Costa Rica

TRAVEL UPDATE – COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS

The global pandemic completely hijacked our travel plans and stranded us in Costa Rica for three and a half months.

Back in the beginning of March, we received a warning from the US State Department to either come home now or shelter in place.  Barbie and I liked the odds of sheltering in place in Monteverde, Costa Rica, as opposed to returning back to the United States.  Looking back, I am so glad we pulled the trigger on that proposition considering the awful state of preparedness in the USA to properly deal with this pandemic.  Who would have thought a Central American country would out-execute the USA in keeping its citizens safe?

Most travelers heading to Costa Rica would normally pencil down about 2 nights in Monteverde to hike around the famed Monteverde Cloud Forest and then move onto the next destination.  But the self-quarantine rules in Costa Rica were put into place a day prior to our arrival in Monteverde.  Our initially planned 7-night Airbnb stay in Monteverde was extended to 14 nights, then extended to 28 nights, and finally extended to 3 1/2 months!

We could have not asked for a safer place to stay—high up in the mountains, with the most awesome view overlooking a sweeping valley.  To top it off, the house balcony was perfectly positioned to enjoy amazing sunsets every night.  It was almost like the travel gods were looking over our shoulders during this worldwide crisis and placed us in one of the top places in the world to self-quarantine…… in the thick of nature, far away from other humans.

Barbie, being my little Jungle Cat and wildlife lover that she is, really appreciated being surrounded by all sorts of wildlife right outside our house.  It was a real trip seeing the white-faced monkeys swing by for Barbie’s banana & fresh fruit buffet that she prepared daily exclusively for them.  (Check out the video below of our Airbnb and all of Barbie’s friends that hung out with us during the self-quarantine).

Prior to the more stringent rules put into place to combat the Covid-19 virus, we fortunately had three (3) weeks to explore other parts of Costa Rica.  However, we needed to scrap the remaining 2 months of our planned itinerary and hunker down in Monteverde until travel restrictions were lifted. We had to cancel our time planned along the Pacific coast, Guanacaste Province.  We intended to visit the beaches of Tamarindo, Samara, Nosara, and Santa Teresa and then make our way to Tortuguero, Manuel Antonio, Uvita, and the Osa Peninsula, but the virus stopped us in our tracks.  I guess it will have to wait for a return visit to Costa Rica.

COSTA RICA – Crafting Our Own Adventure

Only slightly smaller than the U.S. state of West Virginia, Costa Rica is blessed with mountains, beaches, rainforests, and cloud forests. There are a ton of places to explore, and one of the best ways to do it is with a rental car.

Renting a car in Costa Rica has the potential to create a very unique trip for independent travelers. We were able to dictate the course of the day without being confined to shuttle times or bus schedules. We were able to seek out little-known places that many tourists would normally miss and craft our own adventure from scratch. We were able to change our plans if something came up. And, who doesn’t like controlling the radio and listening to the Dead while leisurely cruising around this beautiful country?

JACO BEACH – Waves, Parties, and Hooker Central

Jaco is the most developed beach town in Costa Rica and the closest to the capital, San Jose. It’s known for having some of the best waves around, which is a massive draw for surfers. It’s also probably the biggest party beach town in the country. Nighttime in Jaco was always busy, with plenty of lively bars and clubs.

Let’s just call a spade a spade: if you’re looking for “ladies of the night,” Jaco will serve you well. The heart of the action is the Cocal Casino. It is straight-up hooker central, thronged with voluptuous Ticas with butts that would make Kim Kardashian feel completely ordinary. It’s a wild scene.

PUERTO VIEJO DE TALAMANCA – The End of the Road

Puerto Viejo is one of those areas that has that ‘end of the road’ feeling.  The beach road skirting the ocean from Puerto Viejo to the end of the road in Manzanillo fits the mold of this ‘end of the road’ feeling perfectly.  In all our travels around the globe, we are drawn to these type of places as they always offer the most beautiful surroundings and isolated serenity.

During our five years of traveling, we’ve driven a lot of roads that capture this exact same feeling. To name just a few:

• In Kauai: The road from Hanalei to Ke’e Beach.
• In New Zealand (Golden Bay): The road from Tata Beach to Wharariki Beach.
• In New Zealand (Coromandel Peninsula): The road to Otama Beach.
• In Australia (Tasmania): The road from Binalong Bay to the Bay of Fires.

Set along the Caribbean Sea in southeastern Costa Rica, Puerto Viejo is a laid-back beach town with a distinctly Caribbean feel, where the jungle meets the ocean.  It’s home to residents of Afro-Caribbean descent and many Rastafarians with the most laid-back attitude.  Puerto Viejo offers a unique culture that can be found only in this part of Costa Rica.

The area is definitely rough around the edges and attracts tons of older hippies, weed-smoking Rastas, and tons of barefoot backpackers who use their bicycles to shuffle between some of Costa Rica’s most beautiful beaches: Playa Cocles, Playa Chiquita, Punta Uva, and Manzanillo.

If you are looking to forget about the hustle and bustle of the city and free yourself of stress, Puerto Viejo is the perfect place to disconnect and surround yourself with nature, beaches, howler monkeys, sloths, and all sorts of other wildlife.  It’s a unique place if you are open to assimilate into the local culture and are able to get a bit native and put aside the normal creature comforts from home.  The reward for going native is….. peace, calmness, and a chilled-out state of mind.  Puerto Viejo also makes a great stop if you are looking to cross the border to Panama’s gorgeous Bocas del Toro archipelago.

