Traveling the Backways

Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 15-16, 2013--Upala to Los Chiles

Tuesday was a relaxing day.  I paid for a second evening at my hotel in Upala.  I went exploring in the morning walking through the countryside on rural roads.  Then I stayed inside much of the rest of the day reading.  I went out for a late lunch around 15:00 and returned to read some more.

Wednesday, I checked out of the hotel at 10:00 expecting my bus to leave at 11:00.  At the information window, the lady told me the bus would not be until noon.  I went across the street to the plaza and set and read more.

When the trip did start, it was a real adventure.  The roads from Upala to Caños Negro to Los Chiles are unpaved--bone rattlingly unpaved.  It's a beautiful countryside with rolling hills and lots of tall trees.  The road is lined with farms with cattle, sheet, plants, orange groves, etc.  One stretch was lined for a very long way with an hibiscus hedge with orange blossoms along it.  Along the route were at least 3 small towns with central plazas, stores, etc., although no roads were paved.  It was like stepping back into the 1930s or 1940s in the US!  The people were friendly and nice.  The bus serves as their mode of transport.  In a period of 1 1/2 hours, I watched for other vehicles; there were only 3 we met, and one was a bus going the opposite direction.  Passengers were transporting everything via bus; my bag was among many other bags of goods that had been purchased.  Caño Negro looked like a very interesting place.  Although there are no paved roads, there were at least five places I saw that serve as hotels/motels for guests there to explore the are which is known for its wetlands at Caño Negro National Wildlife Refuge.

The unpaved roads today brought back memories of when Arne and I visited Costa Rica in the 1980s.  At that time, there was no road between San Jose and Limon.  We took the old train that no longer exists.  And when we went to Quepos and Manuel Antonio National Park, the last 30 minutes of the roadway we traveled was also unpaved.  It was so exciting to visit then, since everything was so remote.  Today, too much of Costa Rica is overrun and over-developed.  I'm glad to have seen in the last few days that there are still remote places worth visiting such as Tinolo National Park and the wetlands at Caño Negro.  If I had known about them in advance, I would have planned our trip around such places and avoided places such as Puerto Viejo and Playas del Coco.

It took 2 1/2 hours to travel the 43 km (26 miles) from Upala to Los Chiles.  I walked downtown thinking I would stay at the Tulipan Hotel.  I had written asking if they had a room available but had not heard from them.  But then I read my guidebook which said that their disco is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays meaning that it would be very loud until late no matter what room they gave me.  So I turned around and walked 1 km (0.6 mile) back down the highway to the No Frills Hotel and checked in there.  The owner is playing some nice jazz I can hear.  And if anyone wanders nearby, the geese make noise.  Otherwise, it is quiet and nice.

Will cross to Nicaragua tomorrow.