Quick CR Trip Report
May 6th, 2013, 06:48 PM
#21
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Today is Rio Tarcoles today! We wake up to cracking branches and repeated thunk, thunk, thunks on the roof. I know that sound - monkeys! I run to the window and peek out and see an entire troop of capuchins making their way around our bungalow. This is my favorite part of Costa Rica. Several of them stop in the tree right outside to eat fruit. They're so funny to watch because they tug and tug on the fruit trying to pull it free. Others climb on the roof of the bungalow next door. While I take pictures, my husband goes outside to await the delivery of our car. Tulemar has arranged for a car from Alamo to be dropped off for us. We've opted to get the GPS for an additional $12. Elvis, yes, that's the name of the man dropping it off, tells us that the GPS is a great option, otherwise you get directions like "Turn right at the horse!" We don't drive much in Costa Rica, but the croc tour folks wanted $160 to pick us up and drop us off, and the car only runs us about $60, so it's a no brainer for us, and we decide to be adventurous. When I made the reservations with the croc tour, they said that Jose would meet us at a certain spot and that we would follow him to the docking area because it's hard to find. They tell us to allow 1.5 hours to get there, but we allow 2 just in case.
When I got outside, they're just finishing up, and Bill says, "Hey did you guys see that you have a visitor?" as he points in the overhead tree. We look up and see a sloth snoozing in the branches. The wildlife here is so plentiful, but you just have to know where to look.
We get into our Yaris, and it seems pretty big and comfortable for a CR car. The GPS takes us through lots of twists and turns, and eventually we end up on the highway. The speed zones change in the blink of an eye, and each time the GPS gives us a warning. It's pretty cool - beep beep school zone! Beep beep falling rocks! Beep beep cattle crossing! The speed limit goes from 80kmh to 40 to 60 to 25. I've honestly never seen so many schools built along a highway, dozens of them. We have to slow down for each one. My husband is really the only one obeying the speed limit though, and each time he slows down, a Costa Rican speeds up and pulls around us. They're polite about it - each one offering a little honk, honk as they go around. We're stunned at some of the times they choose to pass us - on hills, on curves, on no pass areas, when a semi-truck is coming head on in the other lane. These people are fearless. We just keep chugging along obeying the speed limit, a little paranoid that the tourist police will give us a ticket if we don't. We carry copies of our passports just in case, but no one ever checks. We see some workers in a construction zone ahead. It turns out that they are hand painting the lines in the road. A man has a stick with a rounded end that he dips into the paint and then presses onto the pavement over and over and over. Eventually we see the cemetery that we're supposed to look for to find Jose, and he's there waiting in the spot just like the directions say. He rolls down his window, gives us a friendly greeting, and says to follow him to the dock. I check the time and see that it took us two hours on the dot.
When I got outside, they're just finishing up, and Bill says, "Hey did you guys see that you have a visitor?" as he points in the overhead tree. We look up and see a sloth snoozing in the branches. The wildlife here is so plentiful, but you just have to know where to look.
We get into our Yaris, and it seems pretty big and comfortable for a CR car. The GPS takes us through lots of twists and turns, and eventually we end up on the highway. The speed zones change in the blink of an eye, and each time the GPS gives us a warning. It's pretty cool - beep beep school zone! Beep beep falling rocks! Beep beep cattle crossing! The speed limit goes from 80kmh to 40 to 60 to 25. I've honestly never seen so many schools built along a highway, dozens of them. We have to slow down for each one. My husband is really the only one obeying the speed limit though, and each time he slows down, a Costa Rican speeds up and pulls around us. They're polite about it - each one offering a little honk, honk as they go around. We're stunned at some of the times they choose to pass us - on hills, on curves, on no pass areas, when a semi-truck is coming head on in the other lane. These people are fearless. We just keep chugging along obeying the speed limit, a little paranoid that the tourist police will give us a ticket if we don't. We carry copies of our passports just in case, but no one ever checks. We see some workers in a construction zone ahead. It turns out that they are hand painting the lines in the road. A man has a stick with a rounded end that he dips into the paint and then presses onto the pavement over and over and over. Eventually we see the cemetery that we're supposed to look for to find Jose, and he's there waiting in the spot just like the directions say. He rolls down his window, gives us a friendly greeting, and says to follow him to the dock. I check the time and see that it took us two hours on the dot.
