trip report: family trip to Costa Rica
Aug 19th, 2005, 09:03 AM
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trip report: family trip to Costa Rica
We just had the best family vacation we have ever taken! We spent 9 days in CR and visited Arenal, Monteverde, and Manuel Antonio. Since I gathered so much info from this forum, I wanted to write up a report that hopefully will be helpful to others.
Background: The family consisted of myself and husband (both 41) and the kids 15 (boy), 12 (boy) and 7 (girl). We left Maine on July 29 and spent the night in Boston before flying out of Logan the following morning.
July 30: We flew out of Boston at 7:30am and were supposed to arrive in San Jose at 12:30 which would have been in plenty of time to drive to Arenal. Wrong! We were delayed in Miami (American Airlines) for almost 2 hours and then we finally boarded the plane and then sat on the runway for another hour. Luckily, everything else about our vacation went as planned. Also, to compound the delayed flight there was a young guy who had horrible body odor and the flight crew kept moving him around the plane. People could not wait to get off the plane. We arrived at San Jose around 3:00 and the customs lines were horrible. BO guy was there also and the breeze kept blowing his awful smell around. No one was standing within 5 feet of him even though we were crowded in line. We waited outside in line for about 45 minutes and then some kindly worker told us to just go inside to the next line. This was because we were with our children and I saw them do this to other families as well but I wasn't expecting it to happen to us because our children were older and able to stand in line but definitely we were thrilled. Inside we found ourselves in another horrendous line. Again we were moved to the front of another line. So we waited for a total of about 1 1/4 hour and I'm sure those who had to stay in line must have waited 3-4 hours. It was bad! Tricolor car rental was not waiting for us at the airport. They somehow thought they were meeting us at our final hotel but no worries. We were quickly dispatched to their office and after completing the paperwork we were on the road by 4:30. Now I was quite concerned about our late start as I had read all the postings about driving at night but we didn't seem to have much choice as we didn't know our way around and had reservations at Lost Iguana Resort. So off we went.
We drove on a nicely tarred road up, around and through the mountains. Sure enough we looked at our gas guage and it had somehow dropped substantially from when we left. Now here we were in the middle of nowhere in the dark and running out of gas. I was beginning to quietly panic because my husband didn't want to drive to begin with but oh well he didn't want to help with the planning so I did it for him. Anyway, we stopped to ask someone who barely spoke English (we don't speak Spanish) and was told 17 kilometers to get gas. We found the gas station, bought a couple things as we were all starving as only the boys were smart enough to eat crappy pizza while at the Miami airport. Anyway, this was just part of the adventure and once we had gas I wasn't too worried. Now, the reason you shouldn't drive at night is because it is so dark and the roads are narrow and you continuously just wind up , down, and around the mountain. Meanwhile there are people (parents, kids, whoever) and animals just walking along the road. Interestingly, they don't stepped off to the side. They just stay in the road. I would fear for my life walking along that road in the dark but it's just a part of life for them. We also passed churches and people filing in and out of them. It all seemed so neighborly and community oriented and I just thought how unlike our busy lives in the US where we are always in such a hurry.
Lost Iguana:
Finally arrived around 8:30pm after making numerous guesses all the way from San Jose as to which way to go! We also saw an armadillo cross the road just as we passed Tabacon! Well, I'm not sure what happened (I think they double booked) but our 2 rooms were not available so they had arranged for us to stay the night in the owner's villa! Poor us! Boy, was that place nice! It had an outside lava rock shower and a balcony with a hot tub and just a beautiful interior with everything we could desire. My kids were in heaven and couldn't believe we were staying in such a nice place. We couldn't see the volcano and had no idea where to look at this point. After settling in we ate dinner at the Lost Iguana restaurant and then went to bed. We were totally exhausted from our long day of travel.
I woke up early the next morning and from my bed looked out the big window and I was so excited that I could see the top of the volcano. I woke up my husband and we woke up the kids. It was so imposing and unlike anything we had ever seen before! Amazing!
We explored ouside our villa and was absolutely amazed at the scenery that we were not able to see the night before. Beautiful flowers and trees and birds and butterflies all overlooking the mountains and valleys and of course the volcano. I could have sat outside on that balcony on those rocking chairs sipping coffee forever. We all tried out the outdoor shower which was really nice with the flowers and trees growing in there along with the lava rock walls and floor. My 2 youngest hopped in the hot tub and just took in the view and was amazed that we were staying in such a nice place.
We had a wonderful breakfast which comes with the room. It was a buffet with all kinds of choices and is served in the restaurant. This was our first introduction to rice and beans and all the fresh fruit that comes with Costa Rican meals. We loved it. Fresh pineapple, papaya, watermelon and mangos! The coffee was so good that my husband and 15 year old started drinking it (but stopped as soon as vacation was over).
The grounds of the Lost Iguana are very pretty with all the beautiful flowers and tropical growth. I just loved the area and the scenery. The pool area was nice also. My kids enjoyed the kids pool which also had a little hot tub sort of area which overflows from the adults only pool. The adults have a swim-up bar and I enjoyed a drink while watching the kids swim!
Hanging Bridges:
After breakfast we went to the hanging bridges. We paid $10.00 for tickets and was pleasantly surprised that we did not have to pay for my 7 year old. We hiked up from the hotel and then spent about 2 1/2- 3 hours walking through the rainforest. There were about 5 hanging bridges and many stationary bridges. The last one was very high and long. The views were amazing. We just couldn't believe the flowers, vines, roots, huge trees and size of the leaves. So pretty and unlike anything we have seen before. My 15 year old spotted our first howler monkeys. We saw 2 different groups and the second one had a baby. They were fun to watch. We saw lots of birds and butterflies and our first leaf cutter ants. Without a guide we didn't know exactly what we were seeing but it was all good! We all enjoyed this and recommend it to others especially if you can get in for $10.00
to be continued...
Background: The family consisted of myself and husband (both 41) and the kids 15 (boy), 12 (boy) and 7 (girl). We left Maine on July 29 and spent the night in Boston before flying out of Logan the following morning.
July 30: We flew out of Boston at 7:30am and were supposed to arrive in San Jose at 12:30 which would have been in plenty of time to drive to Arenal. Wrong! We were delayed in Miami (American Airlines) for almost 2 hours and then we finally boarded the plane and then sat on the runway for another hour. Luckily, everything else about our vacation went as planned. Also, to compound the delayed flight there was a young guy who had horrible body odor and the flight crew kept moving him around the plane. People could not wait to get off the plane. We arrived at San Jose around 3:00 and the customs lines were horrible. BO guy was there also and the breeze kept blowing his awful smell around. No one was standing within 5 feet of him even though we were crowded in line. We waited outside in line for about 45 minutes and then some kindly worker told us to just go inside to the next line. This was because we were with our children and I saw them do this to other families as well but I wasn't expecting it to happen to us because our children were older and able to stand in line but definitely we were thrilled. Inside we found ourselves in another horrendous line. Again we were moved to the front of another line. So we waited for a total of about 1 1/4 hour and I'm sure those who had to stay in line must have waited 3-4 hours. It was bad! Tricolor car rental was not waiting for us at the airport. They somehow thought they were meeting us at our final hotel but no worries. We were quickly dispatched to their office and after completing the paperwork we were on the road by 4:30. Now I was quite concerned about our late start as I had read all the postings about driving at night but we didn't seem to have much choice as we didn't know our way around and had reservations at Lost Iguana Resort. So off we went.
