Tacos in Jaco



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On Wednesday we decided to take a drive to the Pacific Western Coast and check out Jaco located in the Central Province of Puntarenas. We met a man on our flight in to San Jose, who plans on developing a business for coin operated lockers on the beach front in Jaco. He told us how much he and his partner loved the area so we were excited to see it.  On our zip lining trip we met a native that had recommended a taco joint, in Jaco, so we knew where to stop for a bite to eat. Also, I had read a lot about the town so it was worth investigating. 

We notice the foliage change the further northwest we drove. I was concerned for the rainforest. I never heard of the dry rain forest. 

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Luckily, you can google to learn about everything and it turns out that Costa Rica has the only protected dry rainforest in the world. A rainforest generally gets about 3 meters of rain annually whereas a dry rainforest gets only 1 meter of rain annual. So the vegetation goes through a resting period much like our fall and winter in the states. 

I am sure you can imagine how shocking it was to leave the lush jungles of the rainforest in Braulio Carrillo the day before and be confronted with a completely different landscape only a few miles away. 

On highway 34 we noticed a bunch of people standing on the bridge. Curiosity got the better of us so we pulled over on the north side of the bridge and parked the car. We found out that the people were staring down at crocodiles.

Turns out this was the famous crocodile bridge over the Tarcoles River on the Costanera Highway 34.

[image error]Crocodiles in the Tarcoles River, in Costa Rica.



[image error]Crocodile Bridge

We snapped a few pictures and proceeded on our journey.

Our friends from the zip lining trip told us to go to the Taco Bar in Jaco and as luck would have it we found it just in time for lunch.

[image error]Amazing large portions and a wide variety to choose from at the Taco Bar. I took this picture from a swing! This taco bar has rope swings instead of bar stools adding to the fun.



[image error]Of course, no meal in the tropics would be complete without the addition of a Pina Colada! Notice the ropes in the background holding wood plank seats.

After Lunch we asked the manager for the best place to park to go to the beach and he told us that we could just leave our car there and walk over. There are many hotels on Pastor Diaz Avenue and unfortunately they block access to the beach. We had to find an avenue that would lead us to the beach. Luckily we found a street about a block from the Taco Bar and made our way through.

[image error]Hotels and developers cannot encroach on the beachfront. There are no developments for the first 300 meters of lake fronts. This allows everyone to enjoy the beach, one simply cannot walk through their properties and must walk around.



[image error]Black sand volcanic beaches. The sand turns white with age.





[image error]This beach is popular with surfers! We spoke to a few from Australia, but on this day the waters were calm.

We went shopping in Jaco’s downtown area after a few hours of enjoying the beach and the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Jaco has a cute and vibrant downtown area that I hear, has a great night life too. 

We knew we had to get up early for our snorkeling trip the next morning and wanted to check out the dinner buffet, that was only held on Wednesday evening, at our hotel so we figured we can check out the night life on our next visit.

Calypso Cruises



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[image error]I love these satellite images and I don’t have to worry about copyright infringement.



[image error]Tortuga Islands are located at the south east tip the Gulf of Nicoya.



[image error]This Map shows the entire journey, including Jaco, Puntarenas and the Tortuga Islands so you get an idea of the boat route from Puntarenas north of Jaco.

We were instructed to meet in the lobby at 6:00 a.m. on Thursday morning December 20th 2018. Unfortunately, breakfast starts at 6:00 a.m., so we bypassed the breakfast buffet and waited patiently in the lobby of the Double Tree Hotel.

I expected that there would be someone there to organize the group.  Since there was no one there, we figured we might be the only guest going on the trip. My husband and I waited and watched as people got on various buses for other groups and destinations and weren’t entirely sure which bus we were taking.

The bus arrived 45 minutes later. We boarded with a large group from the hotel. I learned that it was a large family celebrating a 50th Wedding Anniversary,  consisting of the Parents, two daughters with their husbands and five grandchildren between them. The parents had planned all sort of adventures around Costa Rica. This snorkeling tour adventure was just the first leg of their journey. 

On the bus we were greeted by our informative, biligual, tour guide, Celiece. Celiece had a voice like Jenifer Lopez (J-Lo) and said everything twice, once in Spanish and then in English.  Finally, my husband and I were sitting back and relaxing while we learned about Costa Rica during the drive to Puntarenas just north of Jaco. It was such a relief not to drive or stare at the GPS on the journey.

There was one story that she told us as we were pulling up to the Calypso restaurant to disembark for our journey that I have not been able to verify. It was the story of  how Puntarenas got the name, The Pearl of the Pacific. According to the legend;. Back around the turn of the century in the early 1900s there was a Panomanian Madam who had set up a brothel that was very famous with the seamen who always made a stop on their voyage. A bustling business grew up around this phenomena because the shipmen needed to eat, get gas and other amenities and that is how Puntarenas got its name, The Pearl of the Pacific. She also stated that the American Embassy was located there at the same time.  

