The bus from Panama City to Costa Rica was an uncomfortable overnight affair. Rigid leather seats, neon lighting and a stop every two hours meant that sleeping was nigh on impossible.

We did manage a bit of sleep in the morning and woke up to an empty bus and the driver shouting at us to get up and go through immigration!

A surprisingly painless crossing all things considered…a bag search on either side could be a disastrously long process but the Panamanians had a machine and the Costa Ricans had a glance.

We did the customary walk between the two immigration offices, stamped into Costa Rica and were on our way again.

We hadn’t actually realised that we had arrived at our destination and presumed it was another comfort break. Fortunately the driver announced that we had reached Palmar Norte (about 6 hours before we thought we were arriving!)

We made use of the wifi at Tata mi Rancha (bus stations are just restaurants apparently) and tucked into some breakfast mash!

Sierpe

After getting our spud fix we took an extortionately priced taxi to the sleepy river town of Sierpe. Abi took some good footage of the vast palm tree forests on the way.

Our home for the next two nights was hostel margarita:

Abi’s Rating: 7/10 – Too hot but I liked the throne toilet (disability friendly).

Mike’s Rating: 8/10 – Lovely little homely hostel, wifi was a bit iffy and bedroom was roasting but bed was comfy.

As we had been forced to alter our plans slightly we had two whole days in Sierpe which was not ideal as there was very little to do.

We had a wander around the town, made use of the outdoor gym facilities and watched a football match in the park outside of our hostel (standard = woeful).

Otherwise we caught up on some netflix and spent our time eating at the pair of establishments available to us.

Drake’s Bay

The boat (another one) from Sierpe to Drake’s Bay was just over an hour and took us through the Mangroves that surrounded the town. Not too much to show in terms of wildlife but Abi spotted a small Caiman.

Maybe we have just become accustomed to boat travel but the occasional hopping no longer bothers us!

What did bother me however was the lack of arrival port (i’m not precious a wood jetty would have done it) so we had to wade our way to shore.

We were collected by a taxi and taken to Casa Gitana:

Abi’s Rating: 8/10 – Room was quite fancy, nice hammocks and rocking chairs. Food was good.

Mike’s Rating: 8/10 – Food was excellent and the room was nice (although we paid $10 per day more for private bathroom as opposed to $10 in total #miscommunication). Wifi was a bit dodgy.

We had a little stroll towards the beach and had to take the long way round because the shortcut was flooded. It was well worth it though as we saw a pair of Scarlett Macaws and an imperious sunset.

The following day we did not have much planned until Abi offered a plaster to an Argentine woman staying in our hostel. As a result we were invited on a trip to see a waterfall.

It was quite the adventure as we followed Agustín and Vicky (literally) through the river on the way to the waterfall.

We waded through (at times waist deep) water and stumbled over rocks but unfortunately there was very little wildlife on show. A few fish, the odd lizard and a couple of birds. I did manage to seek out a beautiful dragon fly though!

There seemed to be a discrepancy between the tanned and athletic Argentines and the pale ungainly Brits…but we didn’t disgrace ourselves until late in the day when Abi thought that she would show off her gymnastic skills.

In trying to descend down a slippery rock face one of Abi’s feet gave way and she ended up performing (her version of) the splits. I was highly amused while our new friends were somewhat concerned. Luckily only wounded pride for Beth Tweddle.

As a result of our escapades we needed the following day to recover and duly spent it lazing in hammocks. Sometimes it is nice just to do nothing!

Our final day in Drake’s Bay saw us embark on the much anticipated tour of the nearby Corcovado National Park. Tour prices in general were through the roof in this region but we decided to bite the bullet and go ahead with the trip.

At 6am we took the boat from the Bay to the Sirena entrance of the National Park. It took about an hour but the views of the rainforest were stunning as the sun came up behind. I honestly felt like we had arrived into Jumanji.

We got some more dolphins on the crossing as well which was a Brucey Bonus!

Our guide for the trip was Freddie and he was an extremely knowledgeable chap. With his trust telescope slung over his shoulder we set about our search for wildlife.

We saw spider monkeys, howler monkeys, sloths, a giant grasshopper, an owl, a woodpecker, coati’s, wild turkeys, a herron (with yellow skin), a small hawk with prey in its mouth (sadly no photo) and, best of all, the elusive baird’s tapir. We saw three in total and one was lying asleep just feet from us!!

