Montezuma 1/25-1/28
The ride from Quepos to Montezuma was pretty uneventful. One of the ways in which Costa Rica has changed in the last 3 years - quite a few roads got paved. One concern we had when renting the car was whether we'd be OK with a small 2WD.
To get from Quepos to Montezuma we had to drive to Puntarenas, cross Nicoya Gulf on a ferry, and then drive some more. I remembered that much from my first trip.
Along the way we got to see these cute little guys under the bridge:
Once in Montezuma we started the hotel search. The 2nd way in which Costa Rica has changed in the last 3 years is the cost of everything. Most of the places we tried were either booked, or cost over $70. Some of the cheaper options were not really options at all. We drove as far as Cabuya trying to find something cheaper, but eventually found a hotel that gave us a decent room for $40. We only had an ants problem once during our 3 nights there.
On the first day we went to my favorite part of the town - the waterfall.
The waterfall has a lower level depicted above, and the upper level depicted below.
The hike to the upper level turned out to be much harder than I remembered it. So much so, that we opted out for another way down, via a different trail that I've not tried before.
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| 2012.01.25 Montezuma |
The following day we were considering going horseback riding, but instead decided to use our car, since we were already paying for it. So we went exploring the Nicoya peninsula - Cabuya, Mal Pais, Monzanillo etc. Now, those roads are not paved yet, and the road from Cabuya to Mal Pais had multiple warning signs that read "Very bad road, 4x4 only".
But we figured it was a dry season, so we should be OK. Worst case scenario we'd backtrack the same way we went.
Mal Pais and Cabuya did not impress us much, but Monzanillo was different. The beach was nice, and the town's athmosphere was laid back, so we stopped for deeper exploration.
We walked along the beach, cut to the main road through some yoga resort, and came upon an Israeli restaurant. We were the only couple there who did not speak Hebrew. As we discovered, the town was crawling with Israelis.
The falafel was indeed as good as the sign on the restaurant promised.
After lunch we continued our trip, looping back to our hotel.
We got back safe and sound, and the car was just a bit dirtier than before.
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| 2012.01.27 Mal Pais and around |

