So, how did our Drone end up at a butchers in San Jose? Well, a friend of ours, Mar, used to work in Switzerland with Abigail. She is Costa Rican and she and her Swiss hubby, Fabio, moved back about five years ago to run their hostel in Uvita. As Uvita is a good three hours away, she had kindly arranged a friend of hers to collect our drone from the hotel and drop it off at her dad’s Carniceria in the capital. When we arrived, there hanging up with the big cuts of pork and beef, was our beloved camera accessory. It had been almost two months but it was at home. And so were we! Chema, Mar’s father, and Kata, her sister, welcomed us with open arms, fresh hot chicharrones and some choco milk for Zoe!
Chema is a butcher with passion! He works, lives and breathes meat! He breeds his own Red Angus cows on his private finca and goes on chorizo pilgrimages when taking his vacation. It is no wonder long queues snake down the street outside his Carniceria. And FYI- his chorizo really was the best! And his bacon? To die for! We knew we’d be paying a few visits here to stock up on these goodies!
On our way to Mar and Fabio’s, we decided to take the cooler and more scenic route over the mountains. First stop; Dota. Darren Mora lives here, a Tico who owns a secondhand English bookshop (Mora Books) in San Jose. We’d met him a few days prior when on the search for children’s books for Zoe. As we were soon to find out, he was the first of many Costa Ricans who would show their spontaneous hospitality to us. After our short visit, we had soon got a date in our calendar to visit his home in the coffee region of Dota! And what he forgot to mention was that a day after our arrival he was to fly over to Peru (his second home) and leave the key with us. Wow!
We enjoyed exploring the town of Dota, drinking its coffee, exploring the plaza and getting to know Darren’s wonderful neighbour, Bernal. Bernal is our second example of Pura Vida hospitality. He and his family are in the coffee, avocado and strawberry business- oh, and let’s not forget fun fact; rooster fighting too (a favourite pastime of his).
Well, one Saturday morning, Bernal and his wife drove us up to an even higher altitude of 2500 m. We were visiting his brother’s strawberry farm. It sure was breezy up there but filling up a few punnets of those vibrant red heart-shaped fruits made it all worthwhile. They were delicious!
Our adventures with Bernal did not end there, we later grilled sausages (sausage really is the thing to buy in Costa Rica), pork ribs and chicken wings at his house and the next morning, were invited to share a typical Tico breakfast: Gallo Pinto. No one is too sure where the name comes from, as there is little to do with a rooster on this plate. Nevertheless, it was scrumptious- scrambled eggs, with rice and beans and on this day’s case, some patacones (fried plantains) served on the side.
What a stay! We spent four nights at Darren’s house and are so grateful for this opportunity. We may have only spent one evening with Darren himself, but we know Peru will be on the cards soon and we look forward to spoiling him to a few grilled meats- Peruvian meat that is! Yum!
Our next stop over this scenic pass was the ‘Paseo del Quetzal’. The quetzal national park lies a few miles up the road, but this little mirador was the perfect place to spot those long-tailed feathered beauties. We were super excited about this visit. We’d previously tried our luck at spotting the Quetzal back in Guatemala. It is after all Guatemala‘s national bird (and also the name of their currency), but after a night spent in their prime location and two walks along their trails, we were still unlucky.
This ‘Soda’ here at Jenny’s (soda is the Tico name given for a typical affordable café), with its garden full of colourful hydrangeas, however, did not disappoint. Within an hour a female flew over to park herself on an Aguacatillo branch for a couple of hours, and the next morning, amongst a crisp blue setting, two males turned up in their full glory! And if that wasn’t enough, there was always a striking hummingbird to observe. Jenny, the owner, we call her the bird whisperer (yes, hummingbirds literally sit at her fingertip) knew exactly what she was doing when creating this beautiful environment. The quetzals come to feed off the small avocado-like fruit and Jenny’s guests, from the wholesome food she prepares. This is a place we definitely plan to return to with our Swiss visitors.
It’s very rare that we should ever need to be somewhere for an appointed time whilst travelling. We usually don’t know where we’re going until we jump into the car that day and set off. But here in Costa Rica, if there was something we weren’t going to miss out on, then it would definitely have to be the 12th of July. No, this is not Costa Rica’s Independence Day but rather the birthday of Richie and Mar (and so it happens Abigail’s brother, a friend in Germany, and a friend in Australia- anyone else born on this date?). It turns out that these July babies all have something in common. They all like to party!
Mar had spontaneously rounded up about 30 of her friends, booked an entire restaurant in Uvita, and let us join in on the fun this particular Tuesday evening. It sure was a night to remember with Richie managing to smash the restaurant’s light fixture instead of his Cookie Monster piñata, and Zoe destroying Mar’s Maracuya birthday cake. Yes, the entire cake fell on the floor during the big birthday sing song. Oh dear!
It was a happy occasion and wonderful to hang out with Mar, Fabio, and their family! Of course, Chema, Mar’s dad stuck around for a few more days enjoying the company of his new like-minded buddy. Lots of meat conversations were to be had and lots of grilling. There was no shortage of sausage and Entraña (skirt steak) at this hostel. Yum, yum!
As we were close to Costa Rica’s southernmost peninsula, the Osa, we squeezed in a little more time to visit this unspoiled gem before driving back up north to meet our family.
We decided to head to the calm sweet waters of Golfito Dulce first. And here, friends, is our third example of Tico hospitality. We were not even parked up for two minutes when we arrived at Playa Blanca when Mario came riding by on his bicycle. His house was just down the road and he had plenty of space, along with the offer of free water, electricity and wifi for us if we should so desire! A little taken back by this offer from a stranger (I’m sure our mouths were wide open), we accepted. And of course, one thing led to another and we spent four days swimming, fishing, grilling and partying with him, his wife and their friends.
It was definitely high time to hide. Luckily not many people venture out to Drake, over on the Pacific side. The road to this bay requires some good 4×4 traction and there really isn’t much going on in terms of amenities. Once you get there you can only explore more by boat, or by foot. The road ends at the beach and the gateway to the Corcovado National Park begins. We found a spot directly by the sea, under the protection of the local police. They just so happened to be stationed there too, them and what seemed to be their large pet iguana!
It was a beautiful bay; fairly calm waters for the pacific, squawking Scarlett Mcaws flying in their pairs and a family of white-faced monkeys crawling over the town’s electric cables. We did take a little stroll into the national park, making a beeline to Playa Cocolito. Unlike the bay we were camped at, this beach did show its true pacific side with waves towering high above us. Definitely not suitable for swimming, but what did surprise us was the crocodile we found basking away in one of the nearby rock pools. Yes, Pura Vida strikes again!
We could have spent many more days on this jewel of a peninsula, but we had another appointment to make. A very exciting one! Richie’s sister and family, who we’d not seen in two and a half years were flying over. Would we make it back to San Jose in just two days?
Thanks for reading and we’ll ‚meat‘ you guys around the world!
