This is a continuation of my report of a 1 week spring break trip with my daughter, son-in-law and 2 grandkids, 9 & 11.

Tuesday, 3/25 Arenal to Manuel Antonio
The plan was to get on the road by 8-8:30. While the rest of the family was at breakfast, I went to check out. My stomach was a little rocky this morning, so I had planned to skip breakfast, anyway. John said he thought it must have been the fruit juice we had at the Cano Negro lunch the previous day, because Paige was having some problems too—and she and I were the only ones who drank that juice. It wasn’t bottled, but came out of a large dispenser. The room charge was more than I expected. They had quoted me over the Internet 2 rooms at $110 each per night (“Superior” rooms). However, they had neglected to inform me of the extra $22 per night for an extra person in one of the rooms. That’s a little steep. Whatever—I didn’t argue. We had a great time here. Back at the restaurant, I grabbed a banana and some tea, plus a couple extra bananas for the road.
We left at 8:45—almost on schedule. After gassing up in La Fortuna, we were on the road again by 9:10. We had been told the drive would take 5 ½ -6 hours: 2 hours to San Ramon, and 3-4 hrs from San Ramon to Manuel Antonio. The drive to San Ramon was very beautiful, and very mountainous. Ryan was feeling car sick, so he slept for much of the way. We stopped around 10:30 at a tourist stop “clean & free restrooms” for a bathroom break and a cold drink. We were very conscious, though, of leaving someone by the car at all times! We arrived in San Ramon at 11:05, so we were 5 minutes ahead of schedule. Then, we followed the instructions given to me by a couple Fodorites to take the route through Palmares, Atenas, San Mateo, Orotina, then down Hwy 34 to Manuel Antonio. Again, it was a very interesting drive. In one of the small towns just south of San Ramon, we drove by an old church—or possibly a school—in front of which some schoolchildren were hanging out. We had wanted to stop at a school, but never got that worked out, so thought we’d try to talk to these children and take a photo of them with my granddaughter. No dice. They were too shy, and we couldn’t engage them. Maybe if we’d had more time. However, I did get a nice photo of the back of their heads with Stacy & Paige in front. Around noon, we stopped at a small restaurant on top of a mountain. We learned that, on a clear day, you can see forever….well, at least spot the ocean in the distance from here. There were no cars when we arrived, but other customers soon arrived. We were happy we had beat the lunch crowd! Even though the restaurant seemed isolated, and we could see our car from inside, I stayed outside near the car, since I only planned to eat my banana anyway. As I was waiting, I noticed a woman and several children walking up the highway. I thought it a strange hiking group, until I noticed a car parked on the side of the road. After she arrived, I talked to the woman--a very pretty young blonde woman with four beautiful young blonde children. Her car had broken down while they were on their way to San Jose to pick up the children’s father at the airport. She and the children had been staying in Costa Roca for the entire winter. She was just thankful that the car problem had happened so near the restaurant, because most of that stretch of highway over the mountains is uninhabited—and there is often not even a place to pull off the highway. The restaurant people called for help, and before we left, there was a tow truck there to haul the car to a repair place. Then a taxi arrived to take her and the children to the airport. What could have been a very bad situation (how could she have hitchhiked for help with 4 children in tow—and she certainly couldn’t leave them behind) turned out to be very fortuitous. We were at the restaurant about ½ hour, and then drove on with no further stops, arriving about 2:30 at our hotel—Costa Verde. So, the entire trip from La Fortuna, including a couple breaks, took us less than 5 ½ hours. Pretty good time. Luckily my son-in-law, who is used to driving and passing on 2 lane highways in upper Michigan, was at the wheel. It would have taken me a lot longer!
After checking into the Costa Verde, we also checked into tours. My son-in-law and grandson especially wanted to go deep-sea fishing, but hadn’t made a reservation before we left (as I had done for the activities in Arenal) because the non-refundable deposit was so large. We had tentatively planned that they go on Thursday, but they couldn’t find a boat for that day. It was a busy week! However, they did locate a boat to take them out the following day—Wednesday—in the early afternoon. John originally wanted to do a full day, but Ryan had never been deep-sea fishing before, and he has a tendency for seasickness, so we thought a half day would be a better introduction. Once they were set, we asked to make a reservation for the Finca Valmy Horseback Riding tours for us gals on the same day. The clerk said he could set us up with other horseback tours that were just as good and less expensive, but I said I had recommendations for this one. So, he did call, and got us set up. Lastly, we made a reservation for a guided tour of Manuel Antonio Park the next morning. Although there were other things we wanted to do, we decided to wait on other reservations.
