Week One

Cheeseburgers are far from the only thing I’ve eaten so far. Hell I don’t even eat “cheese” burgers anymore. But Jimmy Buffett very much fit the theme of this trip. I am fortunate enough to have a job in the pandemic and more fortunate to have a remote-work job. The thing about work-from-home, is that can be anywhere. Home for me is Uvita, Costa Rica for the time being. Uvita is a small coastal town in southwest Costa Rica three and a half hours outside the capital San Jose. I found an AirBnB 70% off in this town if you stayed 28 days or longer, so that’s what I decided to do. Four bedrooms, four baths, various friends I roped into it for a week or two, and (most of the time) WiFi.

Early morning Sunday April 11, 2021 is when I packed up and Monika drove me to the airport after her birthday weekend. Due to a series of unfortunate events, Monika was unable to make the journey. So the first two weeks I am joined by my old friend Jackson and his girlfriend Kathleen. Jackson and I have been on long international journeys before, and Kathleen is a fun companion somewhat new to traveling. They have kept me company the first two weeks. The flights were uneventful, which is always welcome. Our first obstacle came to the rental car, where my reservation was rejected and were forced to shell out cash for an automatic, four wheel drive vehicle. I wasn’t going to try and teach myself stick my first time driving in a foreign country. The drive was pouring rain for the first half, poor headlights in the dark for the second half. Costa Rica is in the same time zone as Colorado, but geographically much farther east, so night falls much earlier. Additionally, oncoming cars love to hug the middle line, and pedestrians love to stand/walk on the side of the road. So I was mostly driving blind with no room for error. The first beer I had upon arrival was extra satisfying.

Of course I did make it, otherwise this would not be written. Travelling always introduces new and unique challenges. Jackson and I walked to get dinner after settling in. I struggled to order with my broken and out-of-practice Spanish. Luckily I remembered ‘cerveza’ so we could enjoy a cold one in the open-air, empty restaurant. In desperate need of sleep we got our food to-go and called it an early night.

I took that Monday off from work to give me a little buffer time to get my bearings. The AirBnB is nice, and a little different. It is structured like a small compound, with a courtyard and sheltered patio in the middle, surrounded by doors that lead to the bedrooms and kitchen. So when you step out of your bedroom you’re immediately outside. There was a roof or awning over the walkway around the bedrooms as well as over the patio/living room, so you could be outside and out of the rain. When we weren’t working we spend most of our time outside on the patio eating, playing cards, playing dice, doing puzzles, and drinking pina coladas. The kitchen was large, and in a (indoor) room attached to the patio. The driveway was just a patch of grass enclosed by a gate that we had to manually pull open and close each time we arrived or left.

I spent the morning at the grocery store shopping for the basics: eggs, ramen, beer, etc. Then of course, I had to find the beach. The town of Uvita is very small. There are a variety of restaurants to choose from and at least two places to buy groceries, but it is difficult to pinpoint where “downtown” is. The layout of roads and houses are scattered and inconsistent, as if people built their houses on small plots of land they liked and figured out the roads later. Some roads are paved, some are dirt, some are just a clearing in the rainforest that you can drive through. Some roads are paved and spontaneously become dirt like they ran out of asphalt. They’ve erratically built a town while keeping as much of the rainforest in-tact as possible. I think that is where the charm comes from, is the natural feel to everything around you.

Google Maps helps a little, but even they don’t have it perfectly mapped. So finding the beach was a bit of trial and error. Turns out you need a $6 day pass to access the beach, because the beach is also a national park. So after a few U-turns and a little off-roading, I was able to park my car and walk to the beach. So you can’t get there easily and you can’t enter freely, but damn if it isn’t the most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen. The dense rainforest opens up to a shallow black sand beach enclosed by lush, green mountains. The weather was sunny and warm and the water was just as warm, almost surprisingly so when I first dipped in. The sand is soft and stretches out far into the water, allowing anyone to stand easily out in the waves. While I was splashing around like an idiot, the tide grew higher and nearly scooped my phone and wallet with a big wave. Luckily I saw it happen, so I was able to grab everything before floating away. My phone still works so no worries there.

