From La Fortuna with a stop at Rio Celeste to Tamarindo (02/03/2022)

Last day at the Manoa Resort, breakfast once again and slowly mentally prepare for today's road trip. Pineapples and beans must not be missing when going through the plans. Check the best route to Rio Celeste again for safety, pack backpacks (sounds worse with the packing system than it is, with a little practice) and off we go with Kim Lee towards the west.

After a 1.5-hour drive on beautiful but sometimes narrow roads (and especially bridges), we arrive at the Rio Celeste National Park. After paying around €10 admission/person, we embark on a 5 km hike that offers us beautiful views of this natural jewel at three stations. A magnificent waterfall is the first stop, which unfortunately is a bit crowded with people, presenting itself at the rather steep access stairs. But at the next points directly by the river, including the starting point of the "coloring" (Tenidero point), it is much quieter. The rich shades of blue impress not only humans, but also turtles by the river, or in the case of the turtle, is it rather the sun that is shining down with more than 30 degrees Celsius. Besides the visual impressions, there are also the scents of sulfur, which are quite distinctive in some places.

Satisfied after the tour, we continue by car towards the west. The roads (like the Interamerican Hwy #1) on this route are surprisingly good compared to previous experiences and allow speeds of up to 100 km/h, which was almost unthinkable. We pass partly rather bare landscapes, many fruit stands, and with Liberia, a larger city (ranked #8 in terms of population in CR), until we finally reach Tamarindo after about 3 hours. A pit stop at Cafe Europa halfway through the journey remains particularly memorable, as it is a "German" bakery/beer garden/vegan restaurant. Sounds strange, but it turned out to be an unexpected highlight with great espresso and pastries (including a cinnamon roll with raisins), even though it was a small cultural break.

Tamarindo, actually a small town with less than 7,000 inhabitants, but probably three times as many guests, is the endpoint of our trip today. We will be diving and enjoying the beach here for the next three nights. Our accommodation, Boho Tamarindo, offers the perfect base. A small accommodation with less than 10 rooms, lovingly built and extremely charmingly furnished in 2018 by a French couple. We immediately fall in love with the vibes of the accommodation and have the owner explain the best places in Tamarindo to us. At the end of the day, we stroll through the town on foot and find a great restaurant with live music to end the evening with Casado (a typical dish in CR) and burritos while listening to Red Hot Chili Peppers. Tomorrow we will get up early for diving, and after a nice walk through the bustling surf town, we decide to call it a day. We are very excited for the Pacific Ocean and the wildlife that awaits us from tomorrow on.

The Daily Two:

Insight: The coloring of the Rio Celeste is created, simplified, by the meeting of two bodies of water (Rio Bueanavista & Quebrada Agria), whereby the "new" ratio of sulfur and aluminosilicate causes the pH value in the water to drop, which significantly increases the size of the aluminosilicate particles. This creates an optical effect (Mie scattering) that makes the water glow turquoise.

Moment of happiness: The first view of the Pacific Ocean while descending from the hills to Tamarindo. It is the first time for both of us to visit it since 2016 (US West Coast).