Day 17. Thursday April 28. Finding Your Tribe

Distance = 30 km (18 miles)

I didn’t learn my lesson and so I had to put on wet clothes again. It was a long day, but after a walk in our last Costa Rican jungle, the rest of the day was along the marshy flatland that follows the Naranjo River.  We had to cross the river in a few places but we are old hands at that now. The rest of the afternoon was a long walk-through miles and miles of date palm plantations with their symmetric rows.

Walking

And walking (Credit Urritrek)

We clean out the ice cream at a local store (Credit Angie S.)

Journey’s end. Arrival at Quepos on the Pacific Ocean (Credit Urritrek)

Toward the end of the plantations, we all put on a UrriTrek T-shirt commemorating the completion of the Camino de Costa Rica and we walked out onto the road into Quepos. Right away, from the traffic and signs in English, you could tell that you were in a tourist area. We said goodbye to Geovanni, and walked the final few km into Quepos where we did the obligatory photo in front of the town sign and ate lunch. After lunch we signed the Camino register for official walkers who complete the walk. We are all feeling pretty good. Got a ride to a fancy tourist hotel with hot water and air conditioning!

The farewell dinner was at El Avion restaurant whose bar is made from the fuselage of the downed plane that ignited the Iran-Contra affair in the 80’s. At dinner I said a few heartfelt words to everyone in our walking group. Angie, Brenda, Debra, Kevin, Kit, Patricia, Peggy, Sharron, Sue, and Tony, and our guides Geovanni and Juancho. I am going to miss everyone. Thank you for letting me come on this grand adventure with you.

¡Pura Vida!

The End. Feet in the Pacific Ocean

The finish of El Camino de Costa Rica. 280 km