I gathered my things and took a walk down the beach. I wasn’t fully adjusted to the humidity, but I certainly enjoyed the warmth. Near the end of the beach, there was a small opening in the trees where a creek flowed from the forest directly into the ocean. I think what added to the wonder of this beach was the fact that it is a national park. There is no beach front property. No people try to sell you something. Honestly very few people at all. It feels like a natural beach untouched by someone trying to make money off of it. The environment is very important to Costa Rica as a country. According to govisitcostarica.com, “Costa Rica has 28 national parks, 58 wildlife refuges, 32 protected zones, 15 wetland areas/mangroves, 11 forest reserves and 8 biological reserves, as well as 12 other conservation regions”. Everywhere in the country is consistently breathtaking, and I think the government’s efforts in conservation are why. I wish every other country felt the same way.

The middle of the week wasn’t filled with grand and exciting adventures but rather small and fun excursions. I still have a job (for now) that requires me to “be at my computer” and “respond to emails”. Some days I will sneak away to the beach in the morning. The beach opens at 8:00 in some spots and 9:30in others, but I found a secret place to park the car and bypass the armed guard patrols without paying for a ticket. In reality it is much less cool as I can just walk onto the beach as long as it’s not through a main gate. People are very laid back here. How could you not be? Their motto is Pura Vida, meaning “Pure Life”.

Most of the time breakfast and lunch was made with groceries, but we went out to eat most nights. I’m not sure if Costa Rica has a “national dish” or type of food, but the seafood is great. I try and get some kind of seafood everywhere we go. Weirdly enough there is a Five Guys here, or at least a very close knock off. So I have had a Cheeseburger in paradise (see title). We also have a charcoal grill that we’ve cooked burgers and brauts and ribs on. Most restaurants are open-air, outdoors, and have a dog that hangs out between the tables. We’ve eaten sushi, ceviche, fish tacos, salmon, paella, white fish, red fish, green fish, blue fish, and hamburgers. Their is even a kebab restaurant with delicious pitas. One of our favorite spots is Carlito’s. It is a small restaurant tucked away in the jungle, surprisingly owned by a white lady from Littleton, Colorado. It serves Mexican-style food and has GREAT custom margaritas made with different fruit. To top it off, they have free marg Fridays: get a free marg with your dinner. Maybe we are more drawn to a place that feels like home, but really every place I’ve eaten has been great.

In the evenings we read our books with the rainfall as our background noise. We made pina coladas with fresh pineapple and smoked cigars and played dice and cards. We listened to music and swapped stories from college. There was no TV in the living room/patio, so we were forced into vintage entertainment. I adjusted to the humidity and learned to tolerate the bug bites. It was a fair exchange for the tranquil, 75 degree nights. We were joined by many lizards and frogs and some birds and bats. Each night was a great way to wind down from a stress-free day.

The first Saturday we drove to the Nauyaca Waterfalls. Research beforehand indicated that this would be a 5 mile roundtrip hike through the jungle, so we prepared for the worst. I had my camelback with an extra bottle of water, rain jacket, sunscreen, bug spray, snacks, and wore my jungle pants and boots anticipating aggressive swarms of bugs and possibly quicksand. The hike, as it turned out, was completely fine. In fact, you can pay people to drive directly to the falls. So were were essentially walking on a dirt road. Not to undersell it though, it was a beautiful and fascinating hike. There was thick jungle all around us with many strangely shaped trees and plants. However, the pants were a bad choice. Walking uphill in a rainforest climate had me drenched in sweat. Luckily I brought my swimsuit and we were able to swim in the river at the base of the falls.

The falls were a breathtaking sight. Two absolutely massive, thundering falls framed by blue sky and thick, green foliage. I had to crane my neck at the base because each one stood at 100ft tall. A deep pool formed at the bottom of the second one, giving us a scenic, and loud, spot to cool off. Perhaps one of my favorite sunbathing spots I’ve ever found was on a flat rock in the river gazing up at the waterfalls. After we got our fill of swimming we headed back down, this time we left the swimsuits on and the pants in the bags. That evening we cooked ribs on the charcoal grill and played poker deep into the night.

Week Two

That Sunday were blessed with no rain. To celebrate, we spent the whole day at the beach. Part of what made this beach a unique national park was a feature called the Whale Tail. Surprisingly not a woman’s thong metaphor, the Whale Tail is the junction of two beaches jutting out into the ocean into a flat line of rocks. From a bird’s eye view, it looks like the tail of a whale. I tried to venture out to it days earlier, but the tide was high enough to cover it entirely. At low tide you can walk out to the end of it. It takes ten minutes or so to walk the length of, so it is not small geographic landmark. But you are rewarded with a spectacular view of the Costa Rican shoreline and mountains. We played frisbee and swam and floated and frolicked with no agenda or sense of urgency. We eventually made our off the Whale Tail to the far end of the beach where a gentle river carves an opening in the rainforest and we played frisbee there too. Kathleen is an excellent ultimate frisbee player and Jackson tries his best. We ended with a beer watching the sunset to put a ribbon on a perfect day.