May 7th, 2013, 02:58 AM
#22
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We follow Jose down a rough gravelly road and finally come to the dock area. Jose asks how we heard about his tour, and we tell him that we read about him online. He says, "Maybe if you like my tour, you will give me a good review!" Even here, they know the power of good advertising! There's a big group waiting at the dock, and Jose tells us that our tour will be conducted billingually. I'm expecting Spanish and English, but as we board the boat, our guide Rory starts speaking in fluent German!
The water here is muddy and brown, as we go Rory speaks in German first and will point to things while the Germans ooh and aah. Then he switches to perfect English, and it's our turn. We see beautiful swallows, tropical kingbirds, kingfishers, an ibis, a tri-colored heron, lots of egrets, a green heron, and then a tiger heron. As much as this is a croc tour, there are beautiful birds everywhere.
We come around a curve and see yellow-headed caracaras and crested cararas that look like eagles. Very cool because we haven't seen these before. Rory tosses them some chicken, which seems a little cannibalistic to us, but the birds immediately snatch it up. One grabs a chunk and runs over to feed it to a juvenile bird nearby. These birds are essentially scavengers. There's some driftwood on the bank, and perched on top are two beautiful birds that Rory calls turquoise-browed mot-mots - the national bird of Nicaragua. They're gorgeous. Soon we start seeing some big crocs - some of them about 18 feet in length. They have no predators in this area, so they can reach huge lengths. One of the biggest is named Tornado. He lies on the river bank with big sharp teeth sticking out on either side of his mouth. The others have amusing names like Osama Bin Laden and George Bush. We see another huge one off in the distance, and Rory says, "Welcome Monica Lewinsky!" Lots of nods to American politics!
Rory says that they originally thought this was a female croc, but as she got bigger and bigger they eventually realized she was a he, but the name still stuck! Our driver quickly leaps out of the boat into the murky water and starts slapping the top of the water with a piece of chicken. Monica comes closer and closer and eventually he lunges up at the piece of meat. The man next to me in the boat leans out over the water and starts grabbing Monica's tail! I'm not kidding - he actually does this and luckily (surprisingly?) comes back with his arm still in tact. All the Germans are talking excitedly, and I don't know if they're calling him an idiot or brave, maybe a little of both!
There are a lot of Brahma cattle along the rivers edge. Rory says that the crocs rarely go for them because there are so many fish and birds in the river. They laze right at the river's edge while the crocs float nearby.
We see more huge crocs on the river bank, and the boat driver leaps out to feed them too. Lots of good photo opportunities here. The German flash bulbs go off like crazy. We encounter several other cool birds, including a giant wood stork eating a fish on the river bank, another first for us. Rory says that when there's more water they can drive up to the bridge area, but since the water level is still low, we turn and go the other way. We see locals fishing on the river banks. I wave, and they all wave back and smile. Fishing in a river full of crocs is nothing to them.
We turn into a mangrove area where we see bright orange crabs scurrying on all the twisted mangrove roots. We go by a sand bar and Rory starts counting all the crocs sunning themselves on top of it - seven in all. There's a crumbling house nearby, knocked off its foundation - a result of a bad rainy season Rory explains. A cool bird flies by, looks like some sort of toucan, but Rory is now on his cell phone and doesn't notice it. We try to ask a couple of questions, but he's immersed in texting. It just seems so out of place in the middle of a river in a small town in Costa Rica, but I guess technology is everywhere these days. The tour has come to a close, and we head back to the dock ready to get some lunch.
The water here is muddy and brown, as we go Rory speaks in German first and will point to things while the Germans ooh and aah. Then he switches to perfect English, and it's our turn. We see beautiful swallows, tropical kingbirds, kingfishers, an ibis, a tri-colored heron, lots of egrets, a green heron, and then a tiger heron. As much as this is a croc tour, there are beautiful birds everywhere.
We come around a curve and see yellow-headed caracaras and crested cararas that look like eagles. Very cool because we haven't seen these before. Rory tosses them some chicken, which seems a little cannibalistic to us, but the birds immediately snatch it up. One grabs a chunk and runs over to feed it to a juvenile bird nearby. These birds are essentially scavengers. There's some driftwood on the bank, and perched on top are two beautiful birds that Rory calls turquoise-browed mot-mots - the national bird of Nicaragua. They're gorgeous. Soon we start seeing some big crocs - some of them about 18 feet in length. They have no predators in this area, so they can reach huge lengths. One of the biggest is named Tornado. He lies on the river bank with big sharp teeth sticking out on either side of his mouth. The others have amusing names like Osama Bin Laden and George Bush. We see another huge one off in the distance, and Rory says, "Welcome Monica Lewinsky!" Lots of nods to American politics!