We drove on a nicely tarred road up, around and through the mountains. Sure enough we looked at our gas guage and it had somehow dropped substantially from when we left. Now here we were in the middle of nowhere in the dark and running out of gas. I was beginning to quietly panic because my husband didn't want to drive to begin with but oh well he didn't want to help with the planning so I did it for him. Anyway, we stopped to ask someone who barely spoke English (we don't speak Spanish) and was told 17 kilometers to get gas. We found the gas station, bought a couple things as we were all starving as only the boys were smart enough to eat crappy pizza while at the Miami airport. Anyway, this was just part of the adventure and once we had gas I wasn't too worried. Now, the reason you shouldn't drive at night is because it is so dark and the roads are narrow and you continuously just wind up , down, and around the mountain. Meanwhile there are people (parents, kids, whoever) and animals just walking along the road. Interestingly, they don't stepped off to the side. They just stay in the road. I would fear for my life walking along that road in the dark but it's just a part of life for them. We also passed churches and people filing in and out of them. It all seemed so neighborly and community oriented and I just thought how unlike our busy lives in the US where we are always in such a hurry.
Lost Iguana:
Finally arrived around 8:30pm after making numerous guesses all the way from San Jose as to which way to go! We also saw an armadillo cross the road just as we passed Tabacon! Well, I'm not sure what happened (I think they double booked) but our 2 rooms were not available so they had arranged for us to stay the night in the owner's villa! Poor us! Boy, was that place nice! It had an outside lava rock shower and a balcony with a hot tub and just a beautiful interior with everything we could desire. My kids were in heaven and couldn't believe we were staying in such a nice place. We couldn't see the volcano and had no idea where to look at this point. After settling in we ate dinner at the Lost Iguana restaurant and then went to bed. We were totally exhausted from our long day of travel.
I woke up early the next morning and from my bed looked out the big window and I was so excited that I could see the top of the volcano. I woke up my husband and we woke up the kids. It was so imposing and unlike anything we had ever seen before! Amazing!
We explored ouside our villa and was absolutely amazed at the scenery that we were not able to see the night before. Beautiful flowers and trees and birds and butterflies all overlooking the mountains and valleys and of course the volcano. I could have sat outside on that balcony on those rocking chairs sipping coffee forever. We all tried out the outdoor shower which was really nice with the flowers and trees growing in there along with the lava rock walls and floor. My 2 youngest hopped in the hot tub and just took in the view and was amazed that we were staying in such a nice place.
We had a wonderful breakfast which comes with the room. It was a buffet with all kinds of choices and is served in the restaurant. This was our first introduction to rice and beans and all the fresh fruit that comes with Costa Rican meals. We loved it. Fresh pineapple, papaya, watermelon and mangos! The coffee was so good that my husband and 15 year old started drinking it (but stopped as soon as vacation was over).
The grounds of the Lost Iguana are very pretty with all the beautiful flowers and tropical growth. I just loved the area and the scenery. The pool area was nice also. My kids enjoyed the kids pool which also had a little hot tub sort of area which overflows from the adults only pool. The adults have a swim-up bar and I enjoyed a drink while watching the kids swim!
Hanging Bridges:
After breakfast we went to the hanging bridges. We paid $10.00 for tickets and was pleasantly surprised that we did not have to pay for my 7 year old. We hiked up from the hotel and then spent about 2 1/2- 3 hours walking through the rainforest. There were about 5 hanging bridges and many stationary bridges. The last one was very high and long. The views were amazing. We just couldn't believe the flowers, vines, roots, huge trees and size of the leaves. So pretty and unlike anything we have seen before. My 15 year old spotted our first howler monkeys. We saw 2 different groups and the second one had a baby. They were fun to watch. We saw lots of birds and butterflies and our first leaf cutter ants. Without a guide we didn't know exactly what we were seeing but it was all good! We all enjoyed this and recommend it to others especially if you can get in for $10.00
to be continued...
Aug 19th, 2005, 04:56 PM
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missypie-of course you are! Start planning! 
wanatrvl: I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed reading your report and seeing Costa Rica once again through the eyes of someone who has just discovered its beauty and pura vida for the first time! It brings back so many memories of oohs and ahhs. You are recreating for me (and probably many others) the excitement and amazement of that first trip to Costa Rica! More! More!
wanatrvl: I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed reading your report and seeing Costa Rica once again through the eyes of someone who has just discovered its beauty and pura vida for the first time! It brings back so many memories of oohs and ahhs. You are recreating for me (and probably many others) the excitement and amazement of that first trip to Costa Rica! More! More!
Aug 20th, 2005, 11:16 AM
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Thanks for the comments. Missypie: I do think you have to be somewhat adventurous for this kind of trip. Most of the people I've mentioned it to think we were nuts and the others thought it was great. I would highly recommend it! Shillmac: I always enjoyed your replies to others and found them to be so helpful and Misha2 I remember your inquiries when you were planning and then your report... it really got me excited for the trip!
Okay..after the Hanging Bridges we only had plans to go to Tabacon Hot Springs in the evening so we had some time to kill. My 15 year old so badly wanted to do the ATV volcano tour that we gave in and inquired about it. It just wasn't what I wanted to do while in Costa Rica. But the tour ended up being already booked and they didn't have openings until the next afternoon and by then we would be on our way to the next leg of our trip. So we decided to take a ride over to the Arenal Observatory Lodge and have a late lunch.
Arenal Observatory Lodge:
It was a pleasant drive over from LI. You do have to pay a 7$ entry fee because you are entering the park but they didn't charge us for our 2 youngest. We enjoyed a basic lunch of burgers, french fries, hot dogs and smoothies. The best part was the close up view of the volcano. The day had become very clear and we could see the entire volcano with clouds of ash & sulphur(??) coming out. It started to rain while we were there so we briefly walked around and checked out the pool and seismograph volcano machine. I thought this place was nice and the view was awesome but I was glad we stayed at the Lost Iguana.
We headed back to Lost Iguana and made the switch to the rooms where we were originally supposed to be. Our kids stayed in one room and we stayed right above them. Though they were just the standard rooms we were plenty satisfied. They had plenty of space, a nice balcony with chairs and a view facing the volcano and they give you a big complimentary bottle of water. Even if we hadn't seen the owner's villas we would have been happy with our rooms. We spoke with the owner and she showed us the luxury rooms which were very nice and had a nice outdoor shower like the one we had in the villa. Very nice! She also spent some time telling us how she came to develope this place and her plans. She was very friendly and nice even though she was busy getting ready for a wedding at the resort later that day. My 2 youngest wanted to get some pool time in and my oldest stayed in the room to take a break and have some space from his siblings. So off to the pool we went. I want to mention how VERY friendly and helpful the staff was. They were always seeing if we needed anything and asking what we had done so far. Just very pleasant but not invasive. While the kids were swimming I noticed the beginning of a small red glow around the top of the volcano. It was just starting to get dark so you could barely see it. It just got better and better as it got darker. My husband took zillions of pictures of it as we watched the kids swim. The bartender and staff kept coming over to see the pictures and it was just pretty exciting. Meanwhile, I went up to check on my son in the room and he was totally oblivious to the volcano. Now, however he was totally obsessed with taking pictures of it. He has his own digital camera and loves to take pictures of scenery and wildlife. So we spent some more time watching the volcano and seeing the lava ooze out and then tumble down the mountain. It was really an impressive sight to watch that in the dark. Then, almost reluctantly, we got ready to go to Tabacon.
