ag123

Trip Report 11/24 – 12/2
This is a long one, I hop it isnt too rambling and does make sense. I began it when I got back and just now got a chance to work on it more.

Day 1
Liberia - Arenal
We arrived on Saturday 12/1 in Liberia at 1:30 pm (on time thank goodness). Tri-Color picked us up and we headed over to get our rental car. The process was quick and we were shortly on our way to Arenal.

We got a bit lost when turning left to get to the Lake rd., the sign was in between 2 roads and we didn’t know which one to choose. We took a gamble and picked the wrong way, but it worked out. We ended up on the Lake Rd. still, just a bit further from where the other turnoff would have put us. I was worrying the whole way about darkness, but found the roads to be fine and the scenery beautiful.

We bumped our way along up to the Observatory Lodge, it was so cloudy we didn’t even know where the volcano was. It stayed this way all evening and night. We arrived around 5:30 pm and got settled into our Smithsonian room before relaxing in the spa and eating at the lodge. The spa was only lukewarm, and filled with youngsters, but it is large and we still had a nice time. The food was good, nothing terribly special but that’s not what we were there for! Shared a bottle of wine and then off to bed. The rooms are very basic, but the grounds are beautiful and the view can’t be beat. Falling asleep I just couldn’t believe we were finally seeing all the things I had read so much about, it was a bit surreal and very exciting. I am sure I woke up every 15 minutes to peek if the volcano had cleared, we could hear the rumbling frequently but no show that night. I had also forgot an alarm clock and a watch so I awoke worrying about the time often because we had to be in La Fortuna by 7:30am for a water-fall rappelling tour.

DAY 2
Arenal

Breakfast is included at the lodge and was great. Every morning they put out fruit for the birds and Coatimundis (cute little raccoonish animals), so mornings are fun for wildlife viewing. We also saw many hummingbirds off our balcony. We headed back down the bumpy road to La Fortuna to meet up with Desafio (they would have picked us up for an extra $25 per person).
Got to Desafio, and headed off in the back of a pickup to the canyons to go water-fall rappelling. Met 2 girls my age who live in the same San Francisco neighborhood as me! I loved this tour, you go down 3 waterfalls and 2 regular rappels. You hike through the river canyon between rappels and the scenery cannot be beat. When the hike ends you get fresh fruit and water, then off to lunch. We loved the simple and authentic lunch at a little house by a river, and saw a toucan while there. We got back to our room around 2pm, I had originally planned lots of different activities for this time-slot (zip-lines, hanging bridges, botanical gardens) but we ended up just relaxing a bit. Skytrek ziplines were booked, and the volcano started to clear so we parked it out on the deck and did some volcano watching for awhile. We got great pictures and loved to see the boulders rolling down the slopes. We headed into town and did some grocery shopping, then dinner at a place called La Choza De Laurel on your left side as you head into La Fortuna. Dinner was cheap, delicious and the staff was friendly. Our next stop was Tabacon, we got an evening pass (we arrived at 8pm and they are open until 10pm). I really loved Tabacon, it is something special. The main pool with swim up bar was crowded, but it was fine because that is a social place anyhow. There were many un-crowded pools further back and some we had all to ourselves. The pools are different temperatures so you can pick one you are comfortable in, and the main pool has a fun waterslide. Towels and lockers are provided. We headed back to AOL and saw a few lava rocks descending before going to bed. I still woke up often to peek at the volcano and was rewarded around 3am when it was completely clear and put on a show for about 45 minutes. There was a ton of lava (flaming boulders or whatever you would like to call it) and it was spectacular. Unfortunately the people in the room next to us thought so as well and yelled out “Wooooo Hoooo” every time there was an eruption. I didn’t let it spoil my time but prefer to take in nature at its best in a more peaceful setting!