Rory says that they originally thought this was a female croc, but as she got bigger and bigger they eventually realized she was a he, but the name still stuck! Our driver quickly leaps out of the boat into the murky water and starts slapping the top of the water with a piece of chicken. Monica comes closer and closer and eventually he lunges up at the piece of meat. The man next to me in the boat leans out over the water and starts grabbing Monica's tail! I'm not kidding - he actually does this and luckily (surprisingly?) comes back with his arm still in tact. All the Germans are talking excitedly, and I don't know if they're calling him an idiot or brave, maybe a little of both!
There are a lot of Brahma cattle along the rivers edge. Rory says that the crocs rarely go for them because there are so many fish and birds in the river. They laze right at the river's edge while the crocs float nearby.
We see more huge crocs on the river bank, and the boat driver leaps out to feed them too. Lots of good photo opportunities here. The German flash bulbs go off like crazy. We encounter several other cool birds, including a giant wood stork eating a fish on the river bank, another first for us. Rory says that when there's more water they can drive up to the bridge area, but since the water level is still low, we turn and go the other way. We see locals fishing on the river banks. I wave, and they all wave back and smile. Fishing in a river full of crocs is nothing to them.
We turn into a mangrove area where we see bright orange crabs scurrying on all the twisted mangrove roots. We go by a sand bar and Rory starts counting all the crocs sunning themselves on top of it - seven in all. There's a crumbling house nearby, knocked off its foundation - a result of a bad rainy season Rory explains. A cool bird flies by, looks like some sort of toucan, but Rory is now on his cell phone and doesn't notice it. We try to ask a couple of questions, but he's immersed in texting. It just seems so out of place in the middle of a river in a small town in Costa Rica, but I guess technology is everywhere these days. The tour has come to a close, and we head back to the dock ready to get some lunch.
May 7th, 2013, 09:39 AM
#25
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Thanks, Lisa! And I'm with you, Cat! You see so many crazy things in CR. When the monkey was sitting on that man's head, I asked Juan if the monkeys ever attack people, and he said, "Oh, yea, all the time."
The croc tour guide must have seen my eyes get big when the man reached for the tail because he said that some of them are okay to pet! Really?!
The croc tour guide must have seen my eyes get big when the man reached for the tail because he said that some of them are okay to pet! Really?!
May 7th, 2013, 07:16 PM
#26
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After the croc tour, we get back into our car and decide to try to find a place for lunch. We see a sign for Villa Caletas (Lisa, are you the one that mentioned this great spot?!), a hotel that's supposed to have gorgeous views, so we decide to check it out. We pull into the driveway and drive straight up, up, up for quite a while on the winding road. We eventually reach this little boutique hotel, and it's amazing - lots of stonework, cool architecture, beautiful plants, and a drop dead view of the Pacific. They have an outdoor amphitheater with columns and a pretty little outdoor restaurant. Since it's so hot, we decide to just get ceviche and salad, and both really hit the spot. The service is so friendly; our waiter tells us that they often see toucans in the trees, but we're a little early in the day.
The food is great, but expensive; I guess we're paying a little extra for the view - definitely worth it though. We finish our meal, take a few pictures, pile back in the Yaris, and head back to our little bungalow. I'd love to come back and stay here someday. It pours rain on the way home, and we decide to call it an early night. Tomorrow we have plans to get up early and do the spice tour. I'm excited about it since I love to cook and garden. My husband is sweet, but not as enthusiastic until I tell him, "You get free food at the end!"
Tonight will be our last night in the bungalow, and we'll be moving on to Casa Panorama. Bill tells us not to worry about the luggage, and that he'll handle everything for us. I don't know he keeps track of everyone and everything they need, but he seems to do it effortlessly.
The food is great, but expensive; I guess we're paying a little extra for the view - definitely worth it though. We finish our meal, take a few pictures, pile back in the Yaris, and head back to our little bungalow. I'd love to come back and stay here someday. It pours rain on the way home, and we decide to call it an early night. Tomorrow we have plans to get up early and do the spice tour. I'm excited about it since I love to cook and garden. My husband is sweet, but not as enthusiastic until I tell him, "You get free food at the end!"
Tonight will be our last night in the bungalow, and we'll be moving on to Casa Panorama. Bill tells us not to worry about the luggage, and that he'll handle everything for us. I don't know he keeps track of everyone and everything they need, but he seems to do it effortlessly.
