Our Amazing Costa Rican Adventure
Posted on | July 12, 2010 | 4 Comments
Our Amazing Costa Rica Adventure Part I.
We just got back from an amazing 12 day adventure in Costa Rica! What a beautiful country. The landscape, flora, fauna, animals and the people of Costa Rica, Ticos were very welcoming. We set out on our journey with 6 friends (2 other families). We began a few months back planning and coordinating, updating spreadsheets and booking reservations. The anticipation was building and we were not disappointed.
We landed in San Jose, Costa Rica on Friday morning, got our bags and off we went to the rental car place. I’ve seen cars in better condition, but after we got on the road, it became pretty clear why there were some dents and dings in the cars. With rocky, bumpy, dirt roads twisting and turning going up and down, it was obvious. I for one was glad we did not have a shiny new car and very thankful for the 4X4 functionality.
We had our first cultural experience when we started hearing beeping and people saying things to us in Spanish while driving in San Jose (which was a bit congested). Su matrícula está disminuyendo el auto! Su matrícula está disminuyendo el auto! What? What are they saying? Did we do something wrong? Then as the policia drove by on a motor bike, saying the same thing, we asked, what? Que? Su placa de la licencia… So we pulled the car over to find out that about our license plate was falling off and we were only about 15 minutes away from where we picked up the car. Our friend Steve found a coconut lying on the ground and proceeded to bang the bolt holding the plate back in place. This continued to be an issue or a source of comedy for the rest of the trip. And although we might not have understood at first what everyone was saying to us, it was very nice that they were warning us, had we lost it, it would have been a problem.
For the first 4 days we stayed at Hotel Lava Tacotal in La Fortuna. Again, everyone was very nice and helpful. Very nice moderate hotel with an AMAZING view of Arenal Volcano. So close we can see the rocks falling down the volcano during it’s several small eruptions throughout the day.
In the Arenal / La Fortuna area on day 2 went we on a hike in the cloud forest and to our first waterfall, then we went zip lining. We had some anxious people, myself included. But we ALL did it and it was incredible! One of my favorite activities of the entire trip. At the highest point we were over 600 ft above the jungle canopy and the cable was over 1400 feet. Wow! It is not natural to be hanging out over the jungle suspended from a cable, but it sure is fun.
While in La Fortuna, we went on a hike in the Arenal Volcano National Park to the rocky base of the volcano, we swam in the pool at the hotel with gorgeous views of the volcano, we hiked to La Fortuna waterfall, hiked through the cloud forest on swinging bridges, went shopping in downtown La Fortuna and enjoyed an amazing afternoon at the Hot Springs. Eco Termales was a beautiful sanctuary with about 4 different natural pools heated by the volcano at different temperatures. Felt great after the hiking. We also had a fantastic lunch, it was a traditional “typical” is what the Ticos call it, meal. It consisted of rice, beans, chicken or steak, salad and tortillas. Fresh juice is served or available with every meal.
Our next stop was Monteverde, Costa Rica were we stayed in a beautiful hotel El Establo. We were there for one night. While in Monteverde we hiked in the cloud forest, this time to the Continental Divide and we also went on a Coffee and Sugar Cane plantation tour, El Trapiche Tour. This was a great tour and I highly recommend it! While on the tour we got to see and learn about the process of making coffee and sugar cane, see a sloth, learn about plantains, bananas and root vegetables, ride in an ox cart, taste sugar cane, make candy from the sugar cane and enjoyed the coffee. It was a family farm and everyone had a role in the tour, our tour guide Diego was wonderful, he was the son of the farm owner and he grew up on the farm.
Then on to Domincal, Costa Rica where we rented a gorgeous home, Seabreeze Casa for 7 days with an incredible mountain view. More about this part of our journey in Part II.
To see pictures of our trip, check out the gallery page HERE.
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About
Keep Your Face to the Sunshine and you will Never see the Shadow - Helen Keller
Welcome to Save My Sunshine. I'm Kim, a wife, mother, amateur photographer, blogger, djembe drummer enthusiast, artist, animal lover, dog owner, beach dweller, travel junkie, tattoo bearing, positive thinker, newbie "empty nester", and a full time professional. ...and that's just on a Monday.
I write about my thoughts, things I find interesting, my tribe and our adventures. Come back often, as you never know how this will evolve. I am a work in progress and so is this site. Take a look around and stay awhile, I hope you will find a little sunshine while you're here.
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Peace & Love,
Kim xoxoFollow Save My Sunshine
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July 12th, 2010 @ 11:24 pm
Oh, how exciting! And cool! Looking forward to part II!
July 12th, 2010 @ 11:54 pm
wow, 12 days, I bet it was tough to come back to reality. Gorgeous images, can’t wait to hear part two of the story!
July 18th, 2010 @ 10:40 pm
We really appreciate what you write about here. We try and visit your blog every day so keep up the good articles!
July 26th, 2010 @ 10:56 pm
Thank you Brenda!