Day 4

Walking down the driveway from the bus

Our first dinner

Winnie the dog

It took ALL day to get here.  Here is Finca Ipe, our home for the next two weeks.  We left the hotel in San Jose at 8:15AM, walked to the bus station QUICKLY with all our stuff, and got there at 9am.  The hotel clerk told us the buses were on the hour, despite the fact that I thought they were every half hour...I was right.  We waited 1/2 hour and then got on the bus for 3 SLOW hours of driving. Steep mountain roads, twisting and turning through curtains of fog and rain.  Destination, San Isidro del General, a sprawling city of small family owned establishments intermixed with industry.  We asked  a million people for directions and walked AGAIN with all our stuff, PLUS groceries which we bought in a market we passed: dried beans, rice, cheese of unknown type, tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, lettuce, leeks, cucumbers, pasta, a bottle of sweet and sour sauce for whatever might need it, limes, garlic and olive oil.  Finally, we located the bus station which opened at 1PM, we were told.  After waiting 1/2 hour I learned that the internet schedule for buses to Dominical was not completely accurate.  On Sundays, there is no 1:30 bus.  It's at 3:30.  Two more hours to wait.

Chocolate the dog

Here is a good place to mention some things about Costa Rica. Bathrooms are available for payment.  They are fastidiously cleaned by humble looking men and women who accept payment of 200 colones, a standard amount all over.  But be aware that not all bathrooms have toilet paper or running water to wash your hands afterwards.  Buses:  they sell tickets even though they are out of seats.  People stand down the center aisle. Lots of people.  Buses stop along the roads to pick up people standing,  obviously waiting for buses.  They also get off wherever they want.  

We then got on the bus to Dominical and asked to be dropped off at Finca Ipe.  We were dropped at the top of the driveway and we walked down to the lovely farm community.  It was very peaceful with all the wild insect noises and intense smell of some mimosa like tree.   There are other resident families here. One family from Germany, one from Australia, and the owners who are from Germany and USA.  There also are two workers, one of whom lives here.  The kids already met the animals (goats and chickens and rabbits), and we found a GIANT spider on a kiddy pool. I mean like 3 inches in diameter (legs).  There are a lot of insects here, although not so many of the biting types.  Palmetto bugs, walking sticks, moths, spiders, katy-dids all abound.  There is even some sort of insect which sounds like ceramic wind chimes knocking together.  Every once in a while there is an intense whirring sound, but it's too dark to identify its source.

It feels reassuring to know that we have a place to unpack our bags and get used to our surroundings.  As the temperature drops to a comfortable 70 degrees the jungle noises soothe us all to sleep.