A Visual Costa Rica Report
 

Hello,

I am happy to say that my girlfriend and I had an amazing trip to Costa Rica in August. We were there for a week and divided our time between Arenal & Manuel Antonio. Since I am not the best writer my report is mostly visual. Please feel free to ask questions!

Favorite Costa Rica Experiences: Arenal Observatory Lodge, Lake Arenal, Eco Termales, Nuevo Arenal, Gingerbread Restaurant(Nuevo Arenal), Sky Trek, Hanging Bridges, La Fortuna Falls, Mango Moon(dinner & drinks), Biesanz beach, Cafe Milagro, Ronny's Place, & Finca Valmy Horseback Riding.

Least Favorite: Hotel Villa Bonita, Luigi's Pizza(Arenal), The Falls(Manuel Antonio).........

Please enjoy my Costa Rica slideshow!

http://slideshows.adampass.com/fodors/index.html

Best,
Adam
[email protected]
www.adampass.com

I also want to thank everyone for their help in planning my trip!

Your photos are simply amazing. The colors just perfect.Thanks for sharing.

Beautiful photos. It makes me want to go back.

Amazing volcano pictures. You have great skill with the camera, and you really hit the jackpot with that lava. Have you asked the AOL if they would like to use your photos for their website?

Great, incredible photos, love the one of the capuchin straight on looking right into the camera. Glad you had a great time and came back and posted your pics.

Awesome shots Adam. Love the volcano night shots but the close-up sloth face is simple the BEST!

Great photos, thanks for sharing. Question - what are all those dots in the volcano picture? Not stars, are they?

Stunning photographs! You're truly gifted with the camera! Thank you for sharing Adam!

Great photos, Adam. I'm so glad you and your girlfriend had a nice time. Too bad you didn't like Hotel Villa Bonita. Maybe if you had actually stayed there! It's never been advertised as plush, but the ambience is friendly, the rooms are comfortable, and in dozens of times, we've never seen it not be spotless. I do think, had you and your girlfriend given it a chance, you would have been pleasantly surprised. But, to each his own! Glad you made it home safely and enjoyed your vacation in beautiful Costa Rica.

Thanks everyone!

RAC: thanks! Yes, hopefully we will see some of those shots on their website!

glover: Those are all stars! It was the most intense star cover I have ever seen! A few people told me it reminds them of the skies out at sea.

shillmac: I am disappointed that we did not enjoy Villa bonita. I was looking forward to it. I was hoping to be pleasantly surprised. It was difficult to find, so by the time we got there we were already drained. I would not have called the room spotless. As far as plush this is what it says in Lonely Planet, "Rooms are comfy, with plump white pillows and deep mattresses." I know they didn't write that but I used the word plush meaning very comfortable. Maybe not the right adjective but nevertheless we didn't find it very comfortable and a little bit unsafe feeling. Maybe if we had arrived in the daytime this would have been a different experience. The atmosphere might be great, but when looking for a hotel near the airport to get in late and leave early I think the hotel is not ideal. Anyways like you said to each his own! Thanks for checking the work out!

Adam, your photos are beautiful - I especially like the volcano photos and the ones of the hot springs. I can't believe the stars around the volcano are real - I've never seen anything like it!

Sounds like you had a great trip! Thanks for posting. Your pictures are wonderful, especially love the volcano pics at night. Arenal and MA are definitely 2 scenic areas to visit.

I'm sorry that you had difficulty finding Hotel Villa Bonita. If I remember correctly, there are only a couple turns once you get off the main exit, so maybe it had to do more with being in an unfamiliar area. Even though I wouldn't interpret the verbiage Lonely Planet used to mean "plush", it's definitely a comfortable, clean, convenient to SJO place to stay and the owners are wonderful. For $50 a night with a great breakfast and free internet you won't find me complaining!

Exellent photos - so glad you shared them with us! Did you set up a tripod and time exposure for the night shots of the volcano? Talk about a starry, starry night - wow!

Thanks Colibri! Yes I traveled with a neat little tripod called a Gorrilapod by Joby. The exposures were all between 30 seconds and a minute.

I just bought a Gorillapod for my November trip! Too bad I won't be at Arenal this time, but glad it worked so well for you. Sure enjoyed your photos, really gorgeous.

col, I got one of those as a gift. I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but it looks like fun.

You may find it very helpful to get a mini tripod head to use with the pod. It's a little pricey but increases the functionality of the gorillapod exponentially. Depending on your camera size you may need a bigger one as well. I used the latter with a pretty heavy set up.

http://www.amazon.com/Manfrotto-482-.../ref=pd_cp_p_1

http://www.amazon.com/Manfrotto-484R.../ref=pd_cp_p_3

Thanks, Adam, will check it out. I need to try and use it before leaving in five short weeks!

VG - we are still patiently waiting for those Tortuguero shots!

col, I don't know if I'd use the word patiently - hee, hee!!