playa negra, Costa Rica

The border crossing going into Costa Rica this day were relatively quick. We were now experienced border crossers and we knew what to expect. As we drove through Costa Rica we immediately noticed why we wanted to move here a year ago. The jungle turned thicker and the insects grew larger. The life around us became more abundant. We stopped at the giant supermarket on the way to Playa Negra. Dorian and I were shocked by the thousands of products that consumed the shelves. We had just came from a land where the locals raise their own food.

We continued our journey until we came to a fallen bridge. The road was impassable and Dorian and I once again were on a race with time. It was getting dark and we were forced to find an alternative route without street signs. We were unable to make it to Playa Negra that night so we shacked up in Tamarindo. Tourists flourish here. Even Pizza Hut exists here.
The next morning we were forced to take a short cut in the wet season through several mud pits. We literally crashed into the earth and drove in and out of huge ruts that swallowed El Grande Rojo's giant tires. This road was as gnarly as the road from hell in Guatemala. Fortunately our life was not in danger this time, only the life of our truck. We managed to make it one house away from Tony's house where we were going to camp when the giant mud pit that we risked driving through swallowed the front right tire. The entire truck began to sink into the underground river. We were officially stuck!

Dorian contemplated detaching our wench from the front of the truck and attaching it to the rear. We needed to get pulled out backwards. The road that lied ahead of us was to watery to pass. Tony's brother-in-law graciously helped Dorian for hours dig out the truck. Dorian was covered in mud from head to toe. He even arranged for two ox to try to pull us out. After that failed we luckily met the neighbor Juanito (a gringo from Orange County) who came to our rescue. He had a wench on his truck. After Dorian cleared the earth from the bottom of the truck they wiggled El Grande Rojo out of the mud pit. We were finally free. It was steaming hot and we were extremely tired and hungry.

Juanita invited us into his house to get cleaned up. We were so thankful to meet an instant friend. He made it clear that he was impressed that we drove all the way down. We told him pieces of our story and he reminisced about the times when he made the trip. He continued to hook us up when he introduced us to his best friend Jerry who lived next door. Jerry is a gringo who moved from Hawaii. He is in his seventies but doesn't look a day over fifty. He let us camp on his property for only $5 a day. We really liked our two new friends.

We continued to meet the people who lived here and contacted Brad who had the house for rent. The house needed alot of work. There were howler monkeys everywhere. We were almost going to move in and make our new life in Playa Negra when we got cold feet. Dorian and I made the decision to drive further south to Playa Hermosa. We made the six hour drive south through the cloud forest. We realized that Playa Hermosa was a better fit for us right now. I did not want to face the dry season in Playa Negra, Northern Costa Rica.