Central America sort of picked itself, North was too cold and South was a bit too far and cost a hell of a lot more to fly to from Europe. Costa Rica was the obvious choice for the first timer to central America.
I spend Christmas at home and left the day after boxing day. The previous year I felt like I was sitting around at home just waiting for new years eve so it was the best time to get away. The first day I went down to a hotel near heathrow airport as the flight was early the following morning. I can't say I was impressed with Iberia airlines but it was cheap for the distance I had to fly.
Due to a delay it was a mad dash to catch the connecting flight to Costa Rica at Madrid airport. I'm still amazed that after clocking up nearly 2 years travel in nearly 30 countries that was the first time I had ever set foot on the spanish mainland.
When I landed it was straight to a pre booked hostel in Alajuela. I knew full well that the town was a purely functional one with nothing to offer the traveler other than being close to the airport and a good place to sleep off the jetlag. You could walk round town for an hour and find almost nothing worth getting your camera out for.
There was a bar in the hostel which was a good chance to meet up with others and get some travel ideas. As expected all of them were staying for one night only and were just arrived like myself or just about to leave the country.
As I had booked 2 nights I used the full day inbetween to have a look round the capital San Jose. Hardly a great city and like Alajuela just a quick stop for most travelers on the way to somewhere else. I had a few hours round the main drag and located the bus terminal which I had to use the following day.
Three years earlier I said I would never visit a country where there was a big language barrier as I always believed it would be far more trouble than it was worth. That changed when I first went to China. It's true that it can be a pain when having to point and make signs when ordering food for example. However for me that's nothing compared to being in a country where you are being constantly hassled by the likes of touts, vendors, taxi drivers and rip off artists every 10 paces. I'll take the language barrier any day of the week.
The second night back in Alajuela was uneventful so I had an early night which finally cured the jetlag. In order to get to the next destination I had to go back to San Jose to the Coca Cola bus terminal a place which I had read more than a few scare stories about. However it had police nearby and looked tame compared to places I had been in the past.
The plan was to head to Jaco to drink party and see in the new year before heading inland to see the "real" Costa Rica. After a scenic bus ride I had a nightmare on arrival. I couldn't find the hostel anywhere and I was walking round in the hot midday sun for well over an hour. In the end I asked for help and it turned out the hostel had been relocated about half a mile away since my guidebook had been printed.
The hostel was very laid back, the typical person who stayed there was a 20 something surfer from the USA who got up early for the high tide, spent the rest of the day on the beach and/or getting stoned while waiting for the next high tide...some of them would live like that for months on end. Great if your a surfer but not my kind of thing......
The first night was uneventful for good reason everyone was saving themselves for new year eve. I got to know a few people and had an early night.
The following day I hired a good quality mountain bike and went to explore the areas around Jaco. First south to Playa Hermosa but turned back when the road headed inland for several miles. Then north to Playa Herradura which seemed to be full of very costly hotels and loads of yachts. Obviously not a place for backpackers.
Then it was back to the hostel for new years eve, the plan was to drink in the hostel until about 10pm then head to the beach party which consisted of several dozen people drinking cheap supermarket alcohol round a fire until the new year came in.
Several of the group had the idea of going to a local bar/club which I was more than up for. The problem was getting everyone together to get there, people would randomly vanish, everyone seemed to be waiting for someone else. After an hour we had covered what was probably a 10 minute walk. At this point I gave up and headed back to the hostel to continue drinking with others who had also gone back. An hour later the original group came back still having not gone to the bar/club they intended to go to.
The night did end on a funny note when I found a supermarket trolley and ran down the street outside the hostel with some young surfer in the front. He was laughing about it for most of the following day.
As always New years day was hardly lively with everyone hungover and drifting in and out of sleep.
We did however manage to get out and go to an observation point overlooking the town to see the sunset.
On the final day I headed out for a daytrip to Manuel antonio national park with a group who were leaving the hostel. I split from the group as they were now staying there but arrived at the park to find that it closed Mondays. I killed an hour walking back to the main bus terminal then it was back to Jaco. Worse still some of those at the hostel knew that it was closed that day!!!!
By this point at least half the people I had got to know had left the hostel. Jaco was ok for a few days and did the job new years eve but it was just another touristy beach town at the end of the day and hardly worth the massive hype it got in some travel guides.
Time to move inland and see the real Costa Rica..............
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