Traveling from Jaco to La Fortuna

 Sunday evening, was spent checking out the local discotecas, or dance clubs in Jaco. I like to enjoy nightlife, so this was definitely on my todo list. I liked clubbing while I was in Chile, so I was hoping that it would be similar to that experience. I was not disappointed. Justin and I had a drink at the Hostel Bar, then ventured out into the night, around 10:30. The bar staff recommended a club, XTC. After a 10 minute walk we arrived. 

One of the many murals of Costa Rica, spotted on the way to XTC

Dancing and Drinks

They had the whole place decorated for V-day

A hammerhead shark made out of pop cans

The road to the hostel, ocean on the right. 

It was not very busy when we arrived, but I was relieved to see that we weren’t the only people there and dancing. Soon, we both had a drink in our hand and were dancing like no one was watching. We only stayed about an hour, our skin was starting to show burns from the day. Not to mention surfing almost wiped Justin out for the day. On our way back we stopped at a convenience store, grabbing some snacks and other previsions. We walked along the beach. The sounds of the waves was a nice break from the pulsing of the club. 

We woke up the next morning very tired, and slept in until 9. We enjoyed a hostel breakfast of  yummy avocado toast and a very salty ham sandwich. Our transportation to our next hostel wouldn’t arrive until 2:45 that afternoon, so we had lots of time to relax by the pool and beach while we waited. We packed up our things from our room, checked out and left them behind the front desk. This hostel seemed very used to people doing this sort of thing, so I felt very relaxed knowing our things were safe while we played. 

We bounced between beach and pool in an effort to keep our skin safe and less crispy than it already was. Soon, it was 2:00, and time for us to wash up and dry off. 3:00 rolled around, and our driver still hadn’t shown up. After a panicked conversation with our hostel hosts, it was soon sorted out, and the van was just late. It didn’t pick us up until almost 3:45, but it was nice to be in the air conditioned van. The driver was very kind and helpful. after 4o minutes we stoped for a quick bite to eat and a bathroom break, then we were off again. Justin and I settled in for what we knew would be a brutal 5 hour drive.  

From the pool looking up, our room was
on the second floor on the far left side. 

A day time view

Packed and waiting for our shuttle van! 

I have driven across Oregon several times, usually a 6 hour drive for me. However this drive was different. Because of Costa Rica steep and densely populated mountains, the roads switchback and wind through the land. Stephan King provided no comfort; I started to feel motion sickness creep up on me. I spent most of the drive looking out the window, until it became too dark out to see. 

Were were on the top of a ridge for this photo

Looking east, San Jose was at the very bottom of the valley. 

Another one looking west, you can see that the
 cloud covers the top of the next mountain. 

We arrived in our hostel, Essence Arenal, around 8:30 just in time for check in. We were quickly show our rooms by an awesome receptionist, Wen. I was particularly excited about this hostel, as they had tree canopies! Check my next post for photos of the room and surrounding area. 

Wishing for the best on your adventures, 

Cienna