walked around the small village. There was one street with many shops for tourists, places where they selled tours and various restaurants and coffee shops. As we were walking it started to rain. It wasnt just raindrops it felt like a waterfall above our heads, so we hid in a café and drank a cocktail. I had a ginger cucumber lemon vodka tonic and Noah drank some crazy banana coco loco. We went to bed quite early that night because we had to be ready for the next day! Our alarm was set for 5:12 am, because at 5:45 we had to be ready at the reception for our canoe tour through the Tortuguero Nationalpark. We had actually expected Kayaks but Canoes were okay too since we didnt have to workout that much then:) The tour was very interesting we saw many monkeys, birds, iguanas, jesus christ lizards, more birds, more iguanas, some caimans and we even saw a small sea turtle. We only saw its head, nevertheless it was my highlight. Funfact: the jesus christ turtle got his name because due to its velocity and the shape of its feet it can run on water for a short distance. After the tour Noah had to do some stuff for university and was really tired, so he read and slept for a while and I enjoyed the time I had on my own. First I made breakfast and was entertained by a cute little cat miauing and jumping on the table all the time, then I walked around the village. I walked to one end until I got to the supermarket and bought some food, which I wanted to bring home first before walking on. on the way back somehow I ended up on the beach. As I was walking I found a coconut and decided to try to open it up to see if there was coconut water in it. I felt like Tarzan once again but was happy when I got to drink the fresh water came out. I went back to the Aracari Garden Hostel, left the groceries and walked on. At this point I have to say that the hostel we booked was really nice. Just like it says in its name, they have a huge garden with hammocks and tables, an outdoor kitchen and nice private rooms. I walked back to the village, this time in the other direction. I was a bit thirsty so I got a smoothie and talked with the owners of the place for while. Since I didnt want to drink it while I was walking, I sat down in a small park and soom some children, all boys, came up to me and asked me if I wanted to buy a bracelet they had made. I couldnt say no so I tried one on but it was too small, so I asked them if they could make it bigger and sat down next to them. They talked to me, asked me where I was from and told me they were between 7 and 9 years old and lived in Tortuguero. They wanted to earn some money so them and their friends could all have a picknick together. When I asked them what they wanted to eat they started telling me about delicious cookies, cakes, bread, crackers, fruit, sweets and it made me really happy just to listen to them and watch them. I think it is just beautiful how grateful they are for such simple things. European children would probably buy some online games with their money. But it seems like children here just have a completely different attitude towards certain things. I could feel their appreciation and it warmed my heart. Later on I went to the seaturtle conservacy center, which was kind of a museum and they let me watch a very interesting movie about the seaturtles in Tortuguero, about how everything had started and had been built up by the biologist Archie Carr, and about the current projects. I also visited the second part of the museum where they explained certain characteristics of seaturtles and especially talked about them being at risk of extinction because of global warming and most of all, human impact. After I left I went back to the hostel where Noah was waiting and we went to the Tortuguero Nationalpark Trail. I was tired of walking to be honest but still we did the 5 kilometres in our boots we had to rent because the path was very muddy at some points. Afterwards we went to the Buddah Café again and I had a Cocktail and Noah ate something between lunch and dinner, it was a whole meal though. We watched the sunset, sitting at a really good spot, on beach chairs right at the river on the café’s terrace. At night at 10pm after real dinner, we went on a turtle tour and got to see seaturtles nesting, laying eggs, covering the nest and making their way back to the sea. It was a lot of waiting because tourists were just allowed to see some specific parts of the process, they tried to let the turtles as undisturbed as possible, which I thought was great. At first we were worried it would be a bit of a tourist trap, but then after seeing the turtles we were proved wrong. The next morning i prepared Porridge with fresh fruits and Granola for myself and we left for La Pavona with the boat. At some point during the ride the waves got high and water came into the boat. Noah got pretty wet and so did the backpacks and suitcases at the bottom of the boat. Luckily our stuff was on top. Noah tought it was really funny:)Read more

