Friday, April 15, 2016

From Hondura to Costa Rica (5th Feb to 14th April)

From Hondura to Costa Rica (5th Feb to 14th April)


On February 4th: We left Mixco, close to Guatemala city and the nice company of the swiss/german couple of Cabanas Suizas http://ioverlander.com/places/12940-cabana-suiza, Antoinette and Walter, and moved towards the Honduras border. First we had to go through Guatemala city which was a challenge and we took a wrong turn which didn’t make things any easier. Afterwards we were driving the way we always did in Guatemala …. Up the hill and down the hill…. We decided to stay another day in Guatemala before crossing the border. For the night we found a hotel , http://ioverlander.com/places/7339-restaurante-hotel-grand-caporal, were we could park for the night and use their facilities. We also had dinner there but we had to bring our own beer because they did not sell it.

On February 5th. We got up early, had breakfast at the Restaurant to spend our last local money (Guatemalan Quetzales) and drove to the border to Honduras. After what we heard in the news we were a bit concerned about the safety in Honduras. The border crossing was not very exciting. It took about 1.5 hours and some copies and patience and we were through. Next stop was Copan were we stayed next to the ruins for 2 nights http://ioverlander.com/places/1428-las-arenas . We met a german couple from Bavaria at the campground and had a nice conversation. It was too late to visit the ruins so we went into town. Very nice place, but the best was a german restaurant which belonged to Thomas from Ulm. He is brewing his own Weizenbier and other good beers. I can only say that it was very good. After tasting 5 of them (Just to make sure they were all good ) and chating with other travelers from US, Canada, France, we went back and had another conversation with our german neighbors.





On February 6th. We got up and visited the ruins. Nice place but not as exciting as Tikal in Guatemala. We walked around and returned to town in the evening to visit Thomas again ( We had to check if the beer quality has not changed ) We met some German Expats and had a good time.





















On February 7th. We continued to Gracia Lempiras. We wanted to stay at a german restaurant/Hotel, Finca Bavaria, which was closed and the entrance to the property was difficult to get in. The police stopped to help us which resulted in a damaged power line. Nobody seemed to be concerned about it and no one wanted money so we stayed for free and had internet. http://ioverlander.com/places/1505-finca-bavaria The weather was nasty, cold, rainy and foggy, so we did not go to town to have dinner and spent the rest of the day in the camper and went to bed early.
On February 8th. Next stop was Lago Yojoa. I noticed that driving in Honduras was a lot more pleasant then in Guatemala and the roads were in pretty good shape. Unfortunately we had bad luck with the weather. It got pretty cold and rainy. The Hotel which also had a campground was nice but the weather did not improve. http://ioverlander.com/places/1429-finca-paradise
On February 9th. We relaxed, walked around and decided to move on tomorrow. I am sure it would be a great place to stay for a week but we did not enjoy the weather.













On February 10th.  We drove towards the border to Nicaragua. For the night we found a hotel that had a place for up next to the pool http://ioverlander.com/places/6474-hotel-quinta-alejandra . Unfortunately the concrete floor was not made for us so the front tire broke through it and the pool area did not look the way it was. Luckily the rig did not suffer any damage and the owner didn’t mind so we had a nice chat. The house keeper got up the coconut trees and got Steffi some fresh coconut water. Nice treat. We enjoyed the sunset, and first good weather since Copan…Unfortunately we did not see more from Honduras.






On February 11th. It was border crossing day. There was a lot of traffic and we got screwed out of 12$. In Nicaragua we had to get stamps and copies and payed our dues but an hour later we were in. We changed some money got an insurance and continued to Somoto. We arranged for a canyoning trip for the next day and got a place to stay on a farm next to the highway. The grandfather had died and they had the neighbors, friends and family coming to worship. Steffi went there and it was a very pleasant experience. We cooked some dinner and went to bed early.





On February 12th. We got picked up at 9am for the canyoning trip. First we took a taxi than we walked for an hour to the river. It was amazing to walk and swim through the river and jump down the cliffs. The weather was better but still not really sunny, but we had a lot of fun. When we returned to our farm/ campground our friends from France, we saw the last time in Rio Dulce, were standing right next to us so we had a nice conversation and some drinks.


