May 8th, 2013, 02:26 AM
#27
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We wake up the next morning to the sounds of the capuchin monkeys again. Bill told us that the fruits they like so much are mangoes. We take a few more pictures. Such a great way to start the morning watching them! We're doing the morning spice tour today. If you're interested in this tour, I'd suggest booking with them directly because you get a discount by doing that. We get picked up right outside the bungalow by the tour van, and another couple is already inside. We introduce ourselves, and they tell us that they're from Boston, and they're newlyweds. Lots of Bostonians this trip! My husband asks if he's a Pats fan, and for the rest of the ride, they're excitedly talking about the draft and football. They're a really fun couple named Jim and Carolyn, and we know we'll have fun touring with them. Carolyn is an environmental biologist, so she's really in her element. I think both the men are happy to see another guy on the tour!
It takes about 20 minutes to get out to the spice farm. It's a big property - 27 acres I think they said. We meet our tour guide, Giselle, and she takes us to an area where they prepare the spices. She shows us vanilla beans, cacao, and different kinds of cinnamon. When she asks if we know where cinnamon comes from, none of us is really sure. She picks up a big branch, and with a machete whittles away the top layer of bark to reveal an orangey brown layer underneath. She scrapes off strips with the machete and lets us taste them - cinnamon! She also takes the cacao and grinds it with a mortar and pestle, and we get to try the little cocoa nibs that fall out. As she's teaching us, a woman nearby is packaging huge long vanilla beans; Giselle splits one and opens it up to let us taste the little beans inside. She explains that they grow on an orchid plant, and that each flower only blooms for one day and must be hand pollinated. That explains why they're always so expensive when I buy them! The process to grow one pod and dry it can take up to a year.
After trying all these little samples, she takes us on a hike through the property where we see a pretty epiphyte trail, vanilla beans hanging from the trees, fresh peppercorns on the vine that we get to try, and other plants and herbs like fresh basil. It's an easy walk on meandering trails. We see a cow, a calf, and several sheep - they keep all the livestock in order to have fresh fertilizer for the plants. It's all organic and biodynamic and all that. It's really a relaxing beautiful spot. After hiking for a while, we come to a beautiful little elevated hut with couches and chairs inside. The view from here is lush and green, and we can see for miles. Clouds are gathering, and a misty fog is rolling in.
This is my husband's favorite part - the free food! Giselle brings us lots of samples of homemade goodies - vanilla bean cheesecake, tiny spicy little soft cookies, vanilla bean ice cream, hot chocolate made with chile, cinnamon tea, and some other small cookies made with cocoa nibs. The samples are small, but it's a lot of food, and we have fun at this little tea party in the jungle. As we finish the treats, the clouds open up, and it starts pouring rain. Giselle calls for a truck to come get us, and some other folks come with umbrellas to help keep us dry. We weren't expecting rain this early in the day.
Our next stop is the small spice shop where you can buy the vanilla beans, extract, fresh peppercorns and other spices if you're interested. We all buy a few little things, and they also give us the recipes so we can recreate the desserts at home if we want to. Overall it's a great tour, and if you're into cooking or gardening, I'd really recommend it.
We pile back into the van, and head back to Tulemar, wishing the newlyweds lots of happiness. Bill greets us when we return and asks if we need anything; we tell him that we want to go out for a romantic dinner to celebrate tonight - it's our anniversary! He recommends Kapi Kapi and says he'll be happy to make a reservation for us. Juan calls next and says that the area where he wants to take us birding is really stormy, so he'd suggest going another day since we won't see much. It won't really work out for our schedule so we tell him we'll do it next trip, and he happily agrees but is sad that we won't get to do our little excursion together. My husband really wanted to see toucans and macaws, but no such luck this trip.
While we were gone, Bill has moved all of our things to Lower Casa Panorama. This is a pretty swanky villa - very big and modern with a lot of nice amenities. Very nice view too.
Eventually the rain clears up, and we head to the beach to enjoy the rest of the day boogie boarding. I catch one perfect wave and ride it all the way to the shore. Great day so far.
It takes about 20 minutes to get out to the spice farm. It's a big property - 27 acres I think they said. We meet our tour guide, Giselle, and she takes us to an area where they prepare the spices. She shows us vanilla beans, cacao, and different kinds of cinnamon. When she asks if we know where cinnamon comes from, none of us is really sure. She picks up a big branch, and with a machete whittles away the top layer of bark to reveal an orangey brown layer underneath. She scrapes off strips with the machete and lets us taste them - cinnamon! She also takes the cacao and grinds it with a mortar and pestle, and we get to try the little cocoa nibs that fall out. As she's teaching us, a woman nearby is packaging huge long vanilla beans; Giselle splits one and opens it up to let us taste the little beans inside. She explains that they grow on an orchid plant, and that each flower only blooms for one day and must be hand pollinated. That explains why they're always so expensive when I buy them! The process to grow one pod and dry it can take up to a year.
