In the Spring of 2007, Liz and I took a trip to the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica with two of our very best friends, Brad and Erin. After flying into San José, we walked to a hanger next door the main airport terminal and boarded a twin-engine puddle jumper and began the final leg of our trip to the Pacific Coast. I sat in the front row with my knees between the pilots and played guitar for the dozen or so passengers behind me. Without going into depth here, I’ll say that it was an interesting ride. We landed
on a tiny strip of asphalt that ran from the beach into the jungle and ends at what looks like a bus-stop in Tambor. From there, we took a “cab” to Montezuma.
We dropped our bags off at the B&B took a walk down the beach and ended up at Chico’s Bar (basically Montezuma’s town square) and spent the rest of our evening there. Montezuma is actually a fascinating mix of locals, European and North American expatriates, hippies, artists, wanderers, and happy souls. We made ourselves right at home.
After some of our crew overdid it on the first night, we spent the next couple of days on the beach, swimming at Montezuma Falls, chasing howler monkeys, and sleeping in the hammock. When we were ready for adventure again, we took a boat to Tortuga Island for a day of snorkeling and barbeque. (The wild pig that you see in the pictures is actually not wild at all and was not on the menu.)
A few days into the trip, we rented two ATVs and ventured through the jungle to the western-most coast of the peninsula. We visited the towns of Malpais and Santa Teresa, spending most of the day on the beach. That evening I saw the most beautiful sunset I’ve seen in my lifetime. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to capture such a thing with my camera. With the sun below the horizon, we headed back through the jungle to Montezuma. Having to find our way back in the dark, we tried to stay close together. (In the pictures, you can see a photo where my eyes, hair, mouth, face, and body were covered with a thick coat of dust from the ride back.) Everytime we gassed the throttle to get up the hills, the howler monkeys in the trees above would scream. I’ve never watched a gas tank needle so closely.
We arrived safely back in Montezuma and spent the rest of our trip with new friends that we would probably not get to see again for a long time, if ever. I haven’t been able to keep in touch with Charlie, Esteban, and Jose. My Spanish is terrible, and they didn’t speak very much English, but somehow we managed to have a great time together while we were there. Maybe we’ll get back to Montezuma again sometime and run into those guys. I’m putting it back on the list.