DAY 3
Cano Negro and La Carolina

This was another early morning, and a great breakfast at the lodge with beautiful birds and coatimundis. We had booked a private tour of Cano Negro through the Cano Negro Natural Lodge, driving ourselves up there so we could head straight to La Carolina afterwards. Our tour was to start at 9:45 so we left at 7:30 figuring it was a 2 hour trip. It was a beautiful drive, there is a small town called Muelle on the way and there are many iguanas living in the trees around the bridge. We were really running late (we didn’t factor in that AOL is an extra 25 minutes) but had to stop to take in the sights and snap some pictures. Our car was making some interesting noises, like a chain dragging and a high-pitched whining. My bf looked and there was gear oil dripping from the bottom. I didn’t realize that most tours out of Arenal do not go all the way into Cano Negro, so we had an extra 35 minutes down an incredibly bumpy road. Once on this road our car really started to act up and neither of us were sure we would make it. Although it was a 4x4 it was so low to the ground that it could not make it over even small bumps without scraping. I was extremely unhappy and this car situation was quickly turning into the one downfall of our trip. After what seemed like ages of holding my breath and trying to repeat “pura vida” over and over to myself, we made it into the cute town of Cano Negro and to the deserted lodge. We were 50 minutes late, and were greeted with smiles and an assurance that it was okay. They let us use the phone to call Tri-color, who insisted that suzukis always make those noises and not to worry. My boyfriend is familiar with cars and explained that transmission oil was leaking and we were very uncomfortable driving it. They didn’t offer us any help except to say we could drive it to Liberia for an exchange if we wanted. We decided to take the tour and worry about it later, but it was hanging in the back of my mind the whole day. I haven’t been on any other tour so I have nothing to compare it to, but the boat was a bit dirty and run down and the guide didn’t speak any English! It was great fun though and we saw many caymans, a Jesus Christ lizard, many different birds, iguanas, turtles and even 3 howler monkeys that were high up in the trees. The man who drove our boat has lived in Cano Negro for 40 years, and was excellent at spotting the wildlife. We had a great lunch at the lodge afterwards, a four course meal that we got to choose from the menu, it was included in our $55 price. It must not be high season because there was not another soul to be seen on the property. It was 2pm and we had to decide what to do about the car. We headed West towards Upala (the opposite way we came from Arenal, this is the way towards either Liberia/beaches or La Carolina) along another bumpy road. I was extremely worried we were going to break down in the middle of nowhere, right before night fall and with no Spanish. The drive to Liberia was on better roads but La Carolina was closer, so I picked La Carolina. My boyfriend was unhappy with the decision but away we went. We cheered when we made it off the dirt road, only to soon get on another one. Seeing signs for La Carolina kept us happy though, until we were faced with a large hill that our car could not make it up. The 4 wheel drive went out (we think) and we ended up rolling backwards and getting stuck in a ditch. Weather had been beautiful all day and within 2 minutes of getting stuck a major thunder storm began, complete with buckets of rain. The road quickly turned into a river and I was terrified. I thought we were going to have to walk to La Carolina and started to pack a “survival kit” while my boyfriend walked up the hill to see what he could see. He came back with a local who helped to push the car out of the ditch while I floored it. We made it out, my boyfriend hopped in and we drove as fast as we could, soaking wet, with the radio blaring so we didn’t have to hear the horrible noises the car made. Looking back I can laugh. We arrived in La Carolina soaking wet and very grumpy, but in one piece. Needless to say, we were both unhappy at the time with my decision not to go straight to Liberia. It says so much about what a wonderful place La Carolina is, that within 30 minutes we were thoroughly enchanted with the place and in good spirits. We got a cozy fire burning in our little cabin to dry our clothes and sat down to a delicious dinner served by candle light. There were some great guests there, and we had a nice evening chatting by the fire and sharing our stories. Another man had car problems on the way in, and his rental company drove 2 hours in the dark to bring him a new car (Hola was the company), boy was I jealous!! A note about La Carolina, there is now electricity but only in the form of a nightlight in the bathroom and electrical outlets in the rooms. The man with the car problems is friends with the owner, Bill, and apparently the wrong kind of wiring was put in making the bill extremely high – so the electricity might not last much longer (fine by me)!

DAY 4
La Carolina – Rio Celeste

the next morning we were served a great breakfast and left with Alejandro at 9am to do the Rio Celeste hike. Most of what you consume on the ‘Finca’ (like a ranch) is produced there, this includes coffee, beef, chicken and eggs. La Carolina is a working cattle ranch. The hike was great, we saw the incredible blue water, pounding waterfall and hot springs. Alejandro was a great guide and so knowledgeable. Tapirs live in the area, but are seldom seen during the day. There happened to be a pregnant one at the time of our visit, and they feed almost constantly so Alejandro had seen the animal everyday for the past 2 weeks on hikes. He went out searching but we didn’t get to see it, although we did see tracks and he showed us how he tracks them by the trail of munched up leaves. We stopped by the general store on the way back in to once again plead with Tricolor to help us. I told them I was very scared to drive the car and please can they pick us up, even said I was willing to pay for the ride. They would not come. We loved La Carolina so much, we decided to put our worries behind us and stay an extra night (we were supposed to head to Playa Grande that afternoon). We were both so happy with our decision. We went on a horseback ride with Alejandro and another couple, my boyfriend had a bit of a fright on a ‘loco’ horse but he got a new one and things were ok. We rode all around the ranch and saw leaf cutter ants, howler monkeys (heard them this time too!), a sloth and more birds. That evening we had another great dinner, shared some stories around the fire with other guests and then went to enjoy the hot tub. This tub is made of stone, filled with water diverted from the river, and heated by a wood fire. There are fishing poles and a deck, my bf was able to hook a small guy. We let him go but it was fun, they must be easy to catch because he in no fisherman. La Carolina is a very peaceful place, however – light sleepers may have a problem in the rainy season with the tin roofs.

