November Trip Report
 

We just returned from 2 weeks (anniversary) in Costa Rica and thought I'd give some feedback. Thanks to Suzie, Iza, Scott and all who helped in the planning.
Our goal was to escape the crowds, enjoy the forests, beaches and wildlife. The flow of the itinerary doesn't make sense because we had to delay our trip and picked up at Day 3. Oops! (I just lost 20 minutes of typing- how do you prevent that!?!)
Day 1: Flew into SJ. Took 30 minutes to clear customs (we didn't check luggage). Took another hour to get through car rental process. We rented an upgrade - Suzuki Vitara - automatic, 4x4, a/c, CD player, soft ride - loved it - worth the extra $. Got on the road to Monteverde. Followed signs to San Ramon (signs are tricky). We drove 95km of decent roads to the turn. The next 30 km took 1 1/2 hours- phew! Arrived El Sapo Dorado. Suite 16 in the forest - flashlights a must. Nice basic room. Good dinner at the restaurant.
Day 2: 9:00 a.m. to the reserve. If you want a guide; arrive early. We saw a Quetzal through a guide's scope but that was it for the spotting - oops - saw 2 bugs that looked like dung-beetles. My husband said that Monteverde Reserve was "a nice place for a walk". 2:00 Skytrek. We only had 4 in our group so that was nice. The trek took 2 hours and covered 11 zip lines. We really enjoyed this and heard from others that Skytrek was the most adventurous canopy.

Author: Leslee
Date: 11/25/2003, 11:59 am
Message: Worried about losing all my typing, so posting again.
Ate at Johnny's Pizza that night. Our waiter, Roy, was great as was our dinner and dessert (peanut butter pie).
Day 3: Driving to Malpais / Florblanca We stopped at a supermarket for a cooler (expensive) for our many roadtrips. Saw a troop of Howler Monkeys on the drive. Drove 226 km in 7 hours. We came upon a cattle crossing which slowed us down a bit but was very cool to watch. Arrived at the hotel and we were very happy. Unit 1 was perfect. This place is very open-air with Balinese decor. We jumped in the pool during a downpour and were refreshed. Had dinner here during the lunar eclipse. We had a great dinner and we loved this place.
Day 4: (I think these posts need to be shortened...) Took our shower in the outdoor bathroom - only bugs have been ants - but nothing major. Hung out all day at the pool and walked the beach. This is a big surfer's beach; great waves.
Day 5: Horseback ride through 3,000 hectacres of rainforest, rivers, ocean views, beach... It was awesome. Saw Lorikeets, Herons, Howlers, Coati's, etc. Wear sunscreen, long pants (ticks) and pest repellent. Loved our ride as they have few rules here. Nobody was saying: "Stay in line, Don't run"... Had our meals at the hotel (again all were great).

Leslee,
Thanks for sharing your trip to CR; the easiest way to post a report is to continue posting replies to your original thread >>> here's the subsequent portions you wrote ...


Nov. trip report - part 3

Author: Leslee
Date: 11/25/2003, 12:20 pm
Message:
Day 7: Sad to leave but heading to Manuel Antonio. Got an early start to catch the 10:30 car ferry. Drive took 1 1/2 hours to the Paquera ferry. There was no line but we arrived about 40 minutes early. They accepted US $ here - phew! To get to the ferry follow signs to "Embarcadero". The whole trip took ~7 hours with a stop.

Arrived at Makanda, Villa #5 - another great hotel. Met a nice honeymoon couple (Heather and Tim). Went to the pool where the resident sloth hangs out. Tim and Heather said their fav. place had been in Drake Bay (La Paloma). We were given beach towels and umbrellas at check-in, but we never made the steep trek to the beach. We had a gecko in our room - these are great for keeping the place bug-free. Staff is awesome and soooo helpful. Victor, Roy, George, Leo...
Day 8: Rafting the Naranjo. Quite a production, but was worth it. Naranjo means "orange", so... don't wear anything white on the river - it may never be white again. This was a fast river and my husband and I were both thrown out of the raft - a little scary - a lot of fun but cold water! Our guide was George and he was a good rafting guide (in spite of the dump). I'm covered in bruises now! Checked out the bar at La Mariposa - great views; nice setting but still happy with Makanda. Siesta today. Dinner at the hotel was great! Rain set in for the entire night.

Day 9 (I think?):
Rain stopped at 8:30 a.m. and we headed to the park. We hired Leo as our guide for $20 per person (this seemed steep, but oh well). We saw hawks, bats, sloths, capuchins, squirrel monkeys, agoutis, coatis, lizards, etc. Nice beaches here but we were sweaty and headed back to the hotel shower. Drove to Napoli's Pizza for lunch - very simple good pizza and salad. Capuchin monkeys in the trees above the restaurant. Around 4:00 we drove back to MA park and Surprise! There were squirrel monkeys everywhere begging for food. Glad we got to see them, but doubt they should be eating junk food.


