ShellD's trip to Costa Rica, this time with the kids!
Aug 18th, 2008, 03:10 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 999
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
ShellD's trip to Costa Rica, this time with the kids!
We've been home for a week and I still can't quite get back to reality. I've wanted to start this report since last week and I just haven't had a moment, things keep getting in the way, so I decided to just get started with what I could before all of the details start getting fuzzy! I have to thank so many of you for helping out with the planning stages; we really had a great trip thanks to it all! For background, this was my husband and my 2nd trip to CR and our kids (ages 7 and 9) first trip. While my husband prefers a much more relaxing, lay on the beach and stay in one location, type of vacation, I think he puts up with my adventure and nature filled Costa Rican vacations because it is so beautiful there!
Our trip started with an early flight out of Reagan International. Usually we fly out of Philly, but at savings of over $150/ticket that was a great savings for us! We spent the night before our flight at a park/sleep/and fly hotel, the first of many, many different hotels. This is where we realized that our kids have a major issue sharing a bed...uh oh...could make for a long trip! My daughter, the younger one was the cover thief and just didn't quite understand why my son needed to have any covers at all...ughhhh...Our wakeup time of 3:30 am to get to the airport was coming fast, they needed to sleep!
We had fairly uneventful flights, connecting in MIA and arrived only an hour late into San Jose at a little after noon. We got through customs very quickly and my very picky eating son was thrilled to see that they do in fact have fast food in Costa Rica! The airport had a Burger King! For months before the trip, my husband had been telling him that he was going to starve because they didn't have chicken nuggets and he'd have to eat "real" food on our vacation! We were driven to the Don Carlos Hotel for our first night. As soon as we got downtown it promptly started storming. Lightening, thundering, winds and heavy rain. We decided to just relax in the hotel - not much to do though. We were being picked up at 6:30 am the next morning by the Watson's for our transfer to Tortuguero. It was raining too hard to even walk around San Jose, even if there would have been much to see or do. The kids got a kick out of watching their favorite shows in Spanish for awhile and we just relaxed. We did like the Don Carlos. It was a very comfortable hotel for a night. We had the family room which is essentially a two bedroom suite. You share a connecting bathroom. And lucky for us and the kids, their bedroom had twin beds! We had dinner in their little restaurant, which is more like a cafe, but it was fine for us. The selection isn't great but the food was fine. The staff at the hotel was very accommodating and friendly. We were there for less than 24 hours though, so we really couldn't get a great feel for all they would have had to offer.
We were picked up promptly 6:30 am on our first full day by Modesto Watson for our trip to Tortuguero. I was really looking forward to this. We were accompanied by two ladies from England and were driven in a comfortable van for about 1 1/2 hours before stopping for breakfast. We stopped at a typical Costa Rican "tourist" stop with a small buffet breakfast with the gallo pinto, eggs cooked to order and fresh fruits and juice. Of course there were souvenirs to purchase as well. It was a good breakfast and we were finishing up just before the larger tour groups were pulling in. Our timing was great! It was a beautiful drive; we went through the Braulio Carillo National Park which was very green and mountainous. We drove for a total of about three hours if I remember and then got to Limon where we boarded our boat to ride in the canals up to Tortuguero. Here we were joined by 3 more passengers - three women from Ireland. It would be approx a 3 hour boat ride! It was nice though, we saw a few monkeys, some caiman a lot of birds and lizards. It was nothing like the wildlife on the Cano Negro tour though. But it was relaxing and somewhat interesting. But it was also a long boat ride. The one thing I sort of expected a bit more of was a bit of explanation of the area or what we were seeing - more of a "guided tour" so to speak. I really expected Modesto to talk a lot more, even in the van - that he would tell us about his country, about where we were and what we were seeing. He was very quiet and really only answered questions that we had.
We pulled up to our dock at Laguna Lodge and Modesto told us our schedule for the next day and a half (we had booked the 3 day/2 night package) and off we went. Our group of 10 would do all of the boat rides and meals together which was nice since all of the other groups that we saw seemed to be closer to 25 - 30 people in size. We were given a fruit punch welcome drink and we were told we had the afternoon free. The unanimous decision in the family was to hit the pool. It was pretty cloudy, but hot and humid. The Laguna Lodge has a nice sized pool and the kids couldn’t wait to jump in. We spent some time there and then we walked to the beach. The beach there is not swimmable due to the currents and maybe sharks? But it’s very pretty to walk along and the kids had a great time picking up coconuts and trying to break them open. You could also see many of the huge holes that the turtles had dug from previous nights to nest in. Dinner at the lodge is at 7:00 so we went back to our room, or I suppose you could call it a cabin to get ready for dinner. The cabins are basic but not exactly rustic if that makes sense. There is no tv, phone or even clock in the room. The windows are screened with blinds and there is no a/c, just a small ceiling fan. They are hardwood floors and the bathroom is all tile. They are very clean – at least the one we had was! They all have nice rocking chairs on the porch. We did have several bugs in the room, they looked sort of like cockroaches, but I’m not sure if that’s what they were. But with the screened windows and being in the jungle, it wasn’t really too surprising – although I wasn’t thrilled about the one under my pillow!!
There is very dim lighting in the rooms, so even going through the suitcases, a flashlight helped at night. But we found the beds to be very comfortable and we all enjoyed staying there. That first night while we were relaxing before dinner it stormed very hard and the power went out for a short time. I think that was the only time the power went out there. The food there was just average. It is all included in the price and it is all buffet. Each meal has an entrée choice with a couple of side dishes and a small salad bar. Nothing tasted bad, but nothing was great either. No one in our group really thought the food was good or bad – we all agreed it was pretty average. None of the desserts were very good. The only things not included in our package price were beverages. The only things I would have liked to have seen here differently would be some type of snack other than saltine type crackers, during the day. You have to get up very early for the morning boat tour, then dinner isn’t until 7:00 pm, so it’s a long day. There is no type of snack offered after lunch – even to buy. Also, you can only get water or buy beverages with your meals. It would be nice if iced tea or sodas were included. The property was very nice though, very lush and maintained. The pool was nice and they had a small butterfly garden and frog area where you can walk through and see the tree frogs – mainly at night.
