After a modest breakfast in our hotel at Damas...
After a modest breakfast in our hotel at Damas...
...we said good bye to iguanas...
...and hit the road. On our way back to Santa Ana we planned
to explore the beaches around Jaco.
The weather was pleasant,
the traffic benign, and the road well paved.
Ten miles before Jaco we saw a new government resort which we first spotted
on our way down.
The first beach we hit was Playa Hermosa just south of Jaco.
It was Friday morning and there were only a few people around.
Even the restaurant drowned in the greenery still seemed sleepy.
Most of the action on the beach was thus carried by dogs.
Next stop: Playa Herradura (a bit north of Jaco)
This was really more a marina than a beach...
...although we did see some people who attempted swimming here.
The other side of the beach was taken by a huge
retirement complex.
It was still too early to return to Santa Ana. And since we started this trip at
a botanical garden (La Paz),
we decided to finish it in one as well.
Our guide listed Pura Vida gardens just a few kilometers off the Pacific highway.
Well, it turned out that the garden was perching on top of one of
the mountain ranges (the closer one)...
...and the only way to get there was a steep, 8 km long dirt road.
But by this time we learned to trust our Yaris, so up we went.
After about 30 minutes we arrived at a small parking lot...
...paid our fee and entered the garden...
...and this palm immediately caught my eye.
Most of the paths were paved...
...unless when they veered off into the forest.
There were also some stairs and steep inclines involved...
...because (as mentioned) the garden perched on top of a ridge.
In this view from the garden you can see a piece of that dirt road we had to take
on our way up (in the center)
You can also see how high above the ocean the garden really is.
The flora in the garden was a colorful tropical medley....
...some usual...
...and some unusual.
Park also had a few minor waterfalls,
but since we arrived at the peak of the dry season
most of the waterworks were fairly subdued.
The garden's centerpiece was a little "adventure restaurant"
perching over the deep valley
(and this is
its interior).
On one side you could admire the thick jungle with a long cascading waterfall...
...and on the other side you could see all the way down to the ocean.
And that is where we were heading again. Enjoying all 8 kilometers of it.
Needless to say we were quite happy when we hit a paved road.
Before we joined the highway 27 (leading to Santa Ana) we stopped for lunch
at a small roadside restaurant.
Up to this point I tried to stay away from truly local cuisine
(surviving mostly on Fajitas).
But I figured that since I would be within
a scalpel swipe of US surgeons within 24 hours
I could try something
genuinely Costa Rican. And this is what I got.
The traffic on highway 27 was flowing smoothly...
...so we arrived in our hotel with enough time for a late afternoon swim.
And that is the end of the story.
Adios amigos!