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Nov. trip report - part 4

Author: Leslee
Date: 11/25/2003, 12:31 pm
Message:
Day 9 continued -- Is this too much detail??? Stopped at El Avion on the way back to the hotel for a sunset cocktail. Nice place to stop. Back to the hotel to hang out in the spa. Had dinner there again - loved the french onion soup. We walked around and it looked like most of the suites and villas were all good choices.

Day 10: Fly with Nature Air to Osa Pen./Bosque del Cabo. We arrived early but it wasn't really necessary. Since it is low-season we were the only 2 people on our flight. We had been very concerned about keeping our luggage at 25 lbs, but it wouldn't have been an issue - oh well. Easy flight into Puerto Jiminez and Alcedas was there to greet us and take us to the hotel. It took ~ 45 minutes and we crossed several rivers. We have the Congo Cabin and yes - again - another great place to stay!!! They served us lunch and juice on arrival and Miguel (chef) came to meet us and ask food preferences. As we checked in our cabin, 2 capuchins climbed in the tree above us and a coati slid down the tree - sooo cool. We have a beautiful deck view over the ocean and shore and rocks. It is hot and humid so we head to the pool and bar. Met Jeff and Stacey on their honeymoon. There are only 3 couples here right now. Elyer is the new (young) bartender. My husband has become a drinker of Imperial (local beer). There are several trails to hike - we choose Golfo Dulce and head out to find toucans, macaws, laughing falcon, spider monkeys, etc. Great hike. Conch call is at 7:00 for dinner. Great dinner and company. Love this place!!!

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Nov. trip report - part 5

Author: Leslee
Date: 11/25/2003, 02:11 pm
Message:
Next day: Met the owners of Bosque today: Kim and Phil. They are a super nice couple and have made quite a commitment to this area of CR. We spent the day hiking trails and then went horseback riding this afternoon. This ride wasn't quite as nice as the one in MA - the horses didn't appear as healthy. Back to the hotel (there's nowhere else) for dinner. Miguel prepared a wonderful buffet.

Next day: We did a 1/2 day fishing trip. Great boat and guide but my husband only caught one fish (dorado). Had lunch in Puerto Jiminez then back to the hotel for hikes, pool and dinner.

Next day: We're sad to leave here - this was our favorite part of our trip. We flew to SJ and rented a Terios to drive to Arenal. (Really missing the Vitara now.) Took the long route which took 3+ hours. Arrived Tabacon along with 2-3 buses. Room 329 - a very nice location and room. The volcano is totally shrouded in clouds/fog - you wouldn't even know there is one nearby. Checked out the hot springs (they are HOT). We got a couples cabana massage (best part of Tabacon for us). Had a less than great dinner at the hotel.
Next day: Had to escape Tabacon (sorry for those who liked this place). We took a drive around Lake Arenal and tripped upon a nice little place called La Mansion Inn (lamansionarenal.com) and decided we would stay there next time and do day trips to the Volcano and/or Monteverde. If you enjoy horses and riding, this place is great. They have 20 beautiful, healthy horses and you can take them and ride all over the place. Joey was the manager and he gave us a quick tour. Also, next door is Toad Hall- great place for lunch and souvenirs. Drove back to Tabacon for last night. Went to the pool/spa closest to Building 3 (our preferred); had drinks, dinner and packed to leave.


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last, but not least ....

Nov. trip report finale- finally

Author: Leslee
Date: 11/25/2003, 02:16 pm
Message:
I hope I didn't bore you all.
Final thoughts:
Costa Rica is a beautiful country.
Streets do not have names or numbers here. Early to bed and early to rise comes naturally. Flashlights and bug repellent were must-haves. Flying is a great option to driving. There are lots of dogs here - lots of hungry dogs. : - ( Save your food scraps.

We had a great time- loved the Osa the best. Gotta' go pack for Thanksgiving now. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Thanks for the wonderful trip report and no it wasn't too long. Those of us that are homesick for CR would probably have enjoyed more and those who have never been probably are reassured by the in depth reports.
Happy Turkey Day!!

Thank you
Nice report.
It was enjoyable reading
Percy

JBX
Thank you very much. Wish I'd known earlier but I appreciate the help (for me and other readers).
Leslee

Hi Leslee,

It sounds like you had a wonderful trip. Thank you for posting your report.

We are going to be staying at the Milarepa which is very close to the Flor Blanco. I wondered if you would mind a couple of questions?

Did you use your car while you were in Santa Theresa?

Did you visit the the Milarepa?

Did you eat all your meals at the Flor Blanca Resort?

Do you have any information about the martial arts classes offered in Flor Blanco's dojo?

How did you arrange your horse back tour?

Thank you!
Gem