After trying all these little samples, she takes us on a hike through the property where we see a pretty epiphyte trail, vanilla beans hanging from the trees, fresh peppercorns on the vine that we get to try, and other plants and herbs like fresh basil. It's an easy walk on meandering trails. We see a cow, a calf, and several sheep - they keep all the livestock in order to have fresh fertilizer for the plants. It's all organic and biodynamic and all that. It's really a relaxing beautiful spot. After hiking for a while, we come to a beautiful little elevated hut with couches and chairs inside. The view from here is lush and green, and we can see for miles. Clouds are gathering, and a misty fog is rolling in.
This is my husband's favorite part - the free food! Giselle brings us lots of samples of homemade goodies - vanilla bean cheesecake, tiny spicy little soft cookies, vanilla bean ice cream, hot chocolate made with chile, cinnamon tea, and some other small cookies made with cocoa nibs. The samples are small, but it's a lot of food, and we have fun at this little tea party in the jungle. As we finish the treats, the clouds open up, and it starts pouring rain. Giselle calls for a truck to come get us, and some other folks come with umbrellas to help keep us dry. We weren't expecting rain this early in the day.
Our next stop is the small spice shop where you can buy the vanilla beans, extract, fresh peppercorns and other spices if you're interested. We all buy a few little things, and they also give us the recipes so we can recreate the desserts at home if we want to. Overall it's a great tour, and if you're into cooking or gardening, I'd really recommend it.
We pile back into the van, and head back to Tulemar, wishing the newlyweds lots of happiness. Bill greets us when we return and asks if we need anything; we tell him that we want to go out for a romantic dinner to celebrate tonight - it's our anniversary! He recommends Kapi Kapi and says he'll be happy to make a reservation for us. Juan calls next and says that the area where he wants to take us birding is really stormy, so he'd suggest going another day since we won't see much. It won't really work out for our schedule so we tell him we'll do it next trip, and he happily agrees but is sad that we won't get to do our little excursion together. My husband really wanted to see toucans and macaws, but no such luck this trip.
While we were gone, Bill has moved all of our things to Lower Casa Panorama. This is a pretty swanky villa - very big and modern with a lot of nice amenities. Very nice view too.
Eventually the rain clears up, and we head to the beach to enjoy the rest of the day boogie boarding. I catch one perfect wave and ride it all the way to the shore. Great day so far.
May 8th, 2013, 04:20 PM
#30
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It starts to get dark around 5:30, and we head up to get ready for our dinner at Kapi Kapi. I actually put on a dress, and my husband puts on khaki slacks - we're going all out for the big day! I even do my hair even though I know it won't last once we're outside in the humidity.
This is one of the spots that's close enough to walk to and probably one of the nicest restaurants in Manuel Antonio. We bring a flashlight because you have to walk along the road, and it's really dark with quite a bit of traffic. We reach Kapi Kapi, and it has a really cool entrance of arched palms and hanging hibiscus that you walk through. The interior of the restaurant is painted bright orange, and it has dark wood, fresh flowers on the table, little white twinkle light all around, and candlelight. Perfect spot for romance.
Again we get great service. I ask for water and Sangria, and my husband gets his usual, an Imperial. Are we starting to sound like big boozers?! I realize that I keep writing about the fun drinks I had - lol!
I order lobster ravioli, and my husband gets macadamia encrusted mahi mahi. The place skews Asian, so the mahi comes with stir-fried veggies and jasmine rice. Weirdly, the lobster ravioli comes with a big pile of cherry tomatoes. I also order a glass of ice because it's still in the 90s, and water in CR always seems to be served at room temperature. We split an order of seafood cigars that are good, then the entrees arrive, and my husband has me beat. The mahi mahi is excellent and comes with a yummy sauce; my ravioli doesn't have quite as much flavor and how many cherry tomatoes does a girl need?! Being the awesome husband that he is, he shares with me, and I palm off some of my ravioli on him.
