I have always believed that one of the best ways to experience a new place, especially where there is significant distance between one end to another is to explore by driving through the area. Obviously not all locations are amenable to this, and it should be noted that you don’t have to be the one literally driving, it’s ok to be a passenger or to take other forms of transit where cars are not an option. During my first trip to Costa Rica, I had many locals suggest that I could just take a plane from one site to another to maximize my time at the various locations. For me the journey to these places was equally, if not more important and ultimately something I was unwilling to forego for the sake of getting somewhere faster.

Driving from Monteverde to Sierpe in one day is a major commitment when you are traveling alone and even more so during the wet season. While Google Maps will site ~5-7 hours, you can expect it to take longer when you account for rest stops, traffic near certain locations, namely Jacó and Quepos, but also when roads are blocked from landslides, you can be sitting on the road much longer than you might have originally planned. Thankfully my trip down the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica went relatively smooth and I was able to get down in time to catch the late boat from Sierpe to Bahía Drake. This really was a nice drive, despite there being very few areas where the actual coast was visible, I was able to experience seeing the countryside along a major throughway to the southern region of the country.

Leaving Monteverde and the cloud forest these were the views I stopped to see once more before getting onto the road to head south. I made my first stop at a site known as Crocodile Bridge. This bridge crosses over the Tarcoles River not far from where the river feeds into the Pacific. Crocodiles in large quantities are known to sunbath under this bridge, making it a great place to stop, hop out of the car, walk the bridge and look down upon them. There are a handful of small food and souvenir vendors on the side of the road. This was one of the first times in Costa Rica that I saw signs asking to pay for using the restroom. There was a restaurant that had their own restroom which is where I ended up going.

After that stop, I was on the road for a while until I got in the Quepos area. I had one stop to pick up some spices from Villa Vanilla, a spice farm I had come across in my research. They have the most amazing spices. Their cinnamon is hands down the best I have ever had! They have a tour, that I was able to take on my second trip to Costa Rica (I will link to that entry once I get my blog up to date). After that stop I drove on to Dominical for sushi and ceviche.

This was at Domincal Sushi, a super chill sushi spot.

I also found this ceviche stand on the side of the road heading out of Domical.

Address: 743Q+7W8 Calle Punta Dominicalito, Puntarenas Province, Osa, Dominical, Costa Rica

When I finally made it to Sierpe, the biggest challenge (and it wasn’t really a challenge) was to get my car parked in a secure lot since I would be away from it for a few days. This is a small town that primarily serves as a ferry dock for boats to take people into Bahía Drake, which is a hub site to access Corcovado National Park. I selected to take a 1-hour boat ride to get to Bahía Drake instead of the couple hour drive that is difficult even for locals, especially in the wet season when rivers rise above the roadways. It was a nice change of pace after driving the whole day to relax on the boat and check out the scenery on route to this remote part of the country.