During the week we visited new restaurants and returned to a few as well. The bass fish tacos at Los Laurales were outstanding. One of the days we were tormented by a monstrous lighting storm with booming thunder and multiple losses of power. We also visited a local waterfall in town on one of our lunch breaks. The Uvita waterfall (singular) doesn’t not radiate the same power as the Nauyaca Waterfalls (plural), but it is beautiful none the less. It can be visited for a $5 fee and includes a butterfly pavilion on the walk over. It is a short walk through the jungle to the river on a well-trod path. At the river are other tourists and locals looking to take a dip and cool off. There was a metal walkway along part of the river about 15ft above the water with a platform to jump from. The river of course was deep underneath. I tested it several times. At the base of the waterfall another 50 yards upstream was a small pool to swim in. Some slid down the waterfall like a waterslide. The rocks did not look smooth enough to slide over but the few that did seemed to be fine. The water was cool and refreshing, shaded by a thick canopy of trees and a wall of towering bamboo.

That weekend we traveled up the coast to another AirBnB to serve as a jumping off point for Jackson and Kathleen to the airport, and a shorter drive for the newly arriving Robb and Camden. This new place was about 2 hours up the coast and right on the beach. I mean, the backyard could’ve been in a music video. Up a half set of stairs was a pool surrounded by white tile and large canopy. The whole patio overlooked the ocean. The waves were 100 yards away, with a distant, mountainous shoreline as a backdrop to the horizon. Absolutely perfect atmosphere. No rain, no clouds, turquoise water, a salty breeze, and a soft black sand beach dotted with palm trees. Scarlet macaws flew over us and landed in trees around us. A good pick by Jackson.

The house itself was very small and nothing special. There wasn’t really a town either. More of a beach community with a single restaurant. But hanging out on the backyard/patio was more than enough. I somehow avoided picking up the newcomers from the airport, so I enjoyed time to myself in the pool and sunshine where I read about Kit Carson and got some writing done. Finally they arrived, so we drank, we played in the ocean, we watch the sunset, we drank, we play cards, and eventually go to the one restaurant available. We got to playing Foosball at the restaurant and wound up in a tournament with the owner’s kids. We couldn’t fully understand the order or bracketing but they sure were competitive. And we made it on their facebook page! On a similar note, if you enjoy your time at a small restaurant or business of any kind, leave a positive review on TripAdvisor, Google, or Yelp. It will be more valuable to them than eating five meals there.

Week Three

Sunday I drove with my new companions, Robb and Camden (another couple), back to Uvita. It really is a gorgeous drive. A well-paved coastal road winding over mountains and rain-forest, with plenty of spots to stop and see the ocean. Goliath trees draped in vines offered plenty of shade across the road. Seemingly every other tree grew some kind of fruit. The drive was not without it’s fair share of stress. Sharing the road with motorbikes or passing old trucks with few straight-away’s was always a challenge. I made that drive so many times ferrying friends back and forth I can still picture it vividly months later.

On this particular drive back, they had read about “Gator Bridge”, which was just what it sounded like. I had driven over this bridge several times already in ignorant bliss. Now we stopped and had a look for ourselves. It didn’t take long for a man to spot us as tourists, and began chatting with us. Or at us. He insisted he was the “Gator Man” and had a good rapport with the gators. His favorite gator was named Mike Tyson and he was the largest, of course. We followed this man out onto the bridge as he talked up Mike Tyson. We weren’t really sure how he planned on interacting with the prehistoric creatures, but other people on the bridge were intrigued and began to watch as well. The bridge was at least 50 feet above the water, so a safe distance away. The Gator Man stopped at the middle of the bridge unsheathed two hot dogs and some fishing line, revealing the secret to his favor with the alligators. He tied up the hot dogs and slowly rolled them down above the water. There were several gators floating near the surface, but sure enough one was much larger than the rest. He had to be 15-20 feet long, his head was enormous. Gator man enticed Mike Tyson by swinging the dogs his way. Slowly Mike turned and moved towards the bait. As he approached, Gator man rolled up the dogs quickly, and Mike Tyson rose out out of the water to snatch them. One chomp and he splashed back into the river. One of of the most terrifying things I have ever seen.

