El viaje

Last dinner in our little shack. Tomatos, zucchini with tons of onions and garlic. Rice , guacamole and chiltepin as sides. We had this four or five times in a row because we loved it so much.

Because as soon as the Jim was up and running in again we went towards the border. We loved Nicaragua but being stuck in one place made us want to feel the breeze of freedom again!

Ill spare you the border boredom. Only the latest and newest twist: For Costa Rica you do not need to pay for your temporary import, however there is a local mandatory car insurance for 40 bucks. Ok fine ,lets go.

So after an unexpected 3-4 hours at the border , again it was getting dark. At least we were greeted by a thundering : “Pura Vida!”

Not really having thought about where to go or stay we settled for Liberia. Thats the first bigger town coming from the north.We loved our little motel.

Quick simcard change again, we also got rid of our previous collection,

quicker dinner, and bed!

The next day started by a quick stop at the mechanic because the lock of our trunk got stuck.

The boys fixed it in 15 minutes , i used the time for some cosmetics,

and we also got new windshield swipes. 20 dolares in total. “Gracias chicos!” “Claro, Pura Vida”

So, lets talk about “Pura Vida” for a second. It works as a reply to a Thank you, but it can also be a greeting, it works as a goodbye or as a notion for an accomplishment, like buying and activating a sim card. You can basically use it for anything, anytime, and everyone does so with vehemence. We are not sure if we like it yet because it seems affected or almost religious since everybody says it ALL THE TIME. Also, it is written almost EVERYWHERE you look. But lets see, its only been 2 days, yet.

Armed with new swipes, a working lock, new sim cards and a huge bag filled with good moods, we headed towards Tamarindo. Pura Vida!

I had heard a lot about Tamarindo, good and bad and since i love Tamarinds, especially Aqua die Tamarindo, it had to be done!

The rumors are true. It is gringo heaven. While it has a very nice beach and a very small but consistent break, which is perfect to learn surfing, it also is a concrete, surfers disneyland with lots of shitty souvenirs and overpriced hotels.

The only picture we tool is this one, not because we did not like the place at all , rather because we went for a swim once we arrived and left the phones in the car.

Not important anyhow, because we were headed just south in the next bay.

Driving south , you can basically take a turn anywhere and it will look like this.

and then like this.

Its weird because you literally just drive for 15-20 mins and you are out of the traffic and the masses. We loved the fact that we were all alone on this beauty. So we went for a small walk.

And found things

It feels like the weather changes even more rapidly here and you know what you are in for when these boys show up.

Even though the rain came quick ,it went quickly as well. We were so excited about our lonely beaches that we checked each and everyone.

This one in particular we liked a lot. It does not have a name. Just one of those bays.

The sun was going down and it looked like we would get a proper sun set for a change. So i installed the cam and tried a time lapse. As so many times before, a cloud, then many clouds moved over the sun in last minute to deny us the spectacular colors.

It did reveal a true Costa Rican dragon though, which was equally impressive .

We left before the sun was completely gone,

but again we did not plan accommodation so we drove through utter darkness until, wait for it, we ran out of gas. But professional campers that we are, we had a spare 20 liters with us. Lu took care of it while i tried to take pics in the rain.

The road were bad , the rain relentless and we started to get tired. You do not have network coverage on these roads so at the very first sign of a hotel, we pulled in. And found this:

There was super loud trance playing but the rooms at 70 bucks and some food and clean. We took it ! I mean, Pura Vida, right?

It was so surreal, we had to explore it a little.

I almost fell asleep while having a beer. It was 9 or so.

Buenas noches!