Costa Rica - Hilltop Vista

The brakes are overheating

We drove white-knuckled through winding dirt roads that the ever-wise Google recommended over of the highway. A sign written in English read "No way through", yet we continued on, determined to meet up with the road ahead rather than backtrack through the hairpin mountain curves. Not long after this photo, taken somewhere in the hills near San Isidro, we pulled over to let the brakes cool lest Meaghan jump out of the moving vehicle for fear of it toppling over.

Dirt bikes and zen moments

Just then, a pair of locals on dirt bikes raced by, staring at us cockeyed as they descended the steeply grade hill. We parked at a relatively flat portion of the hill and spit on the brakes, watching them sizzle and our spit immediately evaporate. After commiserating our navigational choice, we embraced it and realized we had happened upon a beautiful place that not many gringos might have seen. After staring out at the Pacific Ocean and listening to the birds, the dirt bikers came roaring back up the hill giving us a polite wave as they passed.

After we realized the absurdity of our predicament, we decided to venture on and hoped that the brakes didn't give out. Luckily for us it was dry, as the dirt road would have certainly been impassable had it rained. In less than a mile, we were back on the main road and cruising towards our quiet Airbnb just south of Uvita.