It's Been A Long Time

Hola from sunny Costa Rica!

It seems strange to say that in June which is technically rainy season, but it is indeed…sunny, and I am planning to enjoy it while I can.

It has been a long couple of months here during the quarantine, as I mentioned in my last post, there are driving restrictions and business closures in place. The goal of those closures is to prevent the spread of covid-19 from the city to the smaller beach towns. For the most part it has been working fairly well.

The last time that I looked at the numbers, Costa Rica had had just over 1030 cases of the flu, most of whom are now on their way back to health. There had been 10 deaths in total which, in comparison to some areas in Canada and the US is phenomenal. I feel safe in the midst of the pandemic, but the isolation and the boredom have been difficult for me.

That’s why when they decided to allow the fishermen back to work, and to open up the beaches for a few hours each weekday, I was excited.

For Joy Ride Sailing, it means that the Penga (water taxi) is now running for a few hours a day, making tours a possibility if not a probability. We can take tours, one a day and at half capacity, and within a week, we had a request.

Our first tour since Mid-March took place last Monday. The weather this time of year tends towards sunshine in the morning and downpours in the afternoon, and last Monday was no exception. The rain held off for the most part until we had returned safely to the bay and then came down in buckets for the rest of the day.

Thank you to Ashi and Skye for braving the weather with us!

We are hopeful that we can manage to squeeze in a few more tours during the off-season…November is a long way off.

On the non-business side of things, a failed trip to the store the other day (there was construction so we turned around), we passed an interesting side road south of Tarcoles that said it went to Tarcolito, and a waterfall. Now that we have a 4-wheel drive, we can check these interesting roads out without fear of our little car falling into a crater-sized pothole …so off we went.

Sadly, the waterfall itself is not visible from the road, it is in fact, a 4 km trek down the mountainside and back up. Our neighbour told me afterwards that he had done it , and recommended that it be started early in the day to avoid the chance of doing it in the dark. Good advice but I very much doubt Chris will ever agree to trek 4 km with me.

The drive itself was a lot of fun though,there was a hilltop restaurant that we hope to check out some time, beautiful views galore and switchback roads that were surprisingly well paved most of the way. The road led through Tarcolito which was a very small town that sported both a soccer field AND a bull ring as well as its own school, church and grocery store. Not a bad spot to live if you don’t mind clinging to the side of a mountain and/or driving an hour to get anywhere.

I took several pictures which I will add to the bottom of the post.

When we neared the top of the mountain ridge, we were actually driving through the clouds! If you look at the last (I think) picture in the gallery which looks out of the car window, you will see that it was just… white. It was kind of eerie but it was also kinda cool, both figuratively and in reality. I can see why some people prefer to live in the mountains where the temperature is cooler and there is always a nice breeze… but I still prefer to be near the ocean. After a while we passed a landmark that we recognized from a trip up the other end of this particular side road with friends. The road came out along the main highway right across from MaxiPali in Jaco which is five minutes from home.

All in all it was a nice little adventure and we will keep it in mind for when we have guests who want to explore a little bit farther off the beaten path.

Whew! That’s more typing than I’ve done in AGES…I think I need a nap.

I hope you are all doing well and keeping healthy.

Toodles for now and Pura Vida!