To think about our last week of our travels is crazy! It is unbelievable to me what we have done in such a short time! Three countries in five days!! We were on the go with our final destination being the San Jose International Airport for Dec 1st, flight time being 1:20. Our journey began Monday morning with a 6:00 am private pick up from a friend of Marvin's, the tour guide we had for the turtle tour. He drove us to the Nicaruguan border where we passed through very easily and with no hold ups. We were there early enough to beat the lineups and the weather wasn't too hot yet, much easier to walk ourselves through the process without battling the heat as well. We really didn't have a set plan on how our day would go because the information out there about how to bus your way to La Fortuna, Costa Rica is really wishy washy. Many articles stated that a private shuttle or car rental is the only way to go, the public bus is too long and can be tricky to do because bus times can be hard to line up. We decided to go with it and see how it all went. If the busses were there we would take them because the cost for bussing compared to a shuttle is crazy, the bus total per person was $15 per and a shuttle would be around $65. We did know after Liberia we had two other bus connections to make before we arrived in La Fortuna and the last connection was a 12:30 bus in Tilaran and it was the last one that day. If we missed that we would be faced with having to figure out a new plan of action. We are not afraid to try things out, we like saving money and we had the time to do it, so away we went! We were in luck because as soon as we exited the immigration office in Penas Blancas ( border town) there was a bus to Liberia just about to leave. As we drove down the highway, to our left still sat the make shift refugee camp for all of the African Americans trying to make their way through the border. Rows and rows of tents were everywhere, fires burning, garbage piling up and people were everywhere! So heart breaking to see!! To me, it looked like there were more people there now as to when we first went through in Oct. More and more refugees are coming thinking they can pass through not knowing a baracade had been put in place, trapping them there. I hope this all ends soon! :(
We arrived in Liberia and 20 min later our first connection to Canas left with us on the bus and we made it to Tilaran and hour before the last bus left to La Fortuna.
The drive through the country/mountain side to La Fortuna was so beautiful!! It was rainy and foggy for the majority of the ride from Tilaran but what we saw it was so green, lush and clean. Our bussing day went so smooth!! We spent over 4 hours on a bus that day, kids were awesome little troopers and we were happy to finally settle into our hostel! We had booked a private room at the Arenal Hostel and Resort and it was only a short walk from the bus depot which was a bonus for us walking with all of our luggage. Super cute little place!
After 2 great days in La Fortuna and one room switch due to some squeaky, scratchy and running critters on our roof we caught the 9:10 direct bus to San Jose. Our 4 hour ride was absolutely amazing!! We drove through the farming communities up in the mountains and it was something else. We passed fields and fields of the worlds produce that is shipped out of CR. We saw fields of lettuce, carrots, onions, potatoes, sugar cane, bananas, coffee and more coffee!!! The highway was cluttered with semis hauling the produce out and how they maneuver those roads is pretty impressive. We drove through a city called Zarcero which is the capital city in the province of Alajuela and it was so amazing, such a memorable place. It is elevated 1,736m above sea level and it is home to the most adorable well manicured gardens and church in history!! I wish we would have time to explore this city, looks like a very interesting peaceful place to be. Maybe next time!!
Such a different side to CR that we haven't seen in our time there and we are so thankful we saw it! I sure wish my family could have seen it! I have a lot of farmers in my family and I think they would have loved and would have appreciated this area. I will always check labels back home now and seek out produce, sugar, coffee and rice all from Costa Rica. :)
We hopped off the bus in a city called Alajuela, which is where the airport for San Jose is and from there we caught a taxi to our hostel. We wanted to be close to the airport and a free shuttle there was also important to us since the size of this airport is huge and we like to eliminate any stress possible. Travel days are usually our least favorite days but we just research a ton and take one step at a time. It all worked out perfectly and we caught our flight to Mexico City without any snags after enjoying the afternoon before our flight out at the City Mall. This huge mall was about three blocks away so we just walked there and enjoyed the sights and looked around the stores for a while. Nate was beyond excited to be there because they had a store similar to our Toys R Us back home so he needed to try out as many new toys as possible. We have been in villages, out in the country, on a beach or in surf town for the past three months so to be in this fancy mall seemed really odd!!
We are really excited for our time in Mexico, as much as we loved our time in Costa Rica and Nicaragua there is something about Mexico. We have been going there for years and just love it!! So grateful that we have had the chance to explore and spend time other countries. We truly respect the culture and the people of both CR and Nicaragua, such beautiful places!! We are ready see family and to continue our incredible adventure!! We are all safe, happy and our hearts are full!!
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