El Castillo, Amazon in Central America

Due to the lack of decent accommodations around San Carlos we decided to spend the night at El Castillo, located in the river San Juan. A tiny but spectacular village.

Slow boat to El Castillo

Traveling in style

San Juan river is a passage through dense tropical rain forest from Central America to the Caribbean sea. The river flows through many national refugees, the scenario is impressive. It's very well-preserved. And it recalls you of the Amazon wildness.
Since this was the slowest boat, we stopped in all corners along the river. We saw passengers leaving in very remote areas.

Arriving to El Castillo

Main street in El Castillo

Two hours later we arrived to El Castillo. We were very tired, we spent our day travelling by boat first from Los Chiles and then in river San Juan. But when we saw the castle lying on the top of the village we felt better about ourselves and about this long trip as well.

Fortress of the Immaculate Conception

Houses across the fortress

Unless you are using El Castillo as a base to explore  the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve, there is not much to see or do and food is nothing to write home about.

The fortress is one of the few highlights. We visited it in the next morning before we left to San Carlos, this time on the fast boat.

Children swimming in Rio San Juan

Los Chiles: Nighthmare Border from Costa Rica to Nicaragua

The first bus in the morning from Cano Negro to Los Chiles stops at the lodge around 7.00 am. The next one doesn't have a convenient schedule if you are crossing the border to Nicaragua. 

Dock in Los Chiles, Costa Rica

The bus will drop you off close to a square "parque central". You have to cross that park.
Across the immigration office you'll see a group of dodgy ladies seated around a table. They are the ones in charge of the boat that goes from Los Chiles to San Carlos in Nicaragua. Before you go to the immigration office to stamp your passport, get your boat ticket with those dodgy ladies. It's very important to get your name on the list. Especially if you are arriving in the late morning.

There is no schedule. The boat departs whatever the dodgy ladies decide to. Not even they know when. It depends on the number of people that they already have in the list.

On your way to the dock stop by an office, next to the restaurant on your left, to pay the exit tax. 

Later, one of the dodgy ladies will come and organize a line by the list's order. After that an an immigration officer has to go there and check all the passports again. This can take a long time. 

Dock in Los Chiles, Costa Rica after more than 2 hours

We arrived around 8.30 am and we left after 11 am. We were waiting under the rain and with no food. 

These dodgy ladies that are running this boat business are so bad planners that they didn't realize that they already had enough people for 2 boats instead of 1. Well, maybe they just don't care since there is no competition. This is what happens when you let a monopoly own the last mile. You get a terrible service (yeah, I'm not turning this into an economics lecture, also because I'm not an economist).

I found Costa Rica more disorganized than the other countries that I previously visited in Central America. Even the boat that does the opposite route, that goes from San Carlos in Nicaragua to Los Chiles in Costa Rica, has a schedule. It's shameful for Costa Rica. 

There is no such thing as an organized transportation system. Everything relies on privately owned companies that are operating in a small scale and they are not connected in any way. If you want to go from point A to point B, you should pray because very likely you have to connect at least a couple of times and no one will be aware of the schedules. 

Rio Frio border

When you get in the boat the crew will try to force you to get one of the seats on the back. This is terrible (again the lack of organization in Costa Rica is painful) because when you arrive to San Carlos, you'll take a long time to leave the boat and to get into the line to the immigration. Those who arrived later, will leave first and they will be the first ones going through the immigration. Pretend that you don't speak Spanish, ignore them and get a seat on the 2nd or 3rd row. The 1st is reserved for the dodgy ladies's friends. 

Landscape along the border

Many tourists come from Arenal to do a boat tour in this area thinking that they are visiting Cano Negro National Park. FYI, those tours don't go to Cano Negro. The landscape across the border is beautiful and you still can spot wildlife although it's not as impressive. And you don't have the same type of experience as we had. 

The Unexplored Cano Negro

Arriving to Cano Negro by bus is challenging. First we took a bus from Grecia to Naranjo and then another bus from Naranjo to Upala with a stop of almost 1h in the bus terminal in San Carlos. 

