Upon arriving at the port of Puerto Jimenez, I was greeted by an old gringo who looked about in his 70’s. He first asked if I was the only backpacker on the boat, and when I replied ‘yes’, he set about his business of telling me all about the hotel/hostel he runs and how it’s the best and yada, yada, yada. Of course I wanted to keep my options open and look around for a bit of price and place comparison instead of simply taking his word for it, and despite telling him “thanks for the info, I will keep it in mind but first want to look elsewhere” he insisted on coming with me to every hotel/hostel as I did my comparisons.
Later I came to find out that even though he would have gotten the most money for me staying at his hostel, he still got a commission from any other hotel/hostel that I happened to stay in just because technically he told me about it- hence why he insisted on coming with me to every hotel/hostel. In any event, he was quite pleasant as we made our way around the little town to find suitable accommodations. As we wandered near the town park I heard the calls of the Scarlet macaw, a once endangered but now flourishing bird on the Osa Peninsula. I was told by my escort that these beautiful birds can live into their 80’s and mate for life! What a spectacular sight indeed they were!! Even though I had of course seen scarlet macaws in pet shops and people’s homes, there isn’t anything quite like the sight of them in the wild and free!! The town park was lined with almond trees, which is the macaw’s favorite food, and my guide informed me that as the sun sets, there can be hundreds of macaws gathering in the park for the setting of the sun.
Finally we wandered into a hostel called “The Corner” just one block off from the main road where an older woman named Berta owned and operated it. She didn’t speak a lick of English, but immediately I quite liked her. She showed me a private room with shared bath that was absolutely adorable, and as I was the only one in the hostel at the time, and as the price of the room was only $10 per night, I made up in my mind that I would be staying there as it was also very secure in it’s location. Not wanting to be rude to the old man who had been hobbling beside me all through town as I picked the place I wanted to stay in, I opted to first check out the accommodations that he offered prior to voicing my opinion. We walked along the main road to his hostel and after seeing the room, despite the fact that there was a restaurant conveniently located in the front, I politely turned the room down and returned to Berta at The Corner.
At this point, I really had felt like I had been travelling the country WAY too fast! And since I quite liked the energy and feel of this little Peninsula town, I decided to stay a full week! What I would do with my time I hadn’t yet known, but what ended up happening with my time was well beyond any adventure I had expected!!
Sadly, looking back at my photos from Puerto Jimenez, considering how long I’d stayed I really didn’t take as many photos as I should have… Sorry!! But enjoy the few below:)
Ramblintraveler 