After a 6.5 hour trip from San Jose to Montezuma via a bus and a ferry crossing the Golfo de Nicoya, I was a little exhausted. I had to catch a bus from Guadalupe to San Jose before 6 am...then another from San Jose to Puntarenas...then took an hour long ferry across the Golfo de Nicoya to Paquera (they also hauled about 15 vehicles on this ferry), and caught another bus from Paquera to Montezuma.
Once I arrived in Montezuma I ended up chatting with this guy that was on a similar journey like me (quit his job and decided to travel for awhile), and was from Oregon. We checked out a few hostels and decided on this one called Hotel Lys that a few people had recommended me to. It was nothing special, but it was right on the water, and all they had left was these tents that did not even zip up. This guy and I each decided to get one of the non-zip up tents for $6. I stayed there two nights but the guy I met went on his way to Jaco after the first night. This was a unique hostel. This couple that I met at the hostel had been staying there for a few nights before me and they told me to observe these three different bums that come and watch the TV at the hostel and just hang out. So the two nights that I was there I noticed that they would come at different times, and just mind their own business and watch the 42 inch plasma TV (nicest TV I have seen in Costa Rica). They are definitely some strange looking guys, but they dont harm anyone and the family of the hostel even gave one of them a plate of food when he stopped by to watch TV after we had eaten. I thought it was pretty cool for $6 this hostel cooked up anyone a meal that wanted to sit down and eat with them. I paid and ate the food the first night, and it was really good. This Andy guy that works for them and lives with them as his family, used to work for Cingular for 7 years in California, and then gave up all of his belongings and moved to Costa Rica, and said he just loves the easy going laid back life style! He basically just helps cook the meals, washes the dishes, and helps handle the money from anything that the tenants purchase (soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, food, etc). He is 37 and just loving life. It was a great experience at the hostel, but I did get lots of bug bites from my un-zipped tent. They are big bites, and definitely cant be mosquito bites...they ITCH like crazy and are all scabbing up!
My second day in Montezuma I decided to rent a 4-wheeler because a dude recommended me to do that so I could cover everything in a full day. It was pretty sweet because I had the 4-wheeler from 8 am to 8pm, and if I returned it late I would have to pay another $70 (I will get to this story later). I definitely saw some amazing beaches Tambor, Santa Teresa, Mal Pais, Carmen, Montezuma, and Manazanillo (my favorite and very secluded...beautiful sunset with no one around).
My hands are very sore today from the bumpy dirt roads that I was riding on for 12 hours straight. At times, I would just hop onto the edge of the beach and just lay on the machine and relax (I think this is why my camera broke from too much sun exposure). Most all of these bumpy dirt roads go right along the coast. Many of the locals just rode their dirt bikes and quads on the beaches, but I tried to stay away from doing that except for when I caught the sunset. I cruised down the beach on the 4-wheeler and set up right in front of the sun. After I caught the beautiful sunset, I was starting to head home and I came across this backpack hitchhiker that was VERY lost and looked quite desperate for help. I asked him in Spanish where he needed to go, and he told me, but I had to pull out my map to see where it was. Finally, he was like ¨Do you speak enligsh?¨ Of course, well according to the map it seemed like it did not look that far...he had no clue where he was and had hitchhiked himself to where we were currently...ïn the middle of nowhere! Later he said, you are my life savior...not sure what he would have done...so he hopped on with his heavy backpack and we were on our way to try and find Samara up a ways north where he was going to meet some buddies. I had two hours left until I had to return the ATV...otherwise I would have to pay for an additional day like I mentioned earlier. We drove for about 35 minutes and did not see a soul and definitely did not see any signs on these roads for any cities, and by now it is completely dark. Suddenly, I put up my visor to my helmet up because I thought I saw water...sure enough there was a pond of water that had to be at least 3 feet that we needed to cross to get to this destination. We sat there for awhile, and looked at the map with the headlights of the 4-wheeler because it was pitch black, and then after about ten minutes, I noticed some head-lights coming at us. I could not believe that this SUV was driving through this...once they got through they stopped to say hi, and they told us they were coming from the destination that we were heading to (Samara) and it took them 2 hours with about 3 other ponds similar to this one that they had to go through. So, basically I knew I was not going any further because I had to get back and return this machine. In this vehicle was four very nice people from the states that were on their way to Montezuma where I had to head back to. They were nice enough to let the hitchhiker that I picked up squeeze into their vehicle and before that he tried to give me money for the ride, but of course I was not going to take it. He said this experience has been the highlight of his trip and that his butt was almost on fire because he was sitting on the rack, and the engine was so hot because I had been using the thing for about 10.5 hours at this point (not to mention the crazy bumps too). So once he hopped into their vehicle I said I would follow them back which was not the best idea. These roads are pretty much all dirt and I just have a visor over my helmet so I am getting a whif of the dust and also was covered from head to toe with brown dust. My khaki shorts were almost completely brown (I felt bad for my Tica mother Ligia having to wash them). As I was following them I saw this one and only sign to a town that we wanted to head to (Cobano) because this way actually has a paved road section for a few miles, but they ended up going the other direction that I had taken on the way there which was the long route...and to be honest I would be surprised if they made it back to Montezuma. There were a lot of turns, no signs, and no one around to ask if you were lost in the pitch black. There were times that I could not even see the road. Fortunately, I had taken this path earlier in the day light, so I recognized where I was, but I decided to surpass their vehicle because I was done with the dust, and I tried waiting up for them, but it is just too hard with all the bumps for any regular vehicles to move at a good pace, and I also had to make it back in time. So, I just decided to motor quickly back, and I made it back 15 minutes before 8. It was a close call and a fun and eventful weekend in Montezuma after a long trip back on Sunday that started at 5:30 am!!
