We organized the trip such that our main go-go-go and exploration portion was at the front end, with a couple days of R&R on the back end. One exception, however, was the necessity to get from Puntarenas Province to Guanacaste Province. After our relaxing afternoon yesterday and our complete morning of R&R this morning, we checked out at 1PM and started the trek, picking up sandwiches along the way.
Our ferry departure time was at 3:30PM, and we made it to the chaotic ferry terminal at 2:45PM. Boarding started shortly after we arrived, and the ferry pulled out on time. Rain was falling across the Gulf of Nicoya and, by the time we were approaching the ferry terminal in Playa Naranjo on the other side, the torrential rains were upon us and accompanied us for the first hour of our drive. And what a stressful drive it was. (See the caption under the hotel sign at the end of this post for ‘why’ it was stressful!)
The hotel was stunning even under the cover of darkness. We were upgraded to an ocean view and, in the darkness, could see the Pacific waves crashing on the shore. We had dinner in one the resort’s six restaurants and then crashed, lulled to sleep by the surf outside our room.
We have never had a hammock in our hotel room before. A soft bathrobe, a cup of espresso, a fourth floor view of a beautiful property - that was a real vacation moment!
It might look goofy, but there is nothing so relaxing as sitting on a pool noodle and floating around a beautiful pool. That’s what we did for three hours this morning.
That’s me, the guy in the middle with the ball cap!
Two last views of the Marriott grounds, looking towards the ocean. The pool was simply amazing. It was like a network of canals with lots of little bridges. We swam the whole thing over and over and loved every moment
The Marriott has a definite Mexican Hacienda look and vibe. The middle of the hotel sports this high tower. See Pam at the top?
This was our route: Playa Herradura to the ferry in Puntarenas, across the Gulf of Nicoya to Playa Naranjo, and then northwest across Guanacaste Province to Tamarindo on the Pacific Coast. Google Maps clocked it as a 5.5 hour trip, but it took us exactly 6 hours. We left the hotel in Herradura at 1:15PM and arrived in Tamarindo at 7:15PM.
Ever since the first day we arrived in Costa Rica, during our driving time, we have seen many Petro Canada Lubricants signs! Who would have thought that Petro Canada marketed mechanical lubricants all over Costa Rica? Anyway, so nice to see a little bit of home in a foreign country.
Enroute to the ferry in Puntarenas, we saw a lot of “tsunami evacuation route” signs, reminding us of just how much at risk the exposed west coast of Costa Rica is when it comes to tsunamis.
Driving on board the ferry. What is it about ferries? They are so exciting!
The ferry was just a few metres from the edge of the sandy beach. One would have thought the depth of water right there was just a few metres and could never support a ship this large. But somehow it all worked!
Pulling away from the muddy Waters at the ferry dock in Puntarenas.
Puntarenas is a long narrow strip of land. The community is only four blocks wide, and the ferry terminal is at the very end of the strip. It is a busy ferry port and sports a nice lighthouse at the tip.
As we left the port in Punta Arenas, we could see heavy rain on the horizon across the bay. “Will it impact our drive on the other side?” That was the big question on our minds.
Nearing the destination. Guanacaste Province is very mountainous.
Passing the company’s sister ship, making the reverse trip
As we neared the dock in Playa Naranjo, the sky finally opened up. Only drivers were allowed on the auto deck to drive the vehicles off; all other passengers have to walk off. Poor Pam, she had to disembark in the heaviest downpour you can imagine and was soaked.
The sunset was at 6:08 PM, at which point we were on the outskirts of the medium-sized town of Santa Cruz and which left us with one hour to drive in the dark towards the hotel . Fortunately, the rain that plagued the earlier part of the drive after we got off the ferry, didn’t re-materialize. However, the last hour of the drive was like driving in a fireworks display, because the sky was filled with lightning flashes.
Lightening doesn’t show well in photos, but the black night sky was constantly lighting up like the above, from Santa Cruz to Tamarindo.
When we finally pulled into the entrance of the JW Marriott at 7:15 PM, we thanked the good Lord and breathed a huge sigh of relief. Not only was it a long, exhausting drive, but it was one filled with more perils than you might imagine. Imagine:
- a narrow highway with a lot of traffic;
- speed bumps arriving out of the blue;
- pedestrians walking on the edge of the road;
- torrential rains;
- no daylights on vehicles and most not turning on their headlights until total darkness set in;
- motorcycles weaving in and out, passing recklessly;
- distracting brush fires burning in roadside ditches;
- lightning flashing nonstop in the dark;
- oh, and a guy on horseback at one point!
Picture that, and you can understand why the drive from the ferry to the hotel left us white-knuckled.
We were greeted with a nice upgrade to an oceanfront room with a million dollar view and this lovely bowl of fruit.
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