Reunited! seven months later, we are back in Costa Rica where we had put our adventure on hold. Back in April we parked our vehicle for 220 days at the bond free parking at Terminales Unidas/Aeromar close to the International Airport. We were so excited to unpack Mr. G from the tarps, other than the flat tire we could not see anything wrong. Before we could hit the road, we needed proof of the mandatory car insurance and with that paper we had to go to the customs (Aduana Santamaria) to get a new temporary import of the vehicle. But he returned our papers and explained something about an inspection and more necessary documents that we did not know of….what? Back at Terminales Unidas the manager called the customs personally to find out about the process. He advised the people immediately and arranged the inspection and two agents showed up 30 minutes later. They were so efficient that we could run back to the customs before closing and finally had all the necessary papers to take our vehicle out of storage. The next day they even helped us with the flat tire and gave us a boost and we were so relieved to hear Mr. G running again! Ivan was busy checking the car and right on the spot he changed the gearbox oil. All our stuff was stored on pallets in their warehouse. We were busy packing everything up and loading the car with our gear. On the 4th day we were ready to hit the road again!
What a temperature shock when exited the airport in San José, Costa Rica! It was so hot and humid (30+) compared to the freezing cold and dry (-20) Canada. Therefore we decided to go inland and drive the scenic Cerro de la Muerte – Highway #2 towards Panama.
La Gamba – Rainforest of the Austrians
Before we left Costa Rica we stopped in La Gamba to visit the Rainforest of the Austrians. An international well-known tropical station where we can camp and where we met lots of travelers, a mix of biologists, researchers from Austria. We explored some of the trails but some were so muddy and slippery (now I understood why there were so many rubber boots at the camp). With heavy showers the trails turned into little streams and with sandals we did not get very far.