Costa Rica, First Impressions

January 9, 2015  |  Michael Gauthier  |  Costa Rica, Featured

• Costa Rica consists of a range of rugged mountains, with coastal plains on the Caribbean and Pacific coasts; we drove through mountains from the airport to the Pacific coast, and it was jaw-dropping; if you are a landscape photographer, you could spend weeks coming through the mountains and never be bored; simply amazing
• the town of Jaco (pronounced “hawko”) boasts a population of about 10,000 and is right on the Pacific Ocean, with a beach extending from one end of the town to the other; the downtown area is busy and reasonably modern, with patches that are older and a bit run down
• the language barrier seems to be an easy issue to deal with; most restaurant menus have English and Spanish descriptions, and the staff can just about always at least navigate through an order; I am making an effort to learn and correctly pronounce everything I encounter; I doubt if I can become bi-lingual in 30 days, but I am doing my best
• we were advised to search out “soda” restaurants, which means that they serve local Costa Rican food; we have already become familiar with Cosado and Gallo Pinto, two delicious plates including rice and beans, the staples of the Costa Rican diet
• WE LOVE THE FRESH FRUIT HERE
• the local currency is the Colone, and we have basically figured it out; prices here (in a distinctly tourist area) are  generally 15-20% less than in Canada, with the notable exception of beer; the local Imperial beer is 1000-1250 colones, or approximately $2.00 Canadian; cold and delicious and priced right
• the weather here has been an almost constant 85 degrees since we arrived; the surprising part is how humid it is; even short walks are uncomfortable, so I am hoping our bodies adjust a bit to this
• it is the start of the summer season here, but since we are just above the equator, the sunrise and sunset times are almost consistent all year long; the sun rises between 5 AM and 6 AM, and sets between 5 PM and 6 PM every day all year long (approximately)
• the beach here in Jaco is NOT one of those postcard white sand beaches; it is a volcanic beach (not completely black though) meaning that the sand is darker and has lots of pebble patches; great for surfing apparently, but not so much for simply lying around on

Jaco Beach, Costa Rica

Jaco Beach, Costa Rica

And there you have it – so far, so good. This will be my home until the end of the month, and Lorrie will be heading back to Canada on the 17th. We are planning on truly “living” in the town and the country, and experiencing everything we can in a short period of time. Stay tuned.

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