Leaving Ourselves Behind

La Pura Vida, or Pure Life, is the clarion call of Costa Rica – the enticement to let worries slip by, shrug off minor annoyances and slide into a slower, kinder, simpler approach to life. A typical response to “How Are You?” would be “Pura Vida.” When we expressed consternation that most stores in San Jose were closed on New Year’s Day, we were met with a smile and “Pura Vida.” Good grief, if La Pura Vida seeped into our collective world psyches at this moment in history, just think about how different our newspaper headlines would read. This is more than a T-shirt slogan.

So here we are – one week into a one-month tour of Costa Rica, followed by a few days in Panama City and two months in Peru. Aside from the obvious reasons one visits Costa Rica (incredible biodiversity, stunning and varied scenery, warm and friendly people), we didn’t know a lot about the country. We didn’t realize that Costa Rica is relatively expensive compared to other Central American countries, and that a one-month car rental would set us back more than $2000. Most tours cost over $100US. Most restaurants charge North American prices. So, we put on our budget hats and figured out a work-around. We would stay in rustic cabins. Travel by local bus. Eat in local restaurants called “sodas.” Pick and choose which areas demanded a tour and which areas could be navigated independently.

Invariably, it takes us a few days to get our feet on the ground and this time was no different. We flew into San Jose on New Year’s Eve (cheaper flight), only to discover that almost everything was closed on New Year’s Day. We had planned two days in SJ in order to get a few things organized – bus tickets, SIM card, money exchanged, etc. We did manage to buy bus tickets to Uvita (our first stop on the southern Pacific coast), and withdraw money from the ATM, but the rest would have to wait until first thing the next morning. To add to the confusion, I lost the pin from one of the arms of my reading glasses, so we had to find a tienda optica as well.

All good – SIM card for $20 for one month, glasses fixed for free and handed back to me with a gracious smile, and we were on our way – a five-hour bus ride south to Uvita. Costa Ricans, or Ticos, are the heart and soul of kindness and helpfulness; which is actually a trait I find with most Latin Americans.

We were met at the Uvita bus station by our Airbnb host, Rob – an affable Scot who has lived all over the world, found himself here a number of years ago and stayed. This is our cute little cabin, tucked at the end of a quiet street, about 20 minutes walk to town and 20 minutes walk to the beach.

Our back yard was filled in with palm trees and bamboo and each morning as we sat outside with our coffees, a pair of birds would appear from the corner and begin pecking the ground – large, duck-like creatures with yellow pointed bills, grey-ish bodies and long red legs. I can’t find them online – among the hundreds of Costa Rican birds, they are definitely B-listers. We have also seen numerous hummingbirds, and a few macaws flew overhead and were gone before I had the chance to grab a camera.

While it does seem possible to travel much of the country by bus, I would suggest to anyone coming to Uvita to rent a car, even for a few days. There is a lot to see in the area around town, and no local buses to take you there. There are loads of free beaches, hiking trails and waterfalls that are too far away to walk, and quite expensive to take a cab. We were within walking distance to the main attraction – the Marino Ballena National Park, and it did not disappoint.

The park is a huge protected sanctuary for local flora and fauna. We saw a few of these characters as we walked in from the entrance towards the beach. I love their chatter and the way they just stop and stare at you with their little simian faces, then leap up to another branch and out of sight.

Uvita is one of the best spots in Costa Rica to see humpback whales, as they migrate both from the south and the north to mate. We were considering a whale-watching tour, but we are not quite at the best time of year, and recent reviews had showed scant sightings.

Still, their presence is immortalized in this park with the peculiar formation of the Whale’s Tail beach. This area that juts out from the main crescent beach is buried at high tide, but at low tide, it creates a fantastic shape of a whale’s tail. This photo (borrowed from the internet), shows what happens when the tides recede.

We walked out while there was still a little water lapping over the sides, but by the time we had reached the end, gone for a swim and walked back, the path was clear.

Although this beach is widely described as being one of the area’s best, we found the water to be quite unappealing – far too warm to feel refreshed. Still, the scenery was incredible, and the walk very enjoyable.

This flock of pelicans flew over us a number of times during our visit, but we never once saw them dive into the ocean to fish.

The Rio Uvita, which spills into the ocean, was far chillier and such a welcome break from the heat. Please allow me to veer away from Pura Vida for a second and comment about how tough the heat and humidity is to deal with. I realize that may sound a bit obnoxious, considering we left to escape winter, but it takes quite a bit of time to adjust to extreme heat (low 30s) and high humidity (face dripping, T-shirt soaked). This shallow river was exactly what we needed to bring our body temps down and just chill out with the locals.

This little girl was quite fascinated with Stephen, and kept an eye on him as she and her mother waded into the river. We did get her waving for a while, but then that novelty wore off.

And then there was the Uvita waterfall. In Costa Rica, you want to try and see the ocean, the mountains, the rainforest, the cloud forest and the waterfalls. As waterfalls go, Catarata Uvita is not the most impressive, but it was within walking distance (45 minutes), and it was fun.

There are two parts to the waterfall – a quieter pool at one end and the waterfall at the other. We headed to the waterfall, which unfortunately for us, was already populated by a large tour group that dominated the slide. I will now pretend that the only reason we did not a) go up the vertical ladder and b) slide down the waterfall was because it was crowded, but that would not be entirely accurate. I can already forecast who among you would now be saying, “I would 100% do that.” I was quite happy to park my fanny in the pool and watch everyone else, even though I was told by the group leaders that ages of sliders ranged from 3-78.

In reality, this was not a dangerous endeavour at all. You simply tucked and went for it, and in most cases, everyone bobbed back up with a big grin on their faces.

This next venture was a whole other thing though – jumping off the cliff into three metres of water. This group had a few people lined up to test their courage and our hearts went out to a young woman who was visibly terrified and shaking. She eventually jumped and received massive applause from all of us.

This guy, on the other hand, was a death diver. If you haven’t heard of them, look it up. They jump into water from great heights, with their arms and legs spread out wide, then at the last instant, curl up like a crab and bash into the water in a ball. The three young men who were leading this group were all death divers, making me so happy I am mother (or grandmother) to none of them.
This jump, while not a death dive, was just a casual backward flip, to round off the day’s outing.

Tomorrow morning we’re heading further along the coast to the Osa Peninsula. We will catch a bus to Palmar Norte, then grab a taxi to Sierpe, a small town on the outskirts of the peninsula. While the Osa Peninsula is sort of accessible by vehicle, it is apparently a rough ride at the best of times and inaccessible in the rainy season. We will board a boat in Sierpe, then glide through mangroves and spill out into the Pacific an hour later in Drake Bay. We’ll be there for five days and are looking forward to our tour of the Corcovado National Park, home to the largest concentration of peccaries, those somewhat unpredictable creatures with sharp teeth and poor eyesight.