The rooms I had reserved were a “Studio”, and an “Efficiency”. The rooms were in the same 4-unit building, but the Studio was upstairs, and the Efficiency was on the lower level. The Studio was a little larger, with one king bed and one single in a little alcove (the Efficiency had two double beds), and a better view. The only other difference was the larger shower in the Studio; it extended out and was screened on 2 sides so you felt like you were almost in the jungle. I had planned for my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter to take that one. However, my grandson wanted to stay in the bigger room, and put up quite an argument that since I was paying, I should have the large room. I finally persuaded him to acquiesce when I pointed out that he would have a bigger bed to himself in the smaller room with me. Even our room had a decent view of the ocean from the nice balcony. Both rooms had kitchenettes with dishes, pots & pans, (very handy for someone staying for awhile), a TV, and large closet unit. There were no drawers for clothes, though, so we used the luggage stand and shelf under the TV to put our clothes. The rooms were definitely rustic, but quite nice. We had two bath towels each—one for the room and one for the pool. We could exchange our towels for fresh ones at the reception desk any time. I was a little annoyed to see the hairdryer in the bathroom, because I had Emailed Costa Verde to specifically ask about this. I had hoped that I wouldn’t have to bring one, but I was told that there were none. When I questioned them about this as we were checking out, they just said that the hairdryers had been installed recently. Our rooms were up a steep hill and a couple flights of steps from the reception building and restaurant, but not as far away from them as our rooms were in Los Lagos. In other words, we could walk down and back up with no problem. Well, I had a little problem, because my cold was at its peak, I was really tired, and I had almost totally lost my voice. Our rooms were just a few steps away from the very pretty upper level swimming pool and large “gazebo” that was probably used for weddings and special events.
As soon as we got settled, we headed for Manuel Antonio public beach and parked the car on the street in front. A guy came over and asked for C2,000. John asked “Why” since it was a public street, but the guy was rather insistent. I had heard that it was just better to give these self-appointed guards “car protection” money, even if you couldn’t count on them to actually protect your car, so I just gave him the 2,000 (about $4). It was easier than arguing. Of course, we didn’t leave anything at all in the car to be stolen.
The beach was beautiful and busy. There were lots of vendors selling T-shirts, & sarongs, surfboard & boogie board rental stands, even massage tables set up on the sand. We took turns guarding our stuff on the beach while the others played in the water. We had asked at the hotel about beach towels. They said they didn’t allow their towels to be taken to the beach, but we could take beach mats—free. We had debated about whether or not to bring along beach towels, because they take up so much room in the luggage, but had finally decided to take 3 old, thin ones. If necessary (which it wasn’t), we could toss them at the end of the trip to make room for souvenirs. I’m glad we did this, because they really did come in handy—both at Arenal (the waterfall hike) and here. While I was sitting on the beach, I struck up a conversation with a couple sitting nearby. I knew they were staying at our hotel, since they had the same type of woven beach mats. The couple was a father and his grown daughter who had driven down from Arenal a couple days earlier—on Easter Sunday. They said the traffic was so heavy that it took them between 8 & 9 hours to make the trip! Then, when they stopped for a quick lunch, two backpacks were stolen from their car! Boy, I was happy that we had kept such a close watch when we stopped. As luck would have it, they didn’t have anything of real value in those backpacks—just clothes and food. They didn’t even realize they were missing until they arrived at the hotel. Talking with them a little later, John and she discovered a connection in that her boyfriend’s summer home was on the same lake in northern Michigan where John’s family summered when he was a kid. Such a small world. We stayed on the beach until sunset—and it was one of the most spectacular sunsets I have ever witnessed—and I have many photos to prove it!
Back at the hotel, we showered, and then walked to one of the hotel restaurants—La Cantina, a barbeque restaurant with live music. We enjoyed the salsa music played by the 3 piece band (my daughter & son-in-law are both musicians). Stacy & I had the grilled Mahi Mahi (a little dry), and John had the whole Red Snapper (very good). The kids had pasta, which, surprisingly, is very common in Costa Rica. Our friend from the beach later told us that she had some stomach problems after eating here—and she attributed it to the Mahi Mahi.
After dinner, I stopped at the Internet in the hotel gift shop while John & Stacy drove to the ATM in Manuel Antonio Village. I only wanted to send a short Email home so bought 15 minutes worth of time. It took all of the 15 minutes to write one paragraph. That was the slowest computer I have ever used—anywhere in the world! While typing, I was usually several words ahead of their appearance on the screen. Very disconcerting.
Back in our room, we had to swat down a couple large beetles that were making a lot of noise. Later, I killed one more, and then we didn’t have any problems with that noise for the rest of our stay. However, the A/C sounded like a Mac truck, so I finally turned it off. Hmm, maybe it’s loud on purpose so that people won’t run it as much. After that was turned off, the roar of big trucks straining to get up the hilly road nearby kept me awake for awhile. I soon got used to the noise, though, and slept well the rest of the nights.