Tabacon Hot Springs:
We went in the evening after 7 to get the discounted rate. Again we didn't have to pay for my youngest. I found it to be busier than I expected. We waited for towels and lockers. We were able to find some secluded areas. The springs were pretty amazing with hot hot rushing water. It was actually almost too hot for me to enjoy. It was difficult to ease yourself in they were so hot. My husband and boys didn't find it quite as hot as my daughter and I did. There were also waterfalls and cooler still-water pools, a large pool with waterslide and a couple bars. We wandered around trying out all the different spots and found some quiet little areas. We did notice that a lot of areas were cordoned off so you couldn't get to that spot and had signs saying it was a private area. I don't know if others have experienced that or if it was just because it was in the evening and they don't want people too wander too much. It is quite dark and you really have to watch your footing. Wear water shoes of some sort because you cannot see where you are stepping into the water in the evening. It is very rocky (big and little rocks) in the streams and you could easily twist an ankle. My kids really enjoyed the hot springs but for some reason I found it to be a bit of a letdown. I think maybe if we went again we would try it in the morning so that we could see the gardens and also see what we are stepping into. I would still highly recommend the hot springs!
Back to the Lost Iguana. We all headed to bed. My husband and I fell asleep watching the volcano erupt. How often in a lifetime can you do that? We leave the next moring for our next destination..
Highlights so far:
We loved everything about our trip to Arenal. All of us really enjoyed walking on the hanging bridges and see the beautiful scenery and the howler monkeys. The hot springs are a don't miss! Seeing the volcano erupt was the favorite thing for my husband and I so far. The next morning, my husband and I discovered that my son had improvised and made a tripod on the balcony with furniture and spent quite a bit of time taking pictures of the lava flowing before he fell asleep!
We really loved the Lost Iguana Resort. It was very clean and just nice. The staff was wonderful while we were there. Oh, I almost forgot...they will wash your laundry for free!
Regrets:
Our only regret was that we didn't have enough time in Arenal/La Fortuna. We just didn't see much of the area because our arrival was so late. I had wanted to hike either to the waterfall or to the volcano but we just didn't have enough time. I admire you folks who can pack so much stuff in but I don't know how you do it.
to be continued....off to Monteverde/San Luis...the highlight of our trip!
Okay..after the Hanging Bridges we only had plans to go to Tabacon Hot Springs in the evening so we had some time to kill. My 15 year old so badly wanted to do the ATV volcano tour that we gave in and inquired about it. It just wasn't what I wanted to do while in Costa Rica. But the tour ended up being already booked and they didn't have openings until the next afternoon and by then we would be on our way to the next leg of our trip. So we decided to take a ride over to the Arenal Observatory Lodge and have a late lunch.
Arenal Observatory Lodge:
It was a pleasant drive over from LI. You do have to pay a 7$ entry fee because you are entering the park but they didn't charge us for our 2 youngest. We enjoyed a basic lunch of burgers, french fries, hot dogs and smoothies. The best part was the close up view of the volcano. The day had become very clear and we could see the entire volcano with clouds of ash & sulphur(??) coming out. It started to rain while we were there so we briefly walked around and checked out the pool and seismograph volcano machine. I thought this place was nice and the view was awesome but I was glad we stayed at the Lost Iguana.
We headed back to Lost Iguana and made the switch to the rooms where we were originally supposed to be. Our kids stayed in one room and we stayed right above them. Though they were just the standard rooms we were plenty satisfied. They had plenty of space, a nice balcony with chairs and a view facing the volcano and they give you a big complimentary bottle of water. Even if we hadn't seen the owner's villas we would have been happy with our rooms. We spoke with the owner and she showed us the luxury rooms which were very nice and had a nice outdoor shower like the one we had in the villa. Very nice! She also spent some time telling us how she came to develope this place and her plans. She was very friendly and nice even though she was busy getting ready for a wedding at the resort later that day. My 2 youngest wanted to get some pool time in and my oldest stayed in the room to take a break and have some space from his siblings. So off to the pool we went. I want to mention how VERY friendly and helpful the staff was. They were always seeing if we needed anything and asking what we had done so far. Just very pleasant but not invasive. While the kids were swimming I noticed the beginning of a small red glow around the top of the volcano. It was just starting to get dark so you could barely see it. It just got better and better as it got darker. My husband took zillions of pictures of it as we watched the kids swim. The bartender and staff kept coming over to see the pictures and it was just pretty exciting. Meanwhile, I went up to check on my son in the room and he was totally oblivious to the volcano. Now, however he was totally obsessed with taking pictures of it. He has his own digital camera and loves to take pictures of scenery and wildlife. So we spent some more time watching the volcano and seeing the lava ooze out and then tumble down the mountain. It was really an impressive sight to watch that in the dark. Then, almost reluctantly, we got ready to go to Tabacon.
Tabacon Hot Springs:
We went in the evening after 7 to get the discounted rate. Again we didn't have to pay for my youngest. I found it to be busier than I expected. We waited for towels and lockers. We were able to find some secluded areas. The springs were pretty amazing with hot hot rushing water. It was actually almost too hot for me to enjoy. It was difficult to ease yourself in they were so hot. My husband and boys didn't find it quite as hot as my daughter and I did. There were also waterfalls and cooler still-water pools, a large pool with waterslide and a couple bars. We wandered around trying out all the different spots and found some quiet little areas. We did notice that a lot of areas were cordoned off so you couldn't get to that spot and had signs saying it was a private area. I don't know if others have experienced that or if it was just because it was in the evening and they don't want people too wander too much. It is quite dark and you really have to watch your footing. Wear water shoes of some sort because you cannot see where you are stepping into the water in the evening. It is very rocky (big and little rocks) in the streams and you could easily twist an ankle. My kids really enjoyed the hot springs but for some reason I found it to be a bit of a letdown. I think maybe if we went again we would try it in the morning so that we could see the gardens and also see what we are stepping into. I would still highly recommend the hot springs!
Back to the Lost Iguana. We all headed to bed. My husband and I fell asleep watching the volcano erupt. How often in a lifetime can you do that? We leave the next moring for our next destination..
Highlights so far:
We loved everything about our trip to Arenal. All of us really enjoyed walking on the hanging bridges and see the beautiful scenery and the howler monkeys. The hot springs are a don't miss! Seeing the volcano erupt was the favorite thing for my husband and I so far. The next morning, my husband and I discovered that my son had improvised and made a tripod on the balcony with furniture and spent quite a bit of time taking pictures of the lava flowing before he fell asleep!
We really loved the Lost Iguana Resort. It was very clean and just nice. The staff was wonderful while we were there. Oh, I almost forgot...they will wash your laundry for free!
Regrets:
Our only regret was that we didn't have enough time in Arenal/La Fortuna. We just didn't see much of the area because our arrival was so late. I had wanted to hike either to the waterfall or to the volcano but we just didn't have enough time. I admire you folks who can pack so much stuff in but I don't know how you do it.
to be continued....off to Monteverde/San Luis...the highlight of our trip!
Aug 20th, 2005, 09:07 PM
#7
Wow! I wish I had asked about admission to Tabacon. I think we paid for our kids. Anyway, it was well worth it.
It's nice to know for the future that they have a free laundry sevice at LI.
Great report! Please keep it coming.
It's nice to know for the future that they have a free laundry sevice at LI.
Great report! Please keep it coming.
Aug 22nd, 2005, 08:36 AM
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wanatrvl, Wow what a wonderful trip report, we just got back too, and I have just relived my stay at Arenal from your report. I am so ready to go back!! Isn't it just addicting, it is just so hard to explain, it is like Costa Rica just casts a spell on you.
