Costa Rica Tirp Report Part 1
Feb 11th, 2005, 04:33 PM
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Costa Rica Tirp Report Part 1
First off, I have posted a link to my personal website where I have pictures of our trip. It helps you get an idea what some of the hotels, rooms, restaurants, etc look like.
http://www.joshuamoorephotography.co...costarica1.htm
Sunday, January 16, 2005: Throwing caution to the wind, my husband (29), his cousin (35), her daughter (14), and me (27) decided to make the 4 hour drive over the mountains on windy, narrow roads at night from San Jose/Alajuela to La Fortuna, Costa Rica. (Getting through customs took over an hour which was part of the delay in getting out of the airport on time.) We drove part of the way through the Las Angeles Cloud Forest, where your are literally in a cloud. The clouds, one lane bridges, and rain made visibility horrendous. At times there was only 20 foot visibility. I would not recommend making this drive anytime if any part of it will be after dark (which starts about 5:30 pm). It is dangerous, and it was only on our way back that we could see we were driving on the sides of cliffs with no shoulder and a straight drop off. Yikes!
Our first meal was outside by an open flame enjoying traditional Costa Rican food of rice, beans, meat, plantain. Although it is not spicy, it was tasty and inexpensive. In fact, most of the food in La Fortuna is cheap and delicious (try seafood pizza - wow!) The weather was humid and about 70 degrees; most of the time it stayed around that temperature with the occastional rain during the day. Our waiter gave us a complimentary drink made of Costa Rican coffee liquor. He called it an erection, which made us double over with laughter. It wasn't til later that we figured out he was trying to say eruption, as in the volcano.
Monday, January 17, 2005: We stayed 4 nights at Los Lagos (www.hotelloslagos.com ) resort. The swimming pool is heated by thermal hot springs from the volcano, which was really nice on cool evenings. It is as close to the active volcano, Arenal, as you can get. Our room, according to the front desk, was 1 km from the lava flow and at night we would sit and watch it. The rooms were plain but very spacious and clean. They included breakfast, which was a large, delicious buffet (although they did not vary the food each day.)
Los Lagos has beautiful grounds with a tropical garden, waterfalls, frog farm, crocodile pens, and a butterfly house you can walk through. Some of the younger, smaller crocodiles were in open air pits; if you were crazy and so inclined you could touch them. The bigger crocs were behind a chain link fence; again you are so close you could stick your hand in and touch them. Of course none of us were crazy enough to do that. You have to love foreign country's safety standards.
Our first activity in Costa Rica was hiking at the El Silencio Senderos, which means "the silence trails" in Spanish. Oh, how wrong they were. First off, the trails were supposedly only 3 km and take a little over an hour. Three hours into the hike we were getting exhausted. We stopped at a beautiful and close view of the volcano to take a picture of the four of us. Almost at the end of the trails an animal in the brush let lose a scary warning howl, which sounded like a sick man wheezing. He did it twice and we were all freaked out. The Costa Rican man at the entrance heard it too and told us it was a jaguar!!! He was pretty excited too since that is very unusual. Who knows if it really was a jaguar, but it was scary. It was an intensive hike, and if you are not in good shape and wearing good shoes, don't do it. There is no turning back once you are out there. We are all thin and exercise frequently, and we were huffing and puffing by the end of the trail. It would have been nice to have a guide to point out the wildlife I'm sure we were overlooking.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005: It was raining (what can you expect . . . we're in a tropical rain forest) so we decided to find an outdoor activity that would be ok in the rain - La Fortuna waterfalls! It was misting in the rainforest anyway and the broad leaves covered us from the big drops. The climb down and back to the waterfalls was even worse than the hike the day before. The steps were slippery, wet, and scary. It is safe enough if you are wearing appropriate shoes, but if you have bad knees I wouldn't recommend this activity. The waterfall is beautiful, and you can swim around it, although accounts say people have died who got caught under the force of the falls, so swim with caution. It was too cold for us to get in, so we just waded around the water.
Outside of the entrance to the waterfalls two little boys were cutting the tops off coconuts and selling them. You'd take a straw and punch it in the top and drink the fresh coconut water. It was barely sweet and very refreshing after the strenuous hike to the waterfalls.
On Los Lagos property there is a 2km rough road to a lookout point opposite the lava flow from the volcano. That afternoon my hubby & I wanted to scout the area out before driving there at night. We were lucky to see a coatimundi. He was so cute and begged for food.