We want key lime pie for dessert, but the portions are so big that we can't even finish the entrees. The waiter offers to pack the leftovers up for us and a piece of the pie as well. We get the bill, and the total is around a hundred bucks - yowza, we have a bit of sticker shock. It is a really nice spot, but wow, that just seems really pricey compared to other places that we've gone. I think Manuel Antonio is really the land of tourist prices. We've eaten a lot of meals in CR that were only $20-25 bucks for the two of us and even had a great dinner at a soda for ten bucks. I would go back here for a special occasion, but probably a little too pricey for us for an everyday meal. We pay the bill and head back to our new digs at Casa Panorama.
This is one of the spots that's close enough to walk to and probably one of the nicest restaurants in Manuel Antonio. We bring a flashlight because you have to walk along the road, and it's really dark with quite a bit of traffic. We reach Kapi Kapi, and it has a really cool entrance of arched palms and hanging hibiscus that you walk through. The interior of the restaurant is painted bright orange, and it has dark wood, fresh flowers on the table, little white twinkle light all around, and candlelight. Perfect spot for romance.
Again we get great service. I ask for water and Sangria, and my husband gets his usual, an Imperial. Are we starting to sound like big boozers?! I realize that I keep writing about the fun drinks I had - lol!
I order lobster ravioli, and my husband gets macadamia encrusted mahi mahi. The place skews Asian, so the mahi comes with stir-fried veggies and jasmine rice. Weirdly, the lobster ravioli comes with a big pile of cherry tomatoes. I also order a glass of ice because it's still in the 90s, and water in CR always seems to be served at room temperature. We split an order of seafood cigars that are good, then the entrees arrive, and my husband has me beat. The mahi mahi is excellent and comes with a yummy sauce; my ravioli doesn't have quite as much flavor and how many cherry tomatoes does a girl need?! Being the awesome husband that he is, he shares with me, and I palm off some of my ravioli on him.
We want key lime pie for dessert, but the portions are so big that we can't even finish the entrees. The waiter offers to pack the leftovers up for us and a piece of the pie as well. We get the bill, and the total is around a hundred bucks - yowza, we have a bit of sticker shock. It is a really nice spot, but wow, that just seems really pricey compared to other places that we've gone. I think Manuel Antonio is really the land of tourist prices. We've eaten a lot of meals in CR that were only $20-25 bucks for the two of us and even had a great dinner at a soda for ten bucks. I would go back here for a special occasion, but probably a little too pricey for us for an everyday meal. We pay the bill and head back to our new digs at Casa Panorama.
May 8th, 2013, 05:13 PM
#31
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We reach the security gate at Tulemar and they ask if we'd like the shuttle to take us back to our room. Since the temps have cooled off a bit, we decide to walk down. The property is very dark, and steep, and the road winds around quite a bit. We walk hand in hand enjoying the night, when suddenly a motorcycle speeds around the corner behind us. Afraid it's going to hit us, I take a big step to the right to get onto the shoulder, only there is no shoulder, just a steep drop off, and I go plummeting down. My husband tries to grab me, but it's too late, and my leg scrapes the edge of the road really hard as I go down. So much for wearing a dress in Costa Rica! The motorcyclist stops and says, "Esta bien? Esta bien?" Si, gracias, I'm okay, but my leg has deep slashes in it from scraping the edge of the pavement, and I don't have much dignity left. It seems that every trip to CR involves some sort of tumble or injury. My husband scrapes me up off the road, and we hobble back to the villa with blood running down my leg. Since it's our anniversary and all, and we don't have rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide, my sweet better half offers to give me his last Imperial to pour over my cuts to sterilize them. Grateful as I am, I opt for soap and water. The deep scrapes in my leg look like claw marks, and we think of all kinds of fun stories we can tell that are less embarrassing than I fell down in the road - fierce sloth attack, mean monkeys?! We have a good laugh and limp off to bed. Tomorrow will be our last day at Tulemar.
May 9th, 2013, 03:49 AM
#33
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Yes, definitely, Cat. And you know how I keep saying that Bill is such a multi-tasker that there's nothing you can't throw at him? We saw him the next morning, and he pulled out a tube of antibiotic ointment that he just happened to have on him. He must have been a Boy Scout. Always prepared!
May 9th, 2013, 04:02 AM
#34
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Our last day at Tulemar is sort of a lazy day; we plan to just relax before heading back to San Jose for a night. I wake up at 6:30, grab some Cheerios and our box of milk, and head out to Casa Panorama's small balcony to enjoy the view. There's a table and four chairs and two nice loungers. When I sit down, I see that a troop of capuchins is already making their way through the trees in front of me. I can hear, but not see, other couples and families saying, "The monkeys are here! The monkeys are back!" Looks like I'm not the only one who loves seeing them. I go to the far left edge of the balcony and lean out as far as I can to watch them make their way around the building, and I see a family on the next balcony all outside in their pajamas. That's okay I'm in mine too! We all grin and wave. After the show, I return to the Cheerios, and then a fiery billed aracari lands on a twiggy tree in front of me. I run and get my husband because he's been wanting a toucan fix this entire trip. I always think they look sort of menacing, but my husband is thrilled to see it. It hangs out in the tree for quite a while while we finish breakfast.
