Reef, Rafting, & Respecting Intuition

We left Bocas a few days ago and it was a little sad– the first place we’ve left that I could have been happy to stay a lot longer. The place is like an untouched paradise. There’s no roads, only boats. Only water– snorkeling, kayaking, fish. Tons of [jelly]fish.

We went to a place called Hospital Bay our last day there and the beach was amazing. There were only about 15 people total. The water was crystal clear and the waves just small enough to play in. Lazare brought us there via boat, stopping for about an hour or so to snorkel along the way. We saw many different fish, big and small, as well as jelly fish and giant crabs. It was so great.

Saying hasta luego to the Bocas house

We took the shuttle back across the border and stayed in Puerto Viejo again for a night until continuing on with our travels the next morning. Instead of taking the bus back to San Jose, we decided to combine it with an adventure. So we were picked up at 6:30 AM by a company called Explorades Outdoors and headed to the Pacuare River for white water rafting. The water was brown from sediment rising from the rain the night before, but if you ran your hand through it it was crystal clear, cool, and refreshing.

We went through class 3 & 4 rapids– perfect for my beginner type. We played games with our goofy guide– floating through rapids backwards and sideways, seeing “who can stay on the raft the longest” while piling on the back of the raft with our guide pulling the nose back with a rope until the boat was completely vertical and we all toppled in the water onto each other.

We ran the river for 4 hours with lunch in between. We were water-logged and blistered, with smiles on our faces as we slept the rest of the shuttle ride to San Jose. We spent the night at a condo in downtown San Jose, owned by an American named Scott. Because we were only there for a quick night he invited us to eat the lasagna dinner he made for his friends. It was probably the best meal we could have asked for post-rafting– comfort food at its finest.

With our rafting guide, Miguel

We woke up early to catch the 8 AM bus to Santa Teresa– a small surfing town on the Nicoya Peninsula which is nestled between the Gulf of Nicoya & Pacific Ocean. We took the bus to a coastal town of Puntarenas, where we caught a ferry to the Nicoya Peninsula, then back on the bus to Santa Teresa. The town itself is cute, although this time of year its a little sleepy. We dropped our things at our place and walked the road that goes through town to see what was around. We found a cute cafe that we’ve frequented a few times already, and also a small restaurant down the street that has great sea food and fruit smoothies.

On the ferry

He’s my favorite :]

Although we’ve found the town to be quite charming and the beaches just incredible, our accommodation has been less so. We don’t have internet again, which has forced us to spend more time than I’d like to admit trying to find free WiFi elsewhere so we could do work. We’ve been unhappy with other things within our villa, which I’m not going to elaborate on. I’ve also lost a dress that was purchased just a few weeks ago, and cut my toe open as I stubbed it on a rock. All within 24 hours. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, right? But our trip has been so fantastic thus far throughout CR & Panama, and as much as I want to fall in love with Santa Teresa’s deserted beaches and tanned blonde surfers, both Jason & I feel our intuitions are telling us to leave.

Finding solace at our favorite cafe, Zwart Cafe

So, after finishing our lattes [a small indulgence right now that feels like home] we’ll make breakfast at the villa, pack our things, and grab a cab to Montezuma– another small town located on the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula– where we found another place. We’re going to be spending a little above our budget, but at this point neither of us are ecstatic to stay and spending a little bit more doesn’t seem like a big deal. Sometime a little bit more money can buy happiness.

Maybe in the future we’ll come back and try Santa Teresa on again, but for now I’m glad to say adios.