After that spectacle, we continued with only minor stops on to Uvita. We got settled in and were off to dinner. I first took them to wonderful Carlito’s, only to find it was closed. It ended up being closed the whole week! Apparently the owner had family in town and took at least a week off. While I was there they closed on random nights without warning. I mean they’re only open six hours a day; maybe they have great profit margins? Anyway we ended up going to Uvita Beer Garden, which had only opened a month prior. The drinks were amazing(one of the best mojitos I’ve ever had) and the food was great. The whole restaurant was just a patio in dense jungle. It was also just across the street from the Uvita waterfall.

Monday morning I went out with them to the Whale Tail beach, but the rest of the week I had to “work” at my “job” while they had the week off. We of course had dinner every night. We had meals at Los Laurales, the bar/restaurant next to the grocery store, and cooked brauts and frozen pizza. Unfortunately after buying the pizza, we realized we didn’t have an oven, so we cooked it on the charcoal grill. It turned out pretty good! Robb and Camden had an eventful week, but soon enough the week was over and Thursday night we were back on the road, headed for San Jose.

We stayed at a decent hotel just outside the city. By the time we got there, there was only time to get food and go to bed. So we walked to a nearby chicken restaurant. It had the look of a Popeye’s, or any other American fast food chicken joint. Fluorescent lights, white tile floors, weird plastic/ceramic chair attached to tables of the same material, and a big colorful menu with combo meals. The restaurant was tucked away in a strip mall, no drive through. So we go in with the intention of placing a to go order. Now up to this point, living in the small town of Uvita, I had gotten by pretty easily using minimal Spanish. Most people spoke English or were forgiving enough to let me stumble through a sentence or two. San Jose was not Uvita. We go to the counter to order and begin ordering in English. The cashier snaps back in Spanish. He continues talking at a rapid pace and we are on our heels trying to keep up. Robb and Camden know zero Spanish and they are looking at me to translate, while I’m three sentences behind trying to remember that mesa means table. Among the other fifty words he said. He is gesturing frantically while we nervously point at the menu for a number one combo. A delivery driver pitied us enough to step in and tell us that the guy wanted us to go sit down and they would come take our order. We quickly obey and find the nearest table.

In our defense, the place had the classic look of being a take-out restaurant. Apparently it was only pick-up for Uber Eats delivery drivers, other wise you had to sit at one of the four tables and wait for a server. After a few minutes of deep reflection, a server did come by and take our order. I wanted to keep it simple, chicken and fries. No drink. The server was confused as to why I didn’t want a drink and kept asking me if I was sure. Apparently the drink comes free with a combo so I told him I will order ten drinks if it means I can leave sooner. I didn’t say that, it would have been lost in translation anyway. We did shamefully, but more so fearfully eat our entire meals in the restaurant without taking a single fry to go.

Friday we had a full slate of activities. We planned to go to a coffee farm, the Poas volcano, and see the La Paz waterfalls/wildlife reserve. The first step, of course, was driving out of San Jose. You know some days when you feel like you suck at your job? Some days I feel grossly under-qualified. Something something imposter syndrome. I assure you no one is worse at their job than the city planner of San Jose (honorable mention: Hue Jackson as an NFL head coach). I’m not sure the city even has a planner. There is no direct route out of the city, the streets are far too narrow for the traffic, and there are no signs for the street names. Sometimes the only way to get from one major street to the next is through a small alley way where a dog is napping directly in the middle. Then you layer in the surprise jay walkers and the ambitious motorbikes to keep you on high alert, there is no moment’s rest driving in San Jose. In defense of the city planner, the city is built in the mountains on rolling hills, so it doesn’t have the simplicity of flat land like cities in the Midwest.

I add this context to preface a story of us leaving the city. I already hate driving and this was a foreign country, so trying to navigate these streets was just agony. We kept a close eye on Google maps, naturally missing a few turns. We came to a line of backed up cars on a reasonably narrow road. Cars coming the other direction gestured at us to turn around, but according to the maps this was the best way out of the city. So we took our chances. Coming around the corner at the top of a hill we saw a van had t-boned a bus at a “T” intersection. It was not a bad crash, I hardly saw a dent on either vehicle. With the bus blocking a whole lane and the van blocking the other lane plus some of the intersecting road, it created a bottle neck of cars alternating getting through the gap on both sides. Actually, it wasn’t really alternating at all. It was more of a game of chicken. Some cars would brute force three or four at a time until a car from the other side would accelerate into the gap forcing cars to slam on their brakes. Then there was me.