May 9th, 2013, 05:18 PM
#35
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Today is kind of a lazy day. We want to explore the property a little more, go to the pool, take some pictures. When we step outside, we see crazy looking Halloween crabs scurrying around the front yard. They're purple, orange, and black and very appropriately named. They look like they're wearing masks. I try to get some photos, but they're quick and most of the pictures are just a blur.
While we're walking, we see Bill, and he asks what our plans are for the day. We tell him that we're just going to explore a little and then go to Ronny's for lunch. He offers to drive us there which is great since we've turned in our car, and Ronny's is kind of far away off a rough dirt road. He sees my leg and immediately produces a tube of antibiotic ointment that he has on him - much better than an Imperial! He also tells us that the people in Upper Casa Panorama have checked out and asks us if we want to take a peek at it. Of course we do! He tells us not to touch any glass because the place has just been cleaned, so we gingerly climb up the stairs careful not to touch anything.
Upper Panorama is multi-level and wow, very posh. Much larger than our place. It has a big living area, kitchen, dining area, two bedrooms, bath, and a balcony. It even has a washer and dryer. We go outside and discover a Jacuzzi along with the most gorgeous view. He tells it's the prettiest on the property. Really lush and pretty with a great view of the water since we're so high up. He tells us he has to wait for some groceries to be delivered, but while we're standing there, his phone rings, and the person on the other end says that there's a baby sloth that has fallen from a tree on the beach, and they need him to come down and help them rescue it. He invites us to tag along if we'd like, so we hop in his car and make the drive down.
When we get there, several Tulemar employees are huddled around a tiny baby sloth that looks like a little Teddy bear, and it's making a terrible noise, crying, and sounding so sad and pathetic. It doesn't appear to be hurt, but it's wide-eyed and terrified and clinging to a small bush and attempting to climb it. Everyone wants to return it to its momma, so they elect Juan, the expert tree climber, to do the job. They get a huge ladder and Juan climbs to the top of it carrying the baby. It's still nowhere near tall enough, so he cradles the sloth and proceeds to climb up and up into the tree top. "Bad news," he says when he gets there. "There are TWO momma sloths up here!" Isn't that crazy? It's kind of rare to see one in a tree, but this one has two! It seems like such a King Solomon moment! The woman next to me keeps saying what a terrible mother the sloth is because she's not doing anything to rescue her baby. I don't think the mother even knows it's missing; she appears to be asleep. But what exactly would a sloth do to help in this rescue effort?
The two sloths are close together, so Juan gently places the baby in between the two and climbs back down. The baby starts to crawl towards one of the adults and all seems well with the world again. Yay, that was about the coolest thing I've ever seen, and I'm so glad to have a happy ending!
While we're walking, we see Bill, and he asks what our plans are for the day. We tell him that we're just going to explore a little and then go to Ronny's for lunch. He offers to drive us there which is great since we've turned in our car, and Ronny's is kind of far away off a rough dirt road. He sees my leg and immediately produces a tube of antibiotic ointment that he has on him - much better than an Imperial! He also tells us that the people in Upper Casa Panorama have checked out and asks us if we want to take a peek at it. Of course we do! He tells us not to touch any glass because the place has just been cleaned, so we gingerly climb up the stairs careful not to touch anything.
Upper Panorama is multi-level and wow, very posh. Much larger than our place. It has a big living area, kitchen, dining area, two bedrooms, bath, and a balcony. It even has a washer and dryer. We go outside and discover a Jacuzzi along with the most gorgeous view. He tells it's the prettiest on the property. Really lush and pretty with a great view of the water since we're so high up. He tells us he has to wait for some groceries to be delivered, but while we're standing there, his phone rings, and the person on the other end says that there's a baby sloth that has fallen from a tree on the beach, and they need him to come down and help them rescue it. He invites us to tag along if we'd like, so we hop in his car and make the drive down.
