Posado Quepos
My next challenge was to get to Cerro Nara. Cerro Nara is a protected area in the mountains overlooking the town of Quepos, part of the corridor of the Fila Costeña, the coastal mountain range of western Costa Rica. There are no public facilities there but I had somehow on the internet found an accommodation and made arrangements to stay there. In fact the owner had agreed to let me stay there if I would only provide him with a report of whatever Costus species I might find. My contact would be at the Posado Quepos (now known as Posada Natura) in the village of Londres to make my arrangements to get up the mountain.
There was an early morning bus heading back towards Santiago de Puriscal, taking school children to a school along the way, so I was to take that bus about 10 km to the main highway, then get off and flag down the next bus that passed by heading west toward the coast. There was no settlement there, no bus stop, so I just started walking, with my heavy “luggage” on my back, thinking there must be some little soda (as little Costa Rican restaurants are called) somewhere nearby along the way. There was, but it was not nearby. After a few km and up a steep hill I found what I was looking for and waited there for the next bus heading west. This took me to Quepos where I found the bus to Londres.
The Posada Natura is a beautiful place! It is associated with an organization called Eco Era which manages the Aquas Claras Reserve at Cerro Nara. When I was there, they had a beautiful botanical garden with many exotic gingers and a few Costus. It was too late in the afternoon when I arrived there so the manager made arrangements for me to go by horseback up to the mountain lodge the next morning. That evening I was given a huge seafood dinner and stayed in the luxury of the posada that night.
Alpinia purpurata
Etlingera elatior