On February 13th. Next stop was the Pacific Ocean. We had not seen it since Mexico… The destination was a little village 30 min from Leon, Las Penitas. It was time for a couple of beach days. We got some groceries in Leon and arrived in the early afternoon. Of course the place was full but after some calls we were able to stay for 2 days http://ioverlander.com/places/8345-rigos-guest-house-las-penitas . It took some moving around for us to fit but in the end we had a good spot with electricity. We enjoyed the beach and the local restaurants. The prices are reasonable and the people very friendly.

















On February 15th. Just as we wanted to leave a bus arrived with students that take Spanish lessons in the hotel. The students were mainly Swedish females so if you are single this seems to be the perfect destination for you. Our next destination Vulcano Cerro Negro was only 50km away but it still took us 3 hours to get there. The last 20km was a sandy road which required 4WD. We had to negotiated the entrance fee and had a parking space next to volcano for the night. We put on our hiking boots and walked up the volcano. It was smoking a bit but not really active. The view was nice and we watched some visitors who were surfing down the volcano ( mainly sitting on a board ). We ran and jumped down the volcano which was also a lot of fun and felt like you were weightless. We cooked some dinner and went exhausted to bed.
































On February 16th. We left and met our French friends again who also wanted to see the volcano. After a short chat we continued to Granada. The traffic wasn’t bad and we got a place at the red cross for 3$ a day including internet http://ioverlander.com/places/1452-red-cross-parking-lot . The only downturn was that it was very dirty. We went into town where they had a celebration. The restaurants are very reasonable ( dinner 6 – 8$ Beer 1 $ ). We also walked to the lake but the flies were so annoying that we left again. Steffi got a massage from a blind man for her back pain, and I enjoyed Mojitos at a local bar.











































On February 18th. Our next stop was Lago Apoyo. The way there was as expected very hilly and when we reached our destination which was a small but pretty hotel on the lake the entrance was too small so we stayed outside http://ioverlander.com/places/1441-paradiso-hostel . We got electricity and could use their facilities. We also met backpackers had nice conversations and went swimming in the lake. A truly relaxing place to be. We stayed for 2 day and had a good time. The weather was still quite windy and we could not kayak on the lake as we wanted.




On February 20th. Next destination was Ometepe Island were we wanted to visit friends Chris and Kendra, from Canada, we met in Baja. So we drove to Rivas, where the ferrys leave, got Propane and groceries and went to the ferry. Due to weather (strong winds) and some cancelations we were not able to get on the ferry that day so we made a reservation for the next morning and parked at a hotel close by. http://ioverlander.com/places/1250-hotel-california-liberia. The lake looked like the ocean with high waves and still very windy… 




On February 21st. We got up early to catch the ferry at 7am. Of course it took some time. We had to pay the Harbor fee, than get the tickets for us. The ferry captain got the rest on board. We drove to the ferry and waited until it was our turn to get on. It was a small ferry for about 8 vehicles. We had to go upstairs and took off. Once we left the harbor all hell broke loose. I could not believe how wild the lake was. When I looked down on the rig I almost shit my pants. The rig was jumping and moving in all directions. I thought it is going to fall over. Then I realized that I forgot to put the parking brakes on and I had to return move a little forward so the camper could not hit the vehicles next to me. It was very scary and we were happy to arrive and get off the ferry. Next we tried to find our friends Chris and Kendra who live in their VW van on a finca. We found the road to the finca but the trees were in the way. Chris and a local guy with his machete tried to cut the branches down but we had to give up so they helped us to get a place at another finca 2.5km away. We returned later and enjoyed a couple of hours in the restaurant were Chris and Kendra lived. In the evening we got to know the people where we stayed and their kids had a lot of fun to explore the camper.












On February 22nd the brother of our hosts, who lives in Florida took us to a sightseeing tour of the village and to show us his properties. He has properties with banana, coconuts, citrus fruits, etc. In the afternoon we went back so see Chris and Kendra and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon at their place.  











