On the Pacific Coast

It's been a whole new vibe.

Since DW and I left the cloud forest of Monteverde, we've crossed the continental divide, come down from the mountains, and reached the Pacific. And we'll be here for a week before moving on.

We headed straight to the Nicoya Peninsula, to the very tip, stopping in the tiny town of Montezuma for lunch and our first real view of the ocean, where large waves crashed against what appeared to be volcanic rock. It was breathtaking as we watched it from the balcony of a soda, across the street. 

Montezuma Beach

The first thing we had to adjust to was the heat. In La Fortuna and Monteverde, it was about 24⁰C or cooler. Even when the sun shone, in the high mountains, the wind was blustery and there was always a spritz of mist in the air, which kept us cool. In Montezuma, it was between 34⁰ and 37⁰C, plus humidity. 

My body doesn't do well in excessive heat.

After lunch, we drove a dusty and rough road to our ultimate destination, Santa Teresa, on the opposite side of the point from Montezuma. Originally, when we were planning our trip, we were going to stay in Montezuma and make trips to Santa Teresa, whose long beach faces west.

It's a great place to watch the sun set.

But if we were to watch the sun fall over the horizon, we didn't want to drive a dirt road at night. Instead, we decided to stay on the west side, where we could end our day, watching the sun go down, and walk from the beach to our hotel.

We'd make a day trip to Montezuma, where there's a hiking trail with a set of waterfalls. 

I didn't like Santa Teresa. It's gone from a sleepy beach town to a popular surfer's paradise in a very short period of time, and it's singular dirt road isn't built to handle the traffic. It's noisy, it smells, and it's packed with young tourists looking to catch that perfect wave.

DW and I felt that we didn't quite fit in. 

On the other hand, we loved the vibe of Montezuma. The hiking trail had some challenges, including slippery rocks, steep stairs, and parts where you had to hang onto ropes to keep from falling down slopes, but they weren't too much for DW and me.

Except that time that I slipped on rocks, put my hand on another boulder to steady myself, and got bitten by a spider. (I'm okay.)

Montezuma Falls.

True to its word, the sunsets on Santa Teresa Beach are spectacular, but if I were to ever return to the Nicoya Peninsula, I'd stay in Montezuma. 

Sunset surfer on Santa Teresa Beach. 

We stayed for two nights before moving on, further south along the Costa Rican coast, to where we are now until Thursday. I'll get into this place, tomorrow. 

Stay tuned.