Costa Rica Vacation - Day 8

I booked a fishing trip with BlueFin Charters on our last day in Manuel Antonio. I'd done a few searches while we were in San Jose and picked these guys because their web site looked decent. The boat left the dock at 7:30 so I ordered a small breakfast and left the villa at 7:00. The drive to the marina from Manuel Antonio took about 10 minutes. All recreational fishermen in Costa Rica need fishing licenses. You can buy one at the marina in Quepos for $25 USD that's good for a year. The marina is currently being reconstructed so all of the boats are tied up at moorings.
I waved to the Captain of the BlueFin II and he pulled over to pick me up at the dock. We were fishing for Pacific Sailfish which run north along the coast of Central America from February through April. I'd only ever been on a boat one other time when a billfish was caught and I was really looking forward to catching a Pacific Sail.

The boat was rigged with a single fighting chair and outriggers. All of the reels were Peen 30s spooled with 80 pound test on typical stand-up rods. That's plenty of tackle for the average Pacific Sailfish. They're usually in the 5 to 6 foot range and can weigh up to 200 pounds.
We headed west out of Quepos for about 20 miles looking for a break in the water temperature. It had been unseasonably warm for several days and the surface temperature had gotten high close to shore. Once offshore, we spotted a large school of spinner dolphin. I would guess that there must have been 200 to 300 dolphin in this pod. They swam along the surface chasing bait fish and would spiral up out of the water spinning with these incredible jumps. I've never seen anything like it. The Captain thought there might be some Tuna ahead of the school so we put out some ballyhoo and trolled along in front of them. There didn't seem to be any interest so we pulled the reels in and got back underway.
The water was calm with an easy swell that made the boat ride comfortable. The mate and I rested while we were underway to the fishing grounds. About 9:00 am, the Captain slowed down and we rigged up to get ready to fish. The outriggers were deployed with large teasers. On the trolling rods, we rigged a combination of ballyhoo and feather jigs. We started trolling along the temperature break waiting for something to happen. There were birds diving here and there but no concentrated activity that I could see. Given what I'd read about the Pacific Sailfish run, I expected we'd have a hit as soon as the baits were out.
There were no other boats in sight but the Captain was on the VHF so I guessed he must have been talking with other boats in the area. We trolled for a couple of hours without any action. I'd booked a 6 hour trip which meant we'd be back at the dock at 1:00. It was about a 1.5 hour ride back to the dock so I knew we didn't have much time left to fish.
We passed by a small piece of red plastic about the size of a garbage can lid. There were a few bait fish hanging around underneath so we put a couple of small feather jigs out on a planer from one of the outriggers. Within a few seconds, we pulled in two small bonito on the jigs. The Captain saw some fish behind the boat and told the mate to rig one of the bonito and let it back. We bridled the bonito with a circle hook and dropped it back. Within a few seconds something hit the bait and took off. The Penn 30 was screaming as line peeled off of it. I sat in the fighting chair, seated the rod and watched as the spool went back and forth. I knew it was a decent fish based on how much line it was taking.
That's when I heard the Captain screaming from the flying bridge "Blue Marlin, Blue Marlin!". I wasn't sure what we had until I looked up and saw the big Blue jumping about 100 yards behind the boat. It was one of the most spectacular things I've ever seen. I couldn't believe the dream had come true and sat watching it for a few seconds not sure what to do. I knew that we weren't geared for a fish of this size and started to worry as the spool got smaller and smaller. The Captain put the boat in gear and we started backing down the fish while I reeled as fast as I could. I've never been in a position where I really needed a two-speed reel but this chase made me understand why they come in handy.
We regained some line and then the fish sounded and the real fight began. Knowing that the tackle wasn't up to the task, we had the drag set light to keep from breaking the fish off. The rod wasn't rigged with roller guides so keeping the line on the top of the rod was a careful balance of tension and rod height. I've been fishing for most of my life and have caught some decent fish over the years but I've never felt anything like 400 pounds of angry fish on the other end of the line. I worked as hard as I could pumping and reeling to regain line. After making some good progress, the fish turned again and started peeling line off the reel. It came back to the surface, jumped three times and then went back down. With the Captain chasing it down, we got the fish relatively close to the boat but couldn't get to the leader before it turned and ran again.
This fight went on for an hour and a half with the fish taking line, the Captain chasing it down and me reeling as fast as I could. After a while, my hands, arms and legs were all cramped and my back felt like a coiled spring. I've never worked on something so physically exhausting in my life.
After 2 hours, the fish sounded again and this time didn't seem to be coming back up. I couldn't regain any line no matter what I did. I'd raise the rod tip as high as I could, drop it down fast and try to crank just a little bit of line. At this point, the mate suggested that maybe the fish had fought to it's death. We worked the line onto the reel slowly and when we got the fish to the boat, the mate's prediction was true. At some point, probably on it's last set of jumps, the fish had gotten tail-wrapped and must not have been able to get enough oxygen through it's lungs.
I was both ecstatic and sad at the same time. I believe in catch and release and hated to see my experience with this fish end in it's death. Had we been using stronger tackle, we might have gotten it to the boat more quickly for a clean release. I would rather know that the fish was still out there to fight another day than to kill it but it was not to be. Nonetheless, I was super happy to have gotten the chance to fight a true big game species. It's a delicate effort that takes teamwork between the fisherman, mate and Captain to pull off a successful release.

