Monday, Feb 13
You may remember from my last post that Val and I had booked the private taxi from Tortuguero to La Pavona where we would be met by Tito, Alejandro's friend with a taxi. We chose the private boat because it left earlier and we choose the expensive taxi to cut a couple of hours off of the land part of the trip. All told, we expected to get into Alajuela by 2pm.
We arrived at the dock at 9:50 or so. Nope, the boat would leave at 10:40. Actual time of departure, 10:50. The boat was speedy though so we got to La Pavona by noon, where we were met by Tito and his cab. He was nice but didn't speak any English. And his Spanish conversation was not exactly scintillating. He gave us the name of every village and hamlet we passed through and then slowed down for every business, school or street sign with the town's name to prove that the name was correct. We nodded and agreed that yes, this village is called 'who remembers', But he was nice so it was fine.
La Pavona is really just a sandy bit on the river close to where the road ends. I can't call it a dock even because the boats crashed into the beach and then we crawled out. There isn't a town there at all, just a bus stop and a restaurant so people can pee before getting on the boats. The road to the landing area doesn't quite meet the landing area so someone punched in the worst gravel road for about 2 km. There were actual boulders on it. Then a slightly better dirt road until we got to actual pavement. It was all through lovely farmland with lots of cows.
We drove through many little towns with names and signs with those names. Costa Rica has a mountain range that runs down the middle of the country. Alajuela is near San Jose in a valley surrounded by volcanoes. We started uphill. The highway is long and steep with lots of trucks. It is single lane and some of those trucks were very slow so we would get stuck in long lines following the trucks for many kilometers until the rare passing lane would appear. Eventually, Tito's old taxi just couldn't take it and overheated There was steam coming out of it so we pulled over. But Tito didn't have any water so he wandered up and down the highway collecting puddle water. By this time it had started to rain.
As he removed the radiator cap, Val whispered, I hope he doesn't pour water into that radiator while it is so hot. He then proceeded to pour puddle water into that radiator while it was so hot. And off we went continuing up the mountain. We didn't get far before we boiled over again. We pulled over again. It seemed a popular pull over because there was a truck there too. Tito found more puddle water and poured it in. Then more puddles. Eventually, he came and told us the car was done. the water was just running out of a hole in the radiator. Hmm, I wonder how that happened.
We were so high into the mountains, Tito couldn't get cell service. He tried to reach someone, anyone by CB radio. Jota Siete, Jota Siete, over and over. No answer. Oh, oh. So Tito headed over to the truck to see if they could reach anyone. He came back so excited. It turns out the truck was a flatbed tow truck. We could get a tow. Val and I started to get out of the car. No need! We could stay in the back of the taxi while it (and we) were loaded onto the back. And then driven over the mountain. That wasn't scary at all.😏
But we didn't go far, just over the top and we were disgorged in a cafe parking lot once we started downhill. Poor Tito, that cost him $25, seriously cutting into his 'easy tourist money'. Then a waiter came out and told him he couldn't park at the edge of the parking lot, close to the highway because it wasn't safe. Cars could come down the hill and their breaks might give out and they might hit us. This seemed like a pretty lame excuse to get us to move along but we weren't going anywhere. Tito did move the car away from the highway.
By now it was already 3pm. So much for our quick trip. We had been travelling for hours so we went into the cafe. It was amazing. It wasn't a cafe at all, it was a fancy Italian restaurant with really funky decor. We had initially thought the waiter was a bit of a jerk but he was so nice. We ordered lattes and he brought us bread with minced parsley in olive oil that was so good, on the house, thank you very much. Tito called another taxi to come and get us (I hate to think what that cost him). We waited and waited for our new cab. We were sitting around with Tito and the waiter who just got nicer and nicer as we took up his tables for so long.
We were the only patrons but I noticed that the parking lot was getting fuller and fuller. Where were the other customers? Oh, they are outside at the edge of the cliff. It seems that just the night before (or the morning of), a car had driven off the highway, through the parking lot and flew over the cliff, killing the driver. So, that was why the waiter cared about our parking spot. That was terrible. And now there was a memorial service happening in the parking lot. then it started to rain so the funeral moved into the restaurant. That brought the mood down a bit, as you can imagine. Until Val subconsciously heard the background music and started to sing "I can't live, living here without you, I can't live anymore'. I mentioned that that might not be appropriate considering the setting. That made us start laughing but we had to stay quite so we were practically choking on our own humour/crassness.