DAY 5
La Carolina – Playa Grande

We woke up and grabbed some breakfast and said our goodbyes, we were sad to leave it had truly been a wonderful and special experience. Looking back, it was my favorite part of our trip and we are both so glad we didn’t get scared into canceling our stay there. We hit the road nervously around 9am. The car was still making some horrid noise but we arrived at Tri-Color in Liberia after about 1.5 hrs without incident. We enjoyed beautiful views of Miravelles and Rincon De La Vieja on the way, we had wanted to stop by Las Pumas Wildlife Refuge but after our car problems didn’t want to go even a bit out of the way. We traded our car in and were off to Playa Grande (Tri-color ran out to the car as we pulled in yelling, turn it off! The metal on metal sounds scared them too finally!). The drive was very easy to Playa Grande, where we found Sol y Luna up the hill from Kike’s. The hotel is on beautiful grounds and the cabinas are so cute with great porches. However, our room was very dirty and so were the sheets. The place didn’t seem open for business, we were the only guests, the road was almost impassable due to wet rains, and there was a lot of construction going on around what looks like will one day be the office. We headed down to rent surf boards and grab lunch at Kike’s, which was a laid back surfer hangout with reasonable prices and ok food. We hit the beach (had to drive there because the path from Sol y Luna to the beach is now on someone else’s property who closed it) and got some great waves before watching a beautiful sunset. Back at Sol y Luna, I was scared walking around the property at night, it was very dark with no lights. I had wanted to relax and go swimming, but there were no lights around the pool. There was a light in the pool but it still seemed eerie. There were a few large toads in the water keeping us company, and I decided not to get in the unlighted hot tub. There was supposedly a swim-up bar, it was obviously not open. We decided to check out first thing in the morning and went to Rip Jacks for some drinks. We loved the staff, everyone we met in Playa Grande was so incredibly friendly and accommodating, especially here. The funniest little crabs run around all over the streets of Playa Grande – black bodies, purple pinchers and orange legs about the size of my palm.

DAY 6
Playa Grande

The first thing we did was drive over to Las Tortugas and secure a room. They only had a 4 person room available but it was great, ocean view and very large of course. We got our stuff and I breathed a huge sigh of relief when we transferred. We LOVED Las Tortugas, great pool and location. They also have free internet access for those who want to check in on life back at home. We wanted to delay going back, we were so in love with CR so we decided to use the internet to push our flights back to stay an extra night – Delta didn’t even charge us! I spent some happy time being lazy around the pool reading my book while Taron surfed. This day was uneventful – we were just beach bums and we loved it. Back to Rip Jacks that night for dinner, which was pricey (by Tico standards ,not American) but very good. We had planned on seeing the turtles but never got around to booking our tour, I just couldn’t get excited about it for some reason – next time!

DAY 7
Playa Grande – Playa Hermosa

We took some surfing lessons in the morning and I unfortunately threw my back out. I laid on the beach and took pictures while Taron surfed some more. We had a delicious breakfast at Las Tortugas, they also make great smoothies. The restaurant is right on the beach, but the view is obscured by trees so that lights don’t disturb the turtles. You can hear the surf and peek through the trees so it is a very relaxed atmosphere. We then packed up our stuff and headed to Playa Hermosa, Bosque Del Mar. We would have stayed an extra night in Playa Grande but already had booked our Playa Hermosa room for what we thought was going to be our last night.
We pulled into the hotel and first thing I saw was a huge howler monkey in the trees right over our heads. I hadn’t seen one this close up before and was thrilled. There turned out to be a whole family living in the area and they frequented the 100 year old trees on the property. There were 2 baby monkeys that were so small and rode around on mom’s back. The only availability was in the older rooms, but it worked out fine for us we loved being so near the water, just steps from our front door. We had lunch at the hotel – we became fast friends with the staff who are amazing. All the guys that work in the restaurant/bar area are SO friendly/funny/helpful (we found this to be true of pretty much all the Tico’s we met). The beach is beautiful and calm, we walked around and acquainted ourselves with the area and booked a morning snorkel tour with Aqua Sport. It was just $25 for a two hour deal, they let us pick the times. We watched the sunset and then headed over to Playa Del Coco for a fun night and great food. We ended up at the Papagayo Seafood Company. It is on the main strip and the food was excellent. It was our favorite meal while in Costa Rica. We really fell in love with this grungy little town, it had a similar funky vibe to Santa Cruz, CA (although it is much more enchanting at night, as we realized the next day). A new casino had just opened so we went and played some slots and blackjack, meeting interesting people along the way.