Other things in Tortuguero – the boat rides. The package (everyone there is on a package plan pretty much) you have the boat ride to get there unless you fly in, then there is an early morning boat ride – ours was 6 am, then an afternoon boat ride, ours was at 3:00 pm. Those are through the canals in the National Park. They were very nice, very peaceful. But we saw almost no wildlife. Each ride was about 2 -3 hours long, so they unfortunately got to be a bit long – and this was the general thought of all of us on the boat – how long can you spend going in and out of the canals seeing virtually nothing? We didn’t know if it was just our route? Our guide? Or bad luck. Again, it was a bit odd because Modesto really didn’t have much to say – we didn’t know if he felt bad he couldn’t find much for us to see or if he just didn’t have much to say. But we saw a few monkey’s and a lot of birds. To be honest, we saw more on the boat ride up from Limon to Tortuguero. We did get to see a spider monkey with a baby fairly close up and we saw a boa constrictor. I did really find the morning boat ride to be very peaceful and the light coming through the trees in the canals was beautiful from a photography standpoint.
Another boat ride was to the Turtle Conservation Center in the town of Tortuguero. They have a tiny exhibit about the turtles and a short movie. Then we walked into the town and spent about an hour roaming around. This was quite interesting. Of all the towns we’ve driven through and been in this was by far the smallest and most remote place I’ve been. I kept saying to my kids – “you do understand that this is where these people live and work right?” They sometimes are just so out of touch and materialistic, I just don’t think they realized that the dirt road and homes we were seeing were all that there was to this town! We got some ice cream and hung out for a bit and then back on the boat and back to the pool for the afternoon.
That night was the highlight of Tortuguero – the turtle nesting! We had an 8:00 time to be at the beach, back on the boat, back to the town – everything you do, everywhere you go, it’s back on the boat – my daughter told me she was boated out by the time we left there! But we got to the meeting point, Modesto dropped us off and we met our guide. He made sure we had no flashlights or cameras to disturb the turtles and told us we’d have about a 20 minute walk to the beach. We walked though the town, past people’s homes and along the beach but in the jungle down to the point where the guides who monitor the turtles were tracking where turtles were coming up to lay their eggs were. We were allowed to be on the beach from 8 – 10. We would be told when a turtle was ready and we’d head out. Luckily one had just dug her hole and had started laying her eggs so our timing was great. Apparently some people get there and don’t get to see the whole process. One guide stays with the turtles and has a red light and tells the guides with the people when it’s ok to come up to the turtle. We’d go up, watch her lay some eggs, back away and ask questions. It was fascinating! She was huge! She lays 100 – 150 eggs at a time in this huge hole! We watched her for a long time and it turns out just a few 100 feet away another turtle was finishing laying her eggs and was covering them, so we watched that process for awhile. Then we got to see her go back out to see. What an amazing thing to witness. We were out there for a long time though, 2 hours on the beach plus the walk there and back. And it was lightening and thundering in the distance and very dark. My son is a bit freaked out by storms and he didn’t like being out on the beach in the lightening so it was a little scary for him at times. But seeing the turtle lay the eggs was also amazing for him. That by far was one of the most amazing things I’ve seen. All was great….we had a 7:10 am flight on Nature Air scheduled back to San Jose so that we could get an early start on the next leg of our adventure. Modesto was supposed to pick us up at the dock at 6:45 am to get us to the airstrip for the flight…….we were waiting there at 6:30 am, he never showed up. It was not like him! We confirmed with him several times the day before, the night before when he dropped us back off at the lodge, he even told us he’d have a continental breakfast for us. But there was no one there for us. At 6:50 we started to get nervous because we now only had 20 minutes until the plane was scheduled to leave. Finally I went to the desk and no one had seen or heard from Modesto since last night. He wasn’t scheduled to be back for the rest of the group until after 8:00 am, as they were doing the boat back to San Jose. So, luckily the lodge had one of their boat zip us up the canal to the airstrip, where luckily the plane was waiting for us to take off! Didn’t have to worry about the luggage wait limits! We walked up and they said our names, grabbed our luggage, put it on board and started the plane….off we flew to San Jose for the next leg of our journey…..
Our trip started with an early flight out of Reagan International. Usually we fly out of Philly, but at savings of over $150/ticket that was a great savings for us! We spent the night before our flight at a park/sleep/and fly hotel, the first of many, many different hotels. This is where we realized that our kids have a major issue sharing a bed...uh oh...could make for a long trip! My daughter, the younger one was the cover thief and just didn't quite understand why my son needed to have any covers at all...ughhhh...Our wakeup time of 3:30 am to get to the airport was coming fast, they needed to sleep!
We had fairly uneventful flights, connecting in MIA and arrived only an hour late into San Jose at a little after noon. We got through customs very quickly and my very picky eating son was thrilled to see that they do in fact have fast food in Costa Rica! The airport had a Burger King! For months before the trip, my husband had been telling him that he was going to starve because they didn't have chicken nuggets and he'd have to eat "real" food on our vacation! We were driven to the Don Carlos Hotel for our first night. As soon as we got downtown it promptly started storming. Lightening, thundering, winds and heavy rain. We decided to just relax in the hotel - not much to do though. We were being picked up at 6:30 am the next morning by the Watson's for our transfer to Tortuguero. It was raining too hard to even walk around San Jose, even if there would have been much to see or do. The kids got a kick out of watching their favorite shows in Spanish for awhile and we just relaxed. We did like the Don Carlos. It was a very comfortable hotel for a night. We had the family room which is essentially a two bedroom suite. You share a connecting bathroom. And lucky for us and the kids, their bedroom had twin beds! We had dinner in their little restaurant, which is more like a cafe, but it was fine for us. The selection isn't great but the food was fine. The staff at the hotel was very accommodating and friendly. We were there for less than 24 hours though, so we really couldn't get a great feel for all they would have had to offer.
We were picked up promptly 6:30 am on our first full day by Modesto Watson for our trip to Tortuguero. I was really looking forward to this. We were accompanied by two ladies from England and were driven in a comfortable van for about 1 1/2 hours before stopping for breakfast. We stopped at a typical Costa Rican "tourist" stop with a small buffet breakfast with the gallo pinto, eggs cooked to order and fresh fruits and juice. Of course there were souvenirs to purchase as well. It was a good breakfast and we were finishing up just before the larger tour groups were pulling in. Our timing was great! It was a beautiful drive; we went through the Braulio Carillo National Park which was very green and mountainous. We drove for a total of about three hours if I remember and then got to Limon where we boarded our boat to ride in the canals up to Tortuguero. Here we were joined by 3 more passengers - three women from Ireland. It would be approx a 3 hour boat ride! It was nice though, we saw a few monkeys, some caiman a lot of birds and lizards. It was nothing like the wildlife on the Cano Negro tour though. But it was relaxing and somewhat interesting. But it was also a long boat ride. The one thing I sort of expected a bit more of was a bit of explanation of the area or what we were seeing - more of a "guided tour" so to speak. I really expected Modesto to talk a lot more, even in the van - that he would tell us about his country, about where we were and what we were seeing. He was very quiet and really only answered questions that we had.
