Costa Rica
July
24, 2012 - GPS's are wonderful things, unless they lead you
astray due to faulty roadmaps. A nice solid line on the screen
does not mean there is actually anything resembling a road
nearby in some instances.
On the way to Santa Teresa, we turned off on a nice hard-packed
road with lots of traffic. We knew the roads on the peninsula
were sometimes of dubious quality, but all was well for now. As
we got closer and closer to Santa Teresa, the road started to
shift into mud, slippery bridges and at some point we ended in a
field with no road to possibly carry us any further. This was
after numerous very steep uphill tracks we struggled up. The way
down was far more treacherous. We decided to detour but to no
avail. Even the main road to Santa Teresa is all mud and gravel,
so too the road to Tambor Airport. At 6 pm, right at sunset, we
set out to cover the 58 kilometer dirt track to Santa Teresa.
Never again.
We made our hotel at 9 PM, and thankfully the trek to Santa Teresa turned out to be well worth the struggle.
The town is part beachbum surf town, part high-end resorts and part secluded Yoga retreats. A smattering of fabulous restaurants rounds out the lot. We could not figure out why the roads were so decrepit, but later we were told it was part on purpose, as Santa Teresa believes in "bad roads bring good people and good roads bring bad people".
Playa Cielo was our favorite hang out, for obvious reasons.
It was a very relaxing three days with good food, some beach time and naps in the hammock while Illa went for a massage. We were very sad to leave this little paradise. We took the easy way out. Only 10 kilometers of dirt and ruts to the ferry at Paquera to the mainland.