Aug 22nd, 2005, 11:59 AM
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Okay..I need to wrap this up as it seem that everytime I sit down to do this my 3 kids decide they need to get on the computer! Please excuse the typos and grammatical errors as I can't tell you how often they are interrupting me...
We took off for our very long drive to Ecolodge San Luis (more about this later) which is about 20 minutes further (South) of Monteverde. The drive took us about 5 hours. It seems all of our drives took longer than other people but we just drove carefully not wanting to get a flat tire or have something else happen. Although very long, I found the drive to absolutely beautiful...from the amazing views around the Lake Arenal to the mountains and valleys heading to Santa Elena and Monteverde. The drive around the lake is fine and then once you pass Tilaran it turns bad. It is just very bumpy and is like driving on a rocky trail. We didn't encounter any washouts or parts that were difficult to traverse as I was expecting though. We enjoyed coming upon communities in the middle of nowhere and seeing the small houses, farms, churches and small schools that each one seemed to have. Closer to our destination there were coffee farms covering the steep mountainsides. The scenery was just breathtaking and it is just impossible to capture in words.
We finally make it Santa Elena and Monteverde and I just can't believe those huge tour busses can drive to this area. We notice that many of the locals get around on dirt bikes and the tourists are easily identified by their SUV's.
Ecolodge San Luis:
Now, just for background info, we ended up taking a gamble on going to the Ecolodge. I accidentally happened upon 2 reviews of it on Trip Advisor and it sounded very interesting. Then I searched Fodors and found one brief mention of it. All three highly recommended it so I took a chance and booked it partly based on my 15 year old's desire to pursue a career having something to with animals or ecology (but of course this could change). It is without a doubt the favorite part of our vacation for each person in our family!
The Ecolodge San Luis is a combination mountain lodge and tropical research station run by the University of Georgia with assistance from the San Luis Costa Rican community. It is a 70 hectare working farm that is a model for sustainable development. Included in the price are all kinds of activities like guided hikes in the cloud forest by their naturalists and various opportunities to experience rural Costa Rican culture. We stayed here for 3 nights in a rustic bungalow with no TV or air conditioning. Also included in the cost of our room was 3 meals per day cooked by the local Costa Rican women. You eat family style in a large dining room with everyone else who is staying and/or working at the ecolodge. Also included was a whole range of activities and we took advantage of everything we could. The staff while we were there consisted of several students from the university who had tons of knowledge and enthusiasm, a wildlife vet who had just returned from a research project in Brazil and many locals who worked at the lodge and farm. Probably at other times of year there would be more resident biologist and researchers.
Our first day there we got an introductory hike in the forest with college student and Naturalist Lesley. She showed us a huge mound where leafcutter ants lived and taught the kids about the differnt roles the ants played (ie. soldiers, workers, queen, etc). Then she blindfolded us and had us walk along a trail holding onto a rope. The purpose of this was to help us get more in tune with the smells and sounds of the cloudforest. Very interesting how much more you notice. Then she pointed out various bird calls and helped us identify various birds. She pointed out various trees like the ebony tree and the Guayaba(sp) tree where they get the jelly they make. The hike ended by going through the farms gardens where she pointed out various fruit trees, herbs, and medicinal plants. We got an abbreviated tour because we had arrive kind of late in the day.
We arrived back in time for our first family style meal and our first genuine Costa Rican meal. It was awesome! We had rice and beans, some sort of soup, a potato or Yuca side dish, a meat with sauce, salad and banana bread for dessert. At each meal we also had what our family called a mystery juice which was made fresh daily and could be pineapple, mango, guava, or some combination. We didn't always know what we were eating but they all educated us and we all enjoyed it except my picky 7 year old who was happy when the rice was plain and white.
Back to the room which I now have to confess didn't initially impress us. My kids were so thrilled with LI that this was a bit of a shock because it was "rustic". It had a nice porch with hammocks and rocking chairs. The room was neat with a set of bunk beds, another twin bed and a double. It was a bit dusty upon arrival but clean. However we did see a few dead bugs and at bedtime I founda scorpion in the curtain. Not knowing much about these I was ready to leave. My 12 year old wanted to sleep in the car, and my husband and I were trying not to let my 7 know anything about it since she doesn't care for any bugs. My 15 year old thought it was cool! My husband took the bug up to the main lodge to ask someone about it but the only person still awake was a night watchman who didn't speak Engish..he indicated to my husband either that it would sting you and put you to sleep or that the college students were asleep..my husband wasn't sure. Anyway, having no choice we went to bed with my 7 yearold sleeping with my husband and I in our little bed and my poor 12 year old not sure how he was going to make it through the night!
The next morning the naturalists got quite a kick out of our fear and explained that being stung by the scorpion would be no worse than a bee sting. You see..we don't have these in Maine!
Of to today's activities. My 2 sons and I went off to bird watch with another naturalist and my husband and daughter went with another naturalist to the farm where the Costa Rican farm manager taught my daughter to milk the cow. That was a neat experience and she was told that that milk would be used by the kitchen later that day! Meanwhile, the boys and I were treated to a nice hike down the trail through the woods and meadow where our naturalist pointed out various birds and let us look through the binoculars. She pointed out the sound of a toucan (which I desperately wanted to see while in CR) but we couldn't see it. We saw a blue tananger, many clay colored robins (the Costa Rican national bird), some hummingbirds but nothing too spectatcular. Still it was a pleasant way to start our day.
Then back to the main lodge for breakfast. My 12 year old just loved these pancake the kitchen cooked and said that he could eat them just plain they were so good. We also had lots of fresh fruit, painted rooster, scrambled eggs, and hot chocolate made especially for the kis. For the grown-up we always had the local Monteverde coffee. Delicious!
After breakfast we went off on a nice hike to the waterfall with 2 of the college student/naturalists. You pay a small entry fee to some local farmer who is kind enough to allow people to walk on his property and he also maintains the trail. My older son really enjoyed the male student who came along and talked about his experience at the ecolodge and the various animals he has seen. The hike took one hour and then you arrive at this beautiful waterfall. You can see 2 levels of it and we were told it goes up even higher but because it is set back a bit you can't see the third level from the bottom. We all went for a dip in the water at the bottom of the waterfall. Very cool and refreshing after the hike. It was just like something you would see on a travel brochure or on TV. On the way back my son spotted a tomandua anteater which was pretty exciting because even the naturalists hadn't seen one before and we later learned our Monteverde Cloud Forest guide had only seen one in the 23 years he had been guiding.
Back to the lodge for another great lunch. Then Lesley volunteered to walk down to the local store so we could get the kids an icecream. It was just a little neighborhood market and we listened to her converse in Spanish with the storekeeper. He was very friendly and tried to communicate with the kids.
Surprise...the students arranged for the kids to get a cooking lesson from the Costa Rican women and they had specifically requested that they teach us the pancake recipe my son liked so much. It was really a neat experience with the women unable to speak English and us unable to speak Spanish but we all had a great time. The students would help translate and they wrote down the recipe for us. After we got to eat the pancakes (arepa secas)with the guayaba (sp) jam. It was very cool to bridge that gap with the kitchen crew who worked so hard to prepare and serve those meals!
Another great dinner. Meanwhile another family had arrived. We had been spoiled being the only guests for the past couple days.
This evening we went on a guided night hike. My husband and daughter got bit by some ants and that was the end of the fun for her. We were able to see a sloth way up in a tree.
Day 5:
We got up early to go to the Monteverde Cloud Forest.This is not included with the ecolodge fee. First we had another delicious breakfast of eggs and tomatoes, coffee, toast, fresh fruit rice beans and juice. The kitchen packed us sandwiches and cookies as were going to be gone most of the day.
