Volcanogirl's Costa Rica Trip Report
Jul 19th, 2008, 07:07 AM
#61
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Thanks, Michelle - those tongues are amazing; I was just looking at our videos and one with the hummers shows their little tongues flicking in and out like a frog - so crazy looking!
Well, we woke up on our last day to pouring rain, not good because we had saved the waterfall hike for last. I delved into my healthy brownie breakfast while my husband slept in. And then we got a break - sunshine! We left for the hike about 7:00 a.m. and had the entire waterfall gardens to ourselves. We hiked, took pictures, took video and saw some pretty birds. At the end we saw a coati enjoying a banana! The staff leaves food out for them, so we finally got a good picture of a coati, had only gotten pictures of their backsides in the past. Since you can't see the last set of falls from the park, we hiked down the road about 10 minutes or so to see the big one from the bridge. Thanks to everyone who helped me find it! The waterfall gardens are a highly recommend spot for me - loved it!
We caught the shuttle back, packed up, and met our driver. We left pretty early, not wanting to make the same mistake twice. One weird thing happened, just as we were about to arrive at the airport, our Peace Lodge driver pulled over and told us we were switching cars. A kind of beaten up taxi pulled up, and we got out and went with that driver. I have no idea why. Our driver asked if it was okay, and we said yes, but his English wasn't great, so we never figured it out!
Only one person ahead of us for departure tax and then at Continental we breezed through since Mr. Volcano travels a lot and we have elite status. There was a school/mission group trying to check in, so I was really glad we had the short line. The whole thing only took about 1/2 hour, so we had over 2 hours to just relax and shop at the gift shop.
When we boarded the plane, they upgraded us to first class - yea! I don't get to do it much, so that was pretty fun. Then they announced the temperature in Houston - 97 degrees, and there was audible groaning from the entire plane! How I would miss the 50s and 60s we enjoyed for so much of our trip!
We arrived in Houston safely and within 1/2 hour had breezed through customs and immigration and were in the shuttle headed home.
Time to start planning for next year.
Well, we woke up on our last day to pouring rain, not good because we had saved the waterfall hike for last. I delved into my healthy brownie breakfast while my husband slept in. And then we got a break - sunshine! We left for the hike about 7:00 a.m. and had the entire waterfall gardens to ourselves. We hiked, took pictures, took video and saw some pretty birds. At the end we saw a coati enjoying a banana! The staff leaves food out for them, so we finally got a good picture of a coati, had only gotten pictures of their backsides in the past. Since you can't see the last set of falls from the park, we hiked down the road about 10 minutes or so to see the big one from the bridge. Thanks to everyone who helped me find it! The waterfall gardens are a highly recommend spot for me - loved it!
We caught the shuttle back, packed up, and met our driver. We left pretty early, not wanting to make the same mistake twice. One weird thing happened, just as we were about to arrive at the airport, our Peace Lodge driver pulled over and told us we were switching cars. A kind of beaten up taxi pulled up, and we got out and went with that driver. I have no idea why. Our driver asked if it was okay, and we said yes, but his English wasn't great, so we never figured it out!
Only one person ahead of us for departure tax and then at Continental we breezed through since Mr. Volcano travels a lot and we have elite status. There was a school/mission group trying to check in, so I was really glad we had the short line. The whole thing only took about 1/2 hour, so we had over 2 hours to just relax and shop at the gift shop.
When we boarded the plane, they upgraded us to first class - yea! I don't get to do it much, so that was pretty fun. Then they announced the temperature in Houston - 97 degrees, and there was audible groaning from the entire plane! How I would miss the 50s and 60s we enjoyed for so much of our trip!
We arrived in Houston safely and within 1/2 hour had breezed through customs and immigration and were in the shuttle headed home.
Time to start planning for next year.
Jul 19th, 2008, 07:25 AM
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What an enjoyable report, VG! Thanks so much for sharing with us!
You really had some wonderful adventures, didn't you? I'm in awe of your wildlife sightings. You've got me all fired up to get back down there next year!
Get those pictures posted...
You really had some wonderful adventures, didn't you? I'm in awe of your wildlife sightings. You've got me all fired up to get back down there next year!
