Having got our bank cards unblocked at least we could withdraw some money but it left us scraping together enough to pay for the trip we’d pre-booked via the internet. This in turn has left our emergency stash empty and me feeling less than comfortable should we have problems again when we get back to town. The trip into the rainforest isn’t cheap but, we decided to go for it as there’s all likelihood this is the only time we’ll be in this part of the world. It upsets me that I can’t relax and potentially won’t enjoy this treat as much as I should.
From the border we hopped on a bus to Cuidad Neily for $0.75 and from there we jumped on a Palmer Norte bus for $1.50 where we finally managed to get the bank business sorted out. Our final bus of the day took us to Sierpe and was the cheapest fare yet at only $0.70. American dollars are readily accepted especially when paying for trips and hotels but we feel it’s always better to use the local currency. When dealing with small amounts you don’t come a cropper on the exchange rate and the Costa Rican colones are the prettiest notes we’ve had.
Sierpe
Sierpe turned out to be a lovely, quiet little place and we soon realised we needed have bothered booking accommodation in advance. In fact when we tracked down Cabanas Gavistas it took a while to get someone’s attention; basically the place was shut but they gave us a room. There was literally only us two and the cat in the whole place as the lady who let us in locked up the office and disappeared. The place was set on the river’s edge and it was lovely watching the birds flying over and fishing in the shallows. The next morning we met Rayna (rayna@muchacostarica.com http://www.muchacostarica.com/) who Steve had contacted who organised our trip to Corcovado National Park - our treat in Costa Rica. There are various options for visiting this national park with Puerto Jimenez and Sierpe being the two main starting points. The former involves trekking across the park but we’d had enough of traipsing through mud and wading through rivers. Both options end up at Sirena Ranger Station in the park with the latter option being reached by boat.
Bahia Drake
From Sierpe we took the 11.30am boat to Bahia Drake; an hour long journey at a cost of $15 each. Along the way Steve spotted some squirrel monkeys and our driver doubled back so we could all get a good look at them. We puttered down the river at a fair lick but got glimpses of birds along the way too. Towards the end of the boat ride the river meets the sea where we skipped across the waves to Drake Bay. Unfortunately it’s a wet landing, but fortunately there were plenty of helpful people on hand to lug heavy packs up to the beach. We were then bundled into a van and driven a few hundred meters up the hill to Jade Mar Guesthouse http://www.jademarcr.com/ . We hadn’t expected to be met on arrival and even though it wasn’t far it was a nice touch. To be honest we hadn’t expected there to be any vehicles as we didn’t think there was a road to Drake Bay. In fact the place was much more built up than we’d expected but then we are basing our facts on a Lonely Planet printed in the last century! There are only a handful of places and what surprised us the most was the choice of restaurants and supermarkets. We thought we’d be a captive audience in our guesthouse but it was good to have some choice. Everywhere seemed to offer the same tours at the same prices and there was certainly loads on offer.
We were warmly greeted and promptly shown to our room; a lovely individual wooden cabana set in beautiful gardens over-looking the bay. We opted for the $60 deal which included private facilities and balcony with dinner and breakfast chucked in. The restaurant was further up the hill and the deal only included a set menu but they were happy to cater for dietary requirements. The attached bar got a bid noisy one night but the food was tasty enough and up there we could take advantage of the free wifi. Although the room was no frills it was very comfortable and it was great having somewhere to sit with excellent views and hummingbirds hovering around the flowers.
That afternoon we went for a stroll along the beach as far as the river inlet but we’d spotted some steps leading up to a resort so decided to go back via a different path. However, we saw a sign pointing to another beach through the forest and over the headland so we went to investigate. We were glad we had as we found ourselves in an even nicer bay; smaller with cleaner sand. All the beaches in the area are made up of dark brown sand so at first it doesn’t look as appealing but you soon realise it’s simply a different colour. We sat on a log watching skinks and teeny weeny hermit crabs while the sun dipped down below the trees. We walked back through the village where we found a bridge across the small inlet we’d splodged through earlier. As we went to cross the bridge we were delighted to see a couple of white faced capuchin monkeys had beaten us to it. We stood and watched these cute little fellas jumping across the bridge and bounding among the palm fronds. Costa Rica only has 4 species of monkey and we’d already seen 50% of the species before setting foot in the national park. An auspicious start?
Evidently not, as the following day wasn’t the best; Steve forked out $75 for a snorkelling trip and I sat on the balcony. Neither of us particularly enjoyed our day but at least mine was free! The annoying thing was the trip had sounded so good and something we would both enjoy - a boat ride with the chance of seeing dolphins, snorkelling from the boat and a beach and a walk over the island. Luckily we doubled checked the itinerary before I forked out as it turned out there would only be snorkelling from the boat and we’d not even be landing on the island. Steve returned looking disgruntled, very disappointed and feeling like he’s been seriously over-charged. It turned out the visibility had been poor plus there was no coral and very few fish about. Plus the marine park rules stipulated that they all had to wear inhibiting life jackets whilst snorkelling and stay together as one group.
In fact, we were beginning to feel like we were being over-charged or quietly diddled along with not receiving the deal we’d agreed to / paid for in general in Costa Rica. We’d expected Costa Rica to be on the expensive side but the bulk of the tourists that come here must have more money than sense if they think the trip and restaurant prices are acceptable. That aside Drake Bay is a lovely place to relax in and potter around and we’ve seen umpteen different birds flying around, frogs hopping in puddles, monkeys, squirrels and iguanas. We could only hope to see even more wildlife once we got to the national park.