  • Day 21

    Our way down the eastcoast

    July 23, 2022 in Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    We had about 4 hours of driving ahead so I offered Noah to drive for a bit as long as the streets were not too crowded and it was all pretty mich straight highway. I managed to drive pretty well but when we got to a crossroad in the middle of a city and i had to slow down and stop, then start over again, slow down it got too stressful so we stopped and got cash at the atm. Apparently there was a problem with my card or the atm itsself because the card came out but the money didnt. We had some problems finding out whether the money had been deducted or not but finally it was all good. In the end we got the money, filled the tanks, bought 3kg of lychees and were ready for the rest of the drive. We stopped at a beach where we ate some things we had bought and our leftovers for lunch and found a coconut which we opened and drank.Read more

  • Day 21

    Exploring Puerto Viejo

    July 23, 2022 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Of course to be able to explore you gotta have the right equipment. With our helmets and glasses we were ready for whatever may come:). When we got to the Casa Wolaba, our hostel for the next couple of days, we got some bad news. They told us that they had expected us the day before, and since we werent there they had just given the room to somebody else a couple of minutes ago. We were really surprised and to be honest at the beginning I thought it was our mistake and we might had booked it wrong because we had booked so many hostels at once and it had been quite complicated with the dates. However I doublechecked and saw that on hostelworld we had chosen the right dates and I showed it to the receptionists as a proof. They admitted it was due to a problem in the system and were sorry but couldnt do anything about it. We realized it wasnt getting to a point so we started looking for another hostel until suddenly the girl who had gotten pur doubleroom said she would look for another hostel since it was her last night anyways and she only got our room because we weren‘t there, she hadndt even booked a private room in the first place. This was very friendly and fair from her and we thanked her a rhousand times. We couldnt check in right away, so we walked around the city and checked out some shops and stands. Puerto Viejo is the prettiest city i‘ve seen in Costa Rica so far. It reminded me a bit of Las Terrenas and made me feel at home right away. We could tell that the atmosphere was very different from what we had experienced at the pacific coast. While the other side was quite busy and definitely overhyped, over here we could really feel the carribbean warm, relaxed and easy-going vibe. In the evening we ate dinner at the hostel and met a couple of people whom I went out with later. There were many young backpackers, all like us, travelling through the country and living their best life. Noah was tired so after palying beerpong he went to bed and I joined the group. When we got to Johnny‘s, a bar right at the beach, it started to rain. At first the mood was going down and even though the bar inside was super busy we tried to hide from the pouring rain. Then, looking outside I saw people dancing in the rain along the music and singing their lungs out. I was so fascinated and hyped that I didnt care about my dry clothes anymore. I went outside and danced with them. A couple of minutes later I was completely wet and undescribably happy. This was what I had wished for on the carribbean side of the country, this was what I called pura vida, and pura vida it was. At some point I lost the rest of the group and ended up dancing with two guys of which one was getting wayyyyy too close to me the whole time. As hard as I tried dancing away he kept coming closer until I realized it was time to go. I didnt even tell them because I knew that he would try to hold me back (eww) and walked out. It was pretty dark and I wasnt sure about which way to go. My data didnt work either and there were some strange people standing at the side of the street so I decided to indulge into the carribbean-puertoviejo- lifestyle completely and take a tuc tuc home. Its actually the same like the motoconchos in Las Terrenas but they have 3 wheels and look more like a car. I found one and told him to bring me to Casa Wolaba, our Hostel. It all worked out perfectly and 15 minutes later I was lying in bed and ready to sleep:)
    The next morning we woke up and rented bikes. This is how all the people in Puerto Viejo move from one place to another. It‘s quite big and when there‘s traffic, the bike is the best choice. We didnt really have a plan so we just drove along the sea, checked out some beaches and viewpoints until we got to the manzanillo nationalpark at the end of the road. There we had to continue by foot. We saw really pretty beaches woth crystal clear blue water and even went into a cave where we struggled getting out because the waves were crashing on the rocks pretty hard. On our way back we stopped at a foodstand to get typical mango con sal y chile, which is basically fresh cut mango with hotsauce and salt. What we didnt know was that zhe hot sauce was actually burning hot - my lips and mouth were dying. We went back to the village and ordered an Aperol Spritz and a frappuccino with chocolate. Quiz: Who got which beverage? Very hard to guess, right? Then we went to Cocles beach where we saw people playing Volleyball. Noah of course joined them and I did too for a while but when Noah went on to play on the field against the good players I was just a gread supporter and cheerleader:) Noah palyed like a professional, I was so happy and cheered, they even kicked out the current leaders from the volleyfield! At night we went to Shaku Con Fusion Restaurant with two guys we met. There we drank one of the best cocktails i‘ve had in CR, it was a mix of blackberry, coconut rum and dark rum. The restaurant was famous for its sauces. The idea was that you could choose a sauce and whether you wanted veggies, chicken, shrimps or the fish- catch of the day. All the sauces were homemade and glutenfree - juppieee! I ended up taking Sweet Guava Green Curry with fresh Mahi Mahi and it was delicious. Noah took the Mahi Mahi with Tandoori Sauce. I ate way to much and almost rolled home. I was so tired that I slept right away. Noah played beerpong with the others downstairs but came upstairs 20 mins later. What a day of pura vida!
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  • Day 23