We pulled up to our dock at Laguna Lodge and Modesto told us our schedule for the next day and a half (we had booked the 3 day/2 night package) and off we went. Our group of 10 would do all of the boat rides and meals together which was nice since all of the other groups that we saw seemed to be closer to 25 - 30 people in size. We were given a fruit punch welcome drink and we were told we had the afternoon free. The unanimous decision in the family was to hit the pool. It was pretty cloudy, but hot and humid. The Laguna Lodge has a nice sized pool and the kids couldn’t wait to jump in. We spent some time there and then we walked to the beach. The beach there is not swimmable due to the currents and maybe sharks? But it’s very pretty to walk along and the kids had a great time picking up coconuts and trying to break them open. You could also see many of the huge holes that the turtles had dug from previous nights to nest in. Dinner at the lodge is at 7:00 so we went back to our room, or I suppose you could call it a cabin to get ready for dinner. The cabins are basic but not exactly rustic if that makes sense. There is no tv, phone or even clock in the room. The windows are screened with blinds and there is no a/c, just a small ceiling fan. They are hardwood floors and the bathroom is all tile. They are very clean – at least the one we had was! They all have nice rocking chairs on the porch. We did have several bugs in the room, they looked sort of like cockroaches, but I’m not sure if that’s what they were. But with the screened windows and being in the jungle, it wasn’t really too surprising – although I wasn’t thrilled about the one under my pillow!!
There is very dim lighting in the rooms, so even going through the suitcases, a flashlight helped at night. But we found the beds to be very comfortable and we all enjoyed staying there. That first night while we were relaxing before dinner it stormed very hard and the power went out for a short time. I think that was the only time the power went out there. The food there was just average. It is all included in the price and it is all buffet. Each meal has an entrée choice with a couple of side dishes and a small salad bar. Nothing tasted bad, but nothing was great either. No one in our group really thought the food was good or bad – we all agreed it was pretty average. None of the desserts were very good. The only things not included in our package price were beverages. The only things I would have liked to have seen here differently would be some type of snack other than saltine type crackers, during the day. You have to get up very early for the morning boat tour, then dinner isn’t until 7:00 pm, so it’s a long day. There is no type of snack offered after lunch – even to buy. Also, you can only get water or buy beverages with your meals. It would be nice if iced tea or sodas were included. The property was very nice though, very lush and maintained. The pool was nice and they had a small butterfly garden and frog area where you can walk through and see the tree frogs – mainly at night. Other things in Tortuguero – the boat rides. The package (everyone there is on a package plan pretty much) you have the boat ride to get there unless you fly in, then there is an early morning boat ride – ours was 6 am, then an afternoon boat ride, ours was at 3:00 pm. Those are through the canals in the National Park. They were very nice, very peaceful. But we saw almost no wildlife. Each ride was about 2 -3 hours long, so they unfortunately got to be a bit long – and this was the general thought of all of us on the boat – how long can you spend going in and out of the canals seeing virtually nothing? We didn’t know if it was just our route? Our guide? Or bad luck. Again, it was a bit odd because Modesto really didn’t have much to say – we didn’t know if he felt bad he couldn’t find much for us to see or if he just didn’t have much to say. But we saw a few monkey’s and a lot of birds. To be honest, we saw more on the boat ride up from Limon to Tortuguero. We did get to see a spider monkey with a baby fairly close up and we saw a boa constrictor. I did really find the morning boat ride to be very peaceful and the light coming through the trees in the canals was beautiful from a photography standpoint.
Another boat ride was to the Turtle Conservation Center in the town of Tortuguero. They have a tiny exhibit about the turtles and a short movie. Then we walked into the town and spent about an hour roaming around. This was quite interesting. Of all the towns we’ve driven through and been in this was by far the smallest and most remote place I’ve been. I kept saying to my kids – “you do understand that this is where these people live and work right?” They sometimes are just so out of touch and materialistic, I just don’t think they realized that the dirt road and homes we were seeing were all that there was to this town! We got some ice cream and hung out for a bit and then back on the boat and back to the pool for the afternoon.
That night was the highlight of Tortuguero – the turtle nesting! We had an 8:00 time to be at the beach, back on the boat, back to the town – everything you do, everywhere you go, it’s back on the boat – my daughter told me she was boated out by the time we left there! But we got to the meeting point, Modesto dropped us off and we met our guide. He made sure we had no flashlights or cameras to disturb the turtles and told us we’d have about a 20 minute walk to the beach. We walked though the town, past people’s homes and along the beach but in the jungle down to the point where the guides who monitor the turtles were tracking where turtles were coming up to lay their eggs were. We were allowed to be on the beach from 8 – 10. We would be told when a turtle was ready and we’d head out. Luckily one had just dug her hole and had started laying her eggs so our timing was great. Apparently some people get there and don’t get to see the whole process. One guide stays with the turtles and has a red light and tells the guides with the people when it’s ok to come up to the turtle. We’d go up, watch her lay some eggs, back away and ask questions. It was fascinating! She was huge! She lays 100 – 150 eggs at a time in this huge hole! We watched her for a long time and it turns out just a few 100 feet away another turtle was finishing laying her eggs and was covering them, so we watched that process for awhile. Then we got to see her go back out to see. What an amazing thing to witness. We were out there for a long time though, 2 hours on the beach plus the walk there and back. And it was lightening and thundering in the distance and very dark. My son is a bit freaked out by storms and he didn’t like being out on the beach in the lightening so it was a little scary for him at times. But seeing the turtle lay the eggs was also amazing for him. That by far was one of the most amazing things I’ve seen. All was great….we had a 7:10 am flight on Nature Air scheduled back to San Jose so that we could get an early start on the next leg of our adventure. Modesto was supposed to pick us up at the dock at 6:45 am to get us to the airstrip for the flight…….we were waiting there at 6:30 am, he never showed up. It was not like him! We confirmed with him several times the day before, the night before when he dropped us back off at the lodge, he even told us he’d have a continental breakfast for us. But there was no one there for us. At 6:50 we started to get nervous because we now only had 20 minutes until the plane was scheduled to leave. Finally I went to the desk and no one had seen or heard from Modesto since last night. He wasn’t scheduled to be back for the rest of the group until after 8:00 am, as they were doing the boat back to San Jose. So, luckily the lodge had one of their boat zip us up the canal to the airstrip, where luckily the plane was waiting for us to take off! Didn’t have to worry about the luggage wait limits! We walked up and they said our names, grabbed our luggage, put it on board and started the plane….off we flew to San Jose for the next leg of our journey…..
Aug 18th, 2008, 07:05 PM
#3
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 3,750
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Welcome back Shell! Tortugero and the turtles laying eggs sound absolutely amazing! Something the kids will never forget for sure. 
