Peninsula De Nicoya beach week in so called paradise and recollections 8 years on

We had about 9 days leave from work due to Easter week (Santa Semana), so K and I went to the Atlantic coast where locals or Ticos go for their beach hols and chill out with tequila and surfing. This supplements the cool dudes from all over who purchanced on paradise and bought up a piece of the promised land for a hammock and beer plus those who bought up cheap land for hotels along extensive beach fronts as they could see the dollars rolling in.The advent of paved roads rather than dirt tracks, which can be difficult if not impassable in the wet season, as well as a sandy coast instead of rocks changes economic and social fortunes. But, we also saw largely unspoilt places with sleeping dogs, small farms and mango trees down dusty, dirt tracks.

The worst part of such trips was San Jose and trying to find out the variable bus stop arrangements for arrivals or departures. On the last trip we arrived by the coca cola factory and so I knew my bearings, but this time it was down some unknown street and we were earnestly told by a passer by in broken English that this part of town was bad and we should get on out.  My instincts and guide book had already said ´right ho´…so with a positive, confident attitude that of course we knew where we were going, headed off for the bus station on the other side of the city.

100km later we arrived at Puntarenas on the Gulf of Nicoya which had a raffish air of semi derelict abandonment with rusty tin shacks, empty shells of warehouses, bleached, white hot and dusty with shuffling and thin beggars juxtaposed by occasional smart houses and well dressed ladies. Many women wear skin tight jeans or amazing short skirts and low tops with stilettos. More swish than my traveller look!

The ferry took about an hour across the Gulf to Paquera ,a hamlet fringed by coconut trees and forest at the far north eastern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula.  We left Heredia at about 9am and arrived 7pm so about 10 hours to do say, 150km of road and an hour by ferry.   Travel on the dirt roads was slow with buses for some places only twice or so a day so we spent 6 hours hanging around in hot, dusty bus stations waiting for a bus out. Due to the increased traffic from everyone returning to San Jose a week later after Easter, it took 9 hours by bus to travel 100km on paved roads. Jam packed buses and great mix of dust, dirt, sun cream and BO !

Great to have sea breezes, icecream and beer as the boat wound its way through off shore islands important for breeding sea birds.  Total change of pace and ambience from that of the noisy, dirty fast San Jose, symbolised by the long afro haired surfers on board and tourists with back packs.  Then a packed bus journey for 2 hours to Montezuma near the southern tip of the Peninsula.

Outside of the Reserves, much of the land had been cleared of forest for cattle rearing and crop growing.  Pollarded young trees or sticks formed the field boundaries.  It looked like a Savanna landscape with scattered trees, dried grasslands and dry red or pale coffee earth soils. There were extensive plantings of young trees, ´deca´tied down with guy ropes used for making furniture etc and crops of coffee, sugar cane, yucca, mangoes, papaya, pineapple etc. The cattle were often a zebu type cross but I also saw classic European breeds. Costa Rica seemed a country of sharp contrasts between protected areas covering about 27% of the land where protection varies from the absolute to allowing some forest clearance and development to the heavily cleared and used remainder.

During the week we stayed in budget hostels for about 10 to 15 $ each, luckily in rooms to ourselves which varied from dog basic of being fairly clean with a fan, 2 beds and wooden shutters opening straight onto the beach to a similar set up but ensuite where mice appeared from a hole in the shower floor. I couldn’t work out if the long haired, very chilled dude owned a hostel or just hung out to test the hammocks – what a job!  I liked to imagine someone turned up one day in the beaten up rust tin can of a dormobile which is now sinking into the nearby sand and decided a good life existed under the coconut palms.

