I was feeling pretty good about how things went yesterday. It took so much effort to come up with a travel plan that would work to get me here to Monteverde without spending like $100. I did end up spending $63 but that was reasonable given the circumstances. AND I got here all in one day which was seeming impossible until Larry (my new host) reached out to the local shuttle. At the last minute they got a booking to make a drop-off down in Quepos where I was then able to get a ride back with them for WAY less than any other shuttles wanted (like half the price at $30).
I had an awesome journey with my driver who was so nice. He stopped for me to take photos at the Jaco view point, let me out to view the crocodiles in Tarcoles, then we picked up a couple of locals and stopped for me to take photos of the sunset on the way up the hill.
We stopped to watch the sunset on our way up the mountain to Monteverde.
I also seem to have had yet more money go “missing”. I don’t even want to get into it because it doesn’t do any good to get upset over. But I was upset and my budget is now blown. This doesn't bode well for living off of my retirement budget.
The viewpoint at, you guessed it, Jaco.
A truck full of ginger root.
I entered the world of US dollars instead of the local currency. That’s never a good sign. There are more Western restaurants than Costa Rican sodas. And the souvenir shops – oh my gosh they’re everywhere!
But now standing on my patio with a glass of wine, listening to the stream and the crickets (or are they frogs?) coming from the jungle (or is it a rain forest?), I found myself wondering if I could move here for maybe a year on my future budget. What?!
In a strange way this place reminds me of Park City back in the day. And honestly if I had just come here as a tourist, I’d probably not love it so much. But Larry’s mini-tour around town has already shown me that there are ways to enjoy it here away from the tourist frenzy.