We had a lovely evening meal at the pool restaurant we found. We rode there on Moose without the bags. Good Ol Moose flies without the bags and handles like a normal bike, it was a nice treat.
We made our way back to Jim’s place (Howler Monkey Hotel) on the super fast bagless tandem. As the sun sets at 1800 we were riding back in the dark which was a different experience in this country, quiet roads with just the sounds of wildlife. We got an early night and got up early.
We packed up Moose and went back to the same restaurant for breakfast. On the way there we saw a few bright red crabs at the side of the road.
You can definitely tell we are now in a tourist area as the options for food have become multi cultural.
We had a big climb that went on for 2.7 miles. We knew it was going to be hard so we toughened up and went out with the aim to enjoy the challenge. In the end the sun kept dipping behind the clouds and it was not the worst climb we have done so far on this trip. We also had three river crossings, the bed was smooth and it was not as deep as others we have done so we managed to ride across all of them.
We dropped down into an area that is regarded as one of the more tourist oriented places on the Pacific Coast and it was a culture shock and a side I am not particularly fond of. There is a bit of a balancing act to get the mix of business right for everyone. The amount of quad bikes you could hire was crazy, hundreds! People of all ages from all over the world going around with surf boards strapped to the side or kids sat on the back. You can also tell you are in a tourist area because everyone is wearing a helmet, in the ‘real’ Costa Rica they don’t play that game because they are just tootling around with all four family members on a 50cc moped. I forgot to mention in a previous post that in the traditional Costa Rica nearly everyone gave us a friendly toot toot, that does not happen in tourist Costa Rica. We needed a drink and stopped in tourist town for a drink at a very classy bakery that were selling some amazing cakes and savoury delights. We just had a drink, the fruit smoothies we have been getting on our trip. In the traditional Costa Rica they cost 1000 colones each, In tourist Costa Rica they cost 3500 – 4000 colones each.
We passed some amazing beaches again today. I can’t believe the difference between the poorer traditional Costa Rican beaches and the tourist ones, you would imagine the traditional ones with no one on them to be clean and the tourist ones with more people around to have the litter problem, but that idea is incorrect. I guy I was chatting to said that is normally the case in poorer areas as they don’t have the facilities or desire to dispose of their waste and end up just throwing it about, then it ends up in beautiful places. I don’t know if this is correct, but judging from what you see around England there maybe some truth in that.
We did the last stretch to our digs and were so glad it was in the next town on. There is a bit of development going on here too as it strives to become as big as its neighbour but it has a long way to go.
We were too early to check in, but was told by the accommodation of a lovely cafe at the top of their road where we could hangout before check in time.
It did not disappoint, we both had fish tacos and they were incredible!
We got to our digs and we’re were shocked, we are only paying £50 a night and it is lovely! It is a bit of a wellness retreat as well. It also comes with a gorgeous little cat that just sits outside our door.
We got our washing done and got ready to sit by the pool for a couple hours. It was very relaxing. We had the space to ourselves, another couple just came and did a bit of yoga for about an hour but other than that it was like our own little garden.
Tomorrow we are probably going to spend it on the beach. It is just a two minute walk down the road.
We are at the Playa Hermosa and the digs are called Villa Lua.