Paso Canoas Trip with Max

Max had been talking about doing a beer run to Paso Canoas, Panama since we met and we decided TODAY'S THE DAY! To be fair, beer wasn't the only thing we were going to get. Things are so expensive in Costa Rica. Paso Canoas is apparently the place to go to buy what you need, duty free and bring it back to San Jose. We packed our bags and we were off.
On the way through Jaco, Max pulled off the main road onto a gravel road and said, "You have to see this place." We saw a sign for the restaurant.

We drove up some pretty steep slopes, all the way to the top of the mountain, which was accompanied by fog clouds all around. A simple, very rustic soda was at the top of the mountain called Rancho Shaddy. The sign reads "Welcome to the place where there's no world crisis." I couldn't have put it better. They had a new floor intalled since Max was there last. After speaking wih them, we learned that the government requierd them to install the floor for safety reasons. They perpared one of the best dishes of chicken and rice that I've had on this trip so far with the most basic of equipment. The view was really amazing from the top of this mountain and because it's at the very top, you can get pretty much a 360 view.

I also picked up a few bracelets and anklets for $1000C ($2USD) each. They were hand made and I really just wanted to support their business. They are really cute though. All made of seeds and string. Two of them I actually really like and plan to wear until they break.

On the way back down the mountain, Max's surfboard fell off the top of the truck. He didn't think to tighten it down on the front as much as he did the back. Oops!

I kept seeing these buildings that used to be homes but now are nothing more than walls. No windows. No roof. Some of them are simply falling apart but you can see they were probably pretty nice in their earlier days. I really am fascinated by these buildings and the thoughts that accompany my view of them of what they were before, who lived there, how they lived, who laughed between the walls, who cried under this roof and everything else. You can walk through the doorways and see very clearly what used to be a bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen and so on.

Just the basic living that most of the people have here also interests me. In the United States, we don't realize how spoiled we are with everyday life. The people here really live off the land and live so simply. Many of the homes are basically glorified shacks with tin or palm tree leaf roofs.
The barns or other areas to contain animals are really the most basic necessary.

The fences are basically small trees that have been dug up and replanted in a straight line and then have wire of some sort tied between them. I think they're nicer this way because of the more natural feel.

The ride down to Paso Canoas was enjoyable with the view. Most of the way, we could get a clear view of the ocean.

There were lots of fincas (farms) along the way as well. Cows, palm trees, horses and goat farms are seen all along the way. There is a strip of the highway about 30KM long that is ONLY palm tree fincas. They harvest the palm oil and the kernal. The oil is edible and the kernal is used in foods and to make soap. This is a very profitable business but requires a lot of work.
As soon as Max saw this truck, he screamed at the top of his lungs, "DATSUNNNNNN" because that's what this truck makes him think when he sees it.

Pizza Hut in a trailer. We also saw a Burger King but I didn't get a good photo.

I have no clue what this animal was, so Max turned the truck around so I could get a good photo:

We got to Paso Canoas after a seven hour drive and found a hotel room at a very simple place and had dinner. For some reason, I felt like I was in the middle of Mexico. The room was basic, at best. Two beds, a fan and a private bathroom. The shower faucet is was caught my attention. Of course, hot water is not very common anywhere around here but this was the first time I had seen this as a shower faucet.

The next day, we went shopping. Max got some new tires for his truck and he stocked up on beer since it's so much more expensive back home.

We got some Mystery Meat Skewers from a street vendor, which were great!!

Then we were off to Playa Pavones. The new off-roading tires made the 30km stretch of very bumpy gravel roads just a little bit easier to endure. I felt like a little kid, seeing all sorts of new things and I kept asking Max to stop the truck so I could take photos and get a better look at some things.
Typical bus stop:

Awesome view of the coast:

There is wildlife everywhere here:

Horses are often used as a mode of transportation in this area. It is very remote. I saw these guys and wanted to take a photo of them so we offered them beers. They were very happy!

Playa Pavones is a beautiful beach town, seemingly cut off from the outside world. Most of the land is untouched and it is a surfer mecca.

Playa Pavones is home to one the longest left breaks in the world. There are horses that run wild, beautiful flora and fauna, tons of beach front and not many tourists.