On February 23rd. We continued to some nice hot springs, with water from one of the volcanos of the Island, where we spend the afternoon and the night. We also met other overlanders and german tourists who were interested in our story, or was it just the camper. http://ioverlander.com/places/12961-ojo-de-agua








On February 24th . Next stop was a restaurant at the beach which had one spot where we would fit. There were some motor bikes parked but the waiter at the restaurant helped us to move them and we had a nice spot for the day and the night. We had some lunch and a beer and I was relaxing in a hammock until someone called my name and it was not Steffi. I turned around and there were Rebecca, Paul and their 2 kids a family from Washington, overlanders we saw last in Oaxaca Mexico. What a surprise… Overlanders are a big family. We exchanged stories and they moved on. We also purchased some homemade chocolate which was delicious. http://ioverlander.com/places/7597-parking-at-restaurant-natural




















On February 25th. It was time to leave the island and take the ferry back to the mainland. Needless to say, I was nervous but once I had the rig on the ferry I had the idea to put the camper legs down which helped dramatically to stabilize the rig. On Board we met 2 german girls that were on the walz ( german tradition ). We decided to go back to Granada for a couple of days before going to the pacific coast. We arrived at the red cross and met our French friends again. Hard to believe we never tried to meed on purpose. We had dinner and drinks in town. We really like this city. http://ioverlander.com/places/1452-red-cross-parking-lot



On February 26th. We all had all you can eat breakfast at a chocolate factory which was delicious and we walked out with a full belly (full of waffles with everything on it ). We went to the market and stopped in the park for some drinks before returning to the camper. Steffi decided it was time to fix the bikes (it’s not like we use them ) she found a place close by and we relaxed the rest of the day. Of course we had dinner again and some Mojitos.




On February 27th. We went to Rivas to replenish our supplies and found a german place next to the main road, La Comilona. We had Schnitzel and a talk with the owner who recommended some nice place on the pacific ocean. Next we drove to Matilda close to San Juan del Sur. We had to take a dirt road for 30km which was a pain and when we got there I could not find a place for the night. We squized into the back entrance of a hotel and had to pay 20$ just to park. The lady who was running the place was not to nice either. The beach was nice and we saw an exeptional sunset. http://ioverlander.com/places/854-camping-playa-matilda-los-playones









On February 28th. We decided not to stay and to drive south. We stopped in San Juan del Sur which is a party town for backpackers. We were not impressed and the people there not too friendly either. I guess too much tourism brings the worst out of the locals. We purchased some groceries and took a dirt road south for 25km to El Ostional. http://ioverlander.com/places/4871-playa-el-ostional, the place was recommended to us by the german restaurant owner. His wife was from El Ostional. Not a lot going on in that town but they had some restaurants where we ate a whole fish for 6$ ( Note: always ask for the price before you eat or you pay double ) and we could stay right next to the beach. We decided to stay for 3 days took long walks on the beach and met 2 swiss overlanders . We also talked to the fisherman who were drunk by noon and to the military who were patroling the beach. Not from drugs as expected but from illegal Cubans Costa Rica was sending over the border. The only downside was the wind that blew the sand right into the camper.









On March 2nd. It was time to cross into Costa Rica. First we went back to Rivas for supplies and Diesel and went to the border. It took 2.5 hours to get out of Nicaragua which included a detour because they gave us the wrong stamp which pissed Steffi off badly and long lines on the Costa Rica site which did not help the matter. We drove for another 45 min and arrived at Finca Cana Castillo http://ioverlander.com/places/855-finca-canas-castilla . It was owned by a Swiss couple and was a real hide away place. They owned 67 Hektar which they converted in a nature reserve. They had lots of spider and hauler monkeys and a crocodile in the river. We did not swim in there. They also had a baby Faultier. We decided to stay for 5 days saw the swiss overlanders again and a couple (Stefan and Melanie) traveling with a Mercedes 190D with a travel trailer tent. He had a drone and showed me the capabilities of it. I liked it. What a technology. He even made some money doing areal pictures for hotels. We also had dinner at their restaurant which wasn’t cheap but delicious.



































On March 7th.  As hard as it was, we had to move on. We will really miss that place. Next stop was the famous Lake Arenal which we had seen already twice but we found out about hot springs that can be visited for free. The drive was not difficult and we stayed for the night at a swiss hotel http://ioverlander.com/places/2816-hotel-heroes-la-pequena-suiza . Of course we had to stop at the famous german backery first where we met a fellow traveler again and had a nice Weizenbier. The thing we noticed was that Costa Rica got pretty expensive.

On March 8th. I had coffee in morning and watched the tourists in their rental SUV drive by. I had to laugh because they looked so serious. I guess we did too 8 years ago. Next we went to the hot springs were we met other overlanders and enjoyed 2 hours in the river which was very nice and did’t cost anything. Right next door is a tourist place Tubercon that charges 50$ entrance fee. Afterwards we drove to San Jose and stayed at a Walmart for the night http://ioverlander.com/places/865-walmart (second time since we started the adventure ). It was close enough to the place we needed to go the next day.










