Ojochal
As you may recall, we are in south-western Costa Rica, somewhere in the forest near Ojochal. “Ojochal, located in the Costa Rican province of Puntarenas, is perfectly situated on the coast, which means plenty of beach activities, sites and other fun adventures await in the near vicinity.”
Not your ordinary bamboo.
Before we begin, let me point out bamboo in Costa Rica. It’s massive. When your dad says, “Go cut the grass,” you’ve got yourself a week-long project. Also, where are the giant pandas? They would love it here.
Our Place
Our Airbnb is off the beaten path. As in, you need a guide to show you how to get here the first time. But, it’s worth it. 🙂
The front of the house.
In Costa Rica (and many other places), houses are built specifically as rental houses for Airbnb and such organizations. They have professional gardeners and maintenance staff so it always looks perfect.
The rear of the house.
And this is the view from the back of the house. It’s hard to see here, but we can see the ocean near the horizon.
The pool of the house.
The water in the pool is heated by the sun and the ambient temperatures, so it’s comfortable to swim without having to get used to it first.
The daytime working area.
If you have to catch up on news, send email, visit your spankbank(s), etc., there are comfortable chairs where you can enjoy the afternoon while you get your important work completed.
The evening working area.
And the same is true in the evening. These people have thought of everything!
Cleaning the Grounds
Anytime you stay at an Airbnb for more than a few days, you have to do a bit of cleaning. So let’s get to work.
Ready to work.
The owners have thoughtfully provided us with a broom to clean both high and low.
Stairway to heaven.
These stairs lead down to a mysterious black door…so, time to sweep off the leaves and stuff.
Cleaning the high places.
Living in San Diego, I never think about cleaning bugs in high places, but in Costa Rica, it’s just part of the job.
Everything here is looking good.
So clean, you could lick it!
Airing it out.
You know how, when it’s always humid and things stay damp, you just have to air them out for a while? Well, that’s exactly what it’s like here.
Maid service is complete!
And now we can relax and enjoy our clean pool and garden.
Palmar Sur
Palmar Sur is a small, inland town by the Sierpe River, connecting the mainland south of Palmar Sur with the remote coastline of the Osa Peninsula. There is nothing to do here except visit the Baldwin Locomotive 84, which “invites us to relive memories of our history, our heritage, and our identity.” Just in case you identify as a train, I guess.
The ol’ 84, at your service.
The train has no fence or cautionary signs. It’s just here for us to enjoy.
All aboard!
Trains in olden times were more difficult to climb in and out of. But it probably made things more interesting, don’t you agree?
I’m an engineer!
Although we can climb on and in the train, the floorboard is completely rotted out. In the good ol’ US of A, that would be a lawsuit waiting to happen. In more civilized countries, you have to use common sense.
All the comforts of home.
This train is over 100 years old, so it’s seen better times. But what happened to the wheels? Were they stolen for a chop-shop? Are there low-riders in Costa Rica with giant metal wheels?
Let’s play!
This is the playground, located in the same park at Locomotive 84. It kinda reminds me of the playgrounds when I was a kid. We were tougher then. Like, one time, I fell off a slide and died, and my mom made me walk it off. Well, same thing here, I guess.
A perfect 84.
You wouldn’t go out of your way to see this ancient artifact of an almost-forgotten era, but, as long as you are here, you might as well pose.
Selfie!
And this is why you bring a tripod. 🙂
Stone Spheres
The stone spheres of Costa Rica are an assortment of over 300 petrospheres in Costa Rica, on the Diquís Delta and on Isla del Caño. Locally, they are also known as bolas de piedra (literally stone balls). The spheres are commonly attributed to the extinct Diquís culture, and they are sometimes referred to as the Diquís Spheres.
You can read a lot of information about them, but I will summarize: No one knows who made them, how they made them, how many were made, or why they made them. But that won’t prevent us from finding out all about these balls!
Not for the faint of heart.
