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I arrived in Tilaran a little after 11:00. Too early for lunch so I tried to "just pass through." Lady Luck was with me as I wandered around the town looking for the road to Cañas. My circles took me by this most unusual church. The entire façade and other highlights are a mosaic of broken bathroom tiles. Quite colorful but quite different than any other church I have encountered. |
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Finally, I asked for directions and was headed out of town. Before long I picked up a couple of European hitchhikers—hygronomy students from a German University in Costa Rica for a six-month project. We enjoyed chatting in Spanish for the thirty or so miles to their apartment in Cañas. They weren't up for lunch yet so I passed through town and stopped at a snazzy roadside restaurant. On the patio overlooking a beautiful river, I enjoyed a bowl of ceviche and the view. As soon as I finished, I headed northworth west on the Inter-American Highway into the state of Guanacaste. Headed toward Liberia, I observed that I had left rainforest and was now feeling like I was in southern Sonora, Mexico. Some of the plants were familiar; still leafless or just leafing out in response to the rains. Large puddles spoke of a recent downpour. To the east of the highway, storm clouds were building over Volcan Rincon de la Vieja and Volcan Miravalles.
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I continued north, considering going to the Nicaraguan border but since it was late in the day and my night's accommodations were unknown, I stopped about five miles from the border. |
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Pelonix regia
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Backtracking to the town of La Cruz. From a hill at the edge of town, I could see Bahia Salinas. I quickly found the road to the beach indicated on my map and hoped I would find a motel on the beach. I did encounter one but the rates were much more than I wanted to pay. Going down the road I encountered royal poinciana trees, familiar from Sonora, and a few crabs out foraging in the fading pre-dusk light. There was one more hotel further down the beach before the road dead-ended. Fortunately, the Three Corners Bolaños Bay was affordable and had very few other guests. |
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The owner was at the front counter when I arrived, talking with a couple of staff members about how tourism was down. They certainly wanted me to stay so they offered me a rate of $35.00 which included a dinner and breakfast buffet. Sounded good to me!
I was shown to my room by a big man that made easy work of my heavy luggage. It couldn't have had a better view of the beach and Refugio Nacional de Fauna Silvestre Isla Bolaños, a big name for a small island.
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I dropped everything and went for a quick survey and photo shoot of my surroundings. The hill at the end of the property looked like Sonora. There was even a white-flowered plumeria blooming, as was the one at SASI. I could see from the crab burrows among a pink flowering plant at the edge of the lawn that it promised to be a fun evening. Go to the next page for a look at what fun I had. |
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