I hope to make it up there, maybe next trip...we'll see. Sounds like a little bit of a trek to get up there by car and boat, but worth it! Looking forward to the rest...
I hope to make it up there, maybe next trip...we'll see. Sounds like a little bit of a trek to get up there by car and boat, but worth it! Looking forward to the rest...
Aug 18th, 2008, 07:10 PM
#4
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 10,212
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks for taking the time to post! We got back right after you, and I know just what you mean! It's hit the ground running--a shame after all that pura vida!
This is definitely not the Modesto we know. The silence baffles me as he was fun and talkative, spotting all kinds of good stuff for us, joking, always smiling. Did you never see Fran? Makes me wonder if all is well. . .
So glad that you had that great turtle viewing experience. It does make the trip, doesn't it? And you are right about the food--average describes it well. Somehow I always manage to eat, even if just average. Explains why I need to be walking about 10 miles a day right now!
Waiting anxiously to hear "the rest of the story"!
This is definitely not the Modesto we know. The silence baffles me as he was fun and talkative, spotting all kinds of good stuff for us, joking, always smiling. Did you never see Fran? Makes me wonder if all is well. . .
So glad that you had that great turtle viewing experience. It does make the trip, doesn't it? And you are right about the food--average describes it well. Somehow I always manage to eat, even if just average. Explains why I need to be walking about 10 miles a day right now!
Waiting anxiously to hear "the rest of the story"!
Aug 19th, 2008, 03:38 AM
#5
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 24,846
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Shell, wow, I am really enjoying reading your report. Tortuguero really interests me, so I love reading all your details! I'm surprised to hear about Modesto; I know shillmac has had great experiences with him. Looking forward to hearing more.
Aug 19th, 2008, 04:41 AM
#6
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 608
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Your trip report is very good with lots of helpful information! Looking forward to reading the rest! Had to laugh about the kids sharing the bed - am sure that will be an issue for us when we take our kids.
Aug 19th, 2008, 04:55 AM
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 999
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Jill - we never saw Fran, but Modesto said she'd be the one to take the rest of our group back to San Jose. She wasn't up there while we were there at all. I know Modesto spoke to her on the phone a few times while we were with him. He was very nice, but just not very talkative. However we did feel there was a huge advantage to using them as a tour vs booking directly with the lodge or other tour group because our group was so much smaller. We definitely had personal attention and got to know the people in our group. That was very nice. And in shopping around before we left, their prices were excellent in comparison, so I still highly recommend them. I'm sure the wildlife is also very hit or miss as well. I really enjoyed the whole area, but probably wouldn't go if it wasn't either the turtle nesting or hatching season. I also would definitely recommend flying back if possible just to save on time.
Aug 19th, 2008, 03:17 PM
#8
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,085
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Gosh, you really have me doubting myself regarding our upcoming Tortuguero trip with the Watsons. I talked a Canadian friend and another from Germany into meeting me at the Don Carlos and we are doing the 3 day/2 night package - not in turtle season, but we figured the jungle and wildlife would make up for that.
We read such glowing reviews of their tours, so I am hoping Modesto was having a really bad few days or that we have Fran pick us up and she will be more talkative!
I'm really surprised that he never showed up to pick you up, too. We've all had long responses to our e-mail inquiries and I just figured it was due to it being prime turtle season. Now I wonder if there is something else going on?
Anyhow, your report has given me a great idea of what to expect at Laguna Lodge and the tour in general.
Looking forward to the rest of your adventure!
We read such glowing reviews of their tours, so I am hoping Modesto was having a really bad few days or that we have Fran pick us up and she will be more talkative!
I'm really surprised that he never showed up to pick you up, too. We've all had long responses to our e-mail inquiries and I just figured it was due to it being prime turtle season. Now I wonder if there is something else going on?
Anyhow, your report has given me a great idea of what to expect at Laguna Lodge and the tour in general.
Looking forward to the rest of your adventure!
Aug 19th, 2008, 03:38 PM
#9
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 10,212
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
colibri, I'm out on a limb here, but I doubt you'll be disappointed. They are very good people; hopefully there was just some kind of "issue" going on. My advice: Ask him questions about where he is from, Tortuguero experiences, etc. Maybe that will help. He spoke freely with us, but we asked about a lot as well. You'll have a great time. I'd not go back unless the turtles were nesting either. That just adds SO much to any time spent at Tortuguero.
Aug 19th, 2008, 03:55 PM
#10
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 5,541
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Great to read your report, and that your kids enjoyed their first time. Sorry you got off to such a bumpy start though, have you had any follow-up as to why no pick up for you? Luck was with you though and glad you were still able to leave on time. Looking to the rest...
Aug 19th, 2008, 06:29 PM
#11
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,085
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thx. for the reassurance, Shillmac. Since I've talked my friends into the Tortuguero part of the trip, I feel responsible for making sure it goes well! Although the swamp scenery will be a bit familiar to me (south Louisiana), it will be totally exotic to my friends from Niagara and Nuremburg. It's a shame the turtle season will be over, but hopefully the wildlife, birds and plants of the jungle will make up for it.
I'll just make sure we all have loads of questions for Modesto to keep him talking plus not have any great expectations on the food at Laguna.
Has anyone done the kayak tours from there? Friends told me that you can really get back in the smaller canals with the kayaks and see much more.
I'll just make sure we all have loads of questions for Modesto to keep him talking plus not have any great expectations on the food at Laguna.
Has anyone done the kayak tours from there? Friends told me that you can really get back in the smaller canals with the kayaks and see much more.
Aug 19th, 2008, 07:16 PM
#12
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 10,212
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Yes, I know what you mean. That's how all of us feel here on Fodor's when we wholeheartedly recommend something, someplace, or someone to others based on our experience.
Honestly, I was so enraptured of the beauty of the rivers and canals, I would have been okay with less wildlife and a more somber Modesto (had I not known differently). The boating excursions and the quiet times on the rivers and canals just totally transfixed me. It was very peaceful and relaxing.
And we are not foodies, so the so-so food nevers bothers us anywhere. We are always just pleasantly surprised when the food turns out to be really great. As it frequently does here and there.
Honestly, I was so enraptured of the beauty of the rivers and canals, I would have been okay with less wildlife and a more somber Modesto (had I not known differently). The boating excursions and the quiet times on the rivers and canals just totally transfixed me. It was very peaceful and relaxing.
And we are not foodies, so the so-so food nevers bothers us anywhere. We are always just pleasantly surprised when the food turns out to be really great. As it frequently does here and there.
