Road trip fail
Ever been stranded on the side of the Pan American Highway? No? We have and it's a hair raising experience.
Costa Rica has a reputation for adrenaline fuelled adventures, but this is one I did not sign up for.
It all started with another one of my overzealous ideas to explore Costa Rica with ultimate freedom. Tourists be gone. "Our very own epic road trip" I said as Sherpa and I buckled up and took off in our campervan for two weeks of off the beaten track excitement. Honk honk!
For 5 days, we travelled into the depths of Costa Rica, rocking out to our own schedule, cruising up volcanos, exploring hidden waterfalls, traversing jungle mountains and stumbling across more wildlife than we could imagine. Magic!
With 6 days left, beach-hopping beckoned. I had visions of parking our magical van by the beachside, watching private sunsets and falling asleep to the sounds of crashing waves. Sadly the romance of #vanlife in Costa Rica was short lived.
Disaster struck midway down the Pan American highway. Note to reader, this is no back street. It's the major route that all trucks and cars take to navigate the country and beyond. Unlike the roadways of Australia, this major highway doesn't have shoulder lanes on the side of the road. It doesn't have breakdown bays and it most certainly doesn't have NRMA roadside assist. *gulp* We had a situation on our hands.
The engine went flat and stopped us dead on the highway. Sherpa and I managed to roll the van onto the boggy grass, narrowly avoiding the continuous stream of monster trucks sent from the Devil himself to terrorise us.
After establishing that the engine wouldn't budge (like I would have any idea!) we called the campervan company. Our instructions were to wait on the highway for a tow truck that was allegedly on its way. In Central American time, that is code for 'sit tight for anywhere between 1 to 12 hours'.
To add a little extra drama, I needed to go to the toilet. Badly. So the situation got a whole lot worse. Monster trucks on one side and snakey high grass on the other, I was trapped. I can't muster the courage to tell you how that part of the story unfolded. Maybe over a drink sometime.
Less than an hour later, a tow truck arrived and out jumped an Ivan Milat looking fellow. No hablo ingles. Just breath and go with the flow right? What's worse: getting rear ended in the van by a mega-truck travelling at speed or go with the serial killer?
Off we set, destined for god knows where as communication was limited thanks to my shitty Spanish. After a bumpy hour in the tow truck winding through creepy back roads, just me, Sherpa and Ivan, we arrived at an off-the-grid warehouse where the van was inspected. The assessment was delivered to us and all we heard was pistons, belt and Ivan motioning his finger across his neck as if to say 'dead'. Unsure whether he meant us or the van, it was time to go.
More motivated than ever, we unloaded our crap out of the van. Thankfully the campervan company called to say that the timing belt had snapped and the van was kaput. Ivan was to take us to the nearest bus stop, hopefully not dump our bodies, so we could continue our journey.
Ivan kept his promise and put us on the next bus back to San Jose - alive. The campervan company were amazing and refunded our money. So Sherpa and I continuing rolling around Costa Rica by bus - still having a blast.
Looking at the positive, this van breakdown was a 100% cost free adrenaline activity in a country that's not agreeing with our backpacker budget.
I wouldn't recommend putting the Pan American Highway experience on the top of your Costa Rica activity list. However I would recommend #vanlife in this country. Just make sure the van is in tip top shape.
Love from Costa Rica.
Pura Vida - which in Costa Rica has more meaning than the direct translation 'pure life'. It's a way of life - enjoy life and be happy.
P.S. as a result of my van time, I've compiled a list of plus and minuses of #vanlife. You can read it here.
Instagram: @thelisaphillips #somedaysherpa
