Jaco and Escazu, Costa Rica

Please see the first post on Costa Rica for important details about this post.

After spending two whole days in Manuel Antonio, the next morning we took a bus to Jaco. Jaco is the closest beach to San Jose, which means that hotels are overpriced (the cheapest we could find was $70/night for a slightly dirty and run down room) and the food is expensive and not that good. The beach was nice, but nothing amazing. It reminded me quite a bit of the typical American seaside resort with nothing of the beauty and remoteness of other areas in Costa Rica.

The following day we took a bus back to San Jose and rented a car from Dollar Costa Rica. While I've driven enough times in New York City that I thought I could handle driving in Costa Rica, that was not the case. While the drivers there are not that much crazier than in NYC, the roads have few signs, many potholes, and are generally winding through narrow mountain passes. The fact that Costa Rican pedestrians and drivers are both crazy does not help the matter.

The original plan had been to make it out of the San Jose area that day. However, the guides books mentioned an amazing wood workshop in Escazu, a wealthy suburb or San Jose and we decided to stop by. We eventually made it there, but ended up spending so much time getting lost that we had to stay in Escazu overnight. We did, however, find a very nice bed & breakfast there called the Costa Verde Inn, which was beautifully decorated with wood panels and wood furniture. A bit far out of town, but very nice overall.