We were all very impressed with Costa Rican food, despite the fact guide books say it is rather bland. The sailor's rice (rice filled with fresh seafood), the ceviche (raw fish marinated in lime juice), and rice and beans were all very tasty, not to mention the fresh fruit. That evening we went to Tabacon Hot Springs, which was a bit pricy (around $29 per person including a very mediocre buffet). They are natural hot springs from the ground heated by the volcano. Each spring is a different temperature, some so hot we couldn't get in. It was lightly misting and we were surrounded by beautiful vegetation. Although it was beautiful we all agreed it was our least favorite activity. It was crowded and full of tourists, many who were drunk and getting rowdy. If we were to do it over, we would go to the Las Fuentes Termales, which are on the opposite side of the road from Tabacon. Less crowded, only $8, and less touristy.
We were so lucky to see lava 2 nights we were there. That night we saw quite a show (which you can see one of the pics on our website). We could hear the popping of the rocks as they spewed out and hit the other cool rocks on the mountain.
http://www.joshuamoorephotography.co...costarica1.htm
Sunday, January 16, 2005: Throwing caution to the wind, my husband (29), his cousin (35), her daughter (14), and me (27) decided to make the 4 hour drive over the mountains on windy, narrow roads at night from San Jose/Alajuela to La Fortuna, Costa Rica. (Getting through customs took over an hour which was part of the delay in getting out of the airport on time.) We drove part of the way through the Las Angeles Cloud Forest, where your are literally in a cloud. The clouds, one lane bridges, and rain made visibility horrendous. At times there was only 20 foot visibility. I would not recommend making this drive anytime if any part of it will be after dark (which starts about 5:30 pm). It is dangerous, and it was only on our way back that we could see we were driving on the sides of cliffs with no shoulder and a straight drop off. Yikes!
Our first meal was outside by an open flame enjoying traditional Costa Rican food of rice, beans, meat, plantain. Although it is not spicy, it was tasty and inexpensive. In fact, most of the food in La Fortuna is cheap and delicious (try seafood pizza - wow!) The weather was humid and about 70 degrees; most of the time it stayed around that temperature with the occastional rain during the day. Our waiter gave us a complimentary drink made of Costa Rican coffee liquor. He called it an erection, which made us double over with laughter. It wasn't til later that we figured out he was trying to say eruption, as in the volcano.
Monday, January 17, 2005: We stayed 4 nights at Los Lagos (www.hotelloslagos.com ) resort. The swimming pool is heated by thermal hot springs from the volcano, which was really nice on cool evenings. It is as close to the active volcano, Arenal, as you can get. Our room, according to the front desk, was 1 km from the lava flow and at night we would sit and watch it. The rooms were plain but very spacious and clean. They included breakfast, which was a large, delicious buffet (although they did not vary the food each day.)
Los Lagos has beautiful grounds with a tropical garden, waterfalls, frog farm, crocodile pens, and a butterfly house you can walk through. Some of the younger, smaller crocodiles were in open air pits; if you were crazy and so inclined you could touch them. The bigger crocs were behind a chain link fence; again you are so close you could stick your hand in and touch them. Of course none of us were crazy enough to do that. You have to love foreign country's safety standards.
Our first activity in Costa Rica was hiking at the El Silencio Senderos, which means "the silence trails" in Spanish. Oh, how wrong they were. First off, the trails were supposedly only 3 km and take a little over an hour. Three hours into the hike we were getting exhausted. We stopped at a beautiful and close view of the volcano to take a picture of the four of us. Almost at the end of the trails an animal in the brush let lose a scary warning howl, which sounded like a sick man wheezing. He did it twice and we were all freaked out. The Costa Rican man at the entrance heard it too and told us it was a jaguar!!! He was pretty excited too since that is very unusual. Who knows if it really was a jaguar, but it was scary. It was an intensive hike, and if you are not in good shape and wearing good shoes, don't do it. There is no turning back once you are out there. We are all thin and exercise frequently, and we were huffing and puffing by the end of the trail. It would have been nice to have a guide to point out the wildlife I'm sure we were overlooking.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005: It was raining (what can you expect . . . we're in a tropical rain forest) so we decided to find an outdoor activity that would be ok in the rain - La Fortuna waterfalls! It was misting in the rainforest anyway and the broad leaves covered us from the big drops. The climb down and back to the waterfalls was even worse than the hike the day before. The steps were slippery, wet, and scary. It is safe enough if you are wearing appropriate shoes, but if you have bad knees I wouldn't recommend this activity. The waterfall is beautiful, and you can swim around it, although accounts say people have died who got caught under the force of the falls, so swim with caution. It was too cold for us to get in, so we just waded around the water.
Outside of the entrance to the waterfalls two little boys were cutting the tops off coconuts and selling them. You'd take a straw and punch it in the top and drink the fresh coconut water. It was barely sweet and very refreshing after the strenuous hike to the waterfalls.
On Los Lagos property there is a 2km rough road to a lookout point opposite the lava flow from the volcano. That afternoon my hubby & I wanted to scout the area out before driving there at night. We were lucky to see a coatimundi. He was so cute and begged for food.
We were all very impressed with Costa Rican food, despite the fact guide books say it is rather bland. The sailor's rice (rice filled with fresh seafood), the ceviche (raw fish marinated in lime juice), and rice and beans were all very tasty, not to mention the fresh fruit. That evening we went to Tabacon Hot Springs, which was a bit pricy (around $29 per person including a very mediocre buffet). They are natural hot springs from the ground heated by the volcano. Each spring is a different temperature, some so hot we couldn't get in. It was lightly misting and we were surrounded by beautiful vegetation. Although it was beautiful we all agreed it was our least favorite activity. It was crowded and full of tourists, many who were drunk and getting rowdy. If we were to do it over, we would go to the Las Fuentes Termales, which are on the opposite side of the road from Tabacon. Less crowded, only $8, and less touristy.
We were so lucky to see lava 2 nights we were there. That night we saw quite a show (which you can see one of the pics on our website). We could hear the popping of the rocks as they spewed out and hit the other cool rocks on the mountain.
Feb 11th, 2005, 06:07 PM
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twoinluv, your trip reports have been so entertaining! It's so much fun to read about Costa Rica through your eyes. 
Sounds like you guys had a lot of good laughs, enjoying the Pura Vida!
I am so glad you had a good time! Thumbs up on the cute zipline guide, Estaban. Shame on you for not getting a photo to include with Josh's other photos!
And thanks for giving us all the opportunity to enjoy your pics!
Sounds like you guys had a lot of good laughs, enjoying the Pura Vida!I am so glad you had a good time! Thumbs up on the cute zipline guide, Estaban. Shame on you for not getting a photo to include with Josh's other photos!
And thanks for giving us all the opportunity to enjoy your pics!
Feb 11th, 2005, 06:16 PM
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Just wanted to add, your photos are absolutely beautiful! All of them, very good photography! I was interested to see someone reading Janet Evanovich! I'm reading Metro Girl right now and it looks like you were too! Such a fun author!
You captured the sunsets so well, and the flora and fauna. Nice to have such great material to work with, huh? Good job, you guys! Thanks again for sharing! Also enjoyed the photo narration. . . .
You captured the sunsets so well, and the flora and fauna. Nice to have such great material to work with, huh? Good job, you guys! Thanks again for sharing! Also enjoyed the photo narration. . . .
Feb 11th, 2005, 06:22 PM
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And one other thing--then I'll shut up--loved your comment about the ferreteria! I said the same thing last summer. . .such a clever remark! Glad to see others have the same goofy sense of humor as I; we should start a club. . . When are you going back? We were there last in October, and already I'm starting to whine!
When are you going back? We were there last in October, and already I'm starting to whine!
Feb 12th, 2005, 10:36 AM
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twoinluv: Your webpage is ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! (Not meaning to "yell" but WOW!) Great job! Those coconuts you had are called "Agua Pipa" ... very healthy. Our local paper just published an article about the pipas and indicated that coconut water is one of the highest sources of electrolytes know to man, with the same level of electrolytic balance as we have in our blood. Heck with that Gatorade ... pass me a pipa! Good for Josh in his machete attempt and probably he has a greater appreciation of the Ticos skill in using it If I attempted to cut a hole in the top of a pipa at the exact size of a straw I would no doubt be missing at least one finger!
Lisa
If I attempted to cut a hole in the top of a pipa at the exact size of a straw I would no doubt be missing at least one finger!Lisa
Feb 12th, 2005, 08:21 PM
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Shillmac - thank you for your compliments. My hubby is a pretty good photographer (and of course I'm not prejudiced!) He was a good sport having his wife and 2 cousins swooning over Estaban, the cutie at Los Lagos. I would like to say we are going back soon, but we are looking at Kenya this winter. Although, I'd like to twist his arm and go back to Costa Rica, only to other areas we did not see the first time, such as Corcovado and Liberia. I have to say Costa Rica is the 2nd most beautiful place I have ever seen. It is truly paradise.
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