Day 49: Over the river and through...more rivers

The bus stop at the cemetery.

Flooded homes in Parrita.

Driving through rivers.

Chunks of road missing.

Last night’s ride home was pretty uneventful and much of the same; no signs, guesstimating where we are and where we should go, realizing we went too far and backtracking until we found the way. The rain didn’t help the situation but we eventually stumbled upon the road that led us home. It took the normal five hours. I think it’s safe to say that anywhere we want to go takes us about five hours to get there regardless if it should take two. Mike also plans to contact National Geographic to give them a piece of his mind after a route was misidentified on their 2011 map of Costa Rica. He may never trust them again.


As we drove, we realized that rain must have continuously poured from the day we left (although it was sunny) without stopping. We drove in the dark through a river in the road and found even more trees and power lines down in our town (we realized later they were probably cable lines since ours is out). With some careful maneuvering over new potholes, fresh drop-offs, branches and puddles, Mike got us to our house and Matt got to see his bedroom with a view and balcony with a hammock.

This morning, still mid-rain, we decided to show him our first house and the infamous road that consumed the majority of our first month in Costa Rica. He got to see more than we expected when daylight illuminated the newly fallen trees and the fast moving river spilling into an even narrower road. I’m hoping the road survives the rest of the time we have here since it gets smaller with each storm.


As we drove toward our old town, we had to pass the same river that flooded our route last night, in addition to three more. The coffee-colored water gushed over and under the roads, taking chunks of land, pavement, trees and road signs with it. Cars lined the area where the water met the road knowing they couldn’t pass after seeing one too many stall, need a push, or get towed. Luckily, we had an SUV and just made it safely across behind the rest of the trucks.

The last time we saw Parrita flooded, it was a big deal. This was an even bigger deal. (If you don’t recall, we were told the bridge hadn’t flooded in 9 years. It has now flooded twice in a matter of a month.) Homes had water a foot higher than their welcome mats and cemetery graves were completely submerged. If you sat at one bus stop, your legs would be underwater from your knees down. Galoshes would be equivalent to wearing buckets.

We passed what we thought was the worst part until we were a quarter of a mile from our first house. The water was as still as a pond with no current threatening to relocate our car but it got deeper as we inched forward. I was the first to recommend another day for our visit. Matt seconded the motion except he warned Mike to reverse quickly before water started seeping in the car doors. Even that made him nervous (in turn making me nervous since no one wants to hear the mechanic is nervous) since the water would be pushed into the exhaust. With his expertise guiding Mike, we reversed to shallow water, turned around and exhaled. We have a month to show him our old place…if the rain lets up.


Instead, we took a quick trip to my favorite grocery store, Mas x Menos in Jaco (about an hour and a half from our town) to get some much needed ingredients for the new mouth to feed. Seeing as Matt has a newfound love for Costa Rican cuisine, I invested in a recipe book to bring more home cooked specialties to our dinner table. Next on the list are arroz con pollo, ceviche and patacones (fried green plantains that taste potato-ish if cooked correctly). Seeing as he’s a picky eater and has a serious gag reflex when he dislikes something (I’ve seen him regurgitate tofu), it’ll be easy to see if my food makes the cut.