A Roadtrip In Costa Rica Is All You Need
Why Costa Rica?
If I have to choose to do one of my travels exactly like I did again, I would definitely choose Costa Rica.
From the time I was landing until I left this country, Costa Rica was like being on an endless honeymoon.
I arrived after more than 1 day travel from Ushuaia to Costa Rica totally exhausted and with no sleep at the airport. But then I saw Felipe with his grinning face. And Ana, his sweetheart girlfriend. I met Ana for the first time but I set up straight away a deep friendship to her.
To make the story short: I hosted Felipe 2 years ago for only one day, but we connected instantly and stayed in touch per WhatsApp for 2 years. After I arrived in South America I promised him I would visit him in Costa Rica, before I’m going to leave Latin America
Kristina, one of my closest friends from Germany asked me in December to be her best-man/witness in March. Therefore in March I had to head back to Germany. But my season in Antarctica would end in February. The only option for me was to fly from Ushuaia to Costa Rica, stay there for a few weeks before catching my flight back to Germany for the wedding.
The first days
The first 4 days I stayed at Felipe’s home. Spending a lot of time with him, his mother, his girlfriend and his friends. The perfect start to explore the country for myself is to live the lifestyle of the locals. I enjoyed a lot the cheap and local food we tried. Good news for vegans and vegetarians! They have a lot of options.
I love the fried ripe plantains aka “maduros”. Try them, they are super delicious!
Seriously, Costa Rica has it all. From beaches, to mountains and volcanos to food and lifestyle. Did I ever mention I will do my first honeymoon in Bali and afterwards in Costa Rica? But as you know, I have nobody in my life, so of course I will do these honeymoons by myself.
The view out of the window at landing was convincing me that Costa Rica will amaze me. And it proved to be true.
A Road Trip I Will Never Forget
For our 2 weeks road trip we planned to do a lot but at the end we did only this Route:
La Paz Waterfall Garden, La Fortuna, Monteverde, Tamarindo, Santa Teresa, Mal Pais, Montezuma and back to San Jose.
If you stay longer than 2 weeks, I highly recommend you to travel the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. This time we only did the Pacific coast. In 2 weeks it’s better not to rush. We were quite happy with our decisions.
La Paz Waterfall Gardens
This waterfall is 31 kilometres north of Alajuela and for Jess (my travelmate) her highlight. Rainforest, waterfall, wildlife and hummingbirds.
I smiled throughout the whole day. It was the first time I ever met Jessa and I felt immediately attracted to her on a friendship base. She had actually on the next day her flight back to Texas. But I convinced her professionally like a salesman to stay and continue with us the road trip.
Guess what she did!?! She stayed with us!
La Fortuna
May I introduce you to Adrian’s highlight on this trip? Adrian is our friend and the best road trip driver in the world, I guess. In La Fortuna the heart of an adventurer will beat faster and faster once you will sneak a peek on the booklets of the travel agencies.
We stayed in Gringo Pete’s Too and did many tours with Juan Carlos and Alex. I went to a secret waterfall, a natural hot spring, a hot spring in a 5-star resort and did white water rafting, what do you want more?
Monteverde
Lush, green and adventurous. How about the longest zip-lining in Latin America? And a beautiful sunset over the mountains. Of course you can’t miss the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve in which you can spot sloths in the wild! I just love them! How can you not fall in love with a sloth? Monteverde was Dror’s highlight on this road trip.
Tamarindo
In Tamarindo I felt homesick of Bali. The vibes, the amazing sunsets, the lifestyle, the people. Everything felt like being in Bali. I love beaches, but not for relaxing. Surfing is my all-time favourite sport and I had tons of fun while surfing in Tamarindo. And going out at night with my friends. The fabulous and carefree life was truly a clear treatment for my soul and body.
We saw in Tamarindo a purple sunset! Aren’t you convinced enough to go there, that’s a call for every sunset lover like me.
Santa Teresa & Mal Pais
Santa Teresa is like Tamarindo but much calmer. For the first time I just relaxed and did nothing except going to the beach and fooling around con mis amigos. Mal Pais is even calmer than Santa Teresa. Empty, as if no one would live there.
Montezuma
I will drag my future partner to Montezuma, it doesn’t matter whether the person wants to or not. Montezuma is paradise on Earth. You know you go to places and perceive the surroundings, yourself, the vibes and atmosphere. I fell in love with Montezuma at first sight. And the best night in Costa Rica was in Montezuma.
In the evening we walked romantically along the beach. After sunset we went for a swim and once everybody left the beach, we stayed. While swimming at night we saw bioluminescence, the Milky Way and falling stars! Gosh, I am seriously dying because we live on such a beautiful planet.
But I know experiences are subjective.
Once again, it was the best night in Costa Rica and I know my friends felt the same way like I did.
Back in San Jose I did some trekking to a modest waterfall with Felipe, Ana and Gimena. I enjoyed my last night in Costa Rica with Felipe and his mother.
Road Trips Are Forever
Believe me or not but a road trip with strangers are magical. In particular, when those people are becoming your friends and you love them from head to toe.
I can’t put down the words and joy I had during those 2 weeks.
Far away from home, your friends will be your family. When it comes to sticking noses into one another’s businesses then you know you are bounded for a lifetime.
The Four Of Us
Jess and Dror and Adrian were amazing!
Adrian gave us options and was so patient with all of us, that we couldn’t believe how sincere he was. Guys if you need a driver in Costa Rica, contact him anytime per Whatsapp (+50684629595).
He quitted his job a month ago and is now driving tourists around his beautiful home country. He is also the one who knows the secret places where tourists usually don’t go. If you write him you can mention my name.
Adrian is this easy-going guy in the group who was teasing everyone in a latent and intelligent humorous way. And Jess loves animals and photography. I will display some of the pictures from Jess in this blog post.
And then there was me. The super positive girl with a huge amount of energy who was sometimes to impatient waiting for the others. I love adventures so much that I boosted and covered up myself with all the ventures Costa Rica has to offer.
Costa Rica will always have a special place in my heart due to my friends: Without you guys Costa Rica would have never been as good as it was with all of you.
Not A Forever Goodbye
I remember the nights in Brazil and the crazy people I encountered. How I open up myself a little bit more to adapt into the passionate lifestyle of Latin America.
In Paraguay I visited this Christian community and was touched by their way of life, their selflessness and compassion towards the Guarani.
Argentina was an adventurous strike, where I was captured for 4 months and even traveled twice to Antarctica.
A great escape from busy Argentina was Uruguay, where people treated me like a princess.
Chile amazed me by its nature and pure beauty.
And I will always remember the sunrise in Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia and how it blew my mind away.
In Costa Rica I had the time of my life and a perfect ending for my Latin America trip.
BUT every of those experiences I was sharing with other people, who are nowadays my friends. And for me life is nothing without all complicated relationships we have on this planet called Earth. “Without wishing to flatter: it was the one of the most wonderful time of my life,” I reminisce.
After 9 months in Latin America, I can promise I will come back again. – Hopefully soon.