Arriving in Costa Rica
From San José to Monteverde
After an 11-hour flight from Paris to Costa Rica, Charlie arrived on a Tuesday at 7 pm local time in San José. She was tired. The B&B that she had booked near the airport for that first night offered a shuttle service and that was a good thing. Costa Rica is considered the safest country in Latin America, but that is a rule you should not apply to the capital and the area around the airport. It certainly is not recommended to walk around alone in the darkness.
The B&B usually only offers the shuttle to and from the airport, but they made an exception for Charlie the next morning and dropped her off at the bus stop for the bus to Monteverde. Charlie had no idea where the bus stop was and the ticket didn’t say the location. Otherwise, she might not have even asked at reception.
As she sat there waiting for the bus, the first problem arose and it showed how little prepared she had been. Her bus ticket was in her email inbox and her data connection did not work in Costa Rica. What to do now?
There was a gas stop just across the road and Charlie decided to go and ask if they had a Wi-Fi she could use. They did and allowed her to connect. Charlie was very happy that she spoke Spanish.
Bus ride to Monteverde
Charlie had bought her ticket online via Transmonteverde and the ticket said 6:30 am. She had already noticed for some of the other bus tickets she purchased in advance that the time is always the time from the start point of the bus, not the time when the bus would be at your specific bus stop. Patience was the keyword in this situation.
The bus arrived at 7.10 am and luckily, a man shouted the destination. Otherwise, Charlie could have easily missed it. It was a standard coach that could get lost in between others. For some reason, Charlie expected it to have written “Transmonteverde” all over it.
The first two hours of the journey were on the highway and it all moved at a steady pace. After about 2 hours, they made a stop at a restaurant and Charlie was surprised to read the name as “Vista Mar”, sea view. Was that a joke? As she turned around, she noticed, that you could indeed see the Gulf of Nicoya from afar. The route led them towards the coast and then again further inland. What she did not know yet was that she could enjoy more and more of this stunning view as they drove higher up in the mountains.
From there on, the roads got narrower and the bus moved at a slower pace. Charlie suddenly noticed that you could open the windows. That was unusual for a coach but turned out to be a blessing. She got her camera out and admired the landscape through the lens.
Arrival in Monteverde
The town of Monteverde was easy to see as there were big signs along the road and all of a sudden, plenty of houses. She got off at the main bus station and it was an interesting experience to find her way to her accommodation without internet connection on her phone. This time, she had taken a screenshot of her booking confirmation and could easily ask her way through town.
She checked in, went for lunch and bought a local sim card to solve that internet situation.