Montezuma was a cool, slow-living hang out small resort with many of the locals and incomers setting up bars, horse – boat – diving etc trips with jewellery street vendors and acrobatic twirling of flaming batons. This was set against a Bounty Bar paradise of long white beaches interspersed with rocky outcrops fringed by lush tropical forest and waving coconut palms, cobalt blue sea, crashing white waves, pigeon egg blue skies, small boats hauled up on a shore and occasional up market eco resort wooden cabins with cocktails and hammocks. This was the setting for outdoor simple meals of bread, cheese, advocado and pineapple. I chilled out one day under the shade of a coconut tree mixing just ´watching the world´with spanish learning, cooling swims and watching 2 men deftly open a coconut with a machete type knife.  When we tried this later under one of the abandoned robinson crusoe type shelters made from cut trees and coconut fronds, it took us some time with a small knife to hack and tug at the fibres – I wasn’t that bothered as I dislike coconut!

The next day after arriving, we walked about half a mile to a beauty spot with waterfalls which would be more impressive with rain but nice place to chill out in the pool. We watched a vocal troop of howler monkeys move through the trees with a small youngster hanging onto mum and trying a hand or foot hold on a branch and deciding mum was safer.

A hot dusty walk of about a mile to the visitor entrance for Cabo Blanco Absolute Reserve which I really enjoyed. One of the main reasons for visiting Costa Rica is to see some of the flora and fauna in the 12 ecological zones ranging from hot and humid mangroves, wetlands and tropical rain forests to the cooler montane vegetation. This diversity is due to the wide variances in topography and climate and location at the juncture of two major continents.

Cabo Blanco was created as a strictly protected biological reserve in the 1963 through the efforts of a Swedish and Danish couple who convinced the Government of the need to preserve some of the last remaining Pacific Lowland Tropical Forest and to restore an over depleted marine resource.  He was murdered by unknown hands.They donated about 1250 ha of land where about 80% of the forest had been cleared for cattle farming and the Reserve now has 1800ha of maritime area around an off shore island important for Brown Pelicans, Magnificent Frigate Bird  and Brown Boobies.

There are about 140 tree species spanning both the evergreens of humid rain forest and deciduous species from dry forest.  One, guacimo colorado´, Luehea seemanii reaches 40m in height and has large vertical grooved channels, the Bay Cedar has fruit craved by cows and Pochote is a common tree with the trunk covered in fantastic looking sharp spines.  The Forest Zapote has seeds with irritant hairs which the monkeys like and in the partly open trunk we watched some bats hanging upside down.  I enjoyed the 4 hour walk along the trail, as it was often silent of people since we´d arrived about noon after others had started out, and there were occasional sightings of variegated squirrel, raccoons, possibly an armadillo and a troop of white faced monkeys as well as various butterflies and birds such as a kingfisher successfully catching a fish in a stream. The return walk was marred by a loud tourist spouting his life story about the psychology of a relationship with an ex girlfriend. I gave up looking for elusive fauna and just looked at the canopy of filtered, patterned light made from all types and sized of leaves.

Took us all day to travel about 20 miles in a round about route to a quiet beach hang out at Playa San Miguel. After 6 hours in a bus station looking at pitifully starved street dogs and trying to understand the bus timetable, we decided to go to this place as we´d arrive at 7pm and not at an unknown hour at night. It was a good choice as we stayed for 4 days in a friendly surf hostel The Blue Pelican run by G.

G. offered surf lessons and was adamant he could teach me to stand up in half an hour. I had my doubts about such rapid skill acquisition knowing my lack of bravery in big, crashing waves with strong currents. After a 5 minute explanation on land as to all the steps, hang on tight as the board will smash you in the face and to jump off before it got too shallow to ensure the fins don’t get broken, I had a go, fell off, choked and blinked furiously on arising from what seemed like a washing machine. G. decided I was not au fait with waves, even small waves, but I thought they were big and we quit for that day! . I was probably right about being cautious as people have drowned but am not a brave bear.

K. was more successful than me so enjoyed that aspect while I for the next 3 days spent several hours happily jumping through the shallows and body boarding. GREAT stuff to swim surf for 2 or 3 hours in just a swimsuit and not get cold as the water is so warm!  Inbetween riding the waves, I watched the terns diving with consumate skill into the absolute shallows at the turn of the tide for the shoals of small fish as were the pelicans in the deeper water just beyond the breakers.