We pulled the fish onboard and headed for home. I was glad to know that the fish would, at least, go to feed many people in the community that night.

Here's a slideshow of photos from the trip.

Costa Rica Vacation - Day 7

We'd been wanting to try surfing so we booked some lessons through the Manuel Antonio Surf School. Our lesson started at 8:30 at the public beach. When you're driving in to the beach area, there will be folks on the road telling you that you need to park along the main road and walk to the beach. Don't listen to them, keep driving and, at the bottom of the hill, you'll come to what looks like an narrow street lined by souvenir vendors. You can turn down this street and drive your car between the vendor stands. At the end, you'll be on the beach where there is plenty of parking. There are a couple of small bars and restaurants along this stretch of beach as well.
Our surf lessons started with the guys showing us how to jump up from a laying down position to get on your feet on the board. We practiced the four steps a few times and then grabbed boards and walked into the water. They surf school is taught using long boards which are more stable than the shorter boards that the pros use. We stood in waist high water while the instructors held the boards steady. When a decent looking wave came along, you'd lay down on the board and the instructor would push you into the front edge of the wave as it passed. It looks a whole lot easier than it is. I got bounced around under the water more times than I can remember. We practiced on some small waves for a while and then took a break for some fresh fruit and water. All in all, I think I actually "rode" maybe 2 waves during our lessons. It takes a great sense of balance as well as quick reflexes to be able to hop up on the board.

When our lessons were done, we rented a couple of beach chairs and an umbrella from a guy on the beach for about $10 USD. There are vendors along the beach selling shaved ice so we had one of those made with coconut milk. If you want a beer, there are a couple of places that sell them for about $2 USD a piece. I got inspired and rented a surfboard from a guy for $5 per hour and tried to surf on my own. Marcela borrowed a body-board from the guys at the surf school and did that in the waves for a while. There's a consistent break at this part of the beach so catching waves was pretty easy. They came along every 15 seconds or so.
We relaxed until the early afternoon and then headed back to the villas for dinner at the on site restaurant.

Here's a slideshow of photos from Day 7.

Costa Rica Vacation - Day 6

We left San Jose around 7:30 on our way to Manuel Antonio. There's a new highway going west out of the city that makes the trip to the coast much shorter. There are several toll booths along the way so keep some spare Colones in the car. The new highway takes you about halfway at which point, you turn off onto a two-lane road that takes you down the coast through Jaco and on to Manuel Antonio.
The speed limit on the new highway is 80kmh but, when you turn off on to the smaller roads, the speed limit is 60kph. We'd gone about a half kilometer from the highway when we came over a hill and a Costa Rican police truck was sitting on the side of the road. There were a few officers standing by the truck and one of them waved us to the side of the road. He took my license and passport and walked back over to the truck. Apparently, the speed limit dropped from 60kph to 40kph at the top of the hill. The officer walked back over and asked where we were going and what country we were from. He asked Marcela if she spoke Spanish and they spoke for a while and then he explained that the ticket would be $400 USD. Apparently, the tickets can only be paid at the Central Bank in San Jose which would have meant we would have to drive back there adding about 3 hours on to the trip. Marcela and he spoke again for a while and she explained to me that he'd accept $50 USD in exchange for letting us go. I gave him the money, he gave me my passport, smiled and sent us on our way. If you're going to be driving through the country, be sure to carry some cash on you for this kind of thing. We drove for a couple of kilometers and then stopped at a soda for some snacks. We bought a couple of fresh coconuts with straws and some mangoes and then headed out again.
After having spent the past 5 days in the interior of the country, it was a rush when we came around a curve and saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time. There are plenty of places along the coast road where you can stop and take photos and we stopped to take a few. About an hour later, we pulled into Jaco. This is a surfer haven and the beaches at Playa Hermosa draw folks from around the world for the consistent surf breaks. There are a few high-rises along the beach and a shopping center where we stopped to do some grocery shopping. You know you're in a beach town when the grocery store sells board shorts and flip flops!