    Punta Uva - Last Day

    July 25, 2022 in Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    I woke up very early, so while Noah was still sleeping I took my bike and drove around the town looking for a coffee. It was quite hard to find because it was only 6am but eventually I found a place. The coffee was not the best but It was coffee. I drove to a beach nearby to drink it. Then I drove on to Playa Cocles, a bit further and then came back. Once Noah was awake we tried to make pancakes but since the pans were non really non stick and not even the oil helped, we gave it up and I ate granola with fruits. Noah ate leftovers from the day before. At 9:30 we went to the „Jaguar Rescue Center“ (this is only the name, there are no jaguars) where they showed us the different animals they had rescued and the ones that couldnt be released back into nature because of various reasons. It was really interesting to see these wild animals so close and to learn more about them. Later on we drove to Punta Uva with our bikes, a beautiful beach with a reef where we went snorkelling. There weren‘t a lot of corals but plenty of colorful fish. After our beach chillout we went to a restaurant called „Tostas“ where everything they had, could be done glutenfree. We took smoothies and big Saladbowls. I had very good bread too and even bought some in the end. In the evening after some souvenir shopping, we went to the Beach with two drinks and watched the sunset. There were two children playing around in the sand and giggeling and clearly having a lot of fun and seeing it made me really happy. We ate dinner at the hostel. It wasnt our fanciest dinner but it was good:)
    Unbelievable our time in Costa Rica is almost over…
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  • Day 24

    Grande Finale

    July 26, 2022 in Costa Rica ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    On our last day we drove our car back from Puerto Viejo to San José and took some family pictures with our Vierlivier and Persephone on the way. [Even though Noah had had some problems accepting our youngest child Persephone in the beginning, because he felt that she caught a big part of my attention and he probably was jealous, I think now he starts tolerating her and seeing her as a member of our invincible team!] We crossed the whole country one more time, drove behind huge trucks, got annoyed, listened to good music, sang along and eventually got to our Hostel. After we organized all our stuff we went to the city center where we walked through the mercado central. We drank a coffee at a pretty Café and went to the supermarket to buy all the ingredients to cook Paella. Back in the Hostel we prepared our dinner and it turned out delicious, probably the best we‘ve ever made, even with fresh seafood. Yummie. We went to sleep early because we were tired and we had a long day ahead. When we woke up we walked to the grocery store to buy milk, made pancakes one last time and headed to the airport, where we said goodbye to our vierlivier and where we are currently waiting for our boarding.

    On this backpacking trip through the whole country of Costa Rica i‘ve learned incredibly much. On one hand i‘ve learned how to live with only a few belongings, shower with cold water every day and fight agains aggressive mosquitos. On the other hand I learned a lot about nature and its inhabitants, the culture and the people. The costa ricans have enthralled and inspired me with their „joie de vivre“, their pura vida.
    I hope I will be able to take a part of this with me and to continue being thankful for the smallest things, just like the „ticos“ taught me. This experience has changed me and was the best thing I could‘ve done.

    Thanks to you for reading my posts and for showing so much interest in my adventure! See you soon in Switzerland!
    Ich chans chum erwarte euch z‘gseh❤️

    Pura vida!
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