This morning, we landed in Costa Rica at 6:30 AM local time. Neither Hek or I slept much last night on the 5-hour flight. However, it was easy to stay awake once we had a view of the lush green landscape descending into San Jose and faced the excitement of exploring a new country.
Upon leaving the airport, we passed by the rental car kiosks and asked questions regarding the price of car rentals. After 15 minutes of negotiating, we ended up renting a SUV with full-coverage insurance, for 10 days, with two drivers, for $470. After picking up the rental car, we drove to McDonalds and picked up a quick breakfast including an “Egg Mcqueso.” The highlight of this visit was Hek asking around for the “garbagio” when looking for somewhere to throw away his garbage.
At about 9AM, we began driving towards La Fortuna. On the way, we noticed signs in Hebrew for a restaurant, hotel, hummus, shakes, and more. A short while after, we stopped for a brief visit at “Lands of Love,” a hospitality business started by 15 Israeli friends who moved to Costa Rica 12 years ago. The interiors of the hotel and restaurant were beautifully decorated and designed, with plenty of attention to detail.
At about 1PM, we arrived at La Fortuna, and left our stuff at the Sleeping Indian Hostel where we were staying. We then drove to the La Fortuna Waterfall Parking lot, and asked the park ranger for the location of the Cerro Chato trailhead. He directed us up a dirt road to the La Fortuna Observatory, where the trailhead starts.
At about 2PM, we started hiking the steep two mile trail to rim of the Cerro Chato Volcano. The trail was not only steep, but also muddy, making it impossible at some points to hike up if it wasn’t for the roots and rocks in the ground which could be used as handholds. At about 4PM, we reached the rim, but weren’t able to see the surface of the lagoon because of all of the fog. After a few minutes, we descended in about an hour and then drove back to the hostel.
After showering, we walked to a Mediterranean Restaurant about a 1/2 mile away from the hostel and had a nice pizza/pasta dinner. Overall, this was a great start to our trip. The decision of renting a car provided us with a lot of flexibility, adventure, and options for spontaneity. Very excited for what the rest of the trip has in store.