Tuesday, 3/26 Manuel Antonio
This morning, we were awakened by the sound of howler monkeys in the distance. I had my coffee, and then washed out a few things and hung them on the balcony to dry. John informed me that our friends from the beach said breakfast was not included with our room at Costa Verde. I was quite surprised because I had just assumed it was included. After we had walked down to the hotel lobby to confirm this, we discussed walking up the road to a nearby restaurant which our friends had recommended as having a good buffet breakfast. However, we didn’t think we would have enough time, so just decided to go to our hotel restaurant and order off the menu. I decided to walk back to our room to retrieve the gluten-free granola which I had brought along for emergencies. By the time I hurriedly climbed that steep hill back to our room, I was so winded (I was still had that pesky cold) that I decided to just stay there, where I ate dry granola and a leftover banana from Los Lagos. I had already had my coffee—at least the hotel provided this. However, there was no way to let the kids know I had decided to skip breakfast, so pretty soon Stacy came up to check on me—and then back to the restaurant, then back up to the room. She certainly got her exercise that morning!
I got down to the hotel lobby at 9:15, and the tour guide from Finca Valmy was already waiting for us with a small bus half-full of people. Stacy & Paige were about 5 minutes late again, so I guess my lecture the other day hadn’t helped. We drove to one additional hotel where we picked up a few more people for a total of 15. We were seated in the back row next to a guy from NYC and his 6 year old daughter, Isabella, a delightful little chatterbox. They said they come to CR every year in the spring, and just love it. Isabella told us about all her favorite things to do here. It was another 45 minutes to the ranch, with just one stop along the way to pick up some rugs and water. At the ranch, the horses were all saddled up and awaiting us. Valentine (the guide and ranch manager) and two ranch hands passed out riding helmets, and asked if we were experienced, medium or novice riders before Valentine matched up each rider with a horse. There were a couple expert riders, 5 medium (as we had ranked ourselves) and the rest were beginners. You could tell by the clothing they wore—flip-flops, shorts, mini-skirts, etc.—not the long pants recommended by Valentine when we made the reservations. However, the rugs picked up on our way were utilized to protect the bare legs of the inadequately clothed. We were helped onto our mounts, stirrups adjusted, and we headed off down a shallow stream. We rode for about an hour, with the horses pretty much going at their own slow pace, to a small waterfall in the forest with a swimming hole underneath. Most of the people had worn their swimsuits underneath their clothes, but we thought that it would be pretty uncomfortable riding with wet swimsuits, so we changed in a little makeshift “changing room” they had rigged up. The swim was delightful—cold at first but refreshing. We took turns sitting in the waterfall, then were treated to a snack of bottled water and cookies. We were there for about 45 minutes, and then rode for another hour higher up into the hills. We had hoped to see some monkeys or other wildlife, but had no luck. Valentine said it was probably too warm and they weren’t active. However, he pointed out various types of trees, etc. The countryside was beautiful—very green, even though it was toward the end of the dry season. As we arrived back at the ranch, Valentine gave us a little dressage demonstration on his own horse, which was really beautiful. All in all, the ride was very enjoyable. I would have liked to move a little faster—cantering or trotting—but my horse wouldn’t move out unless Valentine told him to hurry up. Back on the bus, we drove for an hour to a small “soda” for a “typical” lunch. I had told them about my wheat “allergy”—so I was given a vegetarian meal. Evidently, there was some sort of sauce on the chicken that couldn’t be left off. I’ve found sauces to be the biggest problem when trying to stick to my gluten-free diet. A lot of restaurant dishes include sauces of some type—and most of those are thickened with wheat flour. The lunch was fine, but nothing special. Again, it seemed to take too long—we were anxious to get back.
It was 3:30 by the time we reached our hotel. When I got to my room to change for the pool, I was surprised to find Ryan napping on his bed, because they weren’t supposed to return from fishing until around 6. He mumbled something about deciding to quit early. We learned later that he had gotten seasick—even though he had taken a Dramamine which I had brought along. They had a good time while out there—catching about eight fish. Unfortunately, none of them were keepers; a large grouper they had on the line had broken the hook. So—our hopes of eating our own fish for dinner were dashed. We had learned that most of the restaurants in the area would cook your catch for you. John told us that when he and Ryan stopped by the office, the desk clerk asked if a couple other guys who wanted to go deep-sea fishing but couldn’t find an available boat could share theirs. John said he felt bad saying “No”, but he really wanted to go out alone with his son. That way, their chances of catching a big fish would be better than if there were several people fishing. It’s a good thing they did go alone, so that they were able to cut the trip short when Ryan started feeling seasick.
While John and Ryan were sleeping, Stacy, Paige and I went to the nearby pool for awhile, and then walked down to the lower pool “Pool B” to check it out. There was also a third pool, but it was for adults only, so we didn’t get around to checking out that one. On the way down, we stopped to photograph a sloth in a tree almost right outside the door to our room, and then a very large iguana sitting near the restaurant. When we came near, he scooted into a pipe which seemed smaller than he was! Pool B was a typical rectangular pool near a larger building—not as attractive as the free-form Pool A. After a quick dip, we climbed back up to our rooms, where I picked up a mini-bottle of wine that I had brought with me, and a couple glasses. Then we went to the lookout on top of the pavilion to watch the sunset. An island obstructed the view of the actual sunset into the ocean, but it was still beautiful. Again, I couldn’t get over how quickly it got dark once the sun set.
For dinner, we walked up the road to another restaurant owned by the hotel: El Avion. It was very interesting because it was built around an old army transport plane which had been shot down by the Sandinistas, leading to the scandal that uncovered illegal CIA supply missions to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. The bar area was actually located inside the fuselage of the plane. Very interesting. I had a Marguerita, then chicken fajitas (in corn tortillas) for dinner. The food was good, but not exceptional, and the service was pretty slow.
Afterward, we got our car and drove to Manuel Antonio village to buy some food for breakfasts (which in my daughter’s case was only Coke and Diet Pepsi) and snacks for the beach the next day. Ryan’s idea of breakfast food was a potato that he planned to cook on our stove! I got a small carton of OJ plus a couple more bananas to have with my granola for breakfast, and some bread, cheese, and corn chips.
Then it was time to hit the sack. We had to be up early the next morning for our guided tour of Manuel Antonio Park.