About another hour, you pass through Quepos and then turn up to go over the mountain in to Manuel Antonio. We were staying in a place called Makanda by the Sea. It's a group of 11 villas built into the jungle on the mountainside overlooking the ocean. We checked in and the guy at the front desk told us the room wouldn't be ready for a couple of hours and invited us to relax. We went to the pool which was incredible; there was an incredible view of the ocean and a small bar. The beach at Makanda is about a 10 minute walk down through the jungle. There are stones most of the way and it's an easy trip. If you don't want to walk, the staff will drive you down in a golf cart but you're on your own for the return trip.
The villas at Makanda are fantastic. Each one has a glass wall at the front with a view of the ocean. The walkways between the villas are all situated so that you can't see into any of the other villas which gives you plenty of privacy. Breakfast is delivered to your villa each morning. The staff is super helpful and you can organize any activity you're interested in at the front desk. Each villa has wired internet access and a television so bring a cable with you if you're planning on using your computer.

We swam for a while, unpacked our luggage and relaxed with a drink. For dinner, we drove up to the top of the hill and ate at El Avion. The restaurant is built around a C-123 that was one of two aircraft involved in the Iran Contra scandal in the 1980's. The sister plane was shot down in Nicaragua in 1986. This plane sat at the airport in San Jose until it was purchased for $3000 in 2007 and dismantled to be shipped to Manuel Antonio and reassembled to build the restaurant. The inside of the fuselage is a bar and the dining area has a fantastic view looking over the ocean.

Here's a slideshow of photos form Day 6.

Costa Rica Vacation - Day 4

On our fourth day in Costa Rica, Chad planned a canyoning trip in the town of Turrialba about a 1.5 hour drive east of Orosi. Canyoning involves rappelling down the faces of waterfalls and sounded like a blast so we were all excited. Our driver arrived at 7:30 am and we all jumped in the Adventure Lodge bus to head out for our next excursion.


The drive took us through the picturesque Orosi Valley, up over the mountains and down into the town of Turrialba. We passed many large coffee plantations as well as a few plantations growing ornamental houseplants and a large sugar cane plantation. The area is so fertile that there are farming operations all over the hillsides. It's hard to imagine folks climbing up the sides of these hills to harvest what's been planted but they get it done somehow.


Arriving in Turrialba, we met our guide Paul from explornatura. We drove up to the basecamp where the canyoning tour begins and got fitted in harnesses. From there, we hopped into another van and drove up the mountain. The first leg of the trip began with a short zip line over to the top of a waterfall. From here, they set up guides at the top and bottom of the waterfall itself and rig two descent lines. One person at a time is clipped onto the descent line and starts to go down the waterfall. There was always someone at the bottom holding on to the rope to guide you safely down the waterfall. The last time I'd rappelled was at a YMCA camp in North Georgia when I was about 12 years old. The guides explained everything very simply and made sure everyone was having a good time.


When you get clipped on to the descent line, you have to lean out away from the rocks to keep tension on your harness. The first step is the hardest, leaning out over the edge of a waterfall clipped to a rope was a thrill. Once you get going, it's easy, you slowly release the rope from behind you, find your footing on the rock and step down to the next spot. Two things to note here: first, you're going to get wet (very wet) so wear boardshorts or something like that and, preferrably, a shirt made of some kind of quick-dry material and second, get a good pair of closed-toe shoes. I was wearing Teva sandals which are not suited for this kind of thing. You're working your way down wet rock faces and sandals are not the right shoes for the job.


The guides we went out with were super fun and made sure that everyone had a blast. There was a photographer along with us and he would set up ahead of everyone and take photos as we came down. The trip alternated between waterfalls and zip-lines moving down through the forest. We came to a wooden rope bridge which was super fun as well. Everyone clipped onto safety lines and walked across the bridge planks from one side to the other. The guides would shake the bridge as you got out into the middle just to make it fun.


As we were going through the forest, someone pointed out a basilisk sitting on a log over the river just above us.


The whole experience was fantastic from start to finish. At the end of the trip, you walk out of the forest and you're right back at the ecoaventura base camp. They've got changing rooms where you can get out of your wet clothes and shower. There's also a restaurant upstairs and we all sat down to another typical Costa Rican lunch of Casado. The photographer showed us samples of all of the photos and burned discs right there for folks who wanted to buy them. The price, again, was $30 USD which was the same as the other tour operators we'd been out with.