Aug 20th, 2008, 11:38 AM
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 999
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
colibri - I don't think you'll be disapointed at all. As I mentioned, my expectations may have been a bit higher, but all in all Tortuguero was in no way a let down for us. I was definitely upset to be left at the dock when we were supposed to be taken to the airstrip, and we haven't had a chance to find out what happened. The man at the front desk did call who I assumed to be Modesto when I asked if he had seen him that morning and there was no time for any explanations. But as I mentioned, the small group size in itself was wonderful. The canals were beautiful as well. We didn't see anyone out on the canals in kayaks while we were there. Everyone was in the group boats. The food at Laguna wasn't bad, but it was average, and as Jill mentioned - we certainly ate plenty!
I'm sure you and your friends will enjoy the area, it was very different from other areas we've been!
And so our journey continues.....
We had a pleasant flight on Nature Air to San Jose. It was only 30 minutes and if you are heading to Tortuguero and can swing the flight back I really recommend it! It allows you to get moving fairly early in the day for the next part of your trip. Otherwise you have the 3 hour boat ride and then another 2 -3 hours in the van back to San Jose. We were met at the Pavas airport by our rep from Tricolor and he took us to the downtown rental agency - we were a little surprised by that - I sort of expected to go to the agency by the Denny's the we rented from before but no big deal! We rented a Nissan X-Trail and decided to get a GPS. Our next destination would be the Peace Lodge. It seemed to take forever to do the paperwork on the car and the kids could not wait to get to the Peace Lodge! They had seen our pictures from our visit last year and couldn't stop talking about the hot tub on the balcony and the butterflies!
Off we went and we very quickly decided that the GPS was absolutely NOT for us! We're pretty good navigators, we had directions and a map and the GPS didn't have the Peace Lodge in it's list of destinations. It couldn't even tell us how to get out of San Jose, even with the man at TriColor programming it. We had to basically ignore it until we got on the main road by the airport. At which point we decided to stop at the other Tricolor office just to be sure the thing was working. We had to put the Poas Volcano Lodge in as our destination, which was pretty close, but the guy at Tricolor basically laughed and told us that you can't use the GPS downtown because they don't use street names and it's not going to give us the directions we wanted. He said to just ignore it and gave us directions.....At this point we were rethinking our $10/day...we were only driving to the Peace Lodge and from there to Arenal. But we kept it on and drove the directions we knew were right, basically ignoring the GPS on more than 50% of the directions it was giving....oh well.
So, we arrived at the Peace Lodge around lunch time and our room, the Monarch Villa wasn't quite ready. No problem...we went to the Trout Bar for lunch. It was pretty much as some others had mentioned, ok. I remembered it as being a little bit better, but it wasn't what we'd call bad either. After luch we headed to the exhibits and my kids were just WOWED!!!! First to the aviary and the birds were just fabulous. Then to the butterflies and my son was having the blue morpho's land all over him! He'd stick his hand out and they'd land right on him! We all enjoyed watching them in the cocoon stage and emerging into butterflies. We spent a great amount of time there. When we were there last year they didn't yet have the monkey's so that was new for us. We talked to the man working there and he told us all about the different monkey's and how they all were rescued, some were pets, some were kept as show monkey's at places like restaurants, some were injured. He really enjoyed telling us about each monkey and their individual personality traits. One of the white faced actually liked to play hide and seek and played with my daughter for a good 10 minutes! It was really clear that he was actually interacting with her and wanted her to play with him!
We visited the snakes, which my son loved and a quick walk through the frogs, we'd be back later that night for the night tour. We also checked out the traditional farm house and had a ride in the oxcart. About then we had a major, major downpour....it didn't last long and then we went to the new cat exhibit. Again, the man working there told us all about each cat with such enthusiasm!
We went back to our room and all enjoyed soaks in our hot tubs...the Monarch Villa --- it's huge! Can't say enough about that place. It's definitely a splurge, but we thoroughly enjoyed the pampered feeling. My daugher loved the aroma machine in the bathroom. The bathroom downstairs even has it's own fireplace! Good news there, no sharing of beds for the kids either! So, the room is beautiful, plenty of room for us parents to have some much needed space from the kids and the kids to have their own space as well. While the kids soaked in the hot tub on the balcony I brewed a pot of great Costa Rican coffee and we sat on our balcony watching the hummingbirds as the clouds rolled in and out. It's just so magical there! Next decision...dinner. This was tough for us because both my husband and I really did enjoy the onsite restaurant there, but didn't want to pay the prices for a full meal for our kids, even the a la carte prices were a lot for them! Especially my picky eater son! The room service menu wasn't too appealing and we didn't want the Trout Bar again! So, we convinced the kids to get the spaghetti from the "nice" restaurant and share it - it's a big portion! I know there's been mixed reviews on the restaurant there, but we felt for the price, I think it's $35? for soup, salad, entree and dessert it's a pretty good deal! And our meals have been really quite good each time. We were pleasantly surprised to find out they only charged the kids $14 instead of the standard a la carte price for the entree, so that was nice.
After dinner we had our night frog tour. As volcanogirl mentioned in her report, you can no longer hold the frogs, but we still really enjoyed it. Our guide was so enthusiastic about finding the frogs and we were the only people on our tour so we had him all to ourself. My kids were so into the whole experience, finding frogs everywhere and asking him so many questions. He was really patient with them.
The next morning we got up and after breakfast we did the hummingbird feeding. That's the one thing we missed last year and it was so cool! My daughter was a bit skittish when they'd fly by her, but the rest of us loved it! Especially when they'd land right on our fingers on top of the feeders! After doing that for a long time we did the hike down to the waterfalls and the kids enjoyed that as well. My son kept saying that each hotel we'd stayed at kept getting better! It's amazing because even being there last year, the size of those falls is still just so amazing!
When we took the shuttle back up to the lobby, we checked out and off we went....next stop, Arenal!!!
I'm sure you and your friends will enjoy the area, it was very different from other areas we've been!
And so our journey continues.....
We had a pleasant flight on Nature Air to San Jose. It was only 30 minutes and if you are heading to Tortuguero and can swing the flight back I really recommend it! It allows you to get moving fairly early in the day for the next part of your trip. Otherwise you have the 3 hour boat ride and then another 2 -3 hours in the van back to San Jose. We were met at the Pavas airport by our rep from Tricolor and he took us to the downtown rental agency - we were a little surprised by that - I sort of expected to go to the agency by the Denny's the we rented from before but no big deal! We rented a Nissan X-Trail and decided to get a GPS. Our next destination would be the Peace Lodge. It seemed to take forever to do the paperwork on the car and the kids could not wait to get to the Peace Lodge! They had seen our pictures from our visit last year and couldn't stop talking about the hot tub on the balcony and the butterflies!