Road to Cano Negro

In Colonia Punta Arenas, the bus dropped us off in an intersection with an unpaved road next to a small shop called Agrocolos. Since the buses are not coordinated, we missed the bus to Cano Negro (there are only 3 buses per day). We would have to wait 2h to get the next bus or find another way to get there. We stopped by the shop and we inquired customers if afterwards they were going in that direction. A guy agreed to take us there for $20. 

It's a 30 kms ride in a terrible road. The best $20 I have ever spent. 

This guy was originally from Nicaragua and he told us more about Nica food. And about Nicaragua. Our next destination.

Cano Negro wetlands

We stayed at Natural Lodge Cano Negro. This time we learned our lesson and we booked 2 nights to have plenty of time to explore it. 

Keep in mind that the location is what you are paying for. The room is just the frame.

The hotel organizes several tours. We picked the boat and the canoe tour with Jimmy, their best guide. 

The boat was nice (a bit stressful due to a very talkative and annoying lady, she spent all the time talking about unrelated silly things... Yeah, I'm still angry with you lady!) but the canoe tour is way better. 

Fish boat

"Blue jeans" frog

First of all because it's easier to spot wildlife. We went to small canals where only canoes and kayaks can go. Motor boats aren't allowed. 

Jimmy is a great guide. He is very knowledgeable, kind and passionate about his job. Going on a private tour with him is an awesome experience. 

It's hard to point out the highlights on this 3 hours tour because everything was pretty impressive. 

Canoe in a small canal

Our canoe

We did a stop in a piece of land in the jungle where Jimmy showed us a "blue jeans frog". And in the end we went to a place where hundreds of birds were resting and we could see all them from very close in an incredible set. When we were leaving we saw an alligator swimming next to our canoe.
This tour itself was the highlight of our entire trip in Central America.

Fish boat

Canoe tour

In Tortuguero we came across hundreds of tourists and boats speeding. In Cano Negro we were the only tourists along with 15 others that were staying in the same hotel than us. And there was no fast boats, just a couple of fishing boats. 

Even the village is small and peaceful. We didn't see many people around.

If you are into nature tours, this is the right place for you.

Costa Rica's Central Valley in One Day By Bus

If you want to go to Arenal you have to book the hotel within several months in advance. When we started planning, back in November (almost 1 month in advance), all the nice hotels close to the park (namely the observatory), were already fully booked. Even the ones that had mixed reviews didn't have any availability.
While in Rio Blanco, we gave it another try in the same day we were planning to sleep in Arenal. Turns out they had cancellations in the observatory and in some other hotels.
But when we checked the weather that area, we realized that it was rainy and foggy. We changed plans. We decided to follow the good weather and go to the Central Valley.

View from the road leading to Poas volcano

If you read my previous entries, at this point you already got that we took at least 3 buses with a connection in San Jose in a dodgy terminal in the middle of nowhere.
Grecia was our base to explore the villages around. We stayed in a nice new hotel called B&B Garden Grecia.

Ronald and Illeana were the hosts. Illeana cooked for us some of the best meals that we had in Costa Rica (check my foodie guide to Costa Rica here). And Ronald drove us around a couple of times (fairly priced tours and transfers).

Tico breakfast at B&B Garden Grecia

Breakfast at B&B Garden Grecia

Ronald took us to visit some waterfalls around Grecia, Los Chorros. It's privately owned but it's well kept.
There is a small waterfall that is accessible by land. The other one is bigger, you have to walk in the river to reach it. I would say that a couple of hours is enough to visit it unless you want to spend there more time relaxing in the water and you are bringing some food. We just checked the closer one and we left because we were more interested in visiting the other small villages around Grecia.

Los Chorros Waterfall

River

Before we came here, we tried to go up Poas, a volcano. Supposedly there is a webcam where you can get live updates but it wasn't working at that time. So we went all the way to the volcano. When we reached the top we realized that it was foggy and it would be impossible to see the volcano's crater.

