Trackin Jac's Global Domination: Montezuma, Costa Rica

Getting anywhere in Central America seems to be an adventure. After staying one night in San Jose (one night is 2 nights too many), we caught an 8:30 bus to Puntarenas. This was much more difficult that it sounds. San Jose doesn't have one or two bus stations where you can catch a bus to anywhere. There are at least 4 major bus stops, each serving a different destination (i.e. Caribbean coast, Pacific Coast, etc). Some stations are major terminals with shops and legitimate ticket counters while others are nothing more than a small shack-looking building with a small window. We eventually made it to the correct bus station (we left our hostel at 7) and were on our way - 2.5 hours to Puntarenas. We then took a 70 minute ferry ride surrounded by picturesque views across the Gulf of Nicoya to Paquera,

The view from the ferry ...

The ferry was followed by what should have been a short bus ride to Montezuma... but back to the bus situation - Most buses make constant stops. You can pretty much stand by the side of the road in the direction that you want to go, out in the middle of nowhere, and a bus will stop and pick you up. It's very convenient for local travel, but it turned the 40k trip to Montezuma into a bumpy 2 hour sweat-fest.

We arrived in Montezuma around 3 and imediately found a nice hostel called El Parque. This place was located on the beach...we had a nice room with an ocean view for only $10/night. Beat that, America! ;)

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring and eating, because somehow in all the travel excitement we hadn't done that. Montezuma was a nice little town with a bohemian feel. It's definitely geared for the tourists, but there is plenty of wildlife and no shortage of beaches.

The next day, we hiked 20 minutes up the river to the Montezuma Waterfalls. The trail was a bit slippery and muddy at times (who needs clean shoes, anyways?), but the scenery was stunning! The waterfall fell into a giant, refreshing pool. With the help of some locals showing us the best places to grip the rocks, we were able to climb up behind the waterfall and jump in. Standing on the rocks behind the falls made the climb worth it! Water was hitting the rocks and spraying from every direction....it's what I imagine my car would have felt going through a car wash for the first time.

Underneath the falls

Later that day we ventured out to find Playa Grande, the best beach in the area for swimming and surfing. While the beaches in Montezuma are beautiful, the sand is a bit rough. We walked along the shore for about 2 miles, flanked by rocky beaches on the right and a nature reserve on the left, switching from smooth sand, to rocks, to shells, and back to smooth sand. We reached Playa Grande with enough time to swim and relax for a while before heading back to town.