Ups and Downs of Costa Rica

Photo by Bee

I mean, really, there are no downs. None that have ruined our experience, anyway.

I think that DW's and my first time visiting Costa Rica, in 2024, was the best one, though not by much. On our first trip, we covered a lot of ground and saw so many varying aspects of the country. And even though we were in new territory, this time, there was a little bit of a been-there, done-that feeling.

But only a bit.

The first up on this trip started in Ottawa, with a direct flight to Liberia, which was in the heart of the regions where we were staying. It took as long to get to Bijagua from the airport as it took to get from Playa Potrero to the airport: they were on opposite ends and you couldn't go from one to the other without passing the airport.

The reason that this direct flight (offered by Porter Airlines) was so great was that DW and I have become used to booking "direct flights" with Air Canada, only to have that flight end up being non-existent, and that airline directing us through Montreal or—worse—Toronto.

Every. Damned. Time.

I no longer trust Air Canada to get me directly to where I pay to go, so flying Porter was a refreshing change.

The first down for our trip was that the car rental company, through which the broker agency had set us up, took about an hour or so to pick us up, even though its office knew which flight we were on, was contacted by us as soon as we landed, and whose office was only about 15 minutes from the airport.

The broker agency, America Car Rental Costa Rica, works with many different rental companies to get the best price, and they guarantee that there are no hidden fees. But they don't control the companies themselves.

In 2024, they used Alamo out of San Jose for our rental, and they were great. They drove the vehicle to our hotel, had all of the paperwork ready to go, and got us on our way quickly.

This time, they used Solid Car Rentals, and as I said, we were left standing outside the airport, shooing away endless cab drivers, waiting to be picked up. The paperwork wasn't ready to be signed and we seemed to have to jump through hoops and talk with someone from ACRCR back and forth to make sure we weren't paying extra.

By the time we inspected the vehicle and got underway, we were more than two hours behind what we estimated would be our arrival time in Bijagua.

Fortunately, the owner of Finca Verde Lodge waited for us to arrive and made sure that we were settled into our cabins, and that his kitchen stayed open to feed us. Kendall was a fantastic host throughout our stay and helped us with advice, recommendations, and help in booking tours.

I can't thank him enough and give him a big thumbs up.

Even though the weather didn't cooperate in Bijagua, we weren't slowed down too much. We did get to see a lot of places that we wanted to visit, though with the weather, some roads that would have taken us to other destinations were washed out.

We wanted to visit a place called Tapir Valley, which is famous for these interesting creatures, but the rain was relentless on the day that we wanted to go, so we drove to the Pacific side of the continental divide, where the weather is more arid and the sun shone.

We had to settle for a mini statue of a tapir, outside a restaurant in Bijagua.

I have to give another thumbs up for the food we ate. No matter where we were, we always found good food. And the best food we had was found when we asked a local for a recommendation for authentic Costa Rican food.

In a couple of places, we really stood out from the locals, but we were always warmly welcomed and the food was unforgettable.

Travel tip: always get recommendations from locals.

There was one bad meal that I had, in Playa Potrero, but it was at a beachfront restaurant that catered to tourists and ex-pats, mostly American but also Canadian, French, German, and British. It was overpriced and under-seasoned, and later that night I awoke with stomach pains.

The place, Hemmingway's, put me off and I didn't care to dine there again, even though our Airbnb gave us membership to the restaurant, which gave us a discount on the prices, plus offered us two free drinks on the Sunday that we were there.

I declined.

Sunset from Hemmingway's.

Playa Potrero is beautiful and the town is quaint, but it's obviously designed for tourists who don't want to stay in the larger, more-expensive beach area of Tamarindo. In fact, the part of Potrero where we stayed, Surfside, is set aside from Pueblo Potrero, where the locals live.

There are far too many gringos in Surfside Potrero, so finding authentic food at a reasonable price is not as plentiful. But not impossible.

In fact, the closest restaurant to our Airbnb was a typical Costa Rican soda, called Arenas. The staff are lovely, the food is excellent, and the prices are very reasonable.

We loved our Airbnb. It was a condominium with perhaps 10 or 12 units, and ours was incredibly furnished and spacious for the four of us. It had a large, modern kitchen, a nice dining room, a large living room, two large bedrooms with their own bathroom, laundry appliances, a patio with a barbecue, and access to a nice-sized swimming pool.

We were very comfortable there.

But I have to say the Playa Potrero, itself, is not my type of town. When I travel, I like to immerse myself in the culture, and the culture of this beachside retreat is one of catering to those who want to be away from home but not too far from certain creature comforts.

Playa Potrero is the polar opposite of what we experienced in Bijagua and in Bagaces (a small town near Palo Verde, where we explored an arid national park), where a local who worked at the gate of the national park recommended one of the best local restaurants that I mentioned earlier.

In 2024, when DW and I covered a lot of the country, there is only one place where I didn't like staying, and that was in San Jose, on our last day before flying back home. Everywhere else—La Fortuna, Monteverde, the Nicoya Peninsula, Dominicalito and the nearby towns, and the Copey District—was unforgettable. I would return to them any time.

This trip, I loved the Bijagua area and Palo Verde National Park. The beaches between Tamarindo and Playa Potrero were gorgeous, and we had fun at a few of the venues, but I don't ever see myself going back, even though our accommodation was perfect.

But overall, Costa Rica is amazing. DW and I are already thinking about returning; next time, to the Osa Peninsula.

And after then, we'll move onto another part of the world. As I said to DW, we're running out of time. We have to visit places that are physically demanding while we can.

We need to cover ground before the ground covers us.