Getting to Uvita, Part 2

The following day we took our time getting up, not needing to rush to get to Uvita. We got some native currency, breakfast, and sunscreen, and criss-crossed the city looking for the right bus to our destination.

Being all touristy in San Jose

The first part of the trip would be to San Isidro on a road through the mountains. The cool air in these elevated regions made the inside very comfortable despite the heat, and we had about three hours to relax. George and Nick sat a row back and discussed various deep life decisions, and I chatted with the natives next to me and across the aisle. The one next to me had been to Tennessee and also Ohio, doing construction work, and the mother across from me had also spent some time in the US. It seems like many Costa Ricans have traveled to the states at one point or another, at least given what I've heard. While I was talking with the the mother, her child interjected from time to time, teaching me a little Spanish and proudly showed off photos on her Nintendo DS, her family's first video game purchase.

The second half of the trip to Uvita was a bit more exciting and off the beaten track. We stepped off the bus in San Isidro and were promptly offered a taxi ride as a faster but not too much more expensive alternative to the bus to Uvita. We figured why not and got in the car.

Granted, this taxi wasn't really part of any larger service, it was just this guy's car, but it went well. We chatted with our driver all the way there. He had also been to the US, up and down the west coast, and started off the ride by showing us a bunch of pictures of his adventures up there. We drove over and around the mountainsides, quickly passing several buses and trucks that were going at a much slower pace up the steep roads. A couple times he pulled over and, wrench in hand, muttered "The breaks are not working quite right..." and hopped out to crouch by the front left wheel and give his car a bit of a tune up.

We got to Uvita only an hour or two before dark, justifying our decision to go with the taxi. Our driver insisted on taking us all the way up the dirt road to our house, overriding George's preciously mentioned desire not to impose on anyone. The car went up and down violently on the rocky dirt road, a few times making loud bangs you could feel with your feet as the underside made contact with the jutting rocks. Finally our house came into view as we descended from a large hill. A pool area on the side, a nice big house, a small guesthouse off to the side and a river running just beyond it down a steep hill. Mountains beyond and beach back where we came. Perfect.

The River House, in all its splendiforous glory

The guest house. While smaller, it does have one advantage: air conditioning.

Dinner, again, was our main concern upon arriving, and this time we hadn't had lunch so we were doubly ravenous. Our new house being devoid of any kind of food, we stopped by the neighboring house to say hello to our German landlady, who pointed us up the mountain to a hotel with a restaurant. She and her father also suggested going into town via taxi, but we knew the mountain was where the glory was! We grabbed a flashlight from the house, returned to the landlady's house to get directions since we really didn't know where we were going, then set on our way, hungry as ever.

It was a brutal climb, constantly going up. It reminded me of climbing up and down Vermont mountain sides in Marlboro four years ago, though back then I didn't have to go nearly as far by foot. Night was falling quickly, and we only just made it to the hotel near the top of the mountain before it became completely dark, and not before accidentally intruding on someone's property in search of the road.

The hotel attendents were pleasantly surprised by the panting, sweaty Americans that had just arrived at their classy establishment. We sat at a table overlooking the green lit hotel pool and the pitch dark mountainsides toward the ocean. We promptly had our dinner and were supremely satisfied. The long arduous hike up a mountain before dinner made it all the better.

After chatting a bit more with the attendents, we walked back down to our house, the flashlight an absolutely necessity given how dark the steep road was. Fat and happy, we retired for the evening in our new home.