Monteverde Cloud Forest:
We got to the gate and went through the process of checking in. The ecolodge had made a reservation for a guide. We were expecting to have about 6 to 8 people but ended up with 11 which we weren't thrilled with. But it turned out just fine. The guides name was Bob and he showed us lots of facinating things and had us each look through his telescope and take pictures. The cloud forest was very beautiful and interesting. We were very lucky that Bob found a Quetzal. It was a male and we were all able to see it quite well. Surprisingly, when we left the reserve just outside the gate was a juvenile quetzal just sitting on the powerline. Many people were watching it and actually blocking the way for people to leave the reserve. We also saw an itty bitty orchid growing on a tree that we never would have notice without the guide and his telescope. We also saw howler monkeys, a tarantula, a waterfall, and a huge fig strangler tree. It was so big and had "strangled" the original tree that my kids went inside and took picture up inside the tree looking toward the sky. The whole tour took us about 3 hours and we were moved right along. It would have been nice to have more time to explore on our own but we had arranged to meet naturalist Leslie to go into town and then up to Sky Trek for the zip lines. She had specifically told us to hike up to see the Continental Divide but we had run out of time. So if you are in the Monteverde Cloud Forest, she says this is really worth seeing.
So off we go with who by now seems like our own private tour guide, Lesley. She took us into town to do some shopping and then took us to the Cheese Factory where we all enjoyed the icecream. We had already had some of the cheese up at the lodge. I can personally vouch for the coffee ice cream but it was all good. Off to Sky Trek.
Sky Trek: (not included in Ecolodge fee)
It is a torrential downpour by the time we arrive at Sky Trek. We eat our sandwhiches and hope for the best. Finally, after an hour it stops raining and off we go. Now..I am terrified of heights and am not sure I can go through with this but I am determined. The rest of my family is not the least bit scared, not even my 7 year old daughter. We are put into our gear and off we got to climb the first tower. Just waiting in line I feel the panic creeping up. My family is laughing at me. Of goes my 12 year old and then off goes my 7 year old and then it is my turn. They hook me up and I think my legs are about to give out from under me. Then with a push off I go. I make myself open my eyes...Wow...this is amazing! The first one is lower and shorter than the others so it is a good way to start. The whole thing was great and after the first one I thoroughly enjoyed the zip lines. My entire family loved it. After the first line my daughter had to go wth one of the Sky Trek guides because she was too light to do the rest. She would have preferrred to not go with someone she didn't know. But I was so proud of her (and myself). There was another little boy who was just crying his eyes out and I'm sure that was really difficult for the whole family. The only part I didn't like was we had to climb up one more tower and it was very windy and I was terrified my daughter was going to blow right off but I had no where to go at that point but continue up the ladder. It probably was perfectly fine but I think maybe some type of attachment while climbing up would have made me feel better. The rest of the platforms are easily reached by climbing up the mountain. Oh yeah...for the last 2 it was really windy and we had to double up with some one else. On the last one my son and I didn't make it across. You are suppose to be able to turn yourself around and pull yourself. Yeah right...2700 feet in the air and you are suppose to remain calm and pull yourself...Well, the guide had to come get me and pull me the last 20 feet or so. What an experience! You just have to suck it up and do it if at all possible! It's just one of those things that you may never get to do again.
On the way back to the ecolodge Lesley brought us to the Monteverde coffee co-op where we bought lots of coffee to bring home. She also brought us to a craft co-op where the local women sell their hand made crafts. My daughter got a doll handcrafted by one of the locals.
Back to the ecolodge for dinner. Another great meal. After Lesley and one of the servers (a 20 year old boy whose father is in charge of the dairy herd) put on a bit of a show in the dining room. We had heard that the boy was quite a dancer and my husband asked him to dance with Lesley and show us his moves. He and my very social husband had somehow hit it off despite the language barrier and each had been practicing their nonnative language to a very tiny extent. Anyway Giavani and Lesley showed us a few different traditional dances and then Giavani taught my daughter the dances. It was really neat and they now had quite an audience as a group of teachers from the states had arrived at the ecolodge. Apparently, several times a year the ecolodge and the community put on a fiesta and everyone around is invited and the college students and the locals really get to mingle and get to know each other.
The kids went of to the library to play board games and my oldest went off to take pictures. Moments later my kids coming running out because they found a tarrantula in the library. No big deal...the naturalist simply relocated it outside. My 15 year old is thrilled...a scorpion and a tarantula...the only thing missing in his mind is a poisonous snake!
Day 6:
We leave the ecolodge this morning and no one is ready to leave. The wildlife vet and her assistant are conducting some research in the outdoor classroom. She invites us to come see what they are doing. They have set up special netting to capture the birds and then they are taking measurments, checking their appearance, etc. I don't remember exactly what they were checking for but it was neat to see them doing their work. After another delicious breakfast we take time to say goodbye and thank everyone. My husband gathers everyone he can and takes a big picture of the college students, researchers, and Costa Rican workers that we have come to know. Like I said before, my family truly loved this leg of our trip. We learned so much about the cloud forest and more importantly got to see the University and local community working together. Everyone was absolutely wonderful and welcoming. The students were awesome and really made our family feel special. My kids continue to talk about the students and keep bugging us to get our photos together so we can email them to them. I think this place is an undiscovered gem of Costa Rica. I had hoped to spend more time in Monteverde and Santa Elena but once we were at the ecolodge we just wanted to experience all that we could there. We did want to make sure that we went to the Monteverde Cloud Forest and do a zip line so we ventured out to do that but we were all so glad we stayed at the ecolodge instead of a regular hotel. Anyway...
I was hoping to finish but I just can't seem to cut the writing down...
to be continued...Manuel Antonio
We took off for our very long drive to Ecolodge San Luis (more about this later) which is about 20 minutes further (South) of Monteverde. The drive took us about 5 hours. It seems all of our drives took longer than other people but we just drove carefully not wanting to get a flat tire or have something else happen. Although very long, I found the drive to absolutely beautiful...from the amazing views around the Lake Arenal to the mountains and valleys heading to Santa Elena and Monteverde. The drive around the lake is fine and then once you pass Tilaran it turns bad. It is just very bumpy and is like driving on a rocky trail. We didn't encounter any washouts or parts that were difficult to traverse as I was expecting though. We enjoyed coming upon communities in the middle of nowhere and seeing the small houses, farms, churches and small schools that each one seemed to have. Closer to our destination there were coffee farms covering the steep mountainsides. The scenery was just breathtaking and it is just impossible to capture in words.
We finally make it Santa Elena and Monteverde and I just can't believe those huge tour busses can drive to this area. We notice that many of the locals get around on dirt bikes and the tourists are easily identified by their SUV's.
Ecolodge San Luis:
Now, just for background info, we ended up taking a gamble on going to the Ecolodge. I accidentally happened upon 2 reviews of it on Trip Advisor and it sounded very interesting. Then I searched Fodors and found one brief mention of it. All three highly recommended it so I took a chance and booked it partly based on my 15 year old's desire to pursue a career having something to with animals or ecology (but of course this could change). It is without a doubt the favorite part of our vacation for each person in our family!