Off we went and we very quickly decided that the GPS was absolutely NOT for us! We're pretty good navigators, we had directions and a map and the GPS didn't have the Peace Lodge in it's list of destinations. It couldn't even tell us how to get out of San Jose, even with the man at TriColor programming it. We had to basically ignore it until we got on the main road by the airport. At which point we decided to stop at the other Tricolor office just to be sure the thing was working. We had to put the Poas Volcano Lodge in as our destination, which was pretty close, but the guy at Tricolor basically laughed and told us that you can't use the GPS downtown because they don't use street names and it's not going to give us the directions we wanted. He said to just ignore it and gave us directions.....At this point we were rethinking our $10/day...we were only driving to the Peace Lodge and from there to Arenal. But we kept it on and drove the directions we knew were right, basically ignoring the GPS on more than 50% of the directions it was giving....oh well.
So, we arrived at the Peace Lodge around lunch time and our room, the Monarch Villa wasn't quite ready. No problem...we went to the Trout Bar for lunch. It was pretty much as some others had mentioned, ok. I remembered it as being a little bit better, but it wasn't what we'd call bad either. After luch we headed to the exhibits and my kids were just WOWED!!!! First to the aviary and the birds were just fabulous. Then to the butterflies and my son was having the blue morpho's land all over him! He'd stick his hand out and they'd land right on him! We all enjoyed watching them in the cocoon stage and emerging into butterflies. We spent a great amount of time there. When we were there last year they didn't yet have the monkey's so that was new for us. We talked to the man working there and he told us all about the different monkey's and how they all were rescued, some were pets, some were kept as show monkey's at places like restaurants, some were injured. He really enjoyed telling us about each monkey and their individual personality traits. One of the white faced actually liked to play hide and seek and played with my daughter for a good 10 minutes! It was really clear that he was actually interacting with her and wanted her to play with him!
We visited the snakes, which my son loved and a quick walk through the frogs, we'd be back later that night for the night tour. We also checked out the traditional farm house and had a ride in the oxcart. About then we had a major, major downpour....it didn't last long and then we went to the new cat exhibit. Again, the man working there told us all about each cat with such enthusiasm!
We went back to our room and all enjoyed soaks in our hot tubs...the Monarch Villa --- it's huge! Can't say enough about that place. It's definitely a splurge, but we thoroughly enjoyed the pampered feeling. My daugher loved the aroma machine in the bathroom. The bathroom downstairs even has it's own fireplace! Good news there, no sharing of beds for the kids either! So, the room is beautiful, plenty of room for us parents to have some much needed space from the kids and the kids to have their own space as well. While the kids soaked in the hot tub on the balcony I brewed a pot of great Costa Rican coffee and we sat on our balcony watching the hummingbirds as the clouds rolled in and out. It's just so magical there! Next decision...dinner. This was tough for us because both my husband and I really did enjoy the onsite restaurant there, but didn't want to pay the prices for a full meal for our kids, even the a la carte prices were a lot for them! Especially my picky eater son! The room service menu wasn't too appealing and we didn't want the Trout Bar again! So, we convinced the kids to get the spaghetti from the "nice" restaurant and share it - it's a big portion! I know there's been mixed reviews on the restaurant there, but we felt for the price, I think it's $35? for soup, salad, entree and dessert it's a pretty good deal! And our meals have been really quite good each time. We were pleasantly surprised to find out they only charged the kids $14 instead of the standard a la carte price for the entree, so that was nice.
After dinner we had our night frog tour. As volcanogirl mentioned in her report, you can no longer hold the frogs, but we still really enjoyed it. Our guide was so enthusiastic about finding the frogs and we were the only people on our tour so we had him all to ourself. My kids were so into the whole experience, finding frogs everywhere and asking him so many questions. He was really patient with them.
The next morning we got up and after breakfast we did the hummingbird feeding. That's the one thing we missed last year and it was so cool! My daughter was a bit skittish when they'd fly by her, but the rest of us loved it! Especially when they'd land right on our fingers on top of the feeders! After doing that for a long time we did the hike down to the waterfalls and the kids enjoyed that as well. My son kept saying that each hotel we'd stayed at kept getting better! It's amazing because even being there last year, the size of those falls is still just so amazing!
When we took the shuttle back up to the lobby, we checked out and off we went....next stop, Arenal!!!
Aug 20th, 2008, 01:04 PM
#14
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 10,212
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Shell, loved your telling of your stay at Peace Lodge. Yes, it IS amazing. I'll be posting that section later in the week and we had similar experiences, a few differences. But our time there was magical. Almost out of body!
So true about trying to drive in San Jose--you just have to know the landmarks. I applaud you for getting out of town!
So true about trying to drive in San Jose--you just have to know the landmarks. I applaud you for getting out of town!
Aug 20th, 2008, 03:53 PM
#16
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,085
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Sounds like you had a fabulous time at Peace Lodge - can't wait to get there, sounds amazing!
Glad to hear that you still would recommend Tortuguero - I think it will be totally different from anywhere else we have been in Costa Rica. I'm glad we will be in the small boat and group.
Looking forward to the next part of your adventure!
Glad to hear that you still would recommend Tortuguero - I think it will be totally different from anywhere else we have been in Costa Rica. I'm glad we will be in the small boat and group.
Looking forward to the next part of your adventure!
Aug 20th, 2008, 06:11 PM
#17
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 3,750
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Shell -- What a great treat for your kids at Monarch Villa. Wow! A fireplace in the bathroom? We just stayed in a standard and thought that was pretty out of this world. I think the close up and hands on wildlife is just great for families. Like you, we found the guides to be top knotch, informative and entertaining.
Aug 21st, 2008, 09:18 AM
#18
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 999
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Let's see if I can find time to fit in another installment of our trip!
We left Peace Lodge and headed towards Arenal, we knew we'd need lunch but not too sure what we'd find. We did grab several packs of Pop Tarts at breakfast to hold us over on the road though! The lunch was a bit challenging with kids and with our own car - you know, not leaving luggage in the car and not just stopping somewhere where they might not find something to eat. The choices between Peace Lodge and Arenal were pretty slim. Good thing we'd had a big breakfast!
The drive was very easy, even though that darn GPS contradicted many of the directions we had as we got closer to our destination. We had a card that we got at Peace Lodge and we had our map and you could see where the GPS wanted us to go and it just looked to be several miles (KM) out of the way, so we just ignored it and went the way that made the most sense.
