Arenal II

May 22, 2012

                 After about 4 hours of sleep, we moved our things to the Arenal Hostel Resort which was right down the street from our original hostel.  We ran into Will and James (not surprising since they were also guests there) and they decided to accompany us on our hike up the Cerro Chato crater next to the Arenal volcano.  Unlike Arenal, this volcano has been dormant for 3,500 years and now has a large lake in the crater. 

Porch outside our new room in La Fortuna

     

Room at Arenal Hostel Resort  (much better, huh?)














              The entrance to Cerro Chato was only a few kilometers from the hostel, so after we grabbed a bite to eat at a local soda we headed out.  Unfortunately our late start meant that we would be climbing to the top of the crater during the hottest, muggiest part of the day.  Cerro Chato had a nice, gradually sloping start, but quickly turned into a steep climb.  As it is the start of the green or rainy season, everything was wet, slippery, and muddy.  At some points, there were roots and stairs built in for support, but not everywhere.

Nice, flat start to the hike













Starting to get a little steeper...

Descent to the lagoon

Lagoon at the top of Cerro Chato

Trail to the top of Cerro Chato

Another part of the trail














                 As we neared the top, it began to rain.  We couldn't resist jumping in the lake at the top just to say that we swam in a crater, even though it was cooling off quite a bit with the rain and elevation.  Laura and James swam across to the other side, and just as they reached it a heavy fog rolled in and we couldn't see them.  Will and I were a little nervous they might get lost coming back, but they made it just as the thunder began.  We had to climb up again for a bit before descending back to the car, and as soon as we began the trip back down the rain came down even harder.  It was tough in some places to keep our footing, and we ended up jumping or running or sliding down much of it.

                After a long day of being cold and wet, we all decided that an afternoon at the hot springs would be nice.  There are several places around Arenal, but the only "true" hot springs are very expensive and owned by an exclusive resort.  So, we took the advice of our hostel staff and tried another called Baldi (http://baldicostarica.com/) which has 25 pools of spring water at 12 different temperatures.  The price we paid to get in also included dinner at their buffet (which, like most buffets is not very good) so we spent the rest of the afternoon/evening there, then headed home to bed.

The "giant Jacuzzi"  at Baldi

My seat :)

Mango daiquiri at the swim up bar

             

             
    

Arenal

May 21, 2012

               Today we made our way north to Arenal/La Fortuna.  The two English boys we had met while jumping were also headed that way and we offered to give them a ride in exchange for pitching in on the gas money.  After hearing about how we took the longest, hardest route possible to get to Monteverde, our host, Jose, made sure that we had a map and knew which road we ought to take to get to Arenal.  Along the way we stopped at the Volcano Brewing Company for a taste of their beers and some lunch.

Sampler from Volcano Brewing.  The beers were decent (two of their own, two from a sister company), but tasted somewhat watered down compared to what I'm used to.  Not bad though considering everything else tastes like a Budweiser clone!

Lake Arenal with the Arenal volcano behind

View of Lake Arenal from across our table at the brewery














               Once we reached La Fortuna, we dropped the guys off at their hostel and returned to ours to check in.  We knew we were going to be staying in a dorm, but the place had music blasting and people everywhere - it felt more like Cancun on Spring Break than a vacation in Costa Rica!  Regardless, we got ourselves settled and walked into town for a bit.

A shot of our dorm room










               On our way back, we ran into Will and James and decided we would try our hand at a new game of cards.  They met us at our hostel where several of the people we met in Monteverde were also staying.  We ended up getting a huge group together to play which was really fun.

One of the games we learned










            We decided to look into the hostel Will and James were staying at, and as it turns out the hostel was nicer, quieter, and we could have our own room and private bathroom for less than we were paying for a dorm room.  So, we switched the following day.

Monteverde II

May 20, 2011

                Laura and I booked our adventure-filled day last night, and the first thing on the itinerary was bