planetrumsey: Costa Rica Adventure: Day 5

The rural valley of Bijagua is not only a perfect location to experience some authentic Costa Rica but it also happens to be a great place to stop over when traveling between the La Fortuna area and the Pacific coast. We were able to split a four hour journey in half while still being able to experience another part of the country.

Prior to driving to the beach town of Samara however we wanted to continue exploring what Bijagua has to offer.

Before even getting to that we need to stop and discuss the rain. Overnight in Bijagua we experienced the most intense rainfall that continued all night and into the morning. Even the owner of the B&B commented on how it never usually rains so heavily that much. Lucky us! While it was a lot of rain it really didn’t affect our plans too much.

To start our day we went on a tour of the farm and visited their rabbits, guinea pigs and chickens. We also got to milk their cow. We’ve never milked this many cows in our lives before!

After the tour we sat down to a delicious farm to table breakfast of eggs, cheese, tomato and toast. I even got to have fresh cows milk which was an interesting experience. Then it was time for us to pack up yet again and check out. We weren’t in a big hurry to leave however, so after all the other guests left we took the opportunity to chat with the owners while our daughters played together. Eventually, we did leave but just up the dirt road to Heliconias Lodge which has an amazing rainforest hike with hanging bridges on the edge of Tenorio national park. Remember the rain? Well we weren’t spared from the rain during our hike but we were prepared and the thick rainforest canopy helped to shelter us from the worst of the rain. The hike itself was stunning plus we had the entire place to ourself. Due to its remote location this area doesn’t see a lot of visitors anyway plus I’m sure the rain helped to keep anyone else away as well. The pictures don’t do the experience justice as there is something magical about walking through a rainforest on a side of a mountain that is in the clouds.

The time finally arrived to leave Bijagua and start our journey out of the mountains and down to the Pacific coastal town of Samara. As soon as me began our trip the rain tapered off and after about 40 minutes the temperature rose from 22 degrees up to 32 degrees! After 2.5 hours of driving we finally arrived in Samara and went directly to our AirBnb which will be our home for the next 6 days.