Enjoyed your report, Volcanogirl!

vg, you are so lucky to have seen rio celeste. we spend 3 nights at la Carolina lodge, and each day wanted to hike the rio celeste, but it rained (a lot) every night so the celestial blue color would not be there.
great report!

Hi, x - yes, we really loved Savegre. My husband is more into birding than I am, but it was amazing seeing so many quetzals at one time. I think nesting season is more during the winter time if I remember what Marino said. I tote that "Birds of Costa Rica" book everywhere! We used it in Belize too.

AOL is huge; I think the hike would be better if they had a couple of different guides taking people out so the groups would be smaller, but it was free so I can't really complain. Everyone that I talked to was staying at the hotel. One night we went to the restaurant and could barely find a seat, so it definitely fills up.

They eyelash vipers are fun to see. Their faces are so expressive and kinda creepy! It seems like they stay in one place and never move, which is a quality I like in a snake.

I have some photos up on tripadvisor if you want to check them out. I hope you have a great trip to Honduras; that one is still on our bucket list.

xyz--The Birds of Costa Rica is the guide most people use when visiting.

However, there is now a Birds of Honduras guide--limited edition printing, so not very cheap.

http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Birds-Ho...3627812&sr=1-1

Actually, available for cheaper here:

http://www.buteobooks.com/product/14468.html

Thanks, janie!

plambers, oh no, that would be so disappointing. With the rain, we weren't sure if we would see it either. I would have been ticked if we hiked that far and didn't get to see the beautiful color! I've always thought La Carolina Lodge looked like an amazing spot. I wish they still allowed swimming at Rio Celeste, but can understand the need to protect it. Maybe you'll make a trip back someday!

vgirl-apologies for my faulty memory but which adventures did you do through AOL and how did you enjoy them? I'm planning on doing EcoTermales; the ziplines and hanging bridges (Sky-something), the longer hike up the smaller volcano and down to the waterfall; and perhaps the bird watching hike.

Hi, Minn - we didn't do any of our tours through AOL other than the free guided hike that they offer each morning. We usually book our tours on our own and have used Desafio, Sunset Tours, and Rios Tropicales - all of those have been excellent. Some things we've enjoyed in the area are the natural hot springs at Eco Termales and Tabacon, hiking at the waterfall (did on our own), volcano, and Hanging Bridges (get a guide to increase your chances of seeing wildlife), the Proyecto Asis animal rescue center, tubing at The Springs, ziplining at Sky Trek, rafting with Rios Tropicales, the Cano Negro tour and Penas Blancas river float to see wildlife, and waterfall rappelling with La Roca.

Eco Termales does sell out, so I'd recommend booking that one ahead if you can. You'll enjoy zipping at Sky Trek; they have some of the highest, longest lines in the country, and you can get some good views of the lake and the volcano. For the longer hike, are you talking about Cerro Chato? I know you can do that through AOL, but it looked pretty intense to us. Not sure if that's the one you're planning on doing.

VG - I miss CR, I hope Honduras will be a decent "other" option. But it has snorkeling, something that CR does not have...

RAC, I think I'll use the CR book and see how that goes. I am not a real birder, more a bird photographer, and I hope the one I have will do. Thanks for the other links, though - I'll keep them in mind, who knows?

VG-thanks for the feedback, especially on EcoTermales. Will make sure to book before I leave. Do you feel those tour operators that you've used do a better job than booking through AOL? I would think booking through AOL would be less hassle, so would appreciate your thoughts on why you haven't reserved through them.

Yes, Cerro Chatto is what I was thinking. In what ways did it look intense?

x, yes, I can't wait to hear what you think. We've thought about going to Roatan - I hear good things!

Minn, it's really easy to just book everything online through the websites, so that's what we do. Sometimes hotel front desks only work with certain tour companies. If you want AOL to book things for you though, I'm sure they would do it. We had a good chicken dinner at Eco Termales when we went. I loved the atmosphere, small and charming compared to some of the biggies.

Cerro Chato has a reputation for being a really tough hike, several hours, lots of it uphill, muddy, snakes, etc. We've talked to a few people who did it, and they said it was pretty difficult. A couple we met at Savegre Hotel had just done it. The man loved it, and his wife said it was awful!

Hmmmm, vg-difficulty doesn't phase me but as you can imagine, you may have lost me at "snakes".

Yes, the wife was telling me she had to pull herself uphill by tree roots through the mud and that she saw snakes. I decided it probably wasn't for me, but I think people who have done it feel a sense of accomplishment because it isn't easy. And you can swim in the volcanic lagoon at the top which seems pretty amazing. To be fair, we've seen snakes everywhere in Costa Rica, but a little scarier when you're that isolated and far from things.

So I guess I never really ended my trip report, so here's the last little bit. My husband likes to be at the airport at least two hours before our flight, and it was a 40 minute drive or so to the airport, so at the appropriate time, Leslie calls a taxi service for us, and the driver comes to pick us up. He was really interesting and spoke English well. We were talking about how Americanized this part of CR seems with the Denny's, Wal-Mart, etc. and he said, "Yes, even my high school is named Abraham Lincoln High!" I never would have expected that!

The ride to the airport is easy. Our driver points out the soccer stadium as we pass it and tells us the local team players are the national champions. When we arrive at the airport, we pay our $29 per person departure tax, breeze through security and have enough time to grab lunch and shop. We buy some souvenirs for friends and family at one of the big Britt shops. Lunch choices are also pretty Americanized - things like KFC, Smashburger, and Cinnabon. I guess this is a good way to transition back to America! If you want something more substantial, there's a good sit down restaurant named Malinche. We end up getting Smashburger and soon enough it's time to board our plane. Just a heads up for anyone who has not traveled to CR before - they will not let you bring bottled water on the plane with you even if you purchase it at the airport after you've gone through security. We made that mistake our first trip! They do a thorough search of each person's carry on items before we can go down the jetway. And with that we're off with another fantastic trip to Costa Rica under our belt. We had a great time and look forward to the next one!

Thanks for the great report, really enjoyed it.

Will you have bird photos?

Great report, vg. Can't wait for my first trip to Costa Rica in late January. Thanks for the input.

Thanks for reading it, m! I have some up at tripadvisor if you want to see them.

Thanks, Minn - I hope you have an amazing time. Let me know if I can help in any way.

Nice display pose by your curassow!