The Ecolodge San Luis is a combination mountain lodge and tropical research station run by the University of Georgia with assistance from the San Luis Costa Rican community. It is a 70 hectare working farm that is a model for sustainable development. Included in the price are all kinds of activities like guided hikes in the cloud forest by their naturalists and various opportunities to experience rural Costa Rican culture. We stayed here for 3 nights in a rustic bungalow with no TV or air conditioning. Also included in the cost of our room was 3 meals per day cooked by the local Costa Rican women. You eat family style in a large dining room with everyone else who is staying and/or working at the ecolodge. Also included was a whole range of activities and we took advantage of everything we could. The staff while we were there consisted of several students from the university who had tons of knowledge and enthusiasm, a wildlife vet who had just returned from a research project in Brazil and many locals who worked at the lodge and farm. Probably at other times of year there would be more resident biologist and researchers.
Our first day there we got an introductory hike in the forest with college student and Naturalist Lesley. She showed us a huge mound where leafcutter ants lived and taught the kids about the differnt roles the ants played (ie. soldiers, workers, queen, etc). Then she blindfolded us and had us walk along a trail holding onto a rope. The purpose of this was to help us get more in tune with the smells and sounds of the cloudforest. Very interesting how much more you notice. Then she pointed out various bird calls and helped us identify various birds. She pointed out various trees like the ebony tree and the Guayaba(sp) tree where they get the jelly they make. The hike ended by going through the farms gardens where she pointed out various fruit trees, herbs, and medicinal plants. We got an abbreviated tour because we had arrive kind of late in the day.
We arrived back in time for our first family style meal and our first genuine Costa Rican meal. It was awesome! We had rice and beans, some sort of soup, a potato or Yuca side dish, a meat with sauce, salad and banana bread for dessert. At each meal we also had what our family called a mystery juice which was made fresh daily and could be pineapple, mango, guava, or some combination. We didn't always know what we were eating but they all educated us and we all enjoyed it except my picky 7 year old who was happy when the rice was plain and white.
Back to the room which I now have to confess didn't initially impress us. My kids were so thrilled with LI that this was a bit of a shock because it was "rustic". It had a nice porch with hammocks and rocking chairs. The room was neat with a set of bunk beds, another twin bed and a double. It was a bit dusty upon arrival but clean. However we did see a few dead bugs and at bedtime I founda scorpion in the curtain. Not knowing much about these I was ready to leave. My 12 year old wanted to sleep in the car, and my husband and I were trying not to let my 7 know anything about it since she doesn't care for any bugs. My 15 year old thought it was cool! My husband took the bug up to the main lodge to ask someone about it but the only person still awake was a night watchman who didn't speak Engish..he indicated to my husband either that it would sting you and put you to sleep or that the college students were asleep..my husband wasn't sure. Anyway, having no choice we went to bed with my 7 yearold sleeping with my husband and I in our little bed and my poor 12 year old not sure how he was going to make it through the night!
The next morning the naturalists got quite a kick out of our fear and explained that being stung by the scorpion would be no worse than a bee sting. You see..we don't have these in Maine!
Of to today's activities. My 2 sons and I went off to bird watch with another naturalist and my husband and daughter went with another naturalist to the farm where the Costa Rican farm manager taught my daughter to milk the cow. That was a neat experience and she was told that that milk would be used by the kitchen later that day! Meanwhile, the boys and I were treated to a nice hike down the trail through the woods and meadow where our naturalist pointed out various birds and let us look through the binoculars. She pointed out the sound of a toucan (which I desperately wanted to see while in CR) but we couldn't see it. We saw a blue tananger, many clay colored robins (the Costa Rican national bird), some hummingbirds but nothing too spectatcular. Still it was a pleasant way to start our day.
Then back to the main lodge for breakfast. My 12 year old just loved these pancake the kitchen cooked and said that he could eat them just plain they were so good. We also had lots of fresh fruit, painted rooster, scrambled eggs, and hot chocolate made especially for the kis. For the grown-up we always had the local Monteverde coffee. Delicious!
After breakfast we went off on a nice hike to the waterfall with 2 of the college student/naturalists. You pay a small entry fee to some local farmer who is kind enough to allow people to walk on his property and he also maintains the trail. My older son really enjoyed the male student who came along and talked about his experience at the ecolodge and the various animals he has seen. The hike took one hour and then you arrive at this beautiful waterfall. You can see 2 levels of it and we were told it goes up even higher but because it is set back a bit you can't see the third level from the bottom. We all went for a dip in the water at the bottom of the waterfall. Very cool and refreshing after the hike. It was just like something you would see on a travel brochure or on TV. On the way back my son spotted a tomandua anteater which was pretty exciting because even the naturalists hadn't seen one before and we later learned our Monteverde Cloud Forest guide had only seen one in the 23 years he had been guiding.
Back to the lodge for another great lunch. Then Lesley volunteered to walk down to the local store so we could get the kids an icecream. It was just a little neighborhood market and we listened to her converse in Spanish with the storekeeper. He was very friendly and tried to communicate with the kids.
Surprise...the students arranged for the kids to get a cooking lesson from the Costa Rican women and they had specifically requested that they teach us the pancake recipe my son liked so much. It was really a neat experience with the women unable to speak English and us unable to speak Spanish but we all had a great time. The students would help translate and they wrote down the recipe for us. After we got to eat the pancakes (arepa secas)with the guayaba (sp) jam. It was very cool to bridge that gap with the kitchen crew who worked so hard to prepare and serve those meals!
Another great dinner. Meanwhile another family had arrived. We had been spoiled being the only guests for the past couple days.
This evening we went on a guided night hike. My husband and daughter got bit by some ants and that was the end of the fun for her. We were able to see a sloth way up in a tree.
Day 5:
We got up early to go to the Monteverde Cloud Forest.This is not included with the ecolodge fee. First we had another delicious breakfast of eggs and tomatoes, coffee, toast, fresh fruit rice beans and juice. The kitchen packed us sandwiches and cookies as were going to be gone most of the day.
Monteverde Cloud Forest:
We got to the gate and went through the process of checking in. The ecolodge had made a reservation for a guide. We were expecting to have about 6 to 8 people but ended up with 11 which we weren't thrilled with. But it turned out just fine. The guides name was Bob and he showed us lots of facinating things and had us each look through his telescope and take pictures. The cloud forest was very beautiful and interesting. We were very lucky that Bob found a Quetzal. It was a male and we were all able to see it quite well. Surprisingly, when we left the reserve just outside the gate was a juvenile quetzal just sitting on the powerline. Many people were watching it and actually blocking the way for people to leave the reserve. We also saw an itty bitty orchid growing on a tree that we never would have notice without the guide and his telescope. We also saw howler monkeys, a tarantula, a waterfall, and a huge fig strangler tree. It was so big and had "strangled" the original tree that my kids went inside and took picture up inside the tree looking toward the sky. The whole tour took us about 3 hours and we were moved right along. It would have been nice to have more time to explore on our own but we had arranged to meet naturalist Leslie to go into town and then up to Sky Trek for the zip lines. She had specifically told us to hike up to see the Continental Divide but we had run out of time. So if you are in the Monteverde Cloud Forest, she says this is really worth seeing.
So off we go with who by now seems like our own private tour guide, Lesley. She took us into town to do some shopping and then took us to the Cheese Factory where we all enjoyed the icecream. We had already had some of the cheese up at the lodge. I can personally vouch for the coffee ice cream but it was all good. Off to Sky Trek.
