Days 68-71 - Mal Pais/Santa Teresa & San Jose, Costa Rica

The beaches of the Mal Pais/Santa Teresa region are absolutely stunning. Nic and I managed to walk several kilometers along the beach each day with the only hiccup being that none of the bank machines worked for the entire length of our visit. I had to go into the bank during hours of operation with my passport and withdraw from my debit card, good thing it´s linked up to a credit card.

There was a great reggae scene and also an electronica beach party which we discovered. It was also nice to meet lots of Israelis and Argentinians in our time there. The vibe was great and we had loads of fun.

On Sunday morning, we packed up and headed for the ferry in Paquera which brought us to Puntarenas. From there, we hired a cab to San Jose as Nic was flying out the next day. We stayed at Hotel Presidente recommended by Kels. It was right in the center of downtown which was convenient for both of us because I was leaving early in the AM Monday as well headed back to Nicaragua for a little while. We took it easy in San Jose and enjoyed our last night traveling together.

Monday morning around 6, I went to the Tica Bus terminal hoping to book a ticket on the bus to Nicaragua leaving at 730a. Much to my dismay, I wasn´t able, but could go on the 1230 bus. I was not looking forward to sitting in the station for 6 hours, but it would´ve been a big pain to lug all of my things back to the hotel. Around 715, I asked again if there was any way I could get on the bus and with my luck, I got a seat! The ride to the border was shorter than I´d expected although the border process was not organized by any stretch of the imagination. I was aided by an Italian guy who used to live in NYC and moved to Costa Rica several years ago, so it was a bit less stressful.

In the mid-afternoon, I arrived back to San Juan del Sur to meet up with some friends I´d met the last time visiting. It is nice to be in a place where I am comfortable to begin the next part of my adventure solo.