Such a great report--enjoying the details! Thanks for taking the time.

Great trip report! I love all of the detail, it sounds like you had a great family vacation. I'm looking forward to hearing more!

I’m really enjoying your report. I can almost imagine being there with you.

Thanks for the tip about the beach towels. I’ll make sure to pack some. I can’t wait to see that beautiful sunset!

Too bad your grandson got seasick. I didn’t realize you could have restaurants in town cook your catch. I know you didn’t book until you got there, but it sounds like booking ahead of time might be the thing to do if we want to commit to the non-refundable deposit. Do you have a recommendation for a company?

I’ve heard so many rave reviews about the Finca Valmy horseback trip that we are considering it. However, I must admit your report didn’t really thrill me. It sounds like you spent as much time at the waterfall, and at lunch, as you did on horseback. Is that accurate? Do you think they were catering to the novice riders? How many people (total) were there? I’m wondering if we have a large enough crowd on our own if we’d be able to ride more, pick up the pace, and spend less time at lunch.

You and your family are obviously having a great time. We'll also be traveling with people of varying ages, so I'm glad to hear that young and old (or should I say "older&quot alike are enjoying the trip. FYI-I'm the "older" in our group

Hi Dana--

I can't really give a recommendation for deep-sea fishing. The guys just took what was available at the last minute--and recommended by our hotel. Yes--it would probably be better to book that ahead of time if you don't mind the deposit. However, I think it depends on when you are going, too. We were there the week after Easter, which was very busy.
Re horseback riding. Yes--you are correct. We spent less than a couple hours total actually riding. I didn't mind the stop at the waterfall, but the time spent at lunch was useless. And the pace was very slow. How large is your group? I do think you would be better off to try to arrange a private horseback tour if you want to do any "real" riding. I know Finca Valmy was doing an overnight ride, with just 3 people, the same day as our daytime ride with 15 people, so they would probably be amenable to an individualized itinery.

Very nice report Karin! Looking forward to the next instalment...

Thanks karinkz. I'll look into a private horseback tour with Finca Valmy. There are 11 in our group, but not everyone wants to ride. It isn't that we are experienced riders, but I think we'd like a bit faster pace.