Sky Trek: (not included in Ecolodge fee)
It is a torrential downpour by the time we arrive at Sky Trek. We eat our sandwhiches and hope for the best. Finally, after an hour it stops raining and off we go. Now..I am terrified of heights and am not sure I can go through with this but I am determined. The rest of my family is not the least bit scared, not even my 7 year old daughter. We are put into our gear and off we got to climb the first tower. Just waiting in line I feel the panic creeping up. My family is laughing at me. Of goes my 12 year old and then off goes my 7 year old and then it is my turn. They hook me up and I think my legs are about to give out from under me. Then with a push off I go. I make myself open my eyes...Wow...this is amazing! The first one is lower and shorter than the others so it is a good way to start. The whole thing was great and after the first one I thoroughly enjoyed the zip lines. My entire family loved it. After the first line my daughter had to go wth one of the Sky Trek guides because she was too light to do the rest. She would have preferrred to not go with someone she didn't know. But I was so proud of her (and myself). There was another little boy who was just crying his eyes out and I'm sure that was really difficult for the whole family. The only part I didn't like was we had to climb up one more tower and it was very windy and I was terrified my daughter was going to blow right off but I had no where to go at that point but continue up the ladder. It probably was perfectly fine but I think maybe some type of attachment while climbing up would have made me feel better. The rest of the platforms are easily reached by climbing up the mountain. Oh yeah...for the last 2 it was really windy and we had to double up with some one else. On the last one my son and I didn't make it across. You are suppose to be able to turn yourself around and pull yourself. Yeah right...2700 feet in the air and you are suppose to remain calm and pull yourself...Well, the guide had to come get me and pull me the last 20 feet or so. What an experience! You just have to suck it up and do it if at all possible! It's just one of those things that you may never get to do again.
On the way back to the ecolodge Lesley brought us to the Monteverde coffee co-op where we bought lots of coffee to bring home. She also brought us to a craft co-op where the local women sell their hand made crafts. My daughter got a doll handcrafted by one of the locals.
Back to the ecolodge for dinner. Another great meal. After Lesley and one of the servers (a 20 year old boy whose father is in charge of the dairy herd) put on a bit of a show in the dining room. We had heard that the boy was quite a dancer and my husband asked him to dance with Lesley and show us his moves. He and my very social husband had somehow hit it off despite the language barrier and each had been practicing their nonnative language to a very tiny extent. Anyway Giavani and Lesley showed us a few different traditional dances and then Giavani taught my daughter the dances. It was really neat and they now had quite an audience as a group of teachers from the states had arrived at the ecolodge. Apparently, several times a year the ecolodge and the community put on a fiesta and everyone around is invited and the college students and the locals really get to mingle and get to know each other.
The kids went of to the library to play board games and my oldest went off to take pictures. Moments later my kids coming running out because they found a tarrantula in the library. No big deal...the naturalist simply relocated it outside. My 15 year old is thrilled...a scorpion and a tarantula...the only thing missing in his mind is a poisonous snake!
Day 6:
We leave the ecolodge this morning and no one is ready to leave. The wildlife vet and her assistant are conducting some research in the outdoor classroom. She invites us to come see what they are doing. They have set up special netting to capture the birds and then they are taking measurments, checking their appearance, etc. I don't remember exactly what they were checking for but it was neat to see them doing their work. After another delicious breakfast we take time to say goodbye and thank everyone. My husband gathers everyone he can and takes a big picture of the college students, researchers, and Costa Rican workers that we have come to know. Like I said before, my family truly loved this leg of our trip. We learned so much about the cloud forest and more importantly got to see the University and local community working together. Everyone was absolutely wonderful and welcoming. The students were awesome and really made our family feel special. My kids continue to talk about the students and keep bugging us to get our photos together so we can email them to them. I think this place is an undiscovered gem of Costa Rica. I had hoped to spend more time in Monteverde and Santa Elena but once we were at the ecolodge we just wanted to experience all that we could there. We did want to make sure that we went to the Monteverde Cloud Forest and do a zip line so we ventured out to do that but we were all so glad we stayed at the ecolodge instead of a regular hotel. Anyway...
I was hoping to finish but I just can't seem to cut the writing down...
to be continued...Manuel Antonio
Aug 23rd, 2005, 06:36 AM
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Manuel Antonio:
We stayed at Hotel Costa Verde which we found to be a good value for our family. We were all able to stay in one room as they provided an extra mattress for our 15 year old. My kids enjoyed the pool (nothing fancy) and the room and grounds were nice. We ate at all of the restaurants and especially liked Las Cantina BBQ and El Avion which is a restaurant/bar built into a plane which was involved in the CIA/Iran contra affair. It had very nice views of the ocean as well.
We also ate at the Si Como No casual restaurant as well. This made my kids jealous of their much nicer pool area but we were still happy with our accomodations. At Costa Verde we saw on the grounds lots of big iguanas, some squirrel monkeys and my son spotted an anteater with another couple. As for feeding the monkeys, we saw absolutely no sign of that. We were lucky to see them shortly after our arrival as we were checking out the grounds and happened to see them crossing the street by way of the tree cover. We had hoped to see them while eating dinner but was told that sometimes they come and sometimes they don't.
Our first full day we spent at Manuel Antonio National Park. We hired a guide and joined a group of about 8 people. We personally found the guides and parking lot attendants to be rather aggressive in getting your business. It turned out well and we were able to see all kinds of things with the help of our guide, Leo. It cost us $21 for 5 of us to get into the park(no charge for my 2 youngest) and $20 pp for the guide who didn't charge for my youngest. We saw 2 & 3 toed sloths, capuchin and howler monkeys, a coati who aggressively went after someone's posessions on the beach, various birds, and learned about various plants and trees. The hike through was very pretty as the jungle in the park flows right down to the beach. Afet our guided tour we went back in and swam at I think beach number 2. The water was nice and warm (the ocean in Maine is freezing). The scenery looking out toward the ocean is just beautiful.
The next day we headed down to the public beach as it is hard to justify paying entry fees into the park again. On our drive to the beach we encountered massive traffic problem as a tree had fallen and smashed a car, hotel roof and then subsequently caused a domino effect of pulling down several power lines. Power was out for quite some time. Tour busses were stuck trying to turn around. It was chaos. We had to turn around as you could not get through by vehicle. So we just walked to the beach. We spent the day at Playa Espadilla and rented boogie boards for the kids which we all used. Again, it was beautiful and we had a nice time overall. However, we really did not like the constant barrage of people trying to sell you stuff. The same people continue to walk by selling their pottery, sunglasses, coconuts, mango in bags that has been out in the hot sun all day, t-shirts, etc. Since I have never been to the Bahamas or Mexico, I found it to be pretty aggressive. The will move on when you say no but they will agin stop by on their way back through. You have to say no thank you repeatedly to the same people over and over. I guess the solution to this is to just go back into the national park where their are no venders. On our way back to the hotel we did by a few souveniors from the street vendow who line the beach and the street.
Our overall feeling about Manuel Antonio is that it was our least favorite place. The area and views were breathtaking. But it is so developed that there is hotel on top of hotel with a whole lot more construction going on. I think I would have liked it more about 10 years before it beacame over-run with tourists like me! Don't get me wrong we still enjoyed it and thought it was beautiful and I'm glad we went there as we got to see and swim in the Pacific Ocean.
For our last night we went back toward San Jose and stayed at the Orquideas Inn. This also worked out fine and we headed home the next day.
Summary:
We loved our trip to Costa Rica. Our whole family agrees it was the best vacation we have ever taken and we highly recommend it to others. The country and the people were awesome. We didn't meet one single person who was not friendly and we never felt unsafe. We followed all the basic warnings about using your common sense and had no problems whatsoever. There were lots of things we didn't get t do because of time constraints and we'd love to go back. I hope others who go to Costa Rica enjoy it as much as my family did. Pura Vida!
