Costa Rica & Guatemala 2024

Ahhhh...my travels of the Southern Pacific side of Costa Rice is coming to an end. Tomorrow early morning I leave for Lake Atitlan, Guatemala for what I anticipate will be a very cool switch of vibes, and temperatures, as nights dip down to 13 or 14 around the lake. I will at some point get into how and why I am visiting Lake Atitlan, but for now a quick roundup of my time at these three Costa Rican Pacific coast locations I have visited.

Manuel Antonio, especially the beach, exceeded my expections, and I scored it a solid 7.5. Keeping in mind I am a serious beach snob, this is a very good mark. Very nice sand, not quite white but soft with very few stones both on the beach and in the water. Some waves but not too crazy, pretty good for body surfing. Not a beautiful turquoise or striking blue but nice none the less. Excellent possibilities for shade all along the beach with almond trees reaching out to provide cover. Stunning sunsets most days so we ended up staying until at least 6 or 7 pm most days. Small shops close by to stock up on water, beer, snacks, etc., and restaurants if needed. And finally, there's a local bus that runs from Quepos to the beach, about a 7 km route through the winding hilly road away, picking up workers and travellers along the way, and it deposits you right at the beach. For the very reasonable cost of about $1 CAD, it was a great way to get to the beach, save for the slightly suicidal walk along the twisty, sidewalkless road from our hotel to the bus top and the bus stop to our hotel.

Dominical was a super chilled surfer village. Interesting beach for some but not my thing. Beautiful sunsets too of course because it's the same coast. If you don't surf, the only reason I would recommend coming here is if you need some serious chill time.

Uvita, where we are now, is a bit weird. Very spread out for a small town, and no public transportation to get to where you need to go. We are staying in a busy little area not far from the main highway. It's far enough we don't hear the traffic but close enough it's quick and easy to get to to stock up on groceries, beers, get laundry done, get to the bus station, etc. The main reason I chose to come to Uvita was for Humpback whale watching. I changed my mind once here though due to the cost, coupled with the uncertainty of seeing any, and a rethinking of the effect a bunch of motorized boats rushing towards the whales once one tour boat spots them, can have on the whales. I didn't feel too good about that so didn't go on a tour.

Instead, we hit the very big and beautiful beach in the Ballena Marine National Park one day, the super fun Catarata Uvita with natural rock slide, and later the bamboo forest and secret Lau pool the next. The whole experience in the Catarata was just so wonderful but it had one more surprise left for us. As we excited the Catarata Uvita, we all noticed a fine, misty rain that appeared to be concentrated in and around, or more accurately, falling from one large tree. More travellers started gathering as we wondered how, in the cloudless sky, rain could be falling from the tree. Various hypotheses were bandied about until I said I would ask the person at the ticket office who would surely know. I asked and she answered in Spanish, but the answer was so bizarre that I asked her again, in English, and she re-confirmed that I had indeed understood correctly. We were witnessing, and basking under, a shower of cicada "pee". It's quite bizarre so I'll link to this for the full explanation, https://bugoftheweek.com/blog/2021/6/7/fly-feed….

The other first, and much less weird, experience I had was the sounds of the bamboo forest. As a breeze ripples through the tops of the trees, some knock together making tree music...how cool is that?! I uploaded a video and if you turn the volume up you can hear it, along with the very loud cicadas who are thankfully not peeing here.

Today has been mostly full on chilling at the hotel - enjoying the pool, the A/C, the kitchen, some beers, and some quiet time, as we prepare for the long travelling day that awaits us tomorrow. I start with a 6:30 am bus from Uvita to one of the San Jose city bus stations. Then it's a taxi or ride share to Maikel's place to drop off my backpack (to avoid paying the $40 USD checked or carry-on luggage fee each way on my kinda cheap Avianca flight which only includes a personal item bag). Then it's another taxi or ride share to the San Jose airport where I reunite with Mike and Beth (who are taking a direct bus from Uvita to the airport) and fly to Guatemala City. From there my friend Pierre will be there with a private van to pick us up, and we'll all head to his place in Santiago de Atitlan. A nice full day of travel!

Bye for now Costa Rica...hasta luego!Read more