Thursday, 3/27 Manuel Antonio
This morning, after arising early, I thought I’d better put Ryan’s potato in some water to boil if he was going to have it for breakfast. Then, I took my dry granola plus the OJ and banana I had purchased the previous evening out to the balcony to eat, while I caught up on my journal. It was a beautiful morning. As I expected, Ryan took one bite of the boiled potato—with no salt, butter, or anything else to put on it—and decided he would go down to the restaurant with his Dad for breakfast!
We had reserved a guided tour of Manuel Antonio Park today. The bus arrived promptly at 7:30 AM, and the rest of my family a few minutes later. For some reason, I had expected that we were having a private tour—but there were 20 people in all. Since we planned to stay in the park after the tour, we followed the bus in our own car. Luckily, we were the last to be picked up, and we drove directly to the park. Parking in the lot near the entrance only cost C 1500—less than on the street. To get to the gate into the park, we had to wade across a shallow stream. I’ve hear that sometimes the water is so high that people may be ferried across. To drum up more business, the boatmen running the “ferries” warn people about the (nonexistent) crocodiles in the water. After crossing the stream, we still had a short walk up a rather rough path to the park entrance.
Our group of 20 was divided into 2 groups of 9 and 11, with separate guides, which made it more manageable. Besides we five, there was a family of 4 with 2 boys about my grandkids’ age, and a young couple. Our guide, Joshua, was very comical and good with the kids. His best trick was reaching around the back of a kid and making a noise close by his ear that sounded like an insect buzzing. The kid would almost always slap at the invisible insect—and, of course, Joshua had removed his hand by then, and looked very innocent. He had my grandson fooled the entire time—and at one point even had Ryan eat some fruit that supposedly would keep insects away. I was really proud of Ryan, because, when he found out later how he had been fooled, he laughed at himself and told Joshua it was a good trick. Then, he asked Joshua how to make the insect sound, so he could try it on his friends.
As we walked along, we would often stop and Joshua would train his telescope on whatever he wanted us to see. We saw white-faced and howler monkeys, bats, various birds, and a very unafraid small deer. On the beach, Joshua demonstrated how a hermit crab found a new home (shell). Paige was especially fascinated with this, because she had done a paper on hermit crabs in 2nd grade. The most interesting thing we saw was a sloth climbing down his tree in very slow motion. They move so slowly because the leaves they eat don’t provide much energy. Sloths generally come down to the ground only about once a week in order to defecate. They don’t do it from the tree, because their droppings on the ground under the tree would clue predators (such as the jaguar) to their whereabouts. Actually, most sloth deaths in Costa Rica are from electrical lines and human poachers. They really are a fascinating animal. This sloth moved down his tree, but then stepped across to another and went back up. Joshua said it was probably frightened by the large number of people that had gathered to watch. We concluded the walk about 10:30, and the guides handed out water and fresh fruit salads. Yummy. Then, Josh pointed out a shortcut for us to get back to the park entrance.
It took us only about 10 minutes to walk back through the entrance and to the first beach—South Espadilla. This beach is known for its rip tides, but Joshua had said that it was OK for swimming toward the far side. The other beaches were Manuel Antonio, which often gets very crowded, and Puerto Escondido. Although Puerto Escondido is a beautiful beach, you have to climb over some rocks to reach it—and these rocks are way underwater at high tide. So, it is possible to get stranded there when the tide comes in. We thought South Espadilla was the most peaceful and inviting, so we walked for a ways and then threw down our towels. However, the slope of the beach into the water was quite steep and the undertow seemed too strong, so we walked up quite a ways further and settled down in the shade of some trees at the back. We were there a couple hours—always leaving someone by our stuff so that it wouldn’t get stolen by passing humans or monkeys. Unfortunately, the monkeys which are so numerous in the park must have been sleeping that day, because we didn’t get a glimpse the entire time we were at the beach. We had a good time playing in the water and eating the picnic lunch we had brought along. There is no place to buy food or water inside the park itself. After a couple hours, we began getting ready to leave. John (my son-in-law) was the only one left in the water, and he frantically waved to us. We waved back, and then he yelled for Stacy to come. I thought he wanted to show her something in the water, but she looked very concerned and sort of helped John back to our towels. He said he had attempted to body surf a big wave, and it had slammed him face first into the sand at the bottom. Then his head snapped back, and he thought he had broken his neck!!! Needless to say, he was pretty shaken for quite awhile. A big lump swelled up on his forehead and his neck was stiff—but he decided he didn’t need any medical attention unless he felt worse later. I tried to persuade him to go to a doctor, but, luckily, he never got worse.
Stacy had decided that she wanted to go out on the water—and thought a dinner cruise would be a good way to end the day. However, the hotel clerk said it was too late to catch the last cruise of the day. Evidently, they don’t have “dinner cruises” per se—just cruises that might end with dinner. So, John went to bed and the rest of us went to the pool. Stacy and I played a little Boggle while the kids swam, and then talked to Jessica & her Dad (our friends from the beach) for awhile. After his nap, John joined us. When another family walked by, John asked them how their daughter was doing. (He had talked to them while we girls were horseback riding the previous day). Evidently, their teenage daughter’s eye was bothering her so much that she had cried all night from the pain—something very difficult for a parent to bear. They had taken her to a doctor in Quepos, who said it was an eye ulcer and had prescribed some medication. The family called back to their doctor at home to double check—and he said the treatment was correct. Now, she felt considerably better. According to her mother, this was the third time she had had a corneal ulcer, so it may have had nothing to do with Costa Rica—just bad timing. The eye doctor had suggested that she give up on wearing contacts, but she was a teenage girl and very concerned about her looks.
After a couple hours at the pool, we went back to S & J’s room, played cards and sipped wine on the balcony while watching the sunset. We left the kids at the pool for awhile longer, checking on them between hands of Rummy, because they weren’t ready to come in. They are both good swimmers, and had a great time diving for colone coins. The sunset was weak because it was too cloudy. Oh well—we had seen spectacular sunsets the previous two evenings.
We decided to try the main Costa Verde restaurant for dinner, because we knew John would not want to drive anywhere (it was difficult for him to turn his head) with his injury. And he had a long drive ahead of him tomorrow. The open air restaurant was lovely. I decided to try the “Snapper Tower” because it didn’t have any sauce (possibly containing gluten) and included some interesting vegetables such as portabella mushrooms. Well, “tower” was very descriptive. The vegetables were all stacked on top of the fish—to about 8” high! It was so funny! The food was just OK, but the atmosphere and view were very nice.
Back at the room, I got partially packed for the trip tomorrow. We had reserved a room at the Orquideas Inn in Alajuela near the airport for our last night in Costa Rica. We had talked about leaving early, and going up to La Paz—or stopping at a zoo nearby. However, the kids wanted to spend the morning at the beach and buying souvenirs at the stands there, so that was the plan.