We stayed at Hotel Costa Verde which we found to be a good value for our family. We were all able to stay in one room as they provided an extra mattress for our 15 year old. My kids enjoyed the pool (nothing fancy) and the room and grounds were nice. We ate at all of the restaurants and especially liked Las Cantina BBQ and El Avion which is a restaurant/bar built into a plane which was involved in the CIA/Iran contra affair. It had very nice views of the ocean as well.
We also ate at the Si Como No casual restaurant as well. This made my kids jealous of their much nicer pool area but we were still happy with our accomodations. At Costa Verde we saw on the grounds lots of big iguanas, some squirrel monkeys and my son spotted an anteater with another couple. As for feeding the monkeys, we saw absolutely no sign of that. We were lucky to see them shortly after our arrival as we were checking out the grounds and happened to see them crossing the street by way of the tree cover. We had hoped to see them while eating dinner but was told that sometimes they come and sometimes they don't.
Our first full day we spent at Manuel Antonio National Park. We hired a guide and joined a group of about 8 people. We personally found the guides and parking lot attendants to be rather aggressive in getting your business. It turned out well and we were able to see all kinds of things with the help of our guide, Leo. It cost us $21 for 5 of us to get into the park(no charge for my 2 youngest) and $20 pp for the guide who didn't charge for my youngest. We saw 2 & 3 toed sloths, capuchin and howler monkeys, a coati who aggressively went after someone's posessions on the beach, various birds, and learned about various plants and trees. The hike through was very pretty as the jungle in the park flows right down to the beach. Afet our guided tour we went back in and swam at I think beach number 2. The water was nice and warm (the ocean in Maine is freezing). The scenery looking out toward the ocean is just beautiful.
The next day we headed down to the public beach as it is hard to justify paying entry fees into the park again. On our drive to the beach we encountered massive traffic problem as a tree had fallen and smashed a car, hotel roof and then subsequently caused a domino effect of pulling down several power lines. Power was out for quite some time. Tour busses were stuck trying to turn around. It was chaos. We had to turn around as you could not get through by vehicle. So we just walked to the beach. We spent the day at Playa Espadilla and rented boogie boards for the kids which we all used. Again, it was beautiful and we had a nice time overall. However, we really did not like the constant barrage of people trying to sell you stuff. The same people continue to walk by selling their pottery, sunglasses, coconuts, mango in bags that has been out in the hot sun all day, t-shirts, etc. Since I have never been to the Bahamas or Mexico, I found it to be pretty aggressive. The will move on when you say no but they will agin stop by on their way back through. You have to say no thank you repeatedly to the same people over and over. I guess the solution to this is to just go back into the national park where their are no venders. On our way back to the hotel we did by a few souveniors from the street vendow who line the beach and the street.
Our overall feeling about Manuel Antonio is that it was our least favorite place. The area and views were breathtaking. But it is so developed that there is hotel on top of hotel with a whole lot more construction going on. I think I would have liked it more about 10 years before it beacame over-run with tourists like me! Don't get me wrong we still enjoyed it and thought it was beautiful and I'm glad we went there as we got to see and swim in the Pacific Ocean.
For our last night we went back toward San Jose and stayed at the Orquideas Inn. This also worked out fine and we headed home the next day.
Summary:
We loved our trip to Costa Rica. Our whole family agrees it was the best vacation we have ever taken and we highly recommend it to others. The country and the people were awesome. We didn't meet one single person who was not friendly and we never felt unsafe. We followed all the basic warnings about using your common sense and had no problems whatsoever. There were lots of things we didn't get t do because of time constraints and we'd love to go back. I hope others who go to Costa Rica enjoy it as much as my family did. Pura Vida!
Aug 23rd, 2005, 07:25 AM
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Excellent report , thanx for sharing . Indeed sad about Manuel Antonio ( my fave area ) , it was amazing 15 years ago , even 10 years ago . We found big changes on out trip this year ,my wish is that they realize before it is too late ...... and stop the building .
Aug 23rd, 2005, 03:35 PM
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faithie: MA is still beautiful. But I bet it was even more beautiful in your earlier travels. I'm glad we were able to visit your favorite place. Thanks for your comments.
missypie: check out my response to your other thread. It really is a beautiful place. good luck with your trip research.
missypie: check out my response to your other thread. It really is a beautiful place. good luck with your trip research.
Aug 23rd, 2005, 03:46 PM
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Yes , still beautiful , but views that were once onobstructed , just a carpet of green jungle , are now dotted with building . I do not like change , so I found it sad ...... I still want to return , and encourage others to visit . Just do your research to know what to expect . I think Missy Pie would like it .
Aug 24th, 2005, 05:10 AM
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I think you should be very commended for the vacation you gave your kids, Wanatrvl. You have shown them that there's a difference between being a traveler and being a tourist and they will always treasure this trip. It is by experiences like the one you had that we can truely educate our youth about other cultures. Great job!
Aug 27th, 2005, 10:28 PM
#17
wanatrvl.
Your ecolodge experience sounds like something I would love to do with my kids. What did it cost?
How did you end up feeling about the rooms later on? Were they cleaned regularly? Were the bathroom facilities okay?
BTW, I felt the same way about MA as you did. If it weren't for the Finca Valmy tour we might have regretted going there.
Your ecolodge experience sounds like something I would love to do with my kids. What did it cost?
How did you end up feeling about the rooms later on? Were they cleaned regularly? Were the bathroom facilities okay?
BTW, I felt the same way about MA as you did. If it weren't for the Finca Valmy tour we might have regretted going there.
Aug 28th, 2005, 03:35 PM
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misha2: For more info on the ecolodge check out their website at www.ecolodgesanluis.com. There you will find a lot of info and a way to contact the place for a price quote. It cost us a little more than $700 for our family of 5 for three nights. It sounds like a lot but not when you factor in three meals a day plus the activities. Like I said it was the BEST experience for everyone in my family and the thing they talk the most about when talking about our vacation. There was one other family there who had a 7 or 8 year old boy and he really missed the TV and video games so I don't think the place is for everyone. Also, family members should be interested in nature. Regarding the rooms, I think you can see pictures on the website. We stayed in a bungalow which is a cabin divided up into 4 private rooms. Ours had a set of bunk beds, another twin bed, and a bigger bed. They each have a private bathroom. The room is cleaned, swept and beds made each day. Though the toilets flush, you are asked to put the paper in the trashcan. I considered it "rustic" because it isn't like the generic hotels. There was no A/C and the bugs did get in. There weren't lots of them but I wasn't used to it after staying at LI. We also saw some cockroaches which for me was the worst thing of all though I know that is to be expected in the tropics and many other places. So, yes, the place was clean and the bathrooms were fine. It just isn't sparkling because it isn't new and it isn't luxury. I highly recommend it! If you have more questions, feel free to ask.
Also, thanks for your comment about MA. Glad you enjoyed the Finca Valmy tour...we just ran out of time to do things..I would have liked to kayak in the mangroves...
I'm jealous that you are already planning a return trip. Enjoy...
Also, thanks for your comment about MA. Glad you enjoyed the Finca Valmy tour...we just ran out of time to do things..I would have liked to kayak in the mangroves...
I'm jealous that you are already planning a return trip. Enjoy...
Aug 31st, 2005, 09:51 PM
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Wow, thanks for sharing in such detail, wantatrvl! We are going to CR for almost 3 weeks with our kids (ages 5 and 10) and like adventure travel (we did Thailand for 4 weeks with them two years ago) so the information will be useful for us.
Anyone familiar with the Puerto Viejo area? I am thinking about heading to the east side of the Country for our last week.
Anyone familiar with the Puerto Viejo area? I am thinking about heading to the east side of the Country for our last week.
