“Zen is not a
religion, nor a dogma, nor a belief. Neither is Zen a search, an investigation,
or a philosophy. The fundamental basis for the practice of Zen is the principle
that everything is as it should be, nothing is missing. In this exact moment,
everything is perfect.”
After five hours of slowly climbing and descending the steep
and unkempt roads of the Nicoya Peninsula, Sergio and I finally arrived to Casa Zen Guesthouse & Yoga Centre in Santa Teresa. We were awe-struck by this
so-called ‘hostel’. Situated in the heart of Santa Teresa, and only steps from
the playa, the location is impossible to beat. Locals drop-by daily to offer us
everything from sushi-rolls to fresh empanadas de carne. For us
budget-travelers, the hostel is equipped with a large, state-of-the-art
kitchen. More importantly, however, Casa Zen promotes an incredibly laidback
and friendly vibe. I’m even considering attempting a morning yoga session,
after complimentary breakfast and coffee of course.
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| Common area at Casa Zen |
Santa Teresa is a coastal village on the South-Western side
of the Nicoya peninsula in the Puntarenas province. Here the jungle hugs the
sparsely populated white sand beach as far as the eye can see. The town consists
of a single unpaved road lined with restaurants, cafés, grocery stores and
hotels. To our surprise, the road was in worse condition than that through the
mountainous interior of the peninsula. With the newly-acquired, first-hand knowledge of
what these roads were capable of doing to Sergio’s 4WD Daihatsu Terios, we
rented a couple of quads to explore the area surrounding Santa Teresa.
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| Playa Santa Teresa |
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| The road through Santa Teresa |
Keen to decide for ourselves whether the coastal road of the
peninsula was not passable during the rainy-season, Sergio and I hopped on our semi-automatic ATVs and headed North toward Playa Manzanillo.
After crossing several thigh-deep rivers, climbing unimaginably steep hills and
navigating the seemingly endless pot-holes, we came to share the locals’ conviction of the
coastal road – that is, if you can even call it a road. It rivals Buckwallow’s
technical mountain biking trails in Ontario. Nevertheless, it is the most
scenic and tranquil road I’ve ever seen; without a soul in sight, we were
watched by howler monkeys and iguanas as we followed the road through
the jungle, over the foothills and on the edges of cliffs overlooking the Pacific
Ocean.
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| Foothills of Santa Teresa |
The next day, Tuesday October 29th, the two of us
woke at sunrise to check-out Montezuma’s infamous waterfalls. After splitting a
loaf of freshly-baked bread in Cóbano we continued on our quads to the
South-Eastern coast of the peninsula toward Montezuma. The hippie town of
Montezuma is much more centralized than that of Santa Teresa, with all the
shops and restaurants located within a 5-minute walk of each other. This is my
favourite coastal town in Costa Rica. It is not under-developed,
nor is it too touristy; in my opinion, it possesses the perfect balance between a
bustling town and a remote, uninhabited Costa Rican beach.
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| Montezuma |
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| Montezuma Waterfall |
In flip-flops and without mosquito repellent, we were
ill-prepared for the trek through the jungle and wading through rivers to get
to Montezuma’s waterfalls. After absorbing the beauty of the waterfall, and a
considerable amount of mosquito bites, we were happy to retreat to a local café
and enjoy some coffee and fresh jugo de naranja. Before leaving Montezuma, I spotted
a palm tree with several coconuts within reach – perfect mixer for the bottle
of Flor de Caña rum we had back in Santa Teresa!
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| Coconut harvesting! |
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| Sergio replenishing his electrolytes |
After smashing a coconut between a couple of stones and
replenishing our electrolytes, I threw another into my day-pack for the rum and
headed, using the coastal road, to Mal País. Mal País is located just south of
Santa Teresa on the Western side of the peninsula by the Cabo Blanco Nature
Reserve. Playa Mal País is perhaps the most isolated, beautiful beach I’ve ever
visited. Getting there requires either hiking through the jungle or climbing over
steep rock outcroppings. The town itself merely consists of a fish
market from which we were stoked to purchase fresh Mahi Mahi for dinner.
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| Playa Mal País |
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| Mahi Mahi from the fish market |
Upon our return to Casa Zen we celebrated our day's success with Mahi Mahi fillets, salad and, of course, a few drinks of Flor de Caña mixed with the water of handpicked coconuts and limes. No question I've found Zen here in the Southern-most tip of the Nicoya Peninsula. If this isn't 'pura vida', I don't know what is.
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| Handpicked coconut, lime & Flor de Caña |
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| Our ATV adventure in the Southern-most tip of the Nicoya Peninsula |
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| Having a blast |
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