Chapter 9 Costa Rica..An Adventure in Sightseeing

Chapter 9

My husband and I are from America, we decided to move and live in Costa Rica. So, in 2015, we sold everything (house, furniture, and personal belongings) and moved to Costa Rica. We had never lived outside the USA before. I’m posting some stories about our experiences.

Costa Rica is a tourist dream. There are so many things to see and do it’s hard to know where to start. Roger and I became tourists for 2 days. With the help of some friends who became our personal tour guides, off we went to explore.

Saturday began with a trip over to the Pacific coast (which is a little more than 1 hour drive from San Jose) and a visit to the seashore town of Jaco. Jaco’s climate is normally humid, with a high relative humidity so we felt like we were back in Florida. This was our second trip to Jaco. We had previously drove there in October (2014) but we just looked it over and left. It is amazing how much more you will see when you travel with someone that knows what the area has to offer. In October, we drove over the same bridge and saw people lined up on the bridge looking over. We said, “What the heck are these people looking at”, well now we know.

So, with more information that this is a tourist stop, we decided to stop. Park your car on the San Jose side of the bridge where the restaurant is since it's little safer. Tarcoles River or as it is known, Grande de Tárcoles River. Unfortunately, the Tarcoles River is “the most contaminated river in Costa Rica, carrying much of the sewage from the central towns and cities”*. The water provides irrigation for much of agricultural areas of the country. Also, it is used to generate electricity. There are boat tours that take you into the river, but we opted to stay on the bridge and look at the American crocodiles from a distance.

You walk along the narrow footpath to the center of the bridge you just look over, along the entire river’s edge are American crocodiles. There are hundreds of them soaking up the sun. Tárcoles River has one of the highest populations of crocodiles in the entire world - 25 crocodiles per square kilometer.

Trip Advisor rates this attraction 4 out of 5 stars.

We made our way into Jaco. Jacó is a resort city on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. Located in the county of Garabito in the Puntarenas province, the city has a population of approximately 10,000 residents. Jacó's beach is 2.5 miles long and offers some of the best surfing in Costa Rica*.

Because of its location, a mere two hours away from San Jose, Jaco might be the most popular beach in Costa Rica. Also known as a party town, Jaco is very popular for its night life. It attracts many local “Ticos” as well as a variety of tourists seeking surfing, fishing and gambling. I must mention here that Jaco has a large amount of prostitutes, walking the streets during the day but especially at night.

The Pacific ocean water was extremely warm. But I will say I was not prepared for the temperature of the sand as I ran back to the car bare footed, yikes it was hot. So wear your shoes and just take them off when you reach the water’s edge.

Roger and I made our way to the Croc’s Casino and Resort that has been open for just 2 months in 2015. It is a full-service casino with lots of slots and the usual table games. Yes, I did try my luck at the slots (which only take Dollars). The casino has people to help you understand the game you are playing. I had a young man that was most eager to help. After I turned my $20 into $50, he told me to stop and cash out. So, I went home a winner.