Naranjo

Then we took a bus from Grecia to Naranjo. The initial plan was to connect (no direct buses in Costa Rica, there is always a connection) to a bus to Zarcero. But there was no such thing as a schedule and after a long wait under the sun and starving, we decided to have lunch in Naranjo. There is a reason for this city not to be mentioned for anything else besides the bus connection to the other villages. There is no sightseeing and the food is nothing to write home about.

Zarcero

Palmito cheese in Zarcero

Zarcero is known as the Costa Rica's organic city. Along the road we could see several food stalls and restaurants with breathtaking views over the mountains. Unfortunately we couldn't stop to check those since we were traveling by bus and it was freezing outside. 

We stopped in the main plaza, checked it quickly, got a palmito cheese and took a bus back to Naranjo. It was really cold. 

Factory

Chair and other items being produced

Famous Sarchi's carreta 

Artisan painting carreta's wheels

Our next stop was Sarchi, the most famous craft center in Costa Rica. There are several small stores selling wood crafts. But we wanted to go to this particular one, the Eloy Alfaro factory. It's the most famous. 

We could visit the factory and see how detailed is their work. In the shop we bought some nice and unique souvenirs. 

Foodie Guide to Costa Rica

Some claim that Costa Rican cuisine is non-existent. The truth is that we had a really hard time finding it and several times it was far from exciting. Its greatest downfall is lack of variety.

First thing you should know is that Ticos traditionally don't go out for dinner. Sodas, typical restaurants, close after lunch time.

Orosi
After visiting Tapanti National Park, we stopped by Soda La Casa del Sabor (Road 224, in front of the gas station). It was recommended by our lodge. They told us that we could get a fresh and delicious whole trout for less than $10. And they were right. It was flavorful.
It came with a complimentary chicken soup with veggies on a fatty and appetizing broth.

River trout

Grecia
We stayed in this great B&B where we met the owners, Ronaldo and Illeana. They are experts in hospitality. They made us feel at home in Grecia. Illeana cooked for us some of the best meals we had in Costa Rica. We tasted homemade tamales prepared by Ronaldo's aunt for Christmas! For the first time we enjoyed eating tamales. They were filled with chicken and pork meat and some veggies.
Tico breakfasts are to die for. They include gallo pinto, Costa Rica specialty: rice with beans. Some mouthwatering pork sausage, scrambled eggs and plantains.
The chicken soup was also good. It's tomato based with tortilla and on top Illeana added chunks of white cheese and avocado.

Ronald's aunt homemade tamales

Illeana's Tico breakfast

Illeana's chicken soup with white cheese, avocado and tortilla

Naranjo
During a stopover in Naranjo to take a bus to another village, we ended up having some food and juices in a soda.
I had this juice called chan. Supposedely this is an Aztec drink. It's made with dry seeds of lamiaceae herb. The seeds are soaked in water until they forming a gelatinous texture. It's weird but surprisingly refreshing and good.

Chan juice

Zarcero
While exploring the Valley area, we went to Zarcero, a village located in the mountains known for its high quality ingredients. Basically, it is Costa Rica's organic city. We saw several food stalls along the road with breathtaking views over the mountains.
The fresh white cheese (palmito cheese) is very famous here. It looks like a mozzarella but tougher and drier. And more intense/salty flavor. It's not cheap. A smaller one can cost $5.

Palmito cheese

Palmito cheese

Palmito cheese

Cano Negro

Everything we tasted at Jabiru (Cano Negro lodge's restaurant) was scrumptious. The cooker, a gifted lady, makes everything  from scratch and you can tell that she uses fresh ingredients.
The fish with palmito sauce and tostones was terrific. Just perfectly cooked. We had the rice with meat and the rice with chicken, they were very simple but tasty.
In our last night there I ordered a local soup, frijoles (beans) with hard boil egg and some tostones. It was filling.

Fish with palmito and tostones

Frijoles soup with boiled egg

In another restaurant in Cano Negro, we had these exquisite tropical juices, maranon and borojo.

According to Wikipedia, maranon is the fleshy part of the cashew fruit that is attached to the cashew nut. Borojo fruit grows in the rainforests.

Both had a very unique and intense flavor. I would have to try it more often to get used to the flavor. 