We all climbed back into the Adventure Lodge bus and headed back to Orosi. Along the way, I took some photos of some of the houses. The thing I noticed was how neat they all were. You'd pass these small houses on the roadside that were all painted and clean, the porches were usually made of a shiny ceramic tile and the yards all looked very well kept. It was nice to see how well the Costa Rican folks cared for their homes.

We arrived back at the Adventure Lodge and relaxed for a little bit before Chad took us into Orosi for a tour. We visited a local shop where an American husband and wife sell souvenirs that are made by local artisans in the area. They reuse everything which was good to see so we bought a few pairs of earrings made from recycled glass. We then took a tour of the museum at the Iglesia de San Jose Orosi, which dates back to 1735. The building is Costa Rica’s oldest church that is still in operation. The Franciscans built the structure out of adobe and tile nearly 300 years ago. Recently restored, it includes an adjoining religious art museum filled with paintings, silver, furniture, and ancient artifacts.

After the tour, we headed back to the lodge for dinner after a full day.

Here's a slideshow of photos from Day Four.

Costa Rica Vacation - Day 3

On Monday morning, we were going down to the Orosi Valley to meet up with a friend of mine and to spend a few days at his place, the Adventure Lodge Al Paraiso. Chad had arranged for us to go on a horseback tour of the forests in the area as well as an afternoon hike in the Tapanti National Park so we needed to get started early. We left Marcela sleeping and took off from San Jose around 6:00 am. Since Costa Rica is so close to the equator, the periods of light and dark are pretty consistent. There's no such thing as daylight savings time since the period of daylight and darkness is basically equal throughout the year. That said, sunrise in the country is usually around 5:00 am so the Costa Ricans get up and going earlier than we do in the US. Driving around at 6:30, you can see that the folks are all up and starting their day. We noticed that there were schoolkids out either walking to school or waiting for the bus. In Costa Rica, school begins at 7:00 am and ends around noon. All of the kids wear uniforms to school and it was not uncommon to see a mother or father out at 6:30 walking down the road with their children all in neatly pressed skirts or slacks on their way to school.

We made our way out of San Jose and south to Cartago, we were running a little ahead of schedule and stopped at a bakery for breakfast. In addition to sodas, bakeries are found throughout the country. They all serve a variety of breakfast and lunch pastries as well as fresh bread and coffee. I struggled through enough spanish to order us breakfast and we sat down to eat. I had a chocolate eclair that was the size of a sub sandwich, Connor had a chocolate donut about twice the size of those in the US filled with sweetened condensed milk that had been caramelized and Hunter had a ham filled pastry. We all stuffed ourselves and watched the town wake up.

Arriving in Orosi around 7:00, we passed by the oldest Catholic Church in Costa Rica. Iglesia San Jose de Orosi was built in 1743 by the Spanish and still stands today. I called the lodge to get some further directions and Chad rattled off a few different things about turning here and there, passing through a coffee plantation and, finally, a red fox (not the comedian). Ordinarily, I would have slowed down, grabbed a pen and started writing down the specifics but, after having driven around the country for a couple of days, I'd gotten used to the vaguary of driving directions. Intuition plays a big part in driving in Costa Rica. If you think you're going the wrong way, you probably are. We passed out of Orosi, over a one lane bridge and into a coffee plantation. Bridges in the country are almost universally one way only. On one side of the bridge there is a yield sign (Ceda). If you approach the bridge from that side, you're supposed to stop and make sure there's no traffic approaching the bridge. If there is, you wait until the oncoming cars have gotten off the bridge before driving across. This takes a little getting used to since it appears that some drivers just tear across the bridges without looking. Once you get used to the yield on one side deal, it doesn't seem quite as hazardous.


We drove through a coffee plantation which was the first time I'd seen coffee plants growing naturally. They're about 5 feet tall with dark green leaves. We noticed that some of the fields had trees growing in them and others did not. Later, Chad explained to us that this is the difference between shade grown coffee and regular coffee. To make shade grown, they plant eucalyptus trees in the growing areas (often on the sides of hills). These trees grow quickly and spread out large canopies above the coffee plants. When grown in the shade, the plants mature more slowly giving the beans a richer flavor. They are also harvested less frequently so farmers typically grow a blend of shade-grown and traditional so that they've got a consistent harvest. We passed a sign with a red fox on it where a series of hot houses were placed to grow orchids. This was our cue and, just as described, the Adventure Lodge was around the next bend in the road. Chad's place is very nice. There are two buildings, each with two bedrooms and a shared bathroom upstairs. The main building has a kitchen and dining room downstairs where all of the meals are served. The grounds are landscaped very well and there are traditional hammocks under the walkway where you can relax. We met the Adventure Lodge mascot (Dolce). She's a yellow lab that Chad adopted and is very friendly. Each room has a safe where valuables can be stored and there's a fridge full of complementary juice, water and beer for visitors. When leaving on day trips, backpacks are provided with drinks and ponchos in case it rains. This was a very nice touch and made it convenient for me and the boys.