On March 9th. It was time to get prepared for our trip to the US. We wanted to take a break and visit friends and family and of course do the Taxes. So first we got a rental car then we went to customs parking lot, where we parked the rig and then we went to customs to get our temporary import license suspended. Of course the VIN no was wrong on some paper work and we needed to do the shit twice. Later that day we check into a hotel close to the airport and relaxed the rest of the day at their pool.

On March 10th. We packed our stuff returned the rental car and went to the airport. It took 2.5 hours to get to Florida and Steffi another 2 hours to get through immigration. Our rental car could not be taken out of Florida so we had to go to another company but at 10 pm we were finally on our way to Virginia. We spend 2 weeks in Virginia, vistiting friends and another week in Florida to see Roberts parents and Steffi’s sister Beate and Thomas, before returning to Costa Rica.



















On April 1st. We are back in San Jose to pick up our rig and now the fun begins. First we got a taxi to drive us around then we went to customs. At first everything seemed fine but then there was a problem with a missing passport no on the document. They tried to call the parking lot but no answer. Next they talked about that  the parking lot was closed by the government and we had to go there to see what is going on. Nice….. I was going to have breakdown so we rushed to the parking lot just to find out everything was fine. OK, I checked the rig which was badly parked in and Steffi got the documents corrected then we drove back to customs to get our temporary import license again. After 3 hours we finally had our rig back and went to Walmart to spend the night. At this time I found out that someone tried to break into the rear door of the truck. The person was not successful but the truck had some damage around the window. We were pissed but there was nothing we could do about it. Steffi bought some groceries and I got the camper ready for action.








On April 2nd. I called Rosi, an ex coworker from Virginia, who lives in San Isidro and announced our visit then we drove on the pan Americana into the mountains. We found a nice spot to camp at a national park in 3000m altitude http://ioverlander.com/places/5038-parque-nacional-los-quetzales . We went for a hike and went to bed early. It got pretty cold at night which we actually enjoyed.



On April 3rd. Steffi got up early and went for another hike. After we enjoyed some coffee in the sun, we drove for another 1.5 hours and arrived in San Isidro where Rosi was already waiting for us. We drove to her house. Guenther from Virginia was also there so we celebrated a nice Liebherr reunion. Rosi and Tom have a beautiful house in the mountains with a killer view. Unfortunately we did not fit through their gate but found a place at their next door neighbors Heiner and Sylvia. For the next week we enjoyed their company and they showed us around which was very nice. We had a good time talking about the good old times and time went by way too fast.   























On April 12th it was time to say good bye! We had a great time and it was hard to leave. Our next destination was the Pacific Ocean, close to Dominical. First we had to get the stabilizer on the truck installed, which broke after only 1 month after we had them replaced in Guatemala. Tom had recommended us a place in San Isidro, so it was a quick fix for only 12 USD. We had lunch in the mountains, valle Encantada, and thought it was gonna be an easy 20km to the beach. After 15 min the brakes started to get hot and Robert had a hard time to stop the rig... We waited 5min in the middle of the road and then continued 500m to the next spot where we could park and wait until the brakes cooled down... We put the rig into low gear which helped to get down the mountain. Finally after an 1.5h for 20km we arrived at the beach, Playa Hermosa, and found a nice place where we could stay for free.
http://ioverlander.com/places/14470-public-beach-playa-hermosa
Looking for a good spot we got help from an Expat, who turned out to be an 80 year old czech guy, who lived in Costa Rica for 20 years. So Robert had a good time talking in Czech.

We enjoyed a nice sunset!














On Wednesday, 13th April we went further south, looking for a campground with electricity. The humidity and heat was quite a difference to the nice breeze we had in the mountains.
We found a nice spot close to Uvita, where the famous whale fin stone formation can be found. We relaxed at the pool and had dinner at a Surfers Hostel.
Back to the campground we had a new neighbor, a german guy, Norbert, who was biking from Cancun to Panama in 3 months on his own.... Nothing for us in this heat we decided and where happy to have our camper... specially when it started to rain....

On Thursday 14th April we relaxed and then went to the beach to see the Whale fin formation, which can be seen during low tide. It looked close, but at the end was an about 10km walk around midday. Even though we had hats on at the end we felt how the sun got us...