I found this great place that for just a second, I considered what it would be like to buy it and fix it up and live there...

An amazing little place called "Cabinas Gemelas" with cabinas for rent that is run by a family and little kids that love to sit in the hammocks and chat with you til midnight.

"Chinese Suckers" as they are called in Costa Rica. Mamon Chino is the official name. The inner white part is edible and quite tart:

We met up with Max's friend, Dave, from the US. He has a palm finca in Costa Rica and has turned it into a very profitable business since he bought it. Palm oil oil is used in soaps and many other products all over the world. He is a very sweet man, very laid back and loves to have a good conversation.

Time to head back to Alajuela... We have a very long drive ahead of us.

MundoLoco at Jazz Cafe

A few days after the party, Kelly invited us out to see MundoLoco at Jazz Cafe in San Pedro. I was excited to go not only because I really enjoyed meeting Kelly before but also because I've never attended a jazz club when I didn't have a total blast! Max and I went and met Kelly and some of her friends and Jose Luis also came out.

The band that was playing was MundoLoco from Argentina. The lights were turned down low and the red lights were on. The ambience was incredible.

There were two people on stage. One on the synthesizer and the other was sitting on the floor, playing a Sitar.

 I have never seen this thing in my life and I was blown away!

Another guy joined them on the stage later on playing the drums that rounded out the sound to perfection.

The music was absolutely entrancing. I was taken away with the whole experience and I looked around and was surprised to see that there were no people dancing. Jazz Cafe. Insane band. Central America.... and NO ONE DANCES??? I thought it was the most odd thing. Kelly and I were both in agreement on this oddity and we decided to be content with dancing in our chairs.

Max and I left Jazz Cafe to head home and on the drive home we made a detour. Max said this was a cultural experience and I had to share it. We stopped at DelReys and I didn't know what I was in for. I got ID'd as we walked through the door but he didn't. I made a joke that he looks too old to get ID'd but he set me straight just as we walked inside. Apparently, I had been asked for identification because they wanted to make sure I was legal in case I was going there to work. This was a place where the working girls hang out. Prostitution is legal in Costa Rica and there are many places where the girls can go to work, can have some sort of protection and also are required to prove identification as well as health. If a girl gets too many complaints from clients, or vice versa, they are banned from the club. If a girl is on the streets rather than in a bar or club, her earning potential severely decreases and her risks increase just the same. This club was really just a bar. Well, it was actually a pretty nice bar. There were different rooms and three bars in addition to a bar outside in the garden area. There was a stage where a local group was performing popular Spanish songs. I knew I couldn't take any photos of the girls without inviting problems for myself but I did get a photo of the band.

Costa Rica CouchSurfing Party

Couch Surfing has really opened my eyes to a different way of travelling, both in actual couch surfing as well as meeting other couch surfers along the way. Whether it's meeting someone for a coffee or a meal or to just meet the locals or even to meet other travelers in the same area as you, usually sharing the same approaches and mind sets on a lot, CouchSurfing is a wonderful tool.
I was invited to a party at the home of a local Costa Rican, Mario, who was pretty well known within the CouchSurfing community. I finally got to meet up with Kelly Patterson, a friend of Max's. Kelly is also a CouchSurfer and a writer for a few publications like The Tico Times and The San Francisco Examiner. Kelly is an amazing person who emits an incredible positive energy and it effects everyone she comes in contact with. She's traveled the world, seen more than most people even care to read about in the news and has lived to have a story or two.

I also got to meet up with Jose Luis. FINALLY!!

We have shared a mutual friend, Kara, for about a year since she came down to Costa Rica for vacation. She called me on the phone with she was with Jose Luis so he and I could speak Spanish because they were having a hard time communucating. When Kara heard that I was coming to Costa Rica, she got me in touch with Jose Luis and we've been chatting online ever since. He's a very sweet person and a lot of fun. Between he and Rocky, not to metion the other guys at the party, I was in stitches most of the evening.

We met a guy from Dubai, Bijan, and he did the coolest trick with my hand and a bit of ashes from his cigarette. Rocky and I were very entertained. This guy was quite the life of the party. I noticed that almost everyone I've met in Costa Rica so far smokes cigarettes. A lot of the people at the party were smoking either cigarettes or from the hookah.