After getting situated, we were picked up by our guides and drove up the mountain to begin our horseback ride. After about a 45 minute drive, we arrived at a farm high in the mountains surrounding the Central Valley. The property was lush with plants, a trout pond and a small restaurant. We met the owner who introduced us to our horses and helped us to climb on for our trip.
We started off heading up the mountain from the ranch. Hunter stayed out in front of us and seemed to have his horse well under control. He was able to make it go where he wanted it to and it didn't seem bothered at all. My horse was a little less cooperative and would sometimes wander off the path as if he were planning on taking a shortcut. Our guide stayed with us and coaxed the horses back together when they got out of line. Eventually, they all seemed to calm down and we slowly walked through the mountains enjoying the views.


About 30 minutes into the trip, Hunter had gotten out in front of us and we were spread out a little bit. Connor was behind me and I could see the guide behind him but I lost sight of Chad and his horse. We stopped and waited for a few minutes and didn't hear anything so the guide turned and went back to find him. After being gone for a couple of minutes, Connor's horse started getting antsy and obviously wanted to go join his friends. He stomped his feet a few times and turned in circles which made Connor a little nervous. He finally turned back up the hill and started trotting back. Connor couldn't stop him so I followed along. We rode for a few minutes until we caught up with Chad and the guide. Evidently, Chad's horse had decided that he was going to knock off early and had turned around on his own and headed back to the stable. Nothing Chad did could slow him down. He was simply finished with the tour and that was that. We all laughed as Chad's horse ignored his commands and kept walking. Both Connor's horse and mine decided that if Chad's horse was going back then they were too and pretty soon, we were all being carried back to the stable whether we liked it or not. The guide turned around and went back down the mountain to get Hunter while we walked back to the stable. We arrived back at the property, turned our horses back in and waited for Hunter and the guide. After about 10 minutes they came walking back down the hill with Hunter in total control of his horse. He looked at us and said "What happened?" so we explained that Chad's horse had changed his mind and gone home. Chad made explained to the caballero in the stable that he thought maybe the horse was made for smaller folks and didn't like having to carry Chad who is a big guy. The caballero said "No, no... this horse can carry men much bigger than you!". Either way, it looked funny, both the horse and the saddle seemed too small for Chad. He looked like he was riding a pony!


We relaxed in the restaurant for a few minutes and the property owner asked the boys if they wanted to go fishing. They jumped at the chance so he dug up a few worms and we walked over to the trout pond. Raising trout is very common in this part of the country and signs for rout (trucha) farms are all over the place. They're pretty easy to raise so many folks have small trout ponds on their property. The boys caught several fish and the owner cleaned them and carried them into the kitchen to be cooked for lunch. We all sat down to another casado but this one included fresh cooked trout which was very good. Seeing how simply these folks live was very relaxing. Sitting down to a lunch made of fresh ingredients that were all locally grown made me think about how we eat in the US.


After lunch, we got back in the jeep and headed down the mountain to begin our hike. We stopped at Tapanti national park and picked a walking stick from the container at the entrance. Our guide took us on a path and described many of the flowers and plants we passed. Many of the plants that grow in the wild here are sought after as landscape features in the US. We passed large groups of impatiens and hydrangea. I remember how my grandmother would get out in her yard and baby her hydrangea plants. Here, they grow like weeds. She would have been very happy to see how beautifully they grew naturally. We eventually arrived at a waterfall and stopped to take some photos. The water coming down out of the mountains was clear, cold and safe to drink so we all took the opportunity to have some directly from the stream. Moving on, we hiked up through the forest (the walking sticks came in very handy) and, eventually, came out on to a beautiful vista overlooking the entire valley. The view was spectacular and we all took some time to relax. There were bromeliads growing everywhere along with heliconia that looked like
works of art. Different varieties of them grow throughout the country. There were many times where you'd see a small bromeliad growing in the crevace of some rock with a fantastic heliconia hanging from it.


After taking a break, we walked back the way we'd come and arrived back at the entrance. We returned our walking sticks, our guide said a quick thanks to the forest and we jumped back in the jeep and drove back to the lodge. We had some time in the afternoon to relax so the boys layed in the hammocks and I relaxed with a beer and read for a while.