We took the boat to a small beach where we served a wonderful lunch that included some high quality shredded beef. The giveaway was the swarm of rival tour guides from other companies who flocked to our table once the tourists had their fill.

Much to Abi’s disgust I was nearly left on the beach as I had wandered off in search of some additional wildlife. I was just about to embark on a little beach expedition when I was called back to the boat!

After the early morning wake up we treated ourself to an even earlier 4.30am start the following day so that we could reach San Jose that afternoon.

As we went back through Sierpe there was a pig just casually strolling down the road…bizarre!

San Jose

Bus – raft – walk – bus – taxi was the chosen route. The raft being the most fun…we managed to arrive in the Costa Rican capital by 2 which meant we had time for some lunch before checking in to Hotel Milan:

Abi’s Rating: 6.5/10 – The drains stank, I only got one pillow when I asked for two even though all the rooms were empty.

Mike’s Rating: 7/10 – Comfy room, Abi went and got me a second pillow which was kind of her. Location wasn’t the best.

Not too much on offer in San Jose. A bit of a nothing kind of place that had a commercial feel but lacked the modernity of Panama City. We didn’t really explore too much but had a little walk around the park which gave us a view of the national clam shaped stadium.

We let ourselves run wild with a subway and McDonalds in anticipation of never seeing (fast) food again when we get to Cuba!

La Fortuna

Another day…another bus. Well actually 3. It was supposed to be one from San Jose to La Fortuna but apparently that bus no longer exists so we had to change at Ciudad Quesada.

Unfortunately I marched us off the bus in the middle of the town and not at the bus station. Cue wandering around in the drizzle before eventually taking a public bus to the bus station. Abigail was not amused…

No harm done. We got the same bus to La Fortuna that we would have done anyway as a Frenchman sat next to Abi had seen us get off in the town.

Our 4 days stay in La Fortuna was almost completely washed out by incessant rain. Our accommodation was Backpackers Hostel:

Abi’s Rating: 6.5/10 – Bad wifi

Mike’s Rating: 5/10 – Wifi was terrible, rooms were nice enough and shower was hot.

In addition to the rain the tour prices/taxi prices were ridiculous so we limited ourselves to a couple of DIY activities.

We walked for nearly an hour to spend the day at a lovely little thermal springs resort. Nine pools in total with varying temperatures (the 50 degree was unbearable) and the only disappointment was that the slides were 8-17 only. Truly gutting.

The main attraction of La Fortuna was the still active Arenal volcano. Its last big eruption was in 1968 and until 2010 it was still spewing lava.

We only saw it on the last evening when the cloud finally subsided and we were treated to a magnificent sunset.

If that wasn’t enough we followed this by embarking on a night tour. I was extremely excited to see some frogs and that is what we were promised when we signed up!

The tour had dodgy written all over it. The chap running the show could not really speak english or spanish and when we arrived at the eco park he insisted that they had the key to the gate but it would be better to jump over said gate and walk instead. We all know you don’t have permission to be here José.

The group was made up of a young American girl, a chap on his own – who added value with a powerful flash light – and two bints from Canada who had been lured in last minute and tried to talk and giggle their way through the whole thing.

José didn’t quite have the cojones to tell them to be quiet so I did!

Poor José didn’t really have a clue and pretended to be surprised that the path was flooded (he mustn’t have noticed the 4 days of rain).

We took the long way round and finally found ourself on the edge of the large pond area. The flashlight chap managed to spot a couple of standard frogs and I came up trumps with the star spots of a snake eating frog spawn and the famed red eyed leaf frog.

Not exactly the menagerie of frogs I was craving but it was definitely the real thing in terms of being out in the wild (instead of a more controlled sanctuary) so we went home quite content!

The 12 days in Costa Rica have dragged a little and – the incredible nature aside – we have struggled a little bit with travel fatigue. We have one month to go before we can have a little recharge but both Abi and I are really excited to be back on a plane tomorrow.

Next Stop: Havana, Cuba.

A word of warning to my loyal fans:

Cuban internet is notoriously dodgy but I will try my upmost to get a blog out while we are there. Don’t expect too many pictures (if any) though as that is the bit that causes all the cursing and swearing!