Okay, this is the road that leads to Archaeological Site Finca 6 of the National Museum of Costa Rica. Take it slow…
There is a small building where we pay an entrance fee. A Costa Rican woman wearing a Covid-era mask and speaking with a thick accent provides instructions. We do not know what she says.
Yup, it’s a stone sphere.
And, here we are: a large stone ball in a field, protected by a fence, probably so we won’t steel it.
This might be one.
It’s possible that this is a stone ball. But it might just be part of one that broke off. <shrug>
Lots of spheres.
Optical illusion: if you stare at this photograph long enough, you will see a nest of spheres.
A line of spheres.
These spheres are in a line. You know, no matter where these were made, it must have been easy to roll them where you want them.
Not spheres.
And here we have a bunch of rocks. I would say “inexplicitly”, but this whole place is inexplicit.
Pretty rocks all in a row.
This photograph shows a panorama of many rocks found at Archaeological Site Finca 6 of the National Museum of Costa Rica. And that’s it, folks. Fortunately, it is a nice day for a hike in the forest, so we enjoy ourselves. 🙂
Rain
If we learned anything from The Ink Spots, it’s that, into each life, some rain must fall. This is true, especially in Costa Rica.
Water is wet.
Back at the Airbnb, as the sun sets, it begins to rain. We place ourselves so that this tree is between us and the sun to get this cool photograph.
Two for one.
From the front of the house, we see a double rainbow. Sweet.
The night sky presents a canvas for the sun and clouds to create spontaneous three-dimensional art.
And then the stars can be seen.
Stary, stary night.
Remember that each tiny dot is a galaxy of perhaps 100,000,000,000 stars. And this photograph displays but a sliver of the night sky.
Lots and lots of stars.
San José
All good things must come to an end, and this trip is no different. So, we pack our luggage and drive to San José to stay for a couple nights before returning home.
However, we are traveling during the Great Covid Panic, so nonsense ensues.
We must get tested for Covid. We drive to the airport the day before our trip and park. We stand with a group of people, then board a bus, where we are taken to a building with a long line. Of course.
Government at its finest.
Eventually the line moves, and we are inside the building. We must complete a form while the line inches forward.
Get to work!
We see the medical personnel doing nothing. WTF?
Yeah. WTF, indeed!
Suited up for a potential epidemic, but nothing to do.
Ah, here is the problem.
The covid testing itself is quick and easy. It’s the entrenched bureaucracy of unskilled day laborers who seem unfamiliar with computers that’s causing the issue. Well, at least we know that nonsense and stupidity is not a localized event.
Eventually we finish, get back on a bus to return to the airport, and drive back to our hotel in San José.
Let’s visit the city to see what we can see.
Bull!
I want to take a photograph of this statue without the dude on his phone. We wait perhaps a minute, but, I suppose, the reception at this particular location is excellent. So here is a photograph of a guy texting in front of a statue of a bull or a cow in downtown San José. Enjoy!
Mmmmm, frutos secos….
Hazlo con amor; Hazlo con la lechera; En estas fiestas toso saldrá bien…
Best game ever!
We consider purchasing this, but with only 4 shit, it would be over too quickly. I suppose we could add more shit, but the hook wouldn’t work on it.
Our time in San José ends uneventfully, and we board our plane which takes us from San José to Denver before heading back to San Diego.
Brrrrr.
I don’t know if we mentioned it, but we are traveling over the winter holidays. It’s always nice in Costa Rica, but Colorado is a different story. Unless you like this stuff…
Nobody should live in a place like this.
We are definitely not cold-blooded enough to want to live in a place like this. It’s bad enough to just land here, amirite?
Snow, man.
The airport has places where you can go outside without leaving the terminal. Weirdly, there are people sitting on chairs in the cold cold. Just sitting. We pick up a handful of snow, just to take a photograph, then head back to the warmth of the terminal and, soon, the warmth of sunny San Diego.
Okay, but I don’t want this to be my last memory of Costa Rica.
Ahhhhh, there we go.
Pura vida!!