La Fortuna: New Zealand Vibes

This was actually our second visit to La Fortuna.  We rarely visit the same place twice, so that should tell you it’s a pretty special spot.  The town offers wide-open spaces surrounded by nature with a small, authentic center.  It has a strong local flavor that nicely accommodates the mix of locals and tourists.  We were coming straight from the Caribbean coast, so La Fortuna’s more westernized feel and cooler temperatures were a great transition from the rugged backpacker vibe of Puerto Viejo.

The town is surrounded by natural hot springs, lush jungle, and roaring whitewater rivers.  Its most iconic sight, the Arenal Volcano, is an awesome backdrop.  It seemed like no matter what we were doing, there was the volcano. We would walk right out of the supermarket, a café, or the pharmacy—and there it is, magically towering over us.

All these natural wonders make it the adventure capital of Costa Rica, giving it a very similar vibe to Queenstown, New Zealand.  There are tons of tours, but because of the virus, our strategy was to hunker down and stay away from other humans.  We opted for outdoor activities that gave us plenty of open space away from other travelers.

The only thing that really irritated me about La Fortuna was being charged for every single walk, hike, and natural hot spring.  Most other countries don’t charge you to partake in those types of activities. New Zealand, which is so similar to Costa Rica, never charged money to visit their natural wonders.

Monteverde: The White-Knuckle Drive to Covid Lockdown

To get to Monteverde, it took us about three hours of driving our rental SUV around scenic Lake Arenal.  The drive was beautiful, but the last hour—from the town of Tilaran where we grabbed lunch—was on a bumpy-ass, winding gravel and rocky road.  One thing Monteverde seriously lacks is a decent road to get there.  That last hour was probably the most gritty, white-knuckle drive we have done in five years of driving around the world—and trust me, that includes some incredibly hairy drives in Morocco and New Zealand.  Just another wacky driving experience on our around-the-world journey!

The main reason Monteverde is on the “must see” list is because of the Monteverde Cloud Forest.  We spent about 6 weeks in Monteverde when most tourists only spend a day or two.  Reason being, we hunkered down hiding from the dreaded Corona Virus.  We were fortunate to be holed up in a fantastic Airbnb on a farm, high up in the mountains with all sorts of wildlife surrounding us.  It had the most perfect view and it served as the perfect self-quarantine retreat.

GUANACASTE BEACHES – Stopped in Our Tracks

We had planned on visiting Costa Rica’s most popular beaches along the Pacific Coast—Tamarindo, Samara, Nosara, and Santa Teresa—but unfortunately, the Covid-19 Virus stopped us in our tracks as the government closed down the beaches in an effort to halt the spread of this pain-in-the-ass virus.

San Jose: A Total Pass

Look, San Jose is the capital city, but the place is a dump  Honestly, it’s one of the most unsafe-feeling cities we’ve visited on our travels.  Walking around during the daytime was fine, but I would not suggest walking anywhere at night.  The city was interesting to see once, but it is a big “pass” on any trip to Costa Rica.  It was really surprising to us because the rest of the country is so damn green, beautiful, and traveler-friendly.

Instead of staying in the city, do what we did: overnight in the nearby town of San Isidro at an Airbnb located on a beautiful coffee plantation before you start your actual road trip.

The Food Scene

To be completely honest, we weren’t entirely thrilled about Costa Rican cuisine at first.  We had just spent a ton of time consuming an inordinate amount of rice and beans during our stay in Mexico… and it was basically coming out of our asses.

But some of the best meals we had were in Puerto Viejo.  The Caribbean flavors down there are a little more exciting than the rest of the country, and there are tons of places with real good food on tap. Gallo Pinto (coconut rice) is ubiquitous, and it’s the staple side dish on all the plate lunches, which also include Caribbean chicken and fresh seafood.  If you go, ask for a big, refreshing icy-cold drink called Agua de Sapo (Toad Water).  It’s not usually on the menu, but they’ll make it if you request it.  It’s basically water, ginger, cinnamon, lime, and cane sugar—so refreshing in the sweltering heat.

I also became a big fan of the staple dish called Casado, though Barbie not so much.  It’s similar to a Hawaiian plate lunch, but it includes healthier sides than the typical white rice, cabbage, and macaroni salad.  The Casado consists of rice, black beans, plantains, a small salad, a tortilla, and your choice of meat.

Now, Barbie and I eat totally differently.  She likes to eat each item separately like a civilized human.  I love eating all my food together.  For some strange reason, the Casado dish tastes by far and away the best when you just mix all the shit that’s on the plate together so the flavors miraculously blend. It’s a very caveman style of eating, but damn, it really tastes incredible all mixed up.

Thru the Binocs: Doing Absolutely Nothing

As shitty as this virus situation was for the world, the experience offered us a lot of lessons, especially during those weeks holed up in the jungles of Monteverde.  Living in the thick of nature taught me more than I could ever learn in a city.  I learned a lot about myself, my habits, nature, animals, and what actually matters versus what is just completely unimportant.

So, what did we do for over three months holed up in Monteverde?  ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, and we loved every single day.

We just went with the flow and didn’t plan a thing.  The time allowed us to be lazy, to relax, and to slow down—simply living in the now and enjoying every single moment.  I loved not shaving for days because, honestly, appearance means nothing out there.  We loved buying the most tasty fruits and veggies from street sellers who just picked the stuff straight from their farms.  We loved watching all eight (8) seasons of HOMELAND on Showtime without any distractions.

No matter where we were, wildlife was always around.  The beauty was all around us.  All we had to do was stop, open our eyes, and look up high into the trees.  We loved waking up to the jungle noises and being able to recognize which wild animal was making the sound.  It all kept Barbie really happy, and she loved feeding all those little creatures in the wild.

Sometimes, dropping out of society and doing absolutely nothing is exactly what you need.

If you want to see more videos from our Round the World journey and check out our mountain hideout, take a look at our YouTube channel right here: Big Doug & Barbie on YouTube