I had finally crept up close to the bus and it seemed there would be a run of cars from my side so I hugged the bumper in front of me trying to sneak through. I didn’t make it, Costa Rican drivers can smell fear. A car from the other side shot into the gap, forcing me into reverse, trying not to hit the bus or the cars hugging my bumper. Then I would try and seize another gap only to be forced into reverse again. Cars coming through would honk at me to get out of their way while cars behind me would honk at me for being a coward. By the way, the drivers of the crashed vehicles were no where to be found. They went to grab a beer or something. Finally a police truck came from the other side to end my suffering and institute order in the chaos. Nope, he just honked at me too and kept going on his way. I guess that scene wasn’t really a priority for him as an officer of the San Jose police department. My hair was starting to turn gray by the time I got an opportunity to get through. But we did indeed make it through, and I am alive to tell the tale today.

Now, nothing to calm me down like a cup of strong, black coffee. The coffee farm was very beautiful. It was away from the city high in the hills. It had a huge garden to walk through and several viewing points from their lodges. The whole place was vibrantly colorful. Even the tree trunks had a pastel rainbow hue to them. The coffee was pretty great too.

Then we wound up a long, misty mountain switch back on our way to the volcano. The road had breathtaking views of the valley cradling San Jose. The hills were lush and colorful with farms and flowers. The road itself was home to several fruit stands and various restaurants. The ride was long enough to decompress from the city, and after an hour or so we arrived at the volcano parking lot. We were shrouded in mist at this point and visibility was low, which worried me. We sat through a brief safety video, strapped on a helmet then began our short walk to the viewpoint. Traveling doesn’t always work out the way you plan, for better or worse. That’s part of the allure, you’re taking a risk and you don’t know what’s going to happen. Well this time was a bust, we could hardly see 20 feet in front of us. Just a wall of gray mist. We stayed as long as we were allowed to, but no break in the clouds. Oh well, c’est la vie.

Good news is our next stop was nearby, only a 20 minute drive. After ignoring all the fruit salesmen on the way up, we stopped for one on the way down. The best strawberries I’ve ever had. I knew it first bite. The fruit is so fresh down there that I would become a vegan just to be able to eat it every day. Well, maybe not that good.

We visited the La Paz waterfalls next. This was more of a wildlife preserve/zoo/resort/hike. A bit of a blend of entertainment, but all outdoors in the jungle. The zoo part was built into the hillside, with paths winding between exotic birds, snakes, and jaguars. One guy eating lunch waved at us to get our attention and pointed saying, “Snake!” And we were like, “Yeah we know, we just walked out of the snake exhibit.” But this was a big one on the path itself behind us. So we weren’t sure if we should classify the attraction as a “zoo” or a “wildlife preserve” or just “the wild with flimsy cages”.

The path went further down to a river, and brought us close to the falls. *yawn* Waterfalls bored me at this point I had seen so many. And yet again, I was awe struck. The path wound along the river, but then brought us suspended on the cliff-side underneath one of the waterfalls itself. It was loud. And powerful. No way people go down those in barrels and survive. We walked the whole path and saw everything we could see. Robb and I even hopped over a gate into a shut down area and hacked our way through the vines like Indiana Jones. If you’re ever visiting Costa Rica, La Paz waterfalls is a short drive from San Jose and worth the trip. I can’t give a recommendation on the Poas volcano.

After having dinner at the zoo place and befriending a local dog (there is always a friendly restaurant dog in every restaurant in Costa Rica), we drove back down with medium stress. Every time someone would cut us off or come in our lane or create their own traffic rule we would chant “Pura Vida” as our mantra to calm down. I’m sure other places have worse drivers, but the drivers in Costa Rica were certainly not “Pura Vida”. We made it back safe and sound, then had the thought to go out. Why not? See the city, we were on vacation. Well everything was closed because, well, COVID. And I mean everything. They were strict about it. We gave up and just tried to go to McDonald’s. Two of them, wouldn’t let us in. People were working, and delivery drivers were picking up food, but we couldn’t go in or drive through. Finally we went back to the hotel and ordered McDonald’s delivery and waited until midnight for it to be brought to us. Costa Rican fast food is really just a flawless, well-oiled machine. I guess I’ve been spoiled by America.

