December 08, 2016
Day One - Garabito, Bowies Point and Villa Mymosa
Alright, let me catch you up on the last four days. So last Tuesday night Kyle and I STARTED packing for our trip. We booked our trip with Under30Experiences back in May. We have had well over five months to plan and pack for this trip and of course we wait til last minute because we never have any free time anymore. Last weekend was the second weekend in the last six months that we had absolutely nothing planned. We are always on the go - working, visiting or traveling but hey, we can't complain.
So Tuesday night I packed my entire bag (and unpack it three or four times) until I could fit my entire life's belongings on my back. Kyle is a little more experienced when it comes to stuffing a duffel bag and going - for him it's usually a hunt though. Normally he packs just one set of clothes, so packing for two weeks was a little stressful but we got it. I'll write a post on how we efficiently packed our bags for our two week trip later.
Our trip is going to last about two weeks and if you think packing for two weeks in one bag is an easy task, I dare you to try it!
We had a connecting flight from Miami to San Jose, Costa Rica. We made it through immigration in five minutes (adding another stamp to the passport!!!!) and picked up my bag from the luggage carousel (that's a story for later..) and headed towards customs. We were out of the airport in 10 minutes where we were greeted by our smiling tour guide Marion, waving an Under30Experiences white and green flag. She took us to a cafe that was connected to the airport. We were greeted by ten other strangers who were also along for the trip. We eventually met up with our driver Ronaldo who kindly transferred our luggage to the back of the bus so we could be on our way.
Leaving the airport, we headed towards the busy highway which eventually lead to the pacific coast. We weaved around narrow mountain roads passing three tractor trailers at one time, all while motor bikes were passing on the right shoulder. We passed gas stations, outdoor bars and corner shops. We saw lots of food stands and women holding dead fish right on the side of the road.
The humidity is so unreal here, instead of paying ridiculous amounts in electric bills, everything is just open. No walls dividing each store, no windows and no doors.
About an hour into our drive we stopped at this iconic crocodile feeding spot. (I don't remember the name) There was a long bridge that overlooked a river where these MASSIVE crocs were just huddled below. People were selling scraps of meat so the tourists could feed them - it was seriously the craziest thing to see.
We then drove another thirty minutes to Bowies Point restaurant and bar. The owner of the place took a break at sunset to head out to the ocean and catch some waves. Right after dusk, he served us dinner. Although it was raining when we arrived, we walked out to the black sand beaches where we saw surfers and people riding horses.
We left Bowies point on a new bus (which had AC this time - thank the lord cuz the sweat is REAL here) and traveled another hour to the city of Quepos. It was around 7pm when we got into town. The night life was pretty exciting to see. People would cross in front of the bus without looking - not a care in the world. Our hotel, Villa Mymosa is located at the top of a steep hill. We had to meet up with an off-road bus that could take us up to the top. We switched buses and drove up a 60 degree angle drive, scraping our bumper on the way up.
We hopped out of our bus and were greeted by a man passing out room keys. Kyle and I had room 5 located on the bottom floor. We walked around the pool that is in the center of the hotel, unlocked our door and were completely shocked at how beautiful our room was. We are staying in a mini condo! The floors are a clay colored tile and the walls are all white. There was a full kitchen to our right and a cute coffee table with a built in, wrap around sitting area. Straight ahead was a queen sized bad. On the other side of the bed was a railing which overlooked another bed which overlooked the patio. (Of course we chose the bed below because we wanted to wake up to a beautiful view).
Tomorrow we're heading to Manuel Antonio park, I promise my posts from here on out won't be boring and will be filled with lots and lots of (cell phone) pictures (for now)!