As we arrived at Los Lagos, it was - you got it....raining....this would be the weather most of the time we were in Arenal. Anything from a light drizzle to a heavy, heavy downpour, with a few peeks of sunshine tossed in. We checked in and found the hotel to be much better than the reviews on Trip Advisor would indicate! Check in was a breeze, the room was very spacious, but also very basic. But it was all we needed. We had an awesome volcano view - which was totally clouded over at the time. Two chairs on the porch and a little table and chairs. The porch isn't private, it's one long porch shared by the block of rooms, but that was fine, it wasn't crowded when we were there. We were in the group of rooms right by the pool which was great for us. The pools were awesome - the kids loved them! The water slides were super fast! They have their own hot springs, which of course can't compare to Tabacon, but they're free and nicely landscaped and you have a very nice volcano view! Breakfast is included and it was good enough. We had lunch there one day and it was fine.
I know there's been some shock to see the Burger King in La Fortuna, but my son couldn't have been happier! We acutally had lunch twice there....and the place was packed both times. He was in heaven to have real chicken nuggets and french fries! We also ate at Luigi's and had Pizza, it was good. We had mexican at Las Brisas?? I think it's called which was actually very good and we had dinner at La Choza de Laurel (I know I'm not spelling those right) and it was all good.
We really enjoy the freedom of having our own car while in that area. A great example of that was one evening after it had been raining all day, it finally stopped and we went out to the hot springs at the hotel. It was just about dusk and we were sitting in the hot spring closest to the volcano and realized it had totally cleared! My husband and I decided it was now or never to go see the lava - it may not clear again - so we quickly went back to the room, got dressed and piled into the car and drove to the bridge by the observatory lodge. We saw the most incredible lava flow that night! It was still drizzling so I can't believe the volcano was clear - but the lava was amazing. And then we actually saw a burst of lava shoot out of the top followed by a huge rumble! The crowd went wild! Of course my kids panicked a bit and were ready to haul out of there that moment! But I told them it rumbles a lot and if it was going to really erupt everyone would be running (I was hoping I was right!!) I wouldn't leave until they weren't scared anymore and they thought it was cool and could appreciate what they were seeing. It was really cool, I just wish I could have taken pictures that would have come out!
Me and the kids did the zip lines at Los Lagos, there are either 13 or 15 lines, I can't remember - but we chose them becuase my daughter who is 7 could go and they were great! She went with a guide on most lines, except the ones where you didn't have to break. My son went alone on all lines and had a blast! It seemed very professional. The guide who my daughter zipped with really took her under his wing, when we had to walk down a dirt path he put her on his shoulders, and afterwards, walking back from the last platform to the place to return our equipment, she tripped and fell, well he took all her equipment off her, and walked with her holding her hand. When we got back, he washed her knee off, and put bactine on it making sure she was ok. It was quite sweet! There was a big group though, about 20 people maybe? But there were 5 kids total, so that was fun for my kids. My husband was too scared to do it....
We also did the horseback riding right there at Los Lagos. The horses seemed to be really well cared for. However, it was raining...started as a drizzle. What would have been a 2 hour ride ended up over 3 hours and it was about 45 minutes too long. It rained HARD for the last 30 minutes or so and that's just a long time to be on a horse! But before it got to be too long, it was a lot of fun. My kids have never been on a horse before and they both did great. They had no fear, even going up and down the steep, rocky hills or when the horses would gallop. They loved it! It was just so cool to see them riding like that! The ride was supposed to go past the observation point at Los Lagos, but since it was raining you couldn't see the volcano at all - it was like looking at a wall of white!
We also planned on going to the Venando Caves, we had talked to a family who went and they really enjoyed it. However, I think I misunderstoon the guidebook when it said the caves were accessible from the road by the lake, which is a dirt road - it's 17km of ROCKS! No one could drive on that road! We went about 3 KM and turned around. We were afraid the car would be destroyed. Apparently you have to access the caves from the other end of the road....I was disappointed, but we ended up driving to Nuevo Arenal and getting desserts and cappucinno at the German Bakery. What a cute little town that is!
Oh and Los Lagos has their own little crocodile farm and butterfly garden as well as a little ant farm. It's interesting. The grounds are kept very well manicured and are very lush.
Overall our time in Arenal was very, very wet. We had one full day of steady downpours and that was a bummer. I think had it just been my husband and I we may have done a bit more, but it's hard to drag two kids around soaking wet day after day. The drizzle was ok - we did the horseback riding in the rain. Things we wanted to do but didn't - the Hanging Bridges and the Caves and possibly the La Fortuna Waterfalls to name a few! We easily could have spent another day or two there. My son wanted to do another zip line - he was eyeing Sky Trek big time! And he wanted to do the ATV's as well! I guess we'll have to go back!
We woke up on Wednesday morning, had breakfast and Tricolor was to pick up our car at the hotel at 9:00, they called to say they'd be late and to leave the keys at the desk - to this day I assume they got the car becuse I haven't heard otherwise! We were all set for the driver portion of our trip. We decided that for the long drive part we'd hire a driver to minimize stress.....we were waiting for Wilson, who came highly recommended here, to pick us up....he was right on time - prompt as could be and ready to go. He loaded up his van and off we went heading towards Manuel Antonio.....
We left Peace Lodge and headed towards Arenal, we knew we'd need lunch but not too sure what we'd find. We did grab several packs of Pop Tarts at breakfast to hold us over on the road though! The lunch was a bit challenging with kids and with our own car - you know, not leaving luggage in the car and not just stopping somewhere where they might not find something to eat. The choices between Peace Lodge and Arenal were pretty slim. Good thing we'd had a big breakfast!
The drive was very easy, even though that darn GPS contradicted many of the directions we had as we got closer to our destination. We had a card that we got at Peace Lodge and we had our map and you could see where the GPS wanted us to go and it just looked to be several miles (KM) out of the way, so we just ignored it and went the way that made the most sense.
As we arrived at Los Lagos, it was - you got it....raining....this would be the weather most of the time we were in Arenal. Anything from a light drizzle to a heavy, heavy downpour, with a few peeks of sunshine tossed in. We checked in and found the hotel to be much better than the reviews on Trip Advisor would indicate! Check in was a breeze, the room was very spacious, but also very basic. But it was all we needed. We had an awesome volcano view - which was totally clouded over at the time. Two chairs on the porch and a little table and chairs. The porch isn't private, it's one long porch shared by the block of rooms, but that was fine, it wasn't crowded when we were there. We were in the group of rooms right by the pool which was great for us. The pools were awesome - the kids loved them! The water slides were super fast! They have their own hot springs, which of course can't compare to Tabacon, but they're free and nicely landscaped and you have a very nice volcano view! Breakfast is included and it was good enough. We had lunch there one day and it was fine.