Mario made us all Caprihenias, the Brazilian national drink. They were great but I can't wait to get to Brazil and have one there.

Mario and Kelly:

Locals and Traveling CouchSurfers:

I can tell already that CouchSurfing is going to change the way I travel from here on out. It seems like most every CouchSurfer I've met shares the same approach and frame of mind in regards to travel as well as life in general. I am so glad I got turned on to CouchSurfing.

Manuel Antonio

We wanted to go to Corcovado National Park and see the turtles but we knew we would be pushing it for time since it was so far south and in order to get there you have to park your car and take a ferry over. We decided to go to Manuel Antonio National Park and were told that Costa Linda was a great  place to stay. Not only was it clean and convenient, but they also had a kitchen with the biggest, cheapest breakfast in town. We found a winner! Not to mention it's also a very short walking distance to the entrance of the park as well as the public beach.

It's incredible when you realize how much you can do without doing the tours or getting a guide when you're traveling in an area like this. While a tour might offer more variety of entertainment as well as various sports activities, there is still plenty to do as long as you're comfortable venturing out on your own and keeping your eyes and ears open for the crazy little critters out there. We did a hike to the waterfalls inside Manuel Antonio where we had to cross the water about five times to actually get that far off the path to arrive at the waterfalls.
It was gorgeous! The hike was only about one kilometer in distance one way, but the wading through water and climbing up and down on the steps made by the root system of these massive trees made it a slightly moderate trek.

There are trees that grow up around a larger tree and seemingly take over the space, creating a gorgeous twist of trunks.

Trees that look like porcupines, with needles growing out of the trunk:

Trees so big around that you can't even fit your arms around them... Rocky tried:

Lizards of so many shapes and colors:

Ants that have golden heads:

The waterfall was not a very big one but I am always amazed at the beauty and constant energy.

Other things we saw on the walk through the park were sloths hiding in the trees, getting a bite to eat (not the best photo but I'm surprised we even saw one):

Howler monkeys that are almost always up for a good conversation:

White faced monkeys that want any kind of food you'll throw at them (this is prohibited though people were doing it anyway) and will get so close you can almost touch them:

Raccoons, out in the middle of the day:

Some of the largest iguanas I had ever seen:

Cayman crocodiles:

Hermet crabs:

And then the beach.

Beautiful, blue-green water and white sand.

Silly Rocky. Funny photo:

I just love this one:

The beaches inside the park weren't terribly crowded and we found another beach that was almost deserted.

Immediately after we got there, a park employee came over to tell the few of us there to get out of the water because of (very large) crocodiles that were too close to shore. He then pointed it out.... no one got back in after that. Instead, we laid down and drew in the sand. It's really neat that when you make marks in the sand it reveals black sand underneath, creating a beautiful work of art.

Back at the hostel, the monkey highway was in full effect. There were more monkeys than we could count and they were extremely interested in the human attention. I'm certain they wanted food but it wasn't going to come from me. Some had babies clinging to them and they were absolutely adorable.

We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant with a great view of the beach, nachos that make you not want your dinner, an incredible grilled Mahi Mahi dish and happy hour specials.

Finishing the evening with a sunset walk near the water was nothing less than wonderful.

The next morning we went to the public beach to just be lazy and catch some sun before we headed back to Alajuela. The waves were great and the people watching was entertaining, as always.

We saw people riding horses on the beach:

A man pushing a cart and selling flavored shaved ice:

The Costa Rica flag waving high was also a nice touch:

On the way out we grabbed a bite to eat and Rocky made a new friend:

We were both so tired driving back from Manuel Antonio that we decided to stop for the night in Jaco. We were referred to Vista Pacifico, a beautiful place on the hill overlooking the Jaco coastline.

Jan and Greg are an absolute joy and they make you feel right at home. The room was very clean and the property was quiet, tucked away and gorgeously adorned with greenery around the walkway and pool.

Breakfast at a local soda, a walk on the beach (resulting in Rocky walking back to the car with a pocketful of shells and sea weathered glass pieces) and just a bit of shopping on the main street in Jaco was all we cared to do before really heading back home.

Goodbye Jaco!