Kalilandia

A ferry and a-few-hour drive take us away from our moon fairy tale in Montezuma to our final most Southern destination in Costa Rica, the Manuel Antonio national park. Yet again - Costa Rican accommodation does not disappoint. Our little villa in Quepos is in the middle of a little green oasis and we have our own pool. Every morning when we wake up, we hear something, which sounds like a gigantic ape or a dinosaur, or something between these two, but the owner claims it is a little monkey (hard to believe, given the monstrously loud sounds IT emits!). But ok, it is a monkey until it is not... You haven't experienced Costa Rica enough until you break a tyre We decide to take it easy these last days and, hence, we plan to spend most of our first day in Manuel Antonio on the beach. Our 4x4 does not think so, as we wake up to a broken tyre. The tyre does not agree with us either.  (Simple tip: when you rent a car in Costa Rica, make sure you have the right tools to change th...

Santa Theresa Santa Theresa is one of the several party destinations in Costa Rica. We are ready for some "loco fiestas" but we are up for a surprise.  Moon landscapes  Already driving from Samara, we figure that roads are getting worse and worse the more south we go, but when we approach Santa Theresa, and even worse - when we enter into the little Pacific village - we are in disbelief with the moon landscapes on the roads (I must have been too shocked as I have not a single photo of that memorable view). The car is jumping and sinking at every meter, there is not a sign of asphalt - only dirt, which goes through every little hole in the car, all around the air. Some people have given up cars and have jumped on the scooters, wrapped in scarves in order to be able to breath.  As adventurous as it is, and being one of the most recommended destinations on the Pacific coast, we still cannot get the concept and charm of breathing dirt while on holiday. Santa T...

Life in Monteverde was good! Starting from our accommodation, called with the very self-explanatory name "Romantic cabana"... going through some night encounters with vipers and jumping from 200 meters above the jungle, Monteverde was a bliss. Romance on a hill Accommodations in Costa Rica will prove to be a miraculous and sometimes a very important part of the experience, which is only normal when  you open the door and the view grabs you and takes you on a journey of contentment with just being where you are.   One of the definitions of romance is "the idealization of reality", but also "the expression of love". I think our Romantic cabin in the village Santa Elena, next to the village Monteverde, responded to the second. We also take the chance to eat our favorite Costa Rican breakfast every morning, in as big quantities as we can handle, because it is D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S - grilled Costa Rican white cheese, boiled casava, avocados,...

Plane - car - waterfall. Action! After a tremendously long flight of 12 hours from Amsterdam to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, Jenthe and I jump into a little van and experience by far the worst traffic jam in our lives. In San Jose, thousands of cars are simply queuing for several hours for a distance, which should not take more than 30 minutes. Our driver is, however, listening to some reggaeton radio and has apparently no worries in life... Long story short, we have not spent much time in San Jose and frankly, if you have a limited time, it could easily remain a transit place. However, Costa Rica is something to see. It is the most environmentally friendly country in its region, it has no army and geographically, standing over the clashing of massive tectonic plates in the core of the Earth, it possesses a special energy, which explains the spiritual seekers all over the place. The following day, we rent our 4x4 vehicle and head to our first destination, La F...