Montezuma

Almost at the very bottom of the Nicoya Peninsula, lies Montezuma, a small beach town with a laid-back vibe and popular with foreign backpackers and young tourists. Which is to say that smoking pot is a popular pastime here. It was a long weekend and one of the Habitat volunteers (Nicola) and I decided to take a trip there. The trip consists of a two and half hour bus trip to Punta Arenas, an hour and half ferry ride, and an hour plus bus ride along bumpy and winding roads. That’s assuming there’s no traffic or adverse weather conditions.

We arrived at night and grabbed a bite to eat and a beer before promptly passing out. The morning rain led us to hike the well-known waterfalls, hoping that the afternoon would bring some sun to enjoy the beach. There are three sets of waterfalls that can be accessed from a trail that starts a couple hundred meters from town. Well it starts out as a trail anyway. At some point we weren’t sure if we were on the right trail until we ran into a local who told us that we had to walk in the river bed, which was running fast and brown from the recent rains. After about an hour, we managed to make it to the waterfalls, but it was too dangerous to jump off, as people often do. We saw a coral snake and took some pictures before heading back.

Although the sun didn’t come out, we still managed to get in some quality beach time along a picturesque stretch north of town. We also met a funny group of Canadians that we met for dinner later. The food in Montezuma was quality. Unfortunately, restaurants close fairly early and there’s only main bar to hang out in. And the music is unbelievably loud. But nightlife isn’t anywhere high on the list of Costa Rican attractions, especially when compared to Uruguay, where people often stay out until 9am during the summer months (I’m not exaggerating on this point. In fact, this past February, my cousin’s friends left to go out dancing at 5am!). Also thought it was interesting that there's no ATMs in town.

The next day we took a bus to the Cabo Blanco nature reserve. It’s at the southernmost tip of the Nicoya Penininusla and represents Costa Rica’s first protected wilderness area. A Scandinavian couple whose efforts led to the creation of the national park system helped establish the reserve. It has a couple of trails through lush jungle that lead into stunning and empty white sand beaches. Unfortunately, I failed to read the guidebook, which said that the hike to the beach requires two hours each way, which was out of the question if we were to catch the last bus. So we hiked a bit through the muddy and ant-filled trail before heading back to town and enjoying the last of our beach time. I definitely plan on making it back to the nature reserve and trekking to the beach. The return of students from holiday meant that the trip back took over six hours and included the presence of inebriated and loud (but friendly) students on the bus -the price to pay for a great weekend.

Pura Vida!