DAY 8
Playa Hermosa


We ate breakfast right on the beach, the hotel sets up tables on the sand under a tent and it was so peaceful and beautiful. We were surprised by how much clearer the water is in the mornings, very very blue.

We took a drive up the hill to get some pretty photos of the bay from a different perspective, then went to Aqua Sport for out snorkel tour. There was one other couple on the boat with us and 2 guides. The guides were friendly, funny and informative; we took a short boat ride out to 2 small islands that can be seen from shore. The islands are really interesting up close, covered in cacti. We jumped in and saw lots of pretty marine life. My favorite were the different eels and puffer fish. Our guide hopped in with special gloves and held the puffer fish, making it puff up – I’m not sure how wildlife friendly this was but it was cool to see. We headed around to the otherside of the island and saw a huge school of mantarays! It was really neat. On the otherside it was very different. Not as clear and less tropical looking fish, but many schools of different kinds of fish which would surround you. The tour was 2 hours and on the way back we got fresh fruit and water, they offered to stop at one of the many secluded beaches on the shore but we declined.

We had some beers at a beachfront bar, then back to the hotel to shower. There is a lot of plankton in the water so you feel a bit grimy when returning. The monkeys were back so we hung at the pool area a bit just relaxing and watching them.

I still had some souvenir shopping to do, and had heard that Playa Del Coco was the place to do it so we drove the 15 min over there for lunch. I can’t remember the name of where we ate, Louisiana something, it was tasty but not anything too special for the price. This is a dusty little town with a funky feel, the main street is lined with souvenir shops and restaurants. We spent the afternoon wandering and found beautiful carved wood, stained glass and other trinkets. We were out of cash by then and wanted to pay cash for departure fee in the morning - The atm in Playa Hermosa was out of money, so we tried the one in Playa Del Coco – also broken! Oh well we figured something would work out. We had planned on doing a sunset cruise on The Drums of Bora Bora out of Coco, but learned it had sank in the bad rainy season. The poor lady said her husband was heartbroken, but tried to set us up on anther cruise. It was a bit early in the season and no other boats were going out. We returned to Playa Hermosa to find something to do for our last night. We strolled down the beach to El Velero, I hear in the high season they have fun beach BBQ’s on Saturday nights, we were there a bit early in the season so everything was pretty dead. We had a beer then back to Bosque Del Mar for dinner, we had amazing lobster – we thought the waiter had said it was $16 so we ordered it but the bill claimed $45! Oops! It was really amazing so we didn’t mind too much, just laughed at ourselves. I had overindulged a bit on the wine and Margaritas so it was off to an early bed for me.

DAY 9

We had a very short drive to the airport, 20 minutes. We had no problems paying departure tax with my atm card (they take Visa and Am Ex only), customs was quick and so was baggage check. This airport is really cute, very small with an open air feel. Word of advice – we dropped out rental car at the airport and left the keys at information for TriColor to later retrieve. We now regret this as we are involved in a dispute over $4000 they charged us 3 weeks later, they had assured us that we were not responsible for the damage to the car and only charged us for our rental and insurance. We really regret not bringing the car back directly to the office and getting this in writing. We had heard such great things about Tri-Color that we trusted them – our fault!

We were so sad to leave Costa Rica, but so happy to have been! My lasting impressions of Costa Rica will be the wonderful people we met, both Tico and from countries around the world. Our favorite place was La Carolina as it seemed so different and authentic. My boyfriend is already planning a surfing trip back to Playa Grande with his guy friends for the spring, and of course Arenal was just amazing.

hipvirgochick

Welcome back ag! I had to laugh at the turning up the volume so you didn't here the car noises! Too funny! That's a little scary and exactly why I'm still not planning on renting a car when it's just myself and 11 year old.

