Affordable Costa Rica Day 10
Affordable Costa Rica
DAY 10 - March 23, 2005
Long Drive to Punta Arenas & Cruise to Punta Coral Private Reserve
Today was our early departure morning; we had to have the luggage out at 5:00 so we woke up at 4:15. The good kitchen staff was ready for us at 5:00 sharp so we had a nice breakfast while Mario loaded the luggage. Because of the Easter holiday, our itinerary changed and we will switch the next two days. We just had to start out earlier today to catch the boat that will take us to Punta Coral. Everyone was on time as usual, so we were on the road at 6:03.
Our first stop was at 7:30 in the capital city of the province of Guanacaste, Liberia, where we got fuel for the bus and Eddie dropped us off at a Burger King to get a coffee or bite to eat. I got a Mini Whopper - boy did it taste great! Gennie got a Hershey's chocolate cream pie - a real morning eye opener!
We headed south for about three hours to the port city of Punta Arenas. Upon arrival, we boarded the catamaran, Calypso Manta Raya for an hour-long cruise across the Gulf of Nicoya (a body of water comparable in size to San Francisco Bay). Our destination was Punta Coral, a private reserve at the easternmost tip of the Peninsula of Nicoya. Accessible only by boat, this dry tropical forest had a quiet beach and hillsides filled with flowering plants on one side and interesting rock formations and caves on the other.
Eddie gave us a quick tour of the area, and we played a short game of horse shoes to see who would get a free drink from the bar. The person who threw the shoe closest to the pin, was the winner, I beat every one by a couple of feet! It was all of that training on Stewart's last day of school parties that did it! We spent the rest of the morning swimming and snorkeling along the coastline. Some of our fellow adventures went kayaking before lunch.
We enjoyed lunch as we listened to a 92 year old marimba player who entertained us with a variety of songs. He played through our whole Mahi-Mahi lunch with white wine. We spent the remainder of the afternoon lying in a hammock reading, relaxing and talking to our friends while a few hardy souls went on a short nature walk.
At 4:15 the catamaran came back for us and we spent the next hour speeding along toward Punta Arenas and our bus. Mario was right there to pick us up and he had the A/C on high as the temperatures were again in the 90s with similar humidity.
We continued south toward the small town of Tarcoles, our hotel destination. I am amazed with the condition of the roads as we entered the highway, with potholes the size of boulders. Traffic would swerve into the opposite lane to avoid the ruts and holes at the same time cars were trying to pass us. Eddie told us that the road was being repaired and then we finally hit a stretch of good solid pavement as we found our lodging for the night.
We had about one hour before dinner to get our luggage and take a shower. We looked at today's photos and decided which ones to include in the journal. We started to write and then wound our way along the dark path to the bridge that crossed the river. This whole section is new since the last time we were in Costa Rica, but amazingly we are staying in the same room we had when we were here two years ago.
Accommodations: Villa Lapas
Meals: B, L, D
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