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.)
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