Get those pictures posted...
Jul 30th, 2008, 05:00 PM
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What a wonderful trip report VG. Your descriptions make me feel like I'm back in Costa Rica. I suppose that's because you are a repeat visitor and know the country well.
I am jealous of all of the wildlife, particularly birds, that you saw. My niece will just die if I tell her someone on the travel blog is a quetzal magnet. She is 16 years old, and her one wish of Costa Rica was to see a quetzal. We didn't see a single quetzal in Monteverde, and we were there for three nights. We even went to Zoo Ave on our last day, and the quetzals were in the far back of the cage, so she could not get a good look. Well, I guess that is one reason to return to Costa Rica.
You also had great luck at Poas, with Arenal volcano, wildlife on the Cano Negro tour, and with Zender (who by the way sounds like a fantastic guide). Next time you go to Costa Rica if you want a traveling companion, let me know. It sounds like you had an angel on your shoulder, whispering: "the quetzal is in that tree, the baby howler monkey is over there.."
I can't believe your trip started out so badly, but clearly you made up for it (many times over again). You saw so much wildlife, that I wonder if I was actually in the same locations you were!
I'm glad you had such a great time in Monteverde, because I know you are an avid Arenal fan. I enjoyed Monteverde as well, but I have to admit, that having just made that trip to/from Monteverde, the roads really discourage visitors.
Welcome home and thanks for the great report.
I am jealous of all of the wildlife, particularly birds, that you saw. My niece will just die if I tell her someone on the travel blog is a quetzal magnet. She is 16 years old, and her one wish of Costa Rica was to see a quetzal. We didn't see a single quetzal in Monteverde, and we were there for three nights. We even went to Zoo Ave on our last day, and the quetzals were in the far back of the cage, so she could not get a good look. Well, I guess that is one reason to return to Costa Rica.
You also had great luck at Poas, with Arenal volcano, wildlife on the Cano Negro tour, and with Zender (who by the way sounds like a fantastic guide). Next time you go to Costa Rica if you want a traveling companion, let me know. It sounds like you had an angel on your shoulder, whispering: "the quetzal is in that tree, the baby howler monkey is over there.."
I can't believe your trip started out so badly, but clearly you made up for it (many times over again). You saw so much wildlife, that I wonder if I was actually in the same locations you were!
I'm glad you had such a great time in Monteverde, because I know you are an avid Arenal fan. I enjoyed Monteverde as well, but I have to admit, that having just made that trip to/from Monteverde, the roads really discourage visitors.
Welcome home and thanks for the great report.
Aug 27th, 2008, 06:17 PM
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VG,
awesome trip report.
a couple of things:
i use snapfish.com to post pix. seems to be an OK site
i can recommend canoa aventura out of la fortuna for a cano negro trip. marco is a great guide.
While in MV/Santa Elena area folks should visit CASEM, which is a co-op that sells items made by the ticos. www.casemcoop.org
consider taking a tour and sampling the goodies at the cheese factory founded by the Quakers
If you want to do a coffee tour consider the Monteverde Coffee Tour, which is run by a Fair Trade cooperative that is made up of small farmers. this was one of my favorite sidetrips. Guillermo is an amazing guide. beautiful ride to the farm of victor. what a host. monteverde-coffee.com
Another of my favorites was the frog pond in Santa Elena. went twice. ranario.com
awesome trip report.
a couple of things:
i use snapfish.com to post pix. seems to be an OK site
i can recommend canoa aventura out of la fortuna for a cano negro trip. marco is a great guide.
While in MV/Santa Elena area folks should visit CASEM, which is a co-op that sells items made by the ticos. www.casemcoop.org
consider taking a tour and sampling the goodies at the cheese factory founded by the Quakers
If you want to do a coffee tour consider the Monteverde Coffee Tour, which is run by a Fair Trade cooperative that is made up of small farmers. this was one of my favorite sidetrips. Guillermo is an amazing guide. beautiful ride to the farm of victor. what a host. monteverde-coffee.com
Another of my favorites was the frog pond in Santa Elena. went twice. ranario.com
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