Week 1 (January 4-10)
Saturday/Sunday
We drove to Charlotte Saturday, spent the night and flew out Sunday morning to San Jose, Costa Rica. There was a major storm coming through on Sunday so we were lucky we got out before the snow storm hit. Back home we’re getting all kinds of fun white stuff, while we’re sitting at the hotel in San Jose enjoying the warm breeze and sunshine hanging out by the pool. Some snapshots from the plane of the Florida Keys – I thought this was really cool perspective from the air.
The Doubletree in downtown San Jose is nice. It’s an older hotel but the layout has the tropical vibe and service, so far, has been great.
Monday – La Fortuna
After breakfast by the pool this morning we packed up and went downstairs to wait for our driver. We had about a 3+ hour drive from San Jose to La Fortuna (Ride CR) where the Arenal Kioro Suites & Spa is located – at the base of the Arenal Volcano. Pablo was right on time and we were soon on our way through the city. We soon learned that Pablo’s English wasn’t great. And since our Spanish is nearly non-existent he opened the translating app on his phone and we did just fine. Early on he asked us if we’d like to see a sloth bear on the way. “Of course!,” we responded. Around a half hour away from the hotel he took a detour, slowed to a crawl and started looking at the trees lining the road. Initially we thought it was a no go, but then he spotted one! Just hanging out in a tree. While we were taking pictures Pablo was still looking. Lo and behold he found another one within a few steps. He was so tickled to have found them, and tickled because we were just as excited. (We later learned one was a 2-toed and one was a 3-toed.)
Back in the van and on our way again, he asked if we wanted to see an iguana. “Absolutely!,” we told him. Believe it or not he started spotting these monsters way up in trees! It was fascinating seeing these “dinosaurs” in their natural habitat. And now since Pablo was pleased as punch to have been able to show us sloths and iguanas, I issued another challenge to him. “Pablo,” I said, “can you find toucans?” He laughed and said they are all over the place but “we will see.” I’ll be damned, just a few minutes later he’s saying, “Toucan, toucan, toucan!” LOL He pulls over and we see three of them flying around. Freaking amazing. They were too far away and moving too fast to get any kind of decent pictures, but at least we did see some! We were high fiving each other and grinning like fools.
It was around 1:00 by the time we made all our animal stops and got to the hotel. This place is amazing. We are really in the rain forest. After checking in we grabbed some lunch by the pool while waiting for our room to be ready. It was so nice to just sit and soak in our surroundings. Finally our room was ready and we were delighted to learn we had been upgraded to one of their nicest suites with a balcony and view of the volcano right outside of our window. There were lots of clouds on the top of it today and we had several rain showers, but man this is cool.
We unpacked and hung out in our room this afternoon until it was time to go to dinner – we have 7pm reservations. Bob had read the restaurant gets great reviews and we were excited to try it. It did not disappoint – at all. Bob got a mahi mahi dish he loved and I ordered a pesto shrimp pasta dish that I devoured.
Back in our room we got ready for our hanging bridges and waterfall excursion in the morning. It’s been a great day! Let’s see what tomorrow brings.
Tuesday – Hanging Bridges and Waterfall Hike
After a night of winds and LOTS of rain, we were up early and getting breakfast by 7:30. We booked this tour through the hotel. Our driver and guide picked us up around 8:30 this morning. We were the last of ten in our group to board. The MisticoPark was about 20 minutes away and it was already sprinkling rain again. (Premonition: our raincoats would come in handy.) There were six hanging bridges to cross during this hike. Yancy (pronounced Jancy) was our guide – we later learned this was only her second week on the job. She has the perfect personality for this job and for as little experience that she had we thought she did an amazing job. She spotted two eyelash snakes and educated us on the biodiversity of Costa Rican forests. It rained on an off the whole morning – harder at some points than others. The hanging bridges weren’t as intimidating as I thought they’d be, but sadly, we didn’t have much of a view because of the rain and fog. It would’ve been an entirely different tour if the sun had been out, but nothing to do except enjoy what was and be in the moment. By now all of us were drenched. The last 15 minutes or so the heavens parted and dropped a deluge. This part of the tour took about two hours. There were four in the group that weren’t going to continue on for the La Fortuna Waterfall (20/20 hindsight – smart people) hike so we dropped them off at their hotel.