At some point before the mourners came into the restaurant, when we had the waiter to ourselves, he had raided his own car emergency kit and given Tito some sealant. He said the taxi was now drivable but we had to wait for the other guy because he was already on his way. Tito's boss also showed up at some point to discuss the situation. We assumed he as in trouble but we were assured this was not the case. We were worried that we had not only killed Tito's car but cost him his job. But apparently not on either count.
After about two hours, waiter brought us another coffee, I had hot chocolate this time, the best hot chocolate in the world I might add, and some more bread and parsley oil. He didn't charge us for the 'refills'. I loved waiter by this time, despite not knowing his name.
Finally, finally, finally, the new cab showed up, driven by Walter from San Jose. He would carry on Tito's mission to get us to the front door of our hostel. Which he did with great difficulty. It was rush hour by now and he didn't know Alajuela at all so we spent some time driving in circles in the centro. When we were driving around, Walter's phone rang. He answered, it was for us. It was Alejandro, calling to make sure we were ok. He managed to track us down in the next cab because he had heard about our day and was worried about us. He and Marina are the best hotel owners in the world.
We got to our hostel, Costa Azul (terrible by the way) at 7pm. So, it cost us four times as much as took us twice as long. But we got a great story and met some very nice people and consumed some crazy good bread and coffee/chocolate. All told, a great day.
We did find out the waiter's name as we were leaving, it is Maykel and the cafe was the restaurant for the Turoana Lodge, Cabanas Del Zurqui. I highly recommend it just based on their coffee and bread. Maykel had told us about how his friends who travel pick up a rock from various locations, take a picture of themselves holding the rock in front of some iconic place wherever they are and then sending Maykel that rock. He said none of his friends had been to Canada so he didn't have a Canadian rock. So Val and I are going to send him a rock and a picture of us in front of the Empress to thank him for all of his kindness.
You may remember from my last post that Val and I had booked the private taxi from Tortuguero to La Pavona where we would be met by Tito, Alejandro's friend with a taxi. We chose the private boat because it left earlier and we choose the expensive taxi to cut a couple of hours off of the land part of the trip. All told, we expected to get into Alajuela by 2pm.
We arrived at the dock at 9:50 or so. Nope, the boat would leave at 10:40. Actual time of departure, 10:50. The boat was speedy though so we got to La Pavona by noon, where we were met by Tito and his cab. He was nice but didn't speak any English. And his Spanish conversation was not exactly scintillating. He gave us the name of every village and hamlet we passed through and then slowed down for every business, school or street sign with the town's name to prove that the name was correct. We nodded and agreed that yes, this village is called 'who remembers', But he was nice so it was fine.
La Pavona is really just a sandy bit on the river close to where the road ends. I can't call it a dock even because the boats crashed into the beach and then we crawled out. There isn't a town there at all, just a bus stop and a restaurant so people can pee before getting on the boats. The road to the landing area doesn't quite meet the landing area so someone punched in the worst gravel road for about 2 km. There were actual boulders on it. Then a slightly better dirt road until we got to actual pavement. It was all through lovely farmland with lots of cows.
We drove through many little towns with names and signs with those names. Costa Rica has a mountain range that runs down the middle of the country. Alajuela is near San Jose in a valley surrounded by volcanoes. We started uphill. The highway is long and steep with lots of trucks. It is single lane and some of those trucks were very slow so we would get stuck in long lines following the trucks for many kilometers until the rare passing lane would appear. Eventually, Tito's old taxi just couldn't take it and overheated There was steam coming out of it so we pulled over. But Tito didn't have any water so he wandered up and down the highway collecting puddle water. By this time it had started to rain.
 |
| Steaming engine |
 |
| Engine temp gauge on HOT |
 |
| Searching for puddles |
As he removed the radiator cap, Val whispered, I hope he doesn't pour water into that radiator while it is so hot. He then proceeded to pour puddle water into that radiator while it was so hot. And off we went continuing up the mountain. We didn't get far before we boiled over again. We pulled over again. It seemed a popular pull over because there was a truck there too. Tito found more puddle water and poured it in. Then more puddles. Eventually, he came and told us the car was done. the water was just running out of a hole in the radiator. Hmm, I wonder how that happened.
