Dominical

The Costa Rica adventure continues. Dominical is a very small surfer town about an hour further south down the coast from Manuel Antonio. I chose it for its laidback vibe and in that it didn't disappoint, and the spectacular Nauyaca Falls. It definitely wasn't for its beach which is decidedly uninspiring (I rated it a 3 or 4 / 10), well at least for this professed beach snob. My travel companions disagreed and pointed out various features - pretty rocks, some coconut trees, cool driftwood, nice sunsets, good vibe - which I didn't disagree with but that doesn't make up for the lack of sand, rocks everywhere, etc. etc. Good photo opportunities though at sunset with surfers in the water.

Lots of Quebecers and French here, and it's funny sometimes to hear them talk to each other with their respective full on accents and often asking the other to repeat what they said, with a "quoi?” or ”pardon?”.

Our good friend and Rowen's sister, Flora joined us here. It was sweet but too short. At least a week next time Flo!

We really like our accommodations, the Cool Vibes hostel. It did indeed have cool vibes along with a nice little pool, our room was a good size with A/C of course, and a nice big communal kitchen. Beth, Rowen and Flora and swanky suite with their own kitchen! It also had a TV where we were able to watch the NFL playoffs on Sunday and chill after a late night partying on the Friday. So close Detroit!

Back to Nauyaca Falls. It was a bit tough getting there on the cheap. A 30 minute local bus ride from Dominical to the park entrance. From there, no 4x4 truck ride, no horseback ride for me, for CABs (cheap ass packpackers) who are also in decent shape, it's walking the whole way. From the ticket office down a steep well paved road it's about 2 km to the parking lot where almost everyone starts from. From there it's about another 4 km to the falls. I handled it fine on the way there but the way back, once I started up the seriously steep road, with the brutal mid-day sun sapping my energy, I started hitchhiking after about 1 km. Mercifully, a couple of locals in a flatbed truck picked me up. At the bus stop I chatted with two young bucks, a Canadian and an Austrian, who looked like they were in their twenties and even they said it was so hard they hitched a ride up the hill.

OK, the Falls, spectacular! Multiple level, no one at the top but a bit sketchy navigating the rocks to get to the pools. My Vibram five fingers were good on the rocks and in the water. Then it was down to the main lower pool which gets busy fast, but it was beautiful. I moved to a smaller, quiet lower pool to eat and then slowly, reluctantly, started the hike back. What a great, exhausting day! On to Uvita!Читать далее