When we get there, several Tulemar employees are huddled around a tiny baby sloth that looks like a little Teddy bear, and it's making a terrible noise, crying, and sounding so sad and pathetic. It doesn't appear to be hurt, but it's wide-eyed and terrified and clinging to a small bush and attempting to climb it. Everyone wants to return it to its momma, so they elect Juan, the expert tree climber, to do the job. They get a huge ladder and Juan climbs to the top of it carrying the baby. It's still nowhere near tall enough, so he cradles the sloth and proceeds to climb up and up into the tree top. "Bad news," he says when he gets there. "There are TWO momma sloths up here!" Isn't that crazy? It's kind of rare to see one in a tree, but this one has two! It seems like such a King Solomon moment! The woman next to me keeps saying what a terrible mother the sloth is because she's not doing anything to rescue her baby. I don't think the mother even knows it's missing; she appears to be asleep. But what exactly would a sloth do to help in this rescue effort?
The two sloths are close together, so Juan gently places the baby in between the two and climbs back down. The baby starts to crawl towards one of the adults and all seems well with the world again. Yay, that was about the coolest thing I've ever seen, and I'm so glad to have a happy ending!
May 10th, 2013, 05:36 PM
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There was some talk about taking it to a rescue center, but I'm really glad it ended back up with the mom. Tulemar Dave reports that the baby is doing great now. And who knew sloths could make sounds?!
May 10th, 2013, 06:01 PM
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Following the sloth rescue, Bill drives us to Ronny's. It's a great little open air restaurant off a deep rutted road. There are signs on the road that say, "Waiters Crossing" - lots of tours stop here for lunch. We arrive promptly at noon and are the only ones there. The place has a great view of the ocean. I order water and a "cup of ice please" to drink and end up with iced tea. I think the ice threw the waiter for a loop! Since the portions have been so huge everywhere we've gone, we decide to split the surf and turf lunch. I love surf, and Mr. Volcano loves turf. We also get a salad to go with it. The surf turns out to be a spiny lobster split down the middle, and the turf is "steak" with mushroom gravy on top. I love the lobster, but not a big fan of the beef. Like most beef in CR, it's kind of chewy and not as flavorful as what we're used to eating. Mr. V, the big carnivore, devours the beef pretty quickly though. As we're eating, three big tour buses pull up, and it makes us glad we got there early! There's a little cat that curls up under my feet, and I give it a little bit of the food. It's so funny to see cats and dogs wandering around the restaurants in CR. They always look happy and well taken care of, so I think they get lots of little tidbits from diners. After eating, they call a taxi to come pick us up, and we're back on our way to Casa Panorama to meet our driver and make the trip back to the SJO area.
Our driver is named Jose, and he's really sweet. We ask him to keep an eye out for wildlife for us, and he says he would be happy to. He asks if we want to stop at the croc bridge, but we give it a pass since we've already done it. We're going to be staying at the San Jose Marriott we tell him, and he says there are FIVE in the city, so we pull out our booking form to show him which one. I wasn't really thrilled with the idea of staying at an American chain. We've never done that in CR before, but this one gets great reviews, and we have enough points to stay for free which is a big selling point. My husband loves free! The trip is about three hours. As we're riding, Jose asks if we'd like to see something, and of course we do. He says to look out the window to the left, and we see a huge flock of scarlet macaws flying by. He tells us he can stop if we want to, and as we do, they land in the trees around us - it is so cool to see them in the wild, all red, and blue, and yellow, really brilliant, bold colors, each one about two feet tall. They fill the trees, and we take photos and just enjoy them. Jose lets us take as long as we like. My husband at long last has his toucan and macaw fix! We feel so lucky to be able to see something so amazing.
Our driver is named Jose, and he's really sweet. We ask him to keep an eye out for wildlife for us, and he says he would be happy to. He asks if we want to stop at the croc bridge, but we give it a pass since we've already done it. We're going to be staying at the San Jose Marriott we tell him, and he says there are FIVE in the city, so we pull out our booking form to show him which one. I wasn't really thrilled with the idea of staying at an American chain. We've never done that in CR before, but this one gets great reviews, and we have enough points to stay for free which is a big selling point. My husband loves free! The trip is about three hours. As we're riding, Jose asks if we'd like to see something, and of course we do. He says to look out the window to the left, and we see a huge flock of scarlet macaws flying by. He tells us he can stop if we want to, and as we do, they land in the trees around us - it is so cool to see them in the wild, all red, and blue, and yellow, really brilliant, bold colors, each one about two feet tall. They fill the trees, and we take photos and just enjoy them. Jose lets us take as long as we like. My husband at long last has his toucan and macaw fix! We feel so lucky to be able to see something so amazing.