We were so high into the mountains, Tito couldn't get cell service. He tried to reach someone, anyone by CB radio. Jota Siete, Jota Siete, over and over. No answer. Oh, oh. So Tito headed over to the truck to see if they could reach anyone. He came back so excited. It turns out the truck was a flatbed tow truck. We could get a tow. Val and I started to get out of the car. No need! We could stay in the back of the taxi while it (and we) were loaded onto the back. And then driven over the mountain. That wasn't scary at all.😏
 |
| I'm sure this is totally safe |
 |
| Upsey Daisy |
 |
| Yup, we did appreciate the ridiculousness |
 |
| 'Driving down the highway' |
 |
| Negotiations of how much Tito was going to lose on this deal. Poor guy. |
But we didn't go far, just over the top and we were disgorged in a cafe parking lot once we started downhill. Poor Tito, that cost him $25, seriously cutting into his 'easy tourist money'. Then a waiter came out and told him he couldn't park at the edge of the parking lot, close to the highway because it wasn't safe. Cars could come down the hill and their breaks might give out and they might hit us. This seemed like a pretty lame excuse to get us to move along but we weren't going anywhere. Tito did move the car away from the highway.
 |
| You must move the car said the waiter |
 |
| yup, still dead |
By now it was already 3pm. So much for our quick trip. We had been travelling for hours so we went into the cafe. It was amazing. It wasn't a cafe at all, it was a fancy Italian restaurant with really funky decor. We had initially thought the waiter was a bit of a jerk but he was so nice. We ordered lattes and he brought us bread with minced parsley in olive oil that was so good, on the house, thank you very much. Tito called another taxi to come and get us (I hate to think what that cost him). We waited and waited for our new cab. We were sitting around with Tito and the waiter who just got nicer and nicer as we took up his tables for so long.
 |
| Our handsome, super nice and generous waiter. This picture doesn't really capture the beautiful interior of the restaurant. |
 |
| Our lattes and bread |
We were the only patrons but I noticed that the parking lot was getting fuller and fuller. Where were the other customers? Oh, they are outside at the edge of the cliff. It seems that just the night before (or the morning of), a car had driven off the highway, through the parking lot and flew over the cliff, killing the driver. So, that was why the waiter cared about our parking spot. That was terrible. And now there was a memorial service happening in the parking lot. then it started to rain so the funeral moved into the restaurant. That brought the mood down a bit, as you can imagine. Until Val subconsciously heard the background music and started to sing "I can't live, living here without you, I can't live anymore'. I mentioned that that might not be appropriate considering the setting. That made us start laughing but we had to stay quite so we were practically choking on our own humour/crassness.
 |
| I didn't want to take a picture of the mourners but here is the full parking lot |
 |
| Our second round, another latte for Val, a hot chocolate for me - fancy |
At some point before the mourners came into the restaurant, when we had the waiter to ourselves, he had raided his own car emergency kit and given Tito some sealant. He said the taxi was now drivable but we had to wait for the other guy because he was already on his way. Tito's boss also showed up at some point to discuss the situation. We assumed he as in trouble but we were assured this was not the case. We were worried that we had not only killed Tito's car but cost him his job. But apparently not on either count.
 |
| Tito, Walter (driver number two) and Tito's boss. Probably deciding if we were worth the drive into Alajuela or if they should just drive us over the cliff. |
After about two hours, waiter brought us another coffee, I had hot chocolate this time, the best hot chocolate in the world I might add, and some more bread and parsley oil. He didn't charge us for the 'refills'. I loved waiter by this time, despite not knowing his name.
Finally, finally, finally, the new cab showed up, driven by Walter from San Jose. He would carry on Tito's mission to get us to the front door of our hostel. Which he did with great difficulty. It was rush hour by now and he didn't know Alajuela at all so we spent some time driving in circles in the centro. When we were driving around, Walter's phone rang. He answered, it was for us. It was Alejandro, calling to make sure we were ok. He managed to track us down in the next cab because he had heard about our day and was worried about us. He and Marina are the best hotel owners in the world.
We got to our hostel, Costa Azul (terrible by the way) at 7pm. So, it cost us four times as much as took us twice as long. But we got a great story and met some very nice people and consumed some crazy good bread and coffee/chocolate. All told, a great day.
We did find out the waiter's name as we were leaving, it is Maykel and the cafe was the restaurant for the Turoana Lodge, Cabanas Del Zurqui. I highly recommend it just based on their coffee and bread. Maykel had told us about how his friends who travel pick up a rock from various locations, take a picture of themselves holding the rock in front of some iconic place wherever they are and then sending Maykel that rock. He said none of his friends had been to Canada so he didn't have a Canadian rock. So Val and I are going to send him a rock and a picture of us in front of the Empress to thank him for all of his kindness.
No comments:
Post a Comment