Up early as promised and had a good look around the hostel. Firstly thought I got some great advice from the sticker in the bathroom

So time for a better look into the hub/communal area. There was one young guy asleep in there, totally out of it. A couple were using the kitchen facilities but other than that it was empty.  Cool place to hang out and also hook up with other travellers.

A simplified map on the wall with marked out points of interest.

Digs with wheels

Looking at the map in the hub confirmed our own observations that the West is far more interesting than the east. Although a couple of things that we have planned are in the north east. To get to the west you can drive all the way north past them anyway.  There’s only one proper way across the country from east to west or vice versa due to the phenomenal amount of mountains and volcanoes spanning the length and breadth of the county.  This means it will be mainly coastal  cruising all the way, swanning in and out of the various national parks for our thrills and adventures.

We picked up our digs for the next  three weeks.  It isn’t a tent, motel or hammock. We’re driving the island in a campervan.  Arguably the only way to make the most of this beautiful land. The country is well equipped for this and encourages it by offering free sites.  Basically you can always find somewhere free to park up and get your head down.  Unless you are mountaineering, we can’t think of any other mode of transportation that will give you the flexibility needed with the ease of just rocking up and nesting down.

Short, back and sides

Time to checkout and get on the road.  First stop Pac n Save supermarket. Having a fridge and a small freezer we don’t have to plan meals one day at a time. Today we could do a shop which included meat, veg, cheese, eggs, milk etc which would last more than a day. 

While so close to town, it was time to get a haircut. The lady cutting my hair was over from Sao Paulo

Seen a few signs in different places  about earthquakes. Different country, different dangers.

On the rocks

Finally on the road and heading up to the northwest. Where will our journey take us with this unbelievable scenery of mountains, forests, rivers and lakes.  Then suddenly we turn one corner and the mountains meet the turquoise ocean. Stopping for a look there is a hive of activity.  On the rocks there is a colony of seals just basking in the late afternoon sun.  They are some way out but can easily be seen through the zoom lens on the phone.  There are people also on the rocks but keeping a safe distance as not to disturb them.  Before we get any closer,  we go for a little trek up and around the headland. On our return down we take a path over the rocks and to within twenty metres of one seal who simply ignores us. That’s close enough without disturbing it.

Cooking old school

We found a pitch and got ready to cook.  The first gas bottle was empty, great start. Using the yellow sticker system of great deals, we picked up two honey and soy marinated steaks,  Thai veg mix and teriyaki rice.  We cooked a delicious beef stir fry for a total of $7.80  (£3.50 or £1.75 per person). We even managed to keep the chilli mango sauce from the Thai mix for another day to go with some chicken beasts.

Chocolate bars and milky stars

After clearing away the dishes, the usual mundane chores of washing up etc followed by a game of cards we looked outside.  Totally and utterly breathtaking!  The sky was illuminated with a starburst of a million stars visible with the human eye. There were clusters in every direction. Neither of us could ever remember seeing so many or such a bright star-bar looking through the telescopes at the space observatory in Tenerife.  It was as if you could reach out and pull one down to make your own special wish upon. To make the experience even more magical, the milky way was right above us showing us the supreme splendour of our own wonderful galaxy. With so many super bright stars we wondered how many planets were visible especially Mars. We are looking forward to more star gazing experiences in very remote settings.