Friday, 3/28 Manuel Antonio-Alajuela
This would be our last full day in Costa Rica. The time had just flown by. I awoke at 6:30, and showered, dressed, then had my usual breakfast out on the balcony. Another beautiful morning in paradise.
Around 9:30, we headed down to Manuel Antonio public beach again, stopping first at an ATM because J&S had almost run out of colones. John meant to get $100 worth, but accidentally got $400 worth! Oh well, he works for a bank, so he figured it could exchange it at home if necessary. At the beach, we paid our C 2,000 guard fee for the car, and browsed the long row of vendor booths. We hadn’t bought many souvenirs yet, and this would be our last chance. The only thing I bought was a tiny doll ornament for my Christmas tree (I bring back some representative item to use as a tree ornament from each of my trips). Ryan bought a leather wallet and a wooden hand drum, Stacy & Paige bought beach cover-ups/sundresses, and Stacy & John bought a long (about 3 ft) wooden carved & painted mask. That mask was a little awkward to get home (John had to hand-carry it), but it was worth it—because it looks great hanging on their wall at home.
We had to be back at Costa Verde by 11:30, so we could check out by noon. It was 10:45 by now, but Ryan really wanted to rent a boogie board, so Stacy went with him. John wisely stayed out of the water so he didn’t injure his neck further. They had a great ½ hour (it was the first time Stacy had tried boogie-boarding) and then we headed back—arriving around 11:40.
I quickly changed into my traveling clothes, collected all our keys & walked down to the office to check out—just at noon. Of course, I don’t know if they would have charged us extra if we were late. I told them we had really enjoyed our stay, our only complaints being the Mac truck air conditioner and the fact that we hadn’t seen any monkeys on the property. After all, their slogan is “Still more monkeys than people”. The desk clerk was surprised; he said that a troop of monkeys usually came through every afternoon. The rest of the gang arrived 15 minutes later, and we debated what to do for lunch. Since Stacy & Paige hadn’t had any breakfast, they were starved. We decided to try that restaurant (can’t remember the name) nearby that Jessica had recommended for breakfast. It was uphill and too warm to walk, so we decided to drive. At my suggestion, we unloaded our luggage and left it in the hotel lobby. Lunch was good. I had a ham & cheese sandwich--without the bread—and some fresh fruit on the side. When we were finished, John decided he wanted to pay for it with some of his extra colones, but had left most of them in his luggage back at Costa Verde. So, he drove back to get them. It didn’t take long, and he was back before they had our bill figured out. We were anxious to get on the road, but the staff was not to be hurried. It seems like every lunch we had in Costa Rico took much too long. Guess we just don’t have that laid back tico attitude. When we finally got back to our car, John said that the driver’s door was unlocked—and he was positive he had locked it. So—someone had broken in. We were thankful that our stuff was all back at Costa Verde—especially the GPS, which had a $400 deposit. This had been the only time we had left our car unwatched or unguarded on the street. Now, I’m wondering if the reason they were so slow in figuring out our check at the restaurant was to give someone time to get into the car. Hmm. Possibly—but I don’t think so.
It was 1:30 by the time we had collected our luggage and headed back toward Alejuela. John had been concerned yesterday that he might not be able to drive because of his neck. We had to give him some help in spotting traffic at crossroads so that he didn’t have to turn his head too far, but he did OK otherwise. We crossed over the Tarcoles River bridge, without realizing that was a good stop to spot crocodiles. I guess it was a good thing we didn’t know, because I learned later that was a hot spot for car robberies. The drive over the mountains was really beautiful. It took us 3 hours, with a short bathroom/water break.
Thank goodness we had the GPS to direct us to our hotel—the Orquideas Inn. I had been given general directions, but it seems like we had to wind our way through several streets and turns to get there. Maybe that was the fault of the GPS—taking us the shortest, but not the easiest way. The hotel was in a residential area, but the grounds were completely walled in with a guard at the gate. While checking in, we also arranged for a shuttle to take us to the airport the following morning. They told us we should arrive at the airport two hours ahead of time for our 7AM flight. A couple ahead of us had just asked for a shuttle at 4:15, and although it was about 15 minutes earlier than we would have had to leave, we said we’d go on the same one. I also asked if it was possible to get a box breakfast, since we would be missing their included breakfast. The desk clerk said I should ask at the bar, which I did. The bartender said sure—they would leave boxes for us on the bar.
Instead of renting two smaller rooms, we had reserved the “geodesic dome” which would be large enough for all of us. It was situated right by the pool—separated by only heavy greenery and a large parrot cage. It was an interesting place, with a living room/kitchenette, a lower-level bedroom, a bathroom with doors from both the living room and bedroom, and a loft bedroom up a circular staircase with two twin beds. The kids just loved having their own room up in the loft. I took the hide-a-bed couch in the living room. Strangely, they had left no bedding (even though they knew there were 5 of us) for it, so I had to ask for that. Although very roomy and interesting, there were a few drawbacks. In the bathroom, there was a sunken tub with two steps leading down to it. The steps were right in the path where someone would normally walk between the bedroom and the toilet, so it would be very easy to fall down them in the dark (we left the bathroom light on all night). There was no space to set anything by the bathroom sink—no counter space or shelves. Also no towel bars in the bathroom. There were two closets in the bedroom to hang things, but absolutely no shelves or drawers except for the kitchen cabinets. In the living room, the couch was the only seating—not quite large enough for the 5 of us to sit and watch the large TV. But, for one night, what the heck.
After checking in, John and I left to return the rental car to the Tri-color office. We had earlier hoped to arrive before 6, so that Tri-color would give us a ride back to the hotel, but it was 6:15 by the time we arrived and dark already. Again—thank goodness for the GPS because it led us right to their office by the airport. It took about 30 minutes to complete all the paperwork at the office. They called us a taxi, and the fare was only $8 to get back.
John & I were really weary by this time, and grabbed a beer and a Margarita respectively at the bar, which was very interesting. It was called the “Marilyn Monroe” bar, and it had photos and memorabilia of MM everywhere. By this time, Stacy and the kids had already had a good swim at the pool, and Stacy had their wet things (from both the pool and the swim at the ocean that morning) hanging all over the place to dry. Since there were no towel-bars, shower rods, etc. to use in the bathroom, the circular stairs and kitchen cabinet drawers were pressed into service. We had dinner in the hotel restaurant, which was upstairs over the bar and lounge area—spread among several small rooms. We figured that it must have been converted from an old house. Everyone’s meal was very good—as was the service and atmosphere.
After dinner, we went back and got repacked for the plane ride the next day. It was 10:30 by the time I got to bed, so it would be a short night. I reluctantly set my alarm for 3:15 AM.