I wasn’t able to get a picture of the now privately owned building that once housed the American Embassy. I only got a corner of the roof from the dock where we boarded the catamaran. 

[image error]The Old American Embassy far left top with the red roof.



[image error]My Husband did manage to get the front of the Old American Embassy, located in Puntarenas, the new American Embassy is now located in San Jose.



[image error]the dock[image error]breakfast before boarding[image error]outside patio[image error]the cruise photographer caught many scenes and posted them on Facebook

We boarded the catamaran after enjoying a nice breakfast with plenty of Costa Rican Coffee.

[image error]the catamaran that took us to Tortuga Island



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I was surprised that people seemed to be enjoying cocktails so early in the morning. My husband and I wanted to keep our heads clear so that we would be sharp to go snorkeling. We arrived at the island an hour later. 

[image error]A trio greeted the arriving guests with sounds of the tropics!

The crew unloaded and took pictures of every one as they disembarked. They set up a delicous lunch, replete with unbrellas, table clothes, cooking equipment and dishes! 

[image error][image error][image error][image error]An amazing amount of work to set this up and break it down! A great job by the crew.

We went snorkeling after lunch. We got back on the boat and road out about 1/2 a mile and were given life vests, face masks, but no swim fins!

 

[image error]The current was so strong that without swim fins it was difficult to fight the current. The small boat in the distance kept retreiving those that went out of bounds. In the picture my husband is swimming back.



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After snorkeling, we hung out at the beach and had a few drinks. There were a family of wild boars, and some interesting chickens roaming around the private island.  Everyone has to the leave the island at 5:00 p.m. and head back to Puntarenas.

[image error][image error][image error][image error]There are a lot of islands in the Gulf of Nicoya.

There were a lot of boats, jet skis. etc…  swirling around the bay off shore and I notice a lot of broken coral had washed up on the beach. Although this is a private island, I don’t think much is being done to protect the coral reef. Perhaps the stong current is responsible for breaking the coral? 

I found myself swimming as hard as I could just to remain in place, and the water was merky due to the rough waters raising up all the silt from the ocean floor.

It was a nice trip, but I don’t recommend it as a snokeling trip. Although, I have seen some great pictures of snokelers here at Tortuga Island, it may just be that the current was too turmulturous due to the full moon that day.

When my husband and I snorkeled in the Florida Keys we had clear water and calm seas and saw amazing fish and reefs. I suggest learning about Ocean currents and the best time to snorkel before booking a trip to Tortuga.

[image error][image error][image error][image error]Turkey Vultures

The crew efficiently loaded everything back on the catamaran and we all bid fairwell to the island and started our journey back to Puntarenas.

We learned that most of the people on the trip, aside from the family celebrating a 50th wedding anniversary, were on a Company outing and Kenny, the tour coordinator that we met and spoke with on the island, kept buying us drinks on the way back to shore.  

[image error]Thank you, Kenny! We hope to see you when you visit Chicago.



[image error]Kenny company coordinator.



[image error]We enjoyed a full moon on the ride back to Puntarenas! It might have been the full moon that was causing the ocean currents to be so choppy. We slept on the bus ride back.

Stay tuned for next month’s post, Pura Vida, Part 4 and The Mysterious Los Bolos, the last day of our journey. I have some great pictures of The Costa Rican National Musuem in Downtown San Jose that houses many beautiful precolumbian artifacts and of course Los Bolos! 

[image error]Strange shares made of volcanic rock, naturally occurring or not?

About The Author:

[image error]Carly Compass has a Bachelor’s Degree in Writing and English from Elmhurst College. She is an avid reader, reviewer on Goodreads and Amazon, as well as a member in good standing of Phi Theta Kappa and Sigma Tau Delta International Honors Societies. 

Find her poetry and prose published in: The Prairie Light Review, Black Widows, Web of Poetry, and the Middle Western Voice.

Her first series, Electric, published in the fall of 2014 received critical acclaim and five star reviews across the board for all three books. 

She became a best-selling author on Amazon when Book 4 came out to the waiting arms of her readers in April of 2015. 

Electric, The Beginning Book 1 is available for a free download.  

Books 1, 2, 3 are also available in a discounted combination set, available around the world. Find your link here.

All books read well as stand alone, but you’ll want to read every word and leave no page unturned. 

New in 2018: About Life, About Love, About Family, A Collection of Short Stories and coming soon, Rituals Lost, A Pagan/Wiccan tale, Books 1, 2, and 3!

Pick up your free copy today and let the world know what you think by leaving a review! 

Carly loves hearing from her readers, feel free to connect across the board on all social media.