If I tell you : Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula, Pacific ocean… your answer ? Costa Rica of course ! It was easy with the map on your right ! lol J I am continuing my epic travel throught the eco tourism royaume . This time it is a « permaculture » farm transformed into an ecolodge, I present to you the Finca Exotica.
The project « Camino Sostenible » (Sustainable path)
I found my way to Finca Exotica throught the blog of 2 spanish travellers : Eli and Alex. It seems that I have been following their footsteps !
During a break at a youth Hostel in El Salvador, I talked to the tenant and he told me that he remembered a couple who were doing « the same thing » . I found a sticker on the side of a fridge of the Hostel with the internet adress of their website. I discovered their blog and decide to send them an email. Ale and *** a mexico- argentinan couple, travelled from Mexico to Argentina, creating a bridge between their countries by discovering the eco tourism initiatives along the way .
From their journey they have created 2 wonderful websites : their travel blog : www.caminosostenible.org and an other website : www.viajerosustentable.com which is a wonderful source of knowledge, regarding the permaculture for example.
They answered my email but they were not able to help me with my hotel search, they did not find a lot of hotels on their way and they are not really able to help me with what I am looking for . But anyway it was still really nice to meet them « virtually » and i am looking forward to visiting the home they are bulding in Patagonia applying everything they have learned during their travel.
On their blog, I discover the Finca Exotica in the article « how to recognize a real Eco-hotel ? ». One email later, a date is set to go there and I am to contact them when I approach the location.
Travel in « truck hitch hiking »
How to go from Tarcoles to Carate in one day ?Is there any bus ? when ? and how to go from Carate to Puerto Jimenez next ? On google map I can hardly see a road… ? Is their any public transportation in this lost land at the end of this huge peninsula?!!
I am not as worried as I was at the beginning of my travelings and I tend to improvise more and more… I remember the first time I planned a road trip from St Petersburg to Bratislava, I had everything planned out and booked before end… I have changed my ways of traveling !!
In America Latina, there is always a solution ! I wake up with the sun, take a moto taxi that takes the hotel employes to work and it leaves me on the side of the main road at 06 :00AM sharp. I have been told that a public bus should come by shortly and it will take me to the next village which is 15km farther.
So, the bus passes.. and never stops ! despite me waving and trying to be noticed… he leaves me there and continues ! What will I do ? They say that the bus comes every hour. Should I wait for the next one ? .. Well… sorry mum, sorry dad, but I really do not see any other option …hitch hiking it is ! just this one time I promise !
The power of my thumb ! 10 minutes later I am riding in an enormous truck, the one you only see in american movies ! When I saw it from far away I did not even bother to leave my thumb out, I would never have thought that he would stop for me. But he did ! and it was perfect because he was going to the frontier with Panama so I would be able have a 3 to 4 h ride to where I wanted to go. He would leave me exactly at the beginning of this Peninsula de Osa , p.e.r.f.e.c.t. Sometimes, the day starts with a bad surprise and ends up with a perfect situation . Instead of taking 3 to 4 public buses and spending twice the time in transportation , I am on my way and I will be there in 4 hours, and on top of that the driver also invites me for breakfast !
One bus later I a mat Puerto Jimenez , where the last public bus to Carate is in less than 1 hour ! Perfect timing ! Without hitch hiking I would have probably stayed the night here to take the bus in the morning.
Finca Exotica Ecolodge and the Sea Turtles
When Gaby , the co-owner of Finca Exotica, saw me arriving she was really suprised and shared with me her doubts about me arriving in one day ! She shows me to my « tiki tent » , the place has something magical about it…
Finca in spanish means farm, and that is how the adventure had started for Markus (german born) and Gaby (from Costa Rica) 11 years ago. Go and discover the place and the techniques they use by reading the article I wrote for Hopineo.
Sleeping in a tent in the middle of the tropical forest and near the beach, with the pacific ocean and its big waves crashing on the beach with no interruption, all of those sounds combined make me think about one of those « relaxation » CDs …. Lol. But, for me it is a new battle against my strong fear of snakes. I do not feel relaxed at all walking to my tent in the dark with my phone light only to guide me… I’m feeling a bit paranoid and I have a hard time relaxing and finding my sleep !
I spend a week at the Finca exotica. A serious week when I work a lot, but I enjoy a lot of wonderful breaks : the food is delicious and I enjoy every meal, runs alongside the beach are daily joy but the best is my meeting with the sea turtles : the giant green turtle mother that comes to lay her eggs during the night and a bucket full of baby Lora . Thanks to Phoebe and her initiative for sea turtle conservation : « Cotorco » . Finca exotica helps them by different ways (look at the article on Hopineo by clicking here ), and proposing for example up to 60% off on bed and breakfast to the volunters.
This experience was really special for me amongst all the special experiences I have lived so far. I am leaving now but I’m not going really far away : just accross the Golfo Dulce to go to an ecolodge that you can only reach by boat : coconut trees, private beaches, mangrove and primary forest, follow me to the Saladero Ecolodge !
Translated by my friend Agathe!