The hike was only about ten minutes away. We knew from research that there were 500 steps down to the waterfall and then you turn around and come back up the same 500 steps. Fun times! With all the rain the area has has lately the water was running so hard there were actually two waterfalls instead of just the main one. And normally visitors are allowed to swim at the bottom of the falls but there was so much water today it was blocked off and no one was allowed in the water. All too soon it was time to come back up those 500 steps. I’m not even going to say how many times I had to stop and rest on the way back up.
It was 1:30 by the time we made it back to the van and time for lunch. We had a local Costa Rican dish of rice, beans, chicken and a salad that was delicious. Back at the hotel Bob and I were ready to get in the hot tub to relax and just chill the rest of the day – to the tune of ordering room service instead going down to the restaurant. It was raining yet again and we were just done.
Now we know we’re in a rain forest. And it rains in the rain forest. However, supposedly January is a wonderful month after their “green” (aka rainy) season. Apparently Mother Nature didn’t get the message because the rain doesn’t seem to be going away.
We will see what tomorrow brings!
Wednesday – Rain/Wind/Fog & Frog Pond Night Walk
I have two words for today. Wind and Rain. Wait, that’s three words. Oh hell, let’s add one more – fog. It just keeps coming. We had hoped to go soak in the nearby hot springs today but Mother Nature doesn’t seem to be on the same page with us. Look, we know we’re in a rain forest. We get that. But this is constant downpours, not showers where the sun comes out in between. Don’t the trees and plants also need sunshine to thrive too? Anyway, it is what it is and it will be what it will be. So, no hot springs today. The one bright spot was walking back to our room from breakfast this morning. There were two toucans hanging out in the trees by the drive. They were pretty high up so the pics aren’t great but good enough to identify them! So cool!
We enjoyed today as a down day to regroup. (And by the way? … my legs are not happy with me regarding those 1000 steps yesterday – I think my quads have put me in timeout.) So we enjoyed the hot tub in our room, read, napped, ordered room service for lunch. And waited and hoped for the weather to get better before our 5pm Frog Pond Night Walk. It didn’t. We really debated on whether or not to go or cancel. In the end, we suited up and went.
Jose Pablo (JP for short) was our guide and he assured us it would be fine and we would get good pictures. It was a short 15 minute ride to the park. We were given flashlights and umbrellas to use on the two hour walk. JP loves his job and is passionate about nature and protecting it. He showed us numerous frogs (we were surprised at how tiny they are!), a snake, a bat, a lizard, a wolf spider and at the end of the walk a sloth curled in a ball way up in a tree. Of course, right on cue the rain just stopped. (For someone who doesn’t even grocery shop in the rain, I sure have spent a lot of time playing in it the last two days.)
We came back to the hotel, had a wonderful dinner, showered and packed up. Our journey to Monteverde begins tomorrow morning (where I’m sure it will still be raining).
Thursday – Journey to Monteverde
Guess what we woke up to this morning? Hard question, right? Sigh, more rain, wind and fog. Most of our stuff was packed up last night so it didn’t take long to gather everything and call for a ride to Reception where we had breakfast before our 8:30 ride arrived (booked through Ride CR). Go with the flow was the phrase of the day. It was 9:00 before the van arrived to pick us up. We had to cross Arenal Lake to get to our next destination. Going this route was about three hours. If we had not crossed the lake it would take about five hours to drive around it. The boat going across the lake left at 9:30 according to our information. So we were just hoping it wouldn’t leave without our van. Bob and I were the last ones picked up so we got the last seats. The roads here could use a little TLC to put it mildly but we made it to the lake around 9:40 all in one piece. We really didn’t know what to expect from this boat ride – we’d read different things. But we came prepared for a small boat holding about 22 people and luggage with a roof. And remember, it’s raining its ass off and the wind is howling. So we’ve got plastic bags trying to cover our suitcases and bags, etc. So we were really thankful to see the boat had plastic covers on the sides for protection. Keeping that in mind, it was still a simple boat.
As we started boarding the boat we realized they were dedicated to Ride CR. So then it made sense that we weren’t going to be left behind because these boats were going to wait for their vans and their passengers. Passengers were loaded first. Then came all the suitcases. Watching this coordinated effort of Tetrising all these bags was fascinating. There came a point when we weren’t sure the captain would have a place to sit. In the end, he did – he squeezed in. The boat ride was about 30 minutes and we were very thankful for those plastic side pieces. Then we pull up to the “ramp.” And I use that word loosely. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. Said pictures also give you a good idea as to how much more rain than normal has fallen lately. The water is high everywhere. The van is even parked in water and there was a makeshift ramp for that as well.
On this leg of the journey the luggage was loaded in the van first, then we were allowed to enter. There was a spot for two people and since we were the last couple we were placed there – in the back, in the last two seats. Us and all the luggage. We were a team. Navigating into those two seats were a challenge because of the said luggage. AND the window seat was over a wheel well. Thank God my legs are short, eh? Bob’s knees, however, were squished up against the back of the seat ahead of him.
Around 10:30 we were off. As far as mileage goes, we weren’t that far away from Monteverde. Have I mentioned the roads here could use some TLC? There were times when laughter was the only thing left in our toolbox. Traversing the potholes took some serious skill. But even when there weren’t potholes it was not smooth sailing. There were bridges that were nearly breached, roads that had rivers flowing across them (yes, a bit of an exaggeration but mostly true), and debris that had to be navigated. Thankfully we stopped at a little mom and pop place for a badly needed potty break and grabbed a snack. We still had about 45 minutes left before we entered Monteverde.
On the way to the first hotel drop off there were several landslides that were being cleaned up. All this rain has been crazy and certainly not normal even in a rainforest. This stop lightened the van of six people I believe. It gets real interesting at this point … because behind us are Tetris stacked suitcases belonging to the 12-16 people on the van. So the driver let the people off first. Then he starts taking luggage, a piece at a time, asking if it belonged to anyone left in the van. If it did, he placed it in one of the empty seats. If not, it belonged to someone outside in the rain waiting. And that’s how it went – piece by piece until they all had their stuff. Then we were on our way again. It was about 1pm by the time we were dropped off at our hotel – Koora.
Marilyn was our contact and she got us all settled and checked in. I was able to get my hands on a lovely latte that was the best cup of coffee I’ve had since we left home. (It’s still raining btw.) The rest of the afternoon we just sort of unpacked and hung out until our dinner reservation with a couple (Mary and Ed) we met at Kioro. It was so nice to have dinner and swap travel stories. What a wonderful way to spend an evening!
Tomorrow we have an early morning walk in the nature reserve scheduled. So I need to get to bed!
Friday – Curi Cancha Reserve and Monteverde Night Walk
Up and attem bright and early this morning for a 7am guided walk with Donald. It was a quick 3-1/2 hr tour where we saw all kind of things, mostly birds. Donald has a scope with a zoom that he said was equivalent to a 700mm camera lens. Let me tell you, that thing is one sweet piece of equipment. That scope combined with binoculars and his trained hearing, gave us the opportunity to see so many things we never would have otherwise. You truly won’t believe how far away these birds were when you see the photos we got. Bob and I are still amazed at how he found any of these guys. Even when we could seen them through the scope, it was difficult to stand back and see them with the naked eye most of the time. Donald said that he hears them first, then picks up the binoculars to find the spot and then puts the scope on them. That’s his process. And it works. Then you put your phone up to the scope (instead of your eye) and take photos or videos. It’s amazing.
On the way to the reserve he spotted monkeys – at a monkey crossing. LOL For real though. The city erected a cable crossing for the monkeys so they didn’t have to use the road or the electrical cables. And use it they do! We had been told they travel in groups so if you see one, you’ll likely see more.
The first viewing opportunity at the reserve was the hummingbirds. They have five or six species in this area. The next spot he took us to gave us the Keel Billed Toucan, or the Fruit Loops Toucan. He was simply stunning! We also saw the blue throated Toucanet, Quetzal, Mot Mot and so much more!
Back at our hotel around 10:30 and ended up going shoe shopping (since my shoes were destroyed on the Frog walk a couple of nights ago) before lunch and our massages schedule for 2pm (they were amazing). Thank goodness we had free time before our 6pm night walk because that massage did me in.
Andy was our guide for the Monteverde Night Walk and he, too, proved to be an amazing scout for all the things. We saw a mama sloth way up in a tree with her baby first thing. Other animals spotted were the Green Viper, a rarely seen Kinkajou up in a tree eating, leaf cutter ants busily transporting pieces of leaves, a salamander, a scorpion that turns blue under UV light, a moss mimic stick bug and an armadillo (no pic).
Back at the hotel around 8:15, had dinner and that ends another day.
Tomorrow we drive to the coast, Puerto Calderas, to board the ship for the next week.
Week 2 (Part 1) …
It's a Wonderful Life! 