Have enjoyed your reports, karinkz! Will be interested to see if you get your boxed breakfast from the Orquideas Inn, as we will miss it the morning we fly home, too.

Thanks for continued report, karinkz.

Sorry to hear that your son-in-law had that slight mishap at the beach! I bet he was good and sore for a few days.

Sounds like you had a great trip overall...

Saturday, 3/29 Alajuela-Chicago
I awoke at 3:14 AM—just before my alarms (I always set two when it’s important) rang. My internal alarm usually wakes me just before the alarm clocks do. Strange. Since we had to share one bathroom, I wanted to be out of the way before the rest of the family got up. Around 4, I collected my luggage, and walked to the bar to pick up our box breakfasts and use the restroom there one last time. Surprise! Everything was locked, with no one in sight. Either the bartender was fooling me—or he meant that the box breakfasts were to be picked up the previous night. So I had to retrace my steps past our dome and up the winding walkway to the front office and entrance. The front office was also closed, so I couldn’t use the restroom there. I was considering hurrying back to our dome, when a guy also waiting for the shuttle said his room was close by—and he retrieved the key for me. Who knows when there would be another opportunity. As usual, the rest of the family was 5 minutes late, and the last ones on the shuttle. They said they had also started out to go through the bar area (which would have been shorter) and had to backtrack. When they walked by the parrot’s cage, it let out a huge squawk, and scared them to death! Finally in the shuttle and on our way, we learned that the other family of four was from Libertyville, IL—less than 10 miles away from where we lived! Also—the father was a teacher, and knew a couple of the same people as Stacy, who is also a teacher. Another “small world” moment.
We arrived at the airport at 4:50, after a drive of about 20 minutes. The terminal looked pretty empty, so I wondered why we had to get there so early. We were then redirected to another counter to pay our departure tax. That wasn’t bad either—only a half-dozen people in line ahead of us. But—there were only two clerks behind the counter, so it took us about 20 minutes to get up to the front. While waiting, I noticed an Illinois shirt on a kid ahead of us. It turned out that his Mom (also in line) had gone to the U of I—graduating a couple years ahead of John. So they spent some time comparing notes. That family now lived in Arlington Heights—another suburb about 10 miles from us. And yet another “small world” moment. By the time I had paid my $26 departure tax (using the last of my colones plus a little U.S.), the line had lengthened to about 100 people, and the terminal was jammed. Now I knew why we had to get to the airport so early! We had evidently arrived just minutes before several busloads of passengers. We worked our way through the crowd to the American Air line—only to be told that we first had to fill out a form given us at the tax counter. Of course, no one had been told that, which created another backup as people stopped to fill out their forms. Finally, we got checked in and through security. Luckily, I had remembered to empty my water bottle outside, so I could keep it to refill. We were finally walking to our gate at 5:45AM—about one hour after we had arrived at the nearly empty terminal. After finding our gate, I went to look for some OJ and a banana to have with my dry granola for breakfast. Supposedly, there was only food for purchase on our flight to Miami. There was no fresh fruit for sale, but I did get some OJ. By the time I ate, hiked to the restroom, and refilled my water bottle, it was 6:30 and they were loading the plane for our 7AM flight. There was an additional security check before getting onto the plane, and they took away all the water bottles. Darn! As we walked in, we were handed little bags of food—a small muffin and a small cup of fruit cocktail. So, there was breakfast (if you could call it that) after all.