I know there's been some shock to see the Burger King in La Fortuna, but my son couldn't have been happier! We acutally had lunch twice there....and the place was packed both times. He was in heaven to have real chicken nuggets and french fries! We also ate at Luigi's and had Pizza, it was good. We had mexican at Las Brisas?? I think it's called which was actually very good and we had dinner at La Choza de Laurel (I know I'm not spelling those right) and it was all good.
We really enjoy the freedom of having our own car while in that area. A great example of that was one evening after it had been raining all day, it finally stopped and we went out to the hot springs at the hotel. It was just about dusk and we were sitting in the hot spring closest to the volcano and realized it had totally cleared! My husband and I decided it was now or never to go see the lava - it may not clear again - so we quickly went back to the room, got dressed and piled into the car and drove to the bridge by the observatory lodge. We saw the most incredible lava flow that night! It was still drizzling so I can't believe the volcano was clear - but the lava was amazing. And then we actually saw a burst of lava shoot out of the top followed by a huge rumble! The crowd went wild! Of course my kids panicked a bit and were ready to haul out of there that moment! But I told them it rumbles a lot and if it was going to really erupt everyone would be running (I was hoping I was right!!)
I wouldn't leave until they weren't scared anymore and they thought it was cool and could appreciate what they were seeing. It was really cool, I just wish I could have taken pictures that would have come out!Me and the kids did the zip lines at Los Lagos, there are either 13 or 15 lines, I can't remember - but we chose them becuase my daughter who is 7 could go and they were great! She went with a guide on most lines, except the ones where you didn't have to break. My son went alone on all lines and had a blast! It seemed very professional. The guide who my daughter zipped with really took her under his wing, when we had to walk down a dirt path he put her on his shoulders, and afterwards, walking back from the last platform to the place to return our equipment, she tripped and fell, well he took all her equipment off her, and walked with her holding her hand. When we got back, he washed her knee off, and put bactine on it making sure she was ok. It was quite sweet! There was a big group though, about 20 people maybe? But there were 5 kids total, so that was fun for my kids. My husband was too scared to do it....
We also did the horseback riding right there at Los Lagos. The horses seemed to be really well cared for. However, it was raining...started as a drizzle. What would have been a 2 hour ride ended up over 3 hours and it was about 45 minutes too long. It rained HARD for the last 30 minutes or so and that's just a long time to be on a horse! But before it got to be too long, it was a lot of fun. My kids have never been on a horse before and they both did great. They had no fear, even going up and down the steep, rocky hills or when the horses would gallop. They loved it! It was just so cool to see them riding like that! The ride was supposed to go past the observation point at Los Lagos, but since it was raining you couldn't see the volcano at all - it was like looking at a wall of white!
We also planned on going to the Venando Caves, we had talked to a family who went and they really enjoyed it. However, I think I misunderstoon the guidebook when it said the caves were accessible from the road by the lake, which is a dirt road - it's 17km of ROCKS! No one could drive on that road! We went about 3 KM and turned around. We were afraid the car would be destroyed. Apparently you have to access the caves from the other end of the road....I was disappointed, but we ended up driving to Nuevo Arenal and getting desserts and cappucinno at the German Bakery. What a cute little town that is!
Oh and Los Lagos has their own little crocodile farm and butterfly garden as well as a little ant farm. It's interesting. The grounds are kept very well manicured and are very lush.
Overall our time in Arenal was very, very wet. We had one full day of steady downpours and that was a bummer. I think had it just been my husband and I we may have done a bit more, but it's hard to drag two kids around soaking wet day after day. The drizzle was ok - we did the horseback riding in the rain. Things we wanted to do but didn't - the Hanging Bridges and the Caves and possibly the La Fortuna Waterfalls to name a few! We easily could have spent another day or two there. My son wanted to do another zip line - he was eyeing Sky Trek big time! And he wanted to do the ATV's as well! I guess we'll have to go back!
We woke up on Wednesday morning, had breakfast and Tricolor was to pick up our car at the hotel at 9:00, they called to say they'd be late and to leave the keys at the desk - to this day I assume they got the car becuse I haven't heard otherwise! We were all set for the driver portion of our trip. We decided that for the long drive part we'd hire a driver to minimize stress.....we were waiting for Wilson, who came highly recommended here, to pick us up....he was right on time - prompt as could be and ready to go. He loaded up his van and off we went heading towards Manuel Antonio.....
Aug 21st, 2008, 02:41 PM
#19
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 10,212
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
ShellD,
What a bummer so much rain. I don't care much for horseback riding when uphill or downhill on steep, slippery, rocky paths!
You make Los Lagos sound so nice, and I can identify really well with your son's thrill at eating at Burger King. Funny what kids come to appreciate!
WONDERFUL that you guys had the lava flow experience, and it sounds as if it was really an awesome moment with a little more action than usual. Good for you!
Can't wait to read more!
What a bummer so much rain. I don't care much for horseback riding when uphill or downhill on steep, slippery, rocky paths!
You make Los Lagos sound so nice, and I can identify really well with your son's thrill at eating at Burger King. Funny what kids come to appreciate!
WONDERFUL that you guys had the lava flow experience, and it sounds as if it was really an awesome moment with a little more action than usual. Good for you!
Can't wait to read more!
Aug 22nd, 2008, 02:32 PM
#20
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 144
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
ShellD - what a great trip!
I can't believe that surprise you found under your pillow - bugs don't normally get to me unless they come near my bed.
I was at a hotel in MA when I made the mistake of turning on the lamp near my bed to read a bit before going to bed and discovered a colony or hive or community of winged ants. They were at least an inch long and the light apparently drove them nuts. There must have been a hundred or so that crawled out from the sockets, the little space between where the lamp met the wall, and from other lamps in the room although they were turned off. I was hopping around shooing them away and one of my friends thought I was dancing! Mind you, there was no music...
But they didn't sting and eventually I made up my mind to go to bed. I did move the bed a few feet away from the lamp and near the center of the room though.
And thanks for the info about the cell phone - I will definitely get a SIM card for my trip in October.
I can't believe that surprise you found under your pillow - bugs don't normally get to me unless they come near my bed.
I was at a hotel in MA when I made the mistake of turning on the lamp near my bed to read a bit before going to bed and discovered a colony or hive or community of winged ants. They were at least an inch long and the light apparently drove them nuts. There must have been a hundred or so that crawled out from the sockets, the little space between where the lamp met the wall, and from other lamps in the room although they were turned off. I was hopping around shooing them away and one of my friends thought I was dancing! Mind you, there was no music...
But they didn't sting and eventually I made up my mind to go to bed. I did move the bed a few feet away from the lamp and near the center of the room though.
And thanks for the info about the cell phone - I will definitely get a SIM card for my trip in October.
