Feb 23-24 Last day of our tour in Costa Rica

 We checked out of our Monteverde hotel (note: lousy food) to head back to San Jose.  

Near the hotel was the Monteverde Butterfly garden where a delightful, humorous English young man gave us a presentation & tour.  First he told about and showed us the insects & snakes in CR ; his presentation style was hysterical! As he showed us scorpions, cockroaches, etc he said that they really wanted to just have a creepy crawley exhibit but they called it a butterfly garden because no one would come it if were advertised as a cockroach garden.  He then walked us through 3 different butterfly enclosed gardens.  They were separated because their habitats varied and each needed particular plants, light, etc. We all got some outstanding pix.

Our drive back to San Jose (near the airport) was long but we stopped for lunch and our guide entertained us with stories & info.  We found out this is his first Road Scholar tour he’s led, though he’s been a tour guide around 20 years.  He’s done an excellent job.

Normally the “Farewell dinner” is a rather nice event.  But this hotel is terrible.  We had to wait over an hour for our rooms; they messed up several room assignments, then the dinner was in a huge noisy room with perhaps 100 other people.  We could barely hear one another.  And food was terrible.  So I know Road Scholar will hear about this one!

Fortunately 1 couple in our group from NY invited us to their suite where  about 9 of us had a proper conclusion to our tour. We debriefed and socialized—-very nice.

Reflections on the trip overall:   As I was told by everyone I spoke to in advance who had been here, the people in CR were lovely.  Always friendly, welcoming, and they would go out of their way to help you.  As tourism is really important in this country, folks were very appreciative that we came, given the long absence of tourists they have had.

. Of course, everyone told me how beautiful it is here and we were not disappointed. It was my first venture out of the country after the pandemic. I learned that it is OK to travel. I always had a mask on in the airports in airplanes and busy places. But there were very very few people doing the same. Makes no sense to me  

Everyone in the group was very satisfied with the itinerary. We had expert presenters at each stop on a wide array of topics, which were very informative and entertaining. Things went very smoothly, and the only glitch we had was in our last hotel. But it was nothing serious that could not be overcome. I was really glad that Montezuma did not visit me on this trip, although I came prepared with antibiotics and Imodium. Very glad I did not need them.  

I tried to use a few phrases in Spanish along the way  and found out I could do OK. Merle has pretty good Spanish skills, and she often assisted many of us with communication.

Adios y gracias, Costa Rico! 

( I am posting this from my iPhone, and I am not able to do a good job of proofreading , so please forgive any typos.)

Feb 22 Wed. Monteverde

 So up here in the mountains, we had Howling wind all night…but I decided it was just part of the atmosphere.

We began our day with a hike & birding in the “cloud forest.”  I got several very good pictures.  It was a shorter walk than the last couple days, but the guide could see a number of people were really dragging, so he cut it short (rightfully).  Also there were a lot of tourists on the trail and it got in the way of our walk.

Next we went to a hummingbird display.  Lots of feeders were placed in a small area and we could get up close to see them & take pix.  

Lunch was at a very nice place nearby so that next we could visit a bat rescue group where bats were in a darkened area to simulate their environment.  We heard a most informational presentation by a young man who said his grandparents were among the first Quakers to come here.

We then had some free time to walk around the local town at our own pace.  Later we had a couple free hours back at the hotel before a 6:00 presentation.  The excellent speaker was a woman who runs a local dairy farm and who has made vast improvement in the farming methods to minimize negative impacts on the environment.  She had a powerful presentation about the dire condition of the world’s ecosystem due to man’s behaviors, but also shared ways to mitigate the effects.  

Dinner in hotel.  This has been a very congenial group & well run tour.

As always please forgive typos, as I write in a rush with minimal time on Wi-Fi.

Feb 21 Arenal to Monteverde

 I am writing this on the 22—no time to write on the 21st.

During the night, I was awakened by rustling.  Sounded like (and was) rats!  Next to my bed, at bottom of the wall, was a large gap, clearly chewed through by critters.  CaCa!  After some thought about my options, I decided to move to the other bed, put in ear plugs, and try to sleep.  Fortunately eventually I did.  

We left the Arenal volcano area in the morning and went to Lake Arenal—the largest man made lake in CR.  It supplies hydroelectricity to much of the country.  We got on a small boat (just us)  to go to the opposite side.  On the way, the driver hugged the coasts and keep an eye out for sites.  We managed to see some lovely birds.  We saw only a couple boats…whereas in the US there would be lots of them, skiers, etc.  

Once on land, we boarded a van to take us to Monteverde——on quite challenging sometimes dirt and always bumpy roads.  

Once here, we went to a plantation that grows coffee and chocolate.  Had a tour of the crops, informational  talks along the way, and of course samples.

Arrived at hotel in Monteverde.  Our presentation in the evening was most interesting.  A group of Quakers from the US moved here in the 1940s to live where they thought life was more peaceful.  They were evidently the first settlers of the area, so they had HUGE obstacles to overcome (no roads, no civilization).  The CR wife of the first settler (American from Alabama)  was our speaker.  She’s in early 80s.  Her husband died in 2022 at 99 yrs!  So she told the personal story of how they settled (and named) Monteverde.  A lovely presentation.  She said at some point a documentary was made of them, called either “Sweet Home, Monteverde” or “Costa Rica”—-she couldn’t recall which.  I’ll have to look it up.

Monday Feb 20, 2023. Arenal/La Fortuna

 We’re staying at a sustainable hotel near Arenal Volcano called Arenal Paraiso. Unfortunately the top of the volcano has been in the clouds, so we haven’t seen it yet.  The hotel is lovely and has thermal pools of varying temperatures and after lunch we had a dip.  We really needed it because the morning was spent at Arenal Hanging Bridges Park.  Just there alone we walked a 3 mile trail and my phone says all together I walked 6 miles today.  The hike was quite strenuous—-up and down hills and across 5 long suspension bridges and several shorter ones.  I was very unsure I could do it, as I have a fear of heights.  But I had support & encouragement from my friends and vowed I would not look down.  I made it!  The idea of this park is that we were up level with many tree tops and had a completely different perspective of the rainforest from ground level.  We saw some tropical birds and a few animals.  I didn’t take any pix of them because I was afraid of dropping my phone during the walk.  But I can get pix from others later.  

Later in the afternoon we went to the town of La Fortuna for some free time—a very touristy town but with enough locals to make it interesting for us to walk around.  Finally we went to an organic farm and saw a large number of vegetables and fruits—-especially those unique to CR.  They had a couple dancers demonstrate a few dances in traditional clothes then served us dinner.  (Not to my liking so this was the first time I was unhappy with a meal—so I can’t complain.)

We are all exhausted.  Tomorrow we pack up for next adventures.  

Sunday Feb 19 Sarapiqui—to Arenal

 Our stay at Sarapiqui was unique and very special.  We were smack dab in the middle of the rainforest day and night.  Sorry to leave, but more adventures await.

Our little bus took us to the shore of the Sarapiqui river where we boarded a river boat.  Th idea was to seek wildlife as we cruised along (slowly).  The driver kept a lookout and pointed out some spectacular sights.  A few: Many birds e.g. blue heron, snake bird (Anhinga), kingfisher.  Animals included monkeys, alligator, bats, turtles, sloths.  I have pix but no time to upload them now.

Next we went to a pineapple plantation.  We saw the crops, heard a very informative presentation, and ate a lot of pineapple.  Tour finished with giving us pina coladas!

Raphael our guide took us to lunch at a typical “soda”—a roadside cafe with typical food.  Fish, salad, rice & beans (of course) etc.  We were Surrounded by locals in this busy restaurant, so our meal felt very non-touristy.

And finally we drove to the Arenal area—-to a resort overlooking the volcano.  Merle & I managed to get in a quick massage before our short lecture about volcanos.

This resort is comprised of individual casitas, so we each have our own little building.  Nice! 

Sat Feb 18–Sarapiqui, Costa Rica

 Today we had the opportunity to get up early to do some birding here at the lodge/preserve.  At 6:15 I managed to join the small number of folks who also took the opportunity.  I learned a lot from others who are seasoned birders and especially our guide, Raphael, who knew a ton!  I can’t name them, unfortunately, but will try to post some pix and ask others to identify.  I was especially amused by the iguana in the tree.

Again the food was excellent and as I get to talk to others in our group I’m enjoying them.  Only 2 of us from Calif—and the other gal is from Sacramento area!  Others are from e.g. Virginia, Vermont, TX and Montana.  Four ladies are RNs!  Always a welcome addition!

Our morning activity was an excursion to a nearby home where a lady showed us how she makes cheese from her own cows.  She also demonstrated making tortillas and cooking them over the outdoor, wood-burning stove.  Very traditional.  I have lots of pix.  A young lady who served as interpreter was very cute and she also taught our group how to do Latin dances later in the day: salsa, meringue, cumbia.  Great fun!  I did my Lola Latin yell11”aye-yi-yi” and kept everyone laughing at the gringa!

The afternoon activity was to go rafting very nearby.  I decided to skip it, fearing more injury to my back.  Merle also decided to stay back, so we went down to the riverside to watch them go by.  However, Mother Nature had a different idea.  There was a heavy duty downpour, and I was very glad I stayed back.  Merle & I went to a covered location, hoping after the rain they could go rafting, but after waiting nearly an hour, we gave up.  Of course, then they did raft by.  Oh well…

Tried to add pix but having trouble.  Will try another time.

As always please forgive typos…😀💤

Feb,17, 2023: San Jose CR to Sarapiqui

 Our first full day with our group.  We began with a lecture by a local expert —a naturalist guide.  He discussed some of the history of CR as well as eco tourism as it relates to CR.  This was a good introduction for us And he was a good presenter. 

Our primary guide, Raphael, then took us on a walking tour of San Jose.  Merle & I weren’t aware of where he would take us when we went walking on our own yesterday, so unfortunately he retraced many of the steps we made yesterday. But of course he gave us the background that we didn’t have yesterday. We saw the national theater of Costa Rica which is a great source of pride for the locals. Fortunately yesterday we did see the gold museum on our own as he did not take us there today.  

After our walking tour, we returned to the hotel to board our bus bound for the rain forest. On our way, Henrique took us to a private home of a Costa Rican woman —Wendy—who is also a tour guide of her own. She —with her mother and daughter —prepared an outstanding lunch for us on the patio of the house. It was partway up the mountain so we had a taste of what we will see in the cloud forest. The food included a lovely pumpkin soup, rice with chicken and refried beans, and fruit. I was very happy that the food was not spicy and was everything I would eat. I took a bunch of pictures at Wendy’s house outside & in as it was unique.  

When we got back on our bus we began to climb the mountain into the cloud forest and ultimately the  rainforest. In route we crossed the continental divide. There was a light rain the whole time as you would expect. Our destination was a place called Selva Verde Lodge & Preserve.  We are deep in the rainforest! Thick, sooo lush, really magical.  We had a bit of free time and then met as a group for a 6 o’clock lecture before dinner. 

Speaker this time  was a Biologist and  Natural history guide.  Her résumé was  very impressive and her presentation was thoroughly informative. She showed fabulous slides and I will confess that some pictures I will be sharing were hers that I just snapped with my new iPhone camera! She told us that in the Sarapiqui area there are 6000 to 7000 kinds of moths and butterflies, over 2000 kinds of  plants, 469 kinds of birds.  In CR there are 1000 species of orchids & 11% of all the bats in the world.  Staggering figures. 

This lodge & preserve is very comfortable & well appointed situated in the middle of the rainforest.  The dinner was buffet style and had a wonderful array of local and fresh foods. I could not be more surprised & pleased with the food. Water at resort is purified in dispensers but I am not doing tap water, tho others are.  I’m being super careful!

I am writing this about 9 o’clock in the evening and the forest sounds out there are quite amazing.  I wish someone would play me an audio tape and identify the various sounds that I am hearing. Or maybe I don’t want to know what all of them are?  😁The concierge at the hotel admonished us not to leave the main path when we are walking around the grounds. Particularly at night. Lots of critters! 

Costa Rica —San Jose— Feb 16, 2023

 Our first  day in San Jose Costa Rica.  I landed about midnight last night (ugh) and somehow found my way to the hotel.  From the taxi I could see that the “working girls” were busy on the corners of San Jose. (Another ugh!). It was a challenge to unwind and settle down, and don’t think I had a lot of sleep, but oh well.  As we often say on trips: “you can sleep when you get home.”

I met up with Merle at breakfast in the hotel.  How fun it was to finally see each other after all this time (years)  stuck at home!  Our last trip finished in Nov. 2019…..a lifetime ago.  After breakfast, we had the day to ourselves, so we walked around town and visited the museum of Costa Rica, focusing on the history and gold from pre-Colombian time on.  Interesting, but a very hard time the back—angry at myself for not bringing back brace.  We had a nice lunch at a different hotel—the lovely hotel of Costa Rica—a Hilton property.  Restaurant was on top floor with a view of the city.  Weather is cooler than I expected and already I regret not bringing warmer clothes.  Guess I’ll have to buy something…😉

I had a siesta before we met up with the whole group at 6 pm.  Our tour guide, Raphael, is delightful.  There are only 15 people in our group!  Excellent!  Two married couples and all the rest women alone.  He gave us an orientation and we met the group.  Seems like a very congenial group!  Que bueno!  

We’ll start the tour early tomorrow and leave San Jose late morning bound for Sarapiqui.

Off to a good start!

Costa Rica Feb 2023 Preview

 My Road Scholar trip— “A Taste of Costa Rica”—will be Feb 15-24. My travel friend ( Merle) is going too!  My first international trip since pandemic. The last we saw each other was our “world tour” in 2019.  A very long time ago…

The itinerary includes:

San Jose, CR—arrival

Sarapiqui —Rainforest; Birding; River rafting; Latin dancing

Arenal —Volcano; Hanging Bridges; Nature safari; Plantation; cross Lake Arenal 

Monteverde—Coffee plantation; Quakers in CR (history); clouds forest; bat jungle; conservation

San Jose CR—Butterfly garden. Conclusion

I will try to post in the blog about my experiences and attach pictures when possible!

Jane