All in all it sounds like a great trip though. Odd that the guide for Cano Negro only spoke Spanish. That seems like a given for a tour they would ask what language you needed. It was good to hear about a couple of places we haven't been, for one, La Carolina which is high up on my list (although we won't make it next Spring because I'm already attached to my itinerary . I love those rustic places and the working ranch is what is part of the attraction.

Thanks for sharing.

petite1

Great report!! I'm glad to hear some of your less enjoyable experiences didn't spoil your vacation. We're returning to Las Tortugas in Feb & happily it sounds like nothing has changed since our last visit. My daughter LOVED the smoothies too!

shillmac

ag123

First of all, SO sorry about your car worries. They should have just taken care of you. Honestly, we've always rented from the office near SJO and they have been SO helpful to us over the years. Different management perhaps. Who knows? Glad it all worked out!

And to hear you talk about La Carolina--I loved reading about it! Brought back SO many wonderful memories! Was Alejandro's dog (or maybe Bill's) there? Pacha or Pancho or something like that? He was such a lover. I'd sit on the steps by the kitchen in the early a.m. with my binocs and birding book and he'd come lie down next to me and put his head in my lap.

All of your trip sounds just lovely! So glad you had a good time.

cat22

Yikes! We have a bungalow at Sol y Luna reserved for a week starting on January 17th. Now I'm a little worried! I think I will reconsider after reading your review. Thanks for the info!

cat22

SusanInToronto

About 18 years ago, my husband and I stayed at Playa Hermosa - it was before there was much development, and we also saw (and heard!) the howler monkeys up close. It really was thrilling! I remember the babies riding on their mothers' backs - so much fun to see.

ag123

Hi Shillmac, thanks again for your help planning this trip it was better than imagined! The dog is still there - I cant remember his name but such a sweetie. When we went out on horseback he followed us along the whole ride, and by the fire at night would try to curl up on the guests laps.

Cat22 - I have mixed feelings about Sol Y Luna, I was really excited to stay there but was disappointed. I don't want to knock it too much because it could be really great with just a bit better management. you can see my review on tripadvisor here http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...uanacaste.html .

cat22

ag123,

I emailed Alex with regard to the cleanliness and a few other things. He indicated that although the path to the beach was closed, you can still use it? Also, he promised the room, sheets and towels would be changed prior to arrival. You might be right, that you were on the end of the slow, rainy season, and hadn't had many people there yet. Sounds like it will be fully occupied when we are there, which would be nice for meeting other people. He is always so nice in our emails, I'm hoping that Alex is just trying to get things together and you,unfortunately, arrived at a slow time. Thank you again for your input, as we are really looking forward to this vacation and appreciate everyones feedback.
We will be staying at Villa Mango in Nosara for 4 nights prior to arriving at Sol Y Luna. Will let you know how everything was.

cat22

sean420

Great trip report!

I'm also from San Francisco and have met many other San Franciscans in Costa Rica. One time we were in Montezuma at a bar when a girl approached me and asked if I was here for the wedding. i said "what wedding" and she told me that there were 30 people in town from San Francisco for a wedding. She saw I was wearing a SF Giants cap and assumed I was attending. She lives in my neighborhood as well.

Another time in Puerto Viejo it turned out one of the bartenders used to live 2 blocks away from where I live.


It is indeed a small world!

spres242

Thank you so much for your trip report. I am leaving for La Carolina tomorrow and it just got me really excited !! I was looking at booking something with Desafio in Arenal. The rappeling sounds great !

cat22

We just left Sol Y Luna lodge today. We stayed for a week and absolutely loved it. It was very peaceful, and Alex and Carmen who run the lodge were excellent hosts. The grounds are very well taken care of. There is plenty of wildlife to see. We even had an armadillo pass thru our back patio area. This place is very relaxing. The hammocks on the back porch are a big plus.

ag123: Sorry you did not have a good experience at Sol Y Luna. I really do think you are right about being there before the season started. All porch lights were turned on every night, and turned off in the evenings. Most of the bungalows were occupied, so we didn't feel as isolated as you might have. I can happily report that I did not see any roaches during our stay, and the room was clean and neat when we arrived. Also, we were able to use the short path from the bungalows to the beach with no problem.

That's all for now..... Just wanted to let you all know about our experience.

cat22

ag123

So happy to hear it Cat22 . . . I really wanted to like Sol Y Luna because Alex was so great, and didn't want to knock it too hard because I could see the potential. Glad you had a great time, and jealous of that armadillo sighting!