One of the benefits of the Adventure Lodge is the staff. Mariza is the cook and is at the lodge every day preparing meals. As a change from the traditional casado meals, Chad asked her to make lasagna. It was very good and was made with Costa Rican beef which is pasture fed instead of grain fed like cattle in the US. This gives it more flavor and made for a
great dinner.

After dinner, the boys noticed the chicken tree next door. Chad's neighbors have chickens in the yard and, each night, the roost up in the same tree where you can see them all sleeping from the balcony at the lodge. They boys had a laugh watching all of the chickens flying up into the tree and getting ready for bed. They were exhausted as well after our day so they crashed. Chad introduced me to guaro, it's a local drink made from sugar cane like rum but it's a little more like rocket fuel! A litre bottle of guaro in Costa Rica will cost you about 8 bucks US so it's a cheap drink. I managed a couple before heading to bed as well.

Here's a slideshow of photos from Day Three.

Costa Rica Vacation - Day 2

The second day of our vacation began with a beautiful view of the top of the Arenal Volcano from the deck of our cottage. Unlike the previous night where there was heavy cloud cover at the top of the mountain, this morning, you could see the peak of the volcano clearly. Since Costa Rica produces some of the worlds best coffee, it's easy to get a great cup anywhere in the country. Unlike in the US where the little in-room coffee package you get at hotels tastes like ground acorns, the complimentary coffee in Costa Rica was all great. At Lomas del Volcan, the in-room coffee was organic shade-grown that was produced locally in the Northern Central Valley. In the US, whenever I travel, the Starbucks iPhone app is my friend when I'm hunting for a decent cup of coffee. In Costa Rica, great coffee is widely available everywhere.


I made coffee and sat down on the porch in the back of our cottage to relax. As I looked back through the trees, I saw a yellow spot bouncing around. With the binoculars, I saw that it was the beak of a Toucan. I yelled for the boys and Marcela and we all sat and watched as three Toucans bounced through trees behind our place for a while and, eventually, flew away. They look strange in flight because their beaks are so long. It makes them look like they're going to fall out of the sky.






We had another spectacular Costa Rican breakfast of gallo pinto and fresh fruit and then got ready for our rafting trip. We went out with a company called Aventura Infinita. They picked us up at the front desk of the property and we took off. The guide, Danny, turned out to be the owner of the company as well. He had worked for a couple of the other rafting companies over the years and had finally started his own outfit. We decided on a trip down the Balsa river which is rated Class III. On the way to the entry point, Danny explained how tectonic collisions had created the Costa Rican terrain and gave us an overview of the different volcanoes in the Northern Valley region. We stopped at a soda for snacks and jumped back in the van. On the way, Danny asked the driver to stop and we all got out to take a look at a three-toed sloth in a tree by the roadside. As we were watching this guy, Danny got excited and called us over to another nearby tree where we saw a mother and baby sloth resting. This turns out to be fairly typical and Costa Rica. Pretty much everyone we met was eager to point out the local flora and fauna. It was very common for Ticos to ask us if we'd seen sloths, monkeys or some other wild animal and then point them out to us. They all seem to care about the natural environment in the country and are genuinely excited to share it with visitors.


After watching the sloths for a few minutes, we jumped back in the van and headed to the river. The guys quickly took the rafts down from the top, inflated them and we were geared up and ready to go. Our guide, Mario, took a few photos of us before out trip and we set off down the river. We took a few minutes to get settled and learn the different commands Mario would give us to guide the boat: paddle left, paddle right, stop paddling and lean in. They are obviously concerned about safety and want to make sure that everyone knows when they need to do what. The river was clean and we were the only raft in sight. Danny came by in a kayak and would paddle down in front of us, set up with his camera and, as we passed, he'd take photos of our groups going by. This was a nice touch since there was no way to keep a camera on the rafts.


The Balsa river is known for the Balsa wood trees that grow along its path. It's not uncommon to see monkeys, iguanas and sloths in the trees along the river's edge. We paddled down for a while, went through some small rapids which made the boys very happy, and then stopped on the river bank for a snack of fresh fruit. This stretch of river was shallow and fairly slow moving so the guide showed us how you could walk back up the riverbank and then float back down feet first holding on to your life vest. The spot where we stopped was pretty popular and quickly filled up with other rafts. After the boys had floated down the river a few times, we ate some fresh fruit, jumped back in our rafts and took off.