The plane was large with a 2-4-2 seating. We sat near the back, where it was actually 2-3-2, so we were able to sit 5 across. There were a few small overhead TV screens—but a $2 charge for earphones, which you could keep. This was the first time I’d run into that. I had brought my own earphones, which Paige & I shared (1 ear apiece) for part of the trip. A rather good TV show was aired, which I had never seen called “Life is Wild” about a blended family who moved to South Africa. We left on time, and arrived in Miami in 2hr 25min—5 minutes ahead of schedule! We went through passport control, picked up our bags, went through customs, and then rechecked our bags with no problem. Then we had about an hour to grab lunch—which, for me, was a good chicken salad. I also replaced my bottle of water—and was able to carry it on board this time.
The next leg of our trip—between Miami and St. Louis—was the most worrisome, because we had only a 50 min layover. We boarded a little late, and were 10 minutes late pulling away from the gate. There was some commotion regarding switching seats around so that no one younger than 15 was in the exit row. Why didn’t they check that when the seats were assigned? I noticed another way in which the planes are cutting corners these days. The last plane had no pillows, and blankets only for about every other person—this plane had neither. Also, neither had headrest covers & I could just imagine how dirty those headrests were! I remember when flying used to be a pleasurable experience. Those days are gone. They showed the movie “Enchanted”, which kept Paige and many of the other kids on board enchanted. The flight arrived 5 minutes early, and we had only a 5 minute walk to our next gate, so we made it with time to spare. Phew!
It was a short flight from St. Louis to Chicago—just over an hour. This was a small plane (3+2 seating), and there was no audio or video, but no matter. We arrived in Chicago about 10 minutes early. Our luggage was about the last to arrive, and we had begun to think that it hadn’t made the St. Louis connection, but it finally showed up. We were really lucky with all our connections this trip—despite all the planes being 100% full, with lots of kids, of course. Home again—to more snow and cold.

SUMMARY
Costa Rica is a great destination for anyone who is interested in nature and outdoor activities. If cultural experiences and museums are your thing, this might not be the place for you. Not that there aren’t some of those, too—a couple interesting museums in San Jose, for example. It is relatively inexpensive (especially compared to Europe), and easy to do on your own. My only complaints were that we didn’t see enough monkeys close up & personal, didn’t have enough time to get in everything we would have liked to see and do, and had to be so careful about robberies. I felt it was an ideal family trip, and my kids and grandkids called it the “trip of a lifetime”. Pura Vida!

Here's the link to both my photo albums of Costa Rica, for anyone who's interested.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...localeid=en_US

Many thanks to all the Costa Rica experts on the Fodor's board who gave me such great advice when planning this trip!

FYI, when we left the Orquedias Inn for an early AM flight, we told the bartender the night before. We were brought fruit and bread which we kept in our room and ate while packing the next AM.

Enjoyed the report, glad to hear you had a great time.

Dear karinkz:

I really enjoyed your report. We stayed at CV and only saw 2 cappuchine monkeys, no squirrel monkeys. Oh well, will have to go again!!

Thanks for the fun report.

MY

Yes--I will really have to go again to see more of those monkeys!

Re the breakfast at Orquideas, I really think the bartender meant that we should pick up the boxes that night. I just assumed it was the next morning, because that is what other hotels have done. I didn't expect everything to be totally closed down early in the morning.

Great photos all arpund, karin! Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

Thanks for sharing the pictures! They were great. I especially liked the ones of Los Lagos, we'll be there this August with our kids and it looks like they're going to love it!

I'm glad your family had such a great trip...only 2 months until we leave!!! Can't wait!!