Marano and borojo juices

Tortuguero by Public Transportation: Don't Rely on Hippies

From Orosi, we took another 3 buses until we could reach Rio Blanco (we connected twice, once in San Jose, in a different bus terminal). Thankfully we met a local that was doing the same route from Orosi and he guided us through the confusing "bus system". He told us that he does this route every month to visit his daughter and it takes him almost 1 day each way to make less than 100 kms.
This is what I enjoy most about public transportation, we meet people and we share stories (credits to Rui, he is much better on that than me).

At this point I consider myself an expert in chicken buses

I don't even know how to start this blog entry...
In Rio Blanco we stayed in a lodge owned by a nice but too relaxed dutch hippie guy. Unfortunately we asked him suggestions about activities in that area and he convinced us that we should go to Tortuguero. And get a off-the-beaten-track canoe tour with his friend Castor.
We weren't sure about it because we read that Tortuguero is very inaccessible. It's not reachable by road, there are only 3 boats per day. And the road to the dock is unpaved and a bit dangerous. Several armed robberies occurred there recently. Cars, tourist and public buses were the target (even boats).
But the hippie was very persistent about it and he seemed knowledgeable.  He arranged everything.
At that time I ignored an important mantra that my mum used to tell me: "don't rely on hippies".

Crowded bus to La Pavona

In the next morning we left the lodge at 6.30 am in a cab to the Guapiles bus terminal. There we got a bus to Cariari. From there we took another bus to La Pavona at 9 am.
There are only 3 buses per day to La Pavona. And they are all coordinated with the public boat schedule from La Pavona to Tortuguero Village.

Public boat at Tortuguero Village

Canal's landscape

Supposedly in La Pavona, Victor a friend of Castor's, would be waiting for us to take us to the park in a fast boat.
Victor was nowhere to be found. After a long search that involved locals (thankfully we speak Spanish), we were able to locate him far away from the dock, chatting with friends. He was not aware of the arrangement and he was not willing to take us. Making a long story short, we ended up taking the public boat.

Canal's landscape

Canal's landscape

When we arrived to Tortuguero's village, Castor told us that the park had closed for lunch (according to him this park closes 3 times per day but the official schedule doesn't refer it, we aren't sure if this is a scam to keep tourists in the village's businesses) and it was impossible to visit it. Later he admitted that it's impossible to visit it in a single day.
BTW, Castor looked under the influence of something. Later the dutch hippie confirmed that Castor has a drinking problem... I have to admit: this was definitely off-the-beaten-track. We went there, we had to deal with a bunch of issues including a guy under the influence of alcohol and we didn't visit the park. It was very unique. These guys know how to make things unforgettable.

Public boat departing from La Pavona

Canal's landscape

Since the last boat to La Pavona was at 3pm we only had time to have lunch and go back to take the last bus to Cariari at 4pm.
On our way back, another bus that was taking a large group of banana farm workers left them on the side of the road due to a mechanical issue. Our bus driver invited all of them to get a ride with us for free. The banana workers were very excited for sharing the bus with these 2 tourists (me and Rui).
It was the kindest gesture that I saw in this awful day that I spent in public buses and boats, with no sightseeing.

Road from La Pavona to Cariari

Road from La Pavona to Cariari

What you should take from our experience to make yours better:

1- This one goes without saying. At this point you guys already got it, don't rely on hippies. Keep that mantra alive. Do your own research and don't trust as much as we did. 

2- It's impossible to visit Tortuguero in 1 day by public transportation. Even by car it can be challenging unless you can be there before 7am.
2- My advise is to go and spend at least 1 night in Tortuguero to visit it properly. And you should book in advance. Tortuguero became very popular these days. We came across hundreds of tourists.
3- If you are visiting it as a part of a large tour that is going there for a couple of hours, you'll see as much as we saw. Maybe a little bit more but not that much. Motor and large boats are not allowed in the small canals where you have more chances of spotting wildlife.
We saw several boats speeding in the main areas with no respect for the other boats or wildlife.
The village is crappy. There is nothing to see or do. I mean, you can have fresh coconut water for $1 but that's it.