We floated through a few popular swim spots where local Ticos were relaxing. They were all very friendly and waved as we passed. Eventually, we came to a spot where a couple was sitting in a gondola above the river. They'd strung a cable from a tree on one riverbank to a platform on the other side. There was a small metal gondola where two folks could sit facing each other hanging from the cable with a handle that could be used to pull it one way or the other. They waved as we passed underneath and kept going. We finally got to a point where the Balsa river is joined by another river. This created a strange effect in the water. The water in the river we were on was silty and brown where the water coming from the other river was clear and blue. When they met, the two colors mixed together and made a cool looking kaleidescope of waves and whitewater. As we neared the end, Mario got two of us on one side to turn around backwards and showed us how to spin the boat in a circle. This got the boys going and we all had a good laugh before paddling over and pulling the raft up at the departure.
We deflated the rafts, packed up all of the gear and were back on the road in about 10 minutes. On the way back in to town, we stopped at a small restaurant and ate lunch. Another super casado meal of rice, beans, fried bananas, yucca and pork chops. Every meal is usually served with a glass of fresh juice and this one was no exception. The country is so fertile, fresh fruit is available everywhere. Surprisingly, Connor, who is usually a picky eater, ate his lunch happily. There's no way I could get him to sit down to casado at home but here, he was happy to eat what they served. Danny set up his computer and showed everyone the photos he'd taken. They were all great shots and he burned cds right there in the restaurant and sold them to us. As we went on other trips throughout the country, we figured out that this is common. On every trip we went, there was always one of the guides whose job it was to take photos and video of every group. At the end they'd offer to sell you a disc of the photos and the price seemed to always be $30 USD. We were happy to pay it after seeing the great photos he'd taken.

Tipping is a little different in Costa Rica than in the US. At restaurants, there's almost always a 10 percent tip added to the bill automatically. That usually accounts for the tip. On guided trips however, it's customary to tip your guide. We would usually tip 15 percent of the cost of the trip to our guide. Mario took a couple more photos with us and then we were dropped off back at Lomas del Volcan in the late afternoon. Marcela needed to be in San Jose since she had to be at work Monday morning so we jumped in the Daihatsu and headed back. The drive back was relaxing and we saw many Tico families out socializing on the road side. We got in to San Jose about 7:30 at night and checked in to the Clarion Hotel. Thankfully, the GPS led us right to the front door. If you're patient, you'll eventually get where you need to be in Costa Rica but driving at night can be difficult. The highways and roads are not well lit. Once you get into any of the towns, the streets are only occasionally labeled which makes finding places tricky. Again, the GPS was indispensable since it understood the Costa Rican addressing system. When you wanted to get somewhere, you didn't enter an address like you would in the US. Instead, you put in the name of the place (which usually worked) or, in a pinch, a reference point near where you wanted to be.

The Clarion has a casino inside which was going full bore when we got there. The rooms were clean if not a little dated. We ordered a small meal from room service and all collapsed to sleep.

Here's a slideshow of photos from Day Two.

Costa Rica Vacation - Day 1

We flew in to San Jose from Atlanta on Friday, April 2nd to begin our vacation. After picking up a rental car on Saturday morning, we took off and headed from San Jose up to La Fortuna for a couple of days. As we were renting the car, the guy at Budget mentioned that we should probably opt for the GPS unit since Costa Rica can be tricky to get around for the uninitiated. It turns out that Costa Rica uses a set of reference points instead of street addresses like there are in the US. So, if you're looking for a hotel, the reference point is something like "200 Meters West from the Parque Mazapan entrance". The GPS saved us from getting lost on a few different occasions and is something I'd recommend if you're planning on driving around the country. One other note about renting a car, the rental fleet in Costa Rica is almost exclusively stick shift. They don't have many automatics and you can see why after driving around the country for a few days. Many of the roads that lead into some of the tourist areas are unpaved and, in some cases, four-wheel drive is a necessity.


Once we got outside of San Jose, we started seeing small restaurants and fruit stands all along the roadside. There are actually very few fast food restaurants in the country outside of San Jose. These roadside "sodas" are where folks who are traveling stop for a typical Costa Rican meal or snack. You won't have any trouble finding one anywhere in the country. We passed many sodas even in some of the most remote areas we visited. After driving for an hour or so, we stopped out of curiosity to buy some snacks. The soda we pulled into had a wide variety of food ranging from fresh fruit to homemade pastries to candy and some more typical Costa Rican snacks. We couldn't resist and bought a little of everything.