Taking Friday off really stretched the weekend out. By Saturday morning we had done so much that we felt justified doing nothing by the pool the entire morning. We were also killing time until I had to pick up my next visitor, Connor. And of course, getting to and from the airport was filled with difficulty. The roads don’t make any sense, there is no pickup lane, and I had so much trouble trying to leave the parking garage that someone saw me on a security camera and used the intercom to ask if I needed help. But it was all worth it to see one of my best friends from college in awe of a new country. While I still dealt with the stresses of driving, to Connor I was relaxed Paradise Joe. I was about to be my fourth week living Pura Vida. I was tan, my hair was long and the beard was growing in. I can only assume I was wearing flip flops. I think he was impressed.

We had a lot of catching up to do, and luckily plenty of traffic to do so. As we talked about our lives and reminisced on college, I observed him with envy as he drank in his surroundings completely culture shocked. Connor was well-traveled within the US but not much outside of it. I remember that first culture shock feeling and I’m chasing it all the time. We made it back to the hotel, Robb and Camden were happy to see Connor. Connor and I were roommates in college, Camden lived on the same street as us, and Robb and Jackson lived across the street from us. We were all pretty close, so it was a nice reunion.

Later we drove to the heart of the city to get dinner and go out. Driving was testing me to my stress limits, as I drove in circles getting honked at trying to find parking. I finally parked the car and walked away, unsure of the cost. Finally we were in what we thought was downtown. It’s difficult to tell in San Jose, it is all just a random assortment of buildings. However these buildings seemed a little taller, which gave us confidence. We did find a nice rooftop restaurant that gave us a nice view of the city. San Jose is beautiful, however I think it would have been more beautiful without the city. It is really just a smattering of ugly buildings cradled by a lush, heavenly valley. Some cities make the environment more beautiful and some environments make the city more beautiful.

After dinner we wanted to go out on the town, have some drinks. We struggled to find a traditional bar. Actually we struggled to find anything at all. We walked down a main street designed for pedestrians, comparable to 16th street in Denver or Pearl street in Boulder. Eventually we walked into a restaurant/cafe that sold drinks. It was entirely empty, we had the place to ourselves. We ordered a variety of drinks including shots of a suspiciously cheap drink called Guaro. It was about 1/3rd the price of anything on the menu, and the waiter winced when we ordered it. It wasn’t the worst drink I’ve ever had, but it was far from the best. The entire time we wondered what was taking so long to get the drinks. There was no one else there! At one point I saw two waiters sitting in a booth just talking to each other while we waited for the next round. Life moves at a different pace there. They kicked us out at 8:00pm, which we thought was weird. Lucky for us there was a casino across the street. Unlucky for us it was only slot machines, and we learned there that the entire country of Costa Rica closes at 9:00pm every night. We could tell COVID certainly had an effect on businesses hours, but it was only then that we learned it was a nationwide mandate. The government saved us from a hangover as we went back early.

Week four

The fourth week began on a familiar road. I had memorized the turnoff for Uvita, and recognized every major landmark along the way. The drive was perfect to catch up with Connor. I hope everyone has a friend they can talk to about anything for any length of time, no matter the gaps between visits. We talked for hours above everything, just like we used to. It was like no time had passed at all. The drive flew by, our conversations made me forget that I made that drive a dozen times in the last three weeks. I don’t think I would be a good cross-country truck driver.

What really broke up the drive was stopping at Manuel Antonio National Park on the way back. It was on the way, and my previous guests gave it outstanding reviews. When driving to a national park, I expect a long, isolated road leading to a small ranger station and vast wilderness. I did not expect to drive through what I could only assume was Costa Rican Jersey Shore all the way up to the gates of the park. The park was along the beach, which attracted beach front housing and all the tourist attractions that follow. Everyone was wearing swim suits and drinking on patios with loud music. Locals jumped in front of our car trying to sell you a parking spot or coconut drink. It was crowded and colorful and unlike anything I had seen in the country up to that point.

We did however, approach this park with a warning heeded by Robb and Camden: the guys telling you where to park and offering to give you tours are not park rangers. Paying them to give you a tour will not cover the cost of admission. An expensive lesson learned by my roommates from a week ago. They did say they got a good tour and saw lots of animals, but we avoided any person telling us to park. And it was good we did, because if we had listened to the first ten of them, we would have had a long walk to the entrance. Eventually, after 15 minutes of winding Mardi Gras streets, a sign said “Last Parking Lot Before Park”. Sensing another scam I ignored it and continue driving. A man came over yelling at me to turn into the lot, and I only listened when I saw the actual park entrance in front of me.

The park itself was incredible and in stark contrast to the town before it. Besides the walking paths there was nothing but jungle in every direction. I squinted my eyes to spot the screeching birds or howling monkeys but saw nothing. Everything blended into the background of the canopy so that not one thing was identifiable. The beach could have been the set of a movie. While walking under the thick shade of the rainforest, the packed ground subtly turned to sand, and like a curtain was pulled the beach was revealed at the end of the trees. The sun was radiant and the ocean was as gorgeous as always. On either side, black rock spires sat like dormant lighthouses on the shore. The ground was littered with hermit crabs, more than I had ever seen.

We continued to explore, with no map or sense of direction. We climbed muddy hills and crossed rickety bridges. We saw a Capybara (I think). We were dripping with sweat and thoroughly entertained. Eventually we ran into a group that did hire a guide, and free loading off of them we were able to see some monkeys jumping through the trees. In the wild! Two gangs of howler monkeys were shouting back and forth at each other in the tree tops, and to be honest they sound like demons. We spend several hours there and only left to avoid driving in the dark. That night I took Connor to the Uvita Beer Garden as his first exposure to the town. Jack’s Travel Advice: After a long day of travel, the best thing you can do is loosen your belt, clink your glass of cold beer with a friend, then lean back in your chair while letting out a big sigh.

During the week we ate at several of my favorite places, and a few new ones. We of course went to Carlito’s twice. We ate at Mosaic once (from the first week) where they sat us in a private and romantic wine room by ourselves. So it was our date night. We also ate mango wasabi tuna (even better than it sounds) near the beach and ate at a backpacker hostel. One thing I have to mention is for breakfast in many places throughout the country, restaurants off “Desayuno Typico” meaning “Typical Breakfast”. Of course the residents of Costa Rica are probably familiar with this dish, but as a traveler what am I supposed to expect? It’s like walking into a bar you’ve never been to in your life and the bartender goes, “Ah, the usual?” Turns out “Typical Breakfast” is indeed what it sounds like: eggs, toast, fruit, etc.

Also during the week I showed Connor the local waterfall and whale tail beach during my lunch breaks. He was technically working that week but I didn’t see him at his computer too much. He took a whole day to go scuba diving. But I did take Friday off and we went snorkeling through a local company. They took us out about an hour off the coast by boat to a small island. I had never seen such a vibrant, colorful, alien world in my life under the waves (until two weeks later in Hawaii (I know, tough life)). We swam with puffer fish, angel fish, parrot fish, sea turtles, and every other fish from Finding Nemo. I even saw a shark! It was pretty spooky to be in the same body of water as a shark, even if it wasn’t all that big. We swam for hours and my back got horribly burned but it was an incredible experience.

Then the boat took us back to the main land, where I walked on Uvita beach one last time. It was our last night in Uvita, so of course we went to Carlito’s and drank many margaritas and pina coladas, and Imperial beer. We told stories and jokes and listened to music late into the night. The next morning it was time to go. Back to San Jose at least. We packed up the car and said our farewells to the quaint and stunning Uvita, a town I was happy to call home for a short while. Then I drove the whole 4 hours back to San Jose, and maybe an additional hour within the city trying to find the hotel and then parking for the hotel. You can ask Connor, I was at my absolute wits-end for driving.

The hotel was fairly nice, but there was nothing to do in the city. Restrictions had been added since even a week ago, and it was impossible to sit in any restaurant. But it was ok, the quiet time allowed me to reflect on the trip. I hadn’t come to Costa Rica to go to bars in San Jose. Really, I came to get out of my apartment. I was starting to lose my mind due to cabin fever. Monika, even though she was unable to come, was sensing I was starting to lose it so she told me to get out and do it. And I’m glad I did. What a beautiful country that respects the environment in a way I wish every country would. If you like doing anything outdoors, I recommend visiting. If you’ve read this far, thanks for reading, and maybe my description will inspire you to pull the trigger and book a trip. In the words of the great Jimmy Buffet: “If there’s a heaven for me, I’m sure it has a beach attached.”

As a bonus, here are the dogs of Costa Rica: