- Pick up rental car from National Car Rental
- Drive to Uvita via Coastal Route:
- Coastal Route: 3h 15m
- Rte 27 (tolls for a short section)
- Rte 34 (Jacó, Manuel Antonio / Quepos, Dominical, Uvita)
- Read more here: http://costaricahighways.com/orotina-to-palmar-norte-cr-34/
- Alternative (we didn’t take) – Highlands Route: 4h 15m
- Rte 1
- Rte 39
- Rte 2 (Parque Nacional Los Quetzales)
- Read more here: http://costaricahighways.com/panamerican-highway/
- Coastal Route: 3h 15m
- Notes:
- We overnighted in San José as driving around the jungle in the middle of the night didn’t seem like the best idea
- Magically the National guy met me at the hotel (I don’t recall having informed National where we were staying, but the shuttle driver was there, so I rolled with it); we talked about fútbol and nieve on the way to get car
- Café Don Mayo para desayuno
- Battled stop n’ go traffic and construction to get out of town
- Took the Rte 27 “autopista” (which turned out to be a two lane toll road), then the Rte 34 “carretera nacional” along the coast (another two lane road, but free); tarmac all the way, baby!
- Found our house on the hill above Uvita
- Met our Gringo landlady, the Tico caretaker who lives in a room below the garage (but hangs out up in garage to use WiFi) and Eric the Gardener (also a local)
- We also met Dos Perros: Amber y Daisy; they also live on the property as a security system of sorts
- Ran down the hill to the supermercado (BM North Uvita) to grab a few staples
- Exotica para cena (near Ojochal); very nice meal, but our first experience with dining sticker shock (not to mention Julie accidentally double tipped in a country where tipping isn’t a big thing)
- Drove home from dinner in a jungle downpour; with no striping on roads and locals that like to accessorize their vehicles with high intensity LED spotlights, the drive got a little bit sketchy
- Accommodations: Casa Manana en Uvita, Báhia Ballena, Osa, Puntarenas
Hills above Ojochal
Chestnut-mandibled Toucan
El Perro Amber
Road to Casa Manana