Driving in Costa Rica is part skill and part luck. Native Costa Ricans have no problem stopping their cars in the road, even on the most blind downhill curve, to talk with a friend or pick someone up. The country is mostly made up of two lane roads that twist through the mountainous terrain and there's only a loose sense of lane markers and right of way. Thankfully, most cars in the country are small four cylinders (like the Daihatsu that we were driving) and folks don't drive particularly fast. There are also many folks on foot in the country and they all walk along the road to get where they're going so you might be going down a curvy switchback mountain road and suddenly come around a corner to see a family walking along the same road down the mountain. It makes paying attention to your driving an absolute necessity. In the evenings, folks use the roadsides as the equivalent of front porches. There were often folks who were sitting on the edge of the pavement in groups talking and relaxing. They didn't seem worried about any of the cars passing by and, in fact, looked like they were enjoying the evening.


The trip from San Jose to La Fortuna took us about 3 hours and turned out to be a super nice drive. We went up through the clouds over the mountains to the North of San Jose and then back down into the valley where La Fortuna is situated. We pulled in to town and stopped for lunch since we were early. There are many great restaurants in La Fortuna and we just picked one that was convenient. As we were driving along the road, we kept seeing signs advertising "Typical Costa Rican Food", which sounded a little strange at first. When we sat down for lunch, it all made sense. Costa Ricans almost universally eat a dish called Casado. It's a dish consisting of rice and beans, fried bananas, salad and, usually, an entree of some kind of meat; either chicken, pork, fish or beef. If you spend any time in the country, you'll become familiar with the many different Casados that dominate the menus of restaurants.

Almost everyone in Costa Rica is either a tour guide or can point you in the direction of someone who can help you. Adventure tourism is huge and there is advertising throughout the country showing all of the activities you can take part in. There are so many choices and different options for packages that I wouldn't recommend making any reservations ahead of time unless you're on a very tight schedule. As you drive around the country, you can always find things to do without having to worry too much about any advance planning. In our case, there was a small building next door to the restaurant advertising a variety of activities so we walked over, had a short chat with the guy behind the desk and, like that, had a zip-line tour booked for the afternoon and a rafting trip scheduled for the following day. The tour operators in the country are all Costa Rican and are very well organized. They will happily pick you up wherever you are staying and deliver you back there when the trip is complete. Most of the activities we took part in were in the $40 to $50 per person range USD. In many cases, you can just charge the trip to the room at your hotel but you may get a better price going directly to the tour operator to make your reservation. Marcela's fluency in Spanish helped us out on a few different occasions especially when negotiating for prices.


We had a little time before our zip-line tour so we checked in to our hotel, Lomas del Volcan. The property is just north of La Fortuna and about a 1km drive up a dirt road from the main loop road that goes around the volcano. The place was fantastic. Our room was on top of the hill and looked directly out on to the jungle at the foot of Arenal. The landscaping on the property was beautiful, the staff were all very friendly, the place had a small bar and a very nice pool as well.


The zip-line company we went out with was Eco-Glide. It turned out to be a total blast. The guides were all super fun and made sure that everyone enjoyed themselves. They started by getting everyone geared up in web harnesses, gloves and helmets and then we went through a short safety demonstration. At the end of this, we climbed in to the back of a four wheel drive truck with bench seats along the sides and set off up the mountainside. After about a 10 minute drive, we got to the first platform and started our adventure. The guides clip you to the cable, position your hands, tell you whether or not you need to slow down or stop and the other end and then give you a push. The first step off the platform is definitely a leap of faith but once you get going, it's fantastic. You get a birds-eye view of the jungle and the valley below. The cables at Eco-Glide run anywhere from 50 meters to the longest one which is 430 meters. Their main attraction is called the Tarzan Swing. They suspend a rope from a tree out ahead of a platform, clip you in and push you over the edge where you fall straight down before the rope comes tight and swings you out over the jungle.

There were 14 zip lines total from the top to the bottom. The last one drops you off back at the beginning where you can relax with some juice or a cold Imperial.


Once we were done with zip-lining, they dropped us back at the Lomas del Volcan property and we went for a swim. The weather was nice and we all relaxed for a while before heading back into town for dinner. After eating another typical Costa Rican meal, we drove up to see the Volcano Arenal erupt. It's about a 20 minute drive from the town around to the entrance to the viewing area. From there, you turn on to a dirt road and drive for about another half hour up the side of the mountain. There are a couple of spots where there is a clearing and you can stop to watch for the lava flow. The main observatory is at the end of the road which is about 14 kilometers from the beginning. We stopped where we saw some other folks and got out to see if we could catch anything good. Unfortunately, the cloud cover was too thick so we only saw one tiny orange blip up in the clouds. The locals say you get about one night a week where the weather is clear and the clouds don't obscure the view at the top.

Here's a slideshow of photos from Day One.