Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Costa Rica Trip Report, Part III: Night of Debauchery and Osa, here we come!

A continuation of my report of our May 1 - May 10 trip report. SdC stands for Hotel El Silencio Del Campo.

The Quest for Glowing Lava and the Debauchery that Followed:

After the Hanging Bridges, the afternoon sun was low in the sky. I got the bright idea to stop by the nearby Lost Iguana Resort for a “drink or two” while we waited out nightfall. Notice I put a “drink or two” in quotes. One turned into two turned into three turned into four turned into… oh god, I don’t even know.

See, this family reunion showed up. They were fresh off an adrenaline high from canyoning or zipping or something, and they were raring to go. There were about a dozen of them, and they were jolly. It was happy hour, after all. Then, we met a great honeymoon couple from somewhere fabulous and ended up chatting all night. Rounds were bought, stories were exchanged, at some point a tree frog showed up. I held him. He was cold and sticky and cute.

I was drunk. Funny things happened. I laughed a LOT. At what, you ask? Ah, some things aren’t for a trip report, but it was a memorable night. And that was one of the things I liked most about Costa Rica – the travelers I met there seemed to be of the same mind. All were adventurous, most were friendly, everyone looked liked hell (but better than ever somehow) and no one cared. My husband noted the distinct lack of pretension, even at the most expensive places. I told him it was the climate.

Here’s how I see it: if you can’t wear fancy clothes, do your hair, wear make-up or jewelry, use your mobile devices or drive an expensive import, then nothing separates you from anyone else and walls that are normally solidly erected around a person get knocked down awfully quickly.

Eventually, though, all good things must come to an end. We rolled out of Lost Iguana around 10:00, my husband and I wondering why we didn’t spring the extra dough to stay there. There’s always next time, isn’t there?

10:00 PM. That was a record for us in Costa Rica.

Oh, and we did see a little bit of that red, glowing lava. Not much, but I can say that I saw it, as hazy as the memory is.

Food in the Arenal area:

Oddly for me, I haven’t discussed food a ton in this report. Many people describe the food in Costa Rica as bland. I didn’t think so, but then again I can live on black beans and rice, and regularly test this theory when at home. Costa Rican food overall seemed healthier and not as full of additives or sugar as food in the States. I lost weight on this trip, and I ate like a horse.

Fact: Lizano sauce (a Costa Rican condiment) is like a very powerful hypnotic drug (not that I know – I swear). At first, I wasn’t sure I liked it. But my second meal, I liked it. By my third meal, I put it on everything. By the end of the trip, if I didn’t see Lizano sauce on the table when I sat down, I requested it before the waiter even asked for my drink order. Like the volcano, Lizano sauce hooked me good. I didn’t bring any back with me and now I’m about to order a 700 ml bottle which will cost me $15 once you factor in shipping. Oh, mighty corporate giant Knorr who now owns Lizano, PLEASE bring this stuff to the US.

I digress. We ate at SdC for breakfast and dinner two of the nights. We had appetizers at Lost Iguana on our Night of Debauchery. Lunches were at sodas (local eateries), and I liked those meals the best. We ate at Lava Rocks and Soda La Parada in La Fortuna. The natural juice shakes, con agua, were my favorite.

I want to give special mention to the café at the Hanging Bridges. We had lunch there one day, and it was one of the best meals of our trip. I had the fabulous Casado con pollo and my husband enjoyed a giant burger. If you’re up that way, make time for lunch. The people were so nice, the view of the volcano is fabulous, the price was right and the food good.

Do you know the way to San Jose?:

On Monday, post-Debauchery, I woke up with a raging headache. Are you surprised? The Gallo Pinto (doused in Lizano) at SdC helped somewhat, and we lounged around the bar at the back of the SdC property before checking out around 11:30 AM. We drove straight back to San Jose, promptly missed the “Zoo Ave” exit and enjoyed a little ride all the way to the international airport. Yea!

Eventually, we found our way back to the Orquideas Inn, had greasy nachos and a chicken club at the Marilyn Monroe bar, read our books and fell asleep around 8:30 PM. We had an early flight out of Pavas airport to Puerto Jimenez, and our wake-up was at 5:30 AM. Okay, the early wake-up is a cop out. I was still hungover.

Bright and early the next morning, our driver fought madly through San Jose traffic to get us to Pavas. I think Atlanta traffic is bad… San Jose’s traffic is worse than bad. It’s ungodly.

We arrive at Pavas and I wait nervously for our Nature Air flight. I’m a bit of a control freak, and flying isn’t really something I can control, seeing as I’m not a pilot and whatnot. I actually popped a pill for this flight, as I didn’t want to scream at the first bump we hit and scare the devil out of my fellow passengers. Plus, my husband was excited and really wanted to enjoy the flight.

I chill out. They call our flight. We head out to the plane. I bravely board the plane. In the video my husband took, I don’t really LOOK scared. My eyes look a bit odd, but that might have been the Xanax. Thanks Dr. Kirk!

Anyway, we obviously made it okay. It was pretty bumpy over the mountains that fringe San Jose (and this was confirmed by a resident of Puerto Jimenez on our plane), but once we got over the Pacific, it was incredibly smooth. We had a brief landed at Drake Bay, checked the runway for cows, and took off again. Within minutes, we reached Puerto Jimenez and I was in the vehicle bound for Bosque Del Cabo, 40 minutes away. I must say, I really enjoyed our little puddle jumper flight. Once we got over San Jose, it felt like floating and the views were gorgeous. I was happy to finally be in the Osa Peninsula, home to more monkeys than people.

I was really excited.