Just after we turned in for the night at our hotel in Jaco (bphotel.com) , it started to drizzle. Then the rain became a steady patter on the sidewalk outside. We could hear the storm escalate from a drenching, to a downpour and finally to a full on deluge before the earth-shaking thunder began to break. After his exhausting drive from San Jose, Josh fell fast asleep, oblivious to the wild weather brewing outside our door. I, on the other hand, was wide awake, checking the internet for severe storm warnings, waiting for someone to sound the evacuation alarm, fully convinced that the entire mountain of jungle we had just driven through was about to come crashing down and send this tiny beach town straight out to sea!
The storm finally passed and I was able to get some shut-eye. When we strolled down to breakfast in the morning, the receptionist shamed me with stories of the rainy season - unending 10-day, hurricane-force rains that shut down the entire town and turn the roads into rivers! After trading our hotel meal vouchers for some excellent breakfast at a local dive we walked to Jaco beach to watch surfers brave the waves.
Jaco is becoming infamous for rough surfing waters as well as rough streets. Because it is the closest beach to San Jose, many locals visit every weekend. But, unfortunately, as it is with all well-known party cities, the influx of local travel to Jaco has turned it into a hang out for hooligans promoting drugs, petty crime and prostitution. Josh and I didn't see any shady characters or feel one bit unsafe during our 1-night stay, but we did hear about a shooting at the local Best Western the night after we left.
After one night in Jaco, we packed up and made the (much easier) drive down the newly finished Pacific Coast highway toward Manuel Antonio. We stopped at a roadside restaurant in Parrita for lunch and were impressed again by the delicious selection – fresh pan-fried fish, roasted chicken, steamed veggies, rice and sweet fried plantains!
When we arrived at our hotel in Manuel Antonio (La Colina www.lacolina.com), we were surprised to find a collection of pixie-like, teak-trimmed tree houses, sitting high on a hill, overlooking the valley below and the vast, blue Pacific. The boutique hotel also features a restaurant with southwestern cuisine and ceviche, a swim-up bar with fantastic natural fruit drinks and a lazy resident pup (Potato Head) who could pass for Peanut's Latin American cousin.
No comments:
Post a Comment