Greg and I and our good friends Kyle and Crystal planned a trip to Costa Rica in October. We love that country and when we found extremely cheap plane tickets, we just couldn't resist! We were gone for 6 days and really enjoyed ourselves!
On our first day after we landed in San Jose, Costa Rica, we picked up our rental SUV then took off bound for the beach. It was a three hour trip winding through the mountains. The roads were all pretty good - paved and nearly pothole free (unlike here). We finally arrived at our final destination, Manuel Antonio and were very pleased at the sight of our hotel. It had a beautiful view of the beach, yet was surrounded by foliage. In fact many animals (especially monkeys and exotic birds) lived in the trees close by. The room was more like a studio apartment complete with a kitchenette and patio area. All of the furniture was handcrafted of wood and the windows had big screens for air to circulate through. We loved it (except the air - water combo made for the perfect recipe for mildew smelling sheets!) The hotel had a cute little cafe where we enjoyed appetizers and breakfast. Only a few miles away was the Manuel Antonio National Park where we hiked and enjoyed amazing scenery. We saw three-toed sloths, monkeys, deer, raccoons, iguanas, birds, butterflies, frogs and even some indigenous plants and animals too. After our hike, we had a picnic on the beach (there are three beaches inside the park) with some uninvited guest. We walked away from our backpacks for a brief minute, only to return and find a raccoon had busted into Greg´s backpack and was eating our loaf of bread! Good thing it was AFTER we were had already eaten. Later we went for swim in the ocean, then headed back to the hotel.
While we were in the area, we also spent a day at another beach. We rented sufboards and body boards and rode the waves. Fortunately no stiches were needed this time! The waves were pretty rough as a storm was rolling in. We had a great time anyway, and didn´t let the mist ruin our day. We pretty much relaxed in the evenings. We ate at a delicious pizzeria one night and had pasta at an Italian place too.
After three nights in Manuel Antonio, we set off for La Fortuna/Arenal. We left early in the morning as we had a 6 hour trip ahead. It ended up taking a little longer because we did not plan for all of the time that would be lost from being stopped by police officers! I belive the final count that day was three times (5 total for the trip!) Fortunately, only one time was our driver, Greg, breaking the law. He was speeding, so the officer issued him a ticket. However, before he finished writing it, he decided to offer us a deal. So we weren't inconvenienced by having to go to the bank to pay the ticket, the officer generously told us that we could just give him $20 (instead of paying the $40 ticket) We obliged and the officer ripped up the ticket. Definitely not legit, but at least everything was settled on the spot!
After a scenic and confusing drive (roads are not market - but thank God Kyle brough along a GPS) we finally made it to Arenal! We settled into our rooms and relaxed for a while. We then decided to hit the hot tub before dinner. Well, when we got there it was already full. So instead, we went frog hunting! There was a small pond and lots of shrubs and trees oustide of our rooms and we were told that many exotic frogs hang out there. (We could also hear them!) We had so much fun sleuthing around in our bathing suits and rain jackets (it was drizzling) photographing frogs! Kyle got some great shots and we even caught one - a red eye tree frog - for some closeups! It was a lot of blast!
Our hotel was located about 8 minutes (by car) up a steep mountain. It had a perfect view of the volcano nearby. Arenal Volcano is one of the main atractions in Northwest Costa Rica, and it definitely drew us to visit. It is one of the most active volcanoes in the world (top ten), erupting everyday. The volcano also heats several natural hot springs located in the area. (We actually planned to visit them, but when we discovered the daily entrance fees at several different spots were between $45-90 dollars, we opted not to go inside!) Anyway, it was a beautiful site at night to see the red, orange, and yellow colors of the lava seeping out. The hotel's restaurant was positioned to clearly see the volcano through a large glass wall. It made for awesome scenery at dinner!
While in Arenal, we went horseback riding, did some more hiking and visited a butterfly garden. This place was very relaxing! On our last night there, a pretty bad storm passed through, and actually hit a lot of areas in Central America. So bad, in fact, that our path back to San Jose was blocked by a landslide. Even in our SUV, we couldn't pass. Again, we are so grateful Kyle had the GPS because he was able to navigate us through another direction (and trust me, this route was way off the beaten path! There is no way we could have found it on our own. There were even some really flooded areas on that path too, but Greg carefully got us through.) When we arrived back in San Jose we headed up another volcano, Poas. Greg and I had visited this volcano on a previous trip, but remembered that there was a coffee plantation there that we didn't get to see. We went and checked it out, but decided instead to just hit their coffee shop (with an overlook of their coffee fields) for a cup of joe. We indulged in strawberry and Irish cream lattes and hot chocolate then headed back down. At the foot of the mountain we stumbled on a "Denny's" diner. A chance to eat some greasy American food? Yes Please! We all went to town and stuffed ourselves. Fortunately a few hours later (and the next day) Denny's came back to haunt 3 of the 4 of us. We all ended up with some 'digestional complications' (I will spare you the details!) Anyway, we made it back to Teguc that evening that finally back to Comaygua - ready for school the next day! We had a wonderful trip, enjoyed our company, and were blessed to explore more of God's beautiful creation!
After three nights in Manuel Antonio, we set off for La Fortuna/Arenal. We left early in the morning as we had a 6 hour trip ahead. It ended up taking a little longer because we did not plan for all of the time that would be lost from being stopped by police officers! I belive the final count that day was three times (5 total for the trip!) Fortunately, only one time was our driver, Greg, breaking the law. He was speeding, so the officer issued him a ticket. However, before he finished writing it, he decided to offer us a deal. So we weren't inconvenienced by having to go to the bank to pay the ticket, the officer generously told us that we could just give him $20 (instead of paying the $40 ticket) We obliged and the officer ripped up the ticket. Definitely not legit, but at least everything was settled on the spot!
After a scenic and confusing drive (roads are not market - but thank God Kyle brough along a GPS) we finally made it to Arenal! We settled into our rooms and relaxed for a while. We then decided to hit the hot tub before dinner. Well, when we got there it was already full. So instead, we went frog hunting! There was a small pond and lots of shrubs and trees oustide of our rooms and we were told that many exotic frogs hang out there. (We could also hear them!) We had so much fun sleuthing around in our bathing suits and rain jackets (it was drizzling) photographing frogs! Kyle got some great shots and we even caught one - a red eye tree frog - for some closeups! It was a lot of blast!
Our hotel was located about 8 minutes (by car) up a steep mountain. It had a perfect view of the volcano nearby. Arenal Volcano is one of the main atractions in Northwest Costa Rica, and it definitely drew us to visit. It is one of the most active volcanoes in the world (top ten), erupting everyday. The volcano also heats several natural hot springs located in the area. (We actually planned to visit them, but when we discovered the daily entrance fees at several different spots were between $45-90 dollars, we opted not to go inside!) Anyway, it was a beautiful site at night to see the red, orange, and yellow colors of the lava seeping out. The hotel's restaurant was positioned to clearly see the volcano through a large glass wall. It made for awesome scenery at dinner!
While in Arenal, we went horseback riding, did some more hiking and visited a butterfly garden. This place was very relaxing! On our last night there, a pretty bad storm passed through, and actually hit a lot of areas in Central America. So bad, in fact, that our path back to San Jose was blocked by a landslide. Even in our SUV, we couldn't pass. Again, we are so grateful Kyle had the GPS because he was able to navigate us through another direction (and trust me, this route was way off the beaten path! There is no way we could have found it on our own. There were even some really flooded areas on that path too, but Greg carefully got us through.) When we arrived back in San Jose we headed up another volcano, Poas. Greg and I had visited this volcano on a previous trip, but remembered that there was a coffee plantation there that we didn't get to see. We went and checked it out, but decided instead to just hit their coffee shop (with an overlook of their coffee fields) for a cup of joe. We indulged in strawberry and Irish cream lattes and hot chocolate then headed back down. At the foot of the mountain we stumbled on a "Denny's" diner. A chance to eat some greasy American food? Yes Please! We all went to town and stuffed ourselves. Fortunately a few hours later (and the next day) Denny's came back to haunt 3 of the 4 of us. We all ended up with some 'digestional complications' (I will spare you the details!) Anyway, we made it back to Teguc that evening that finally back to Comaygua - ready for school the next day! We had a wonderful trip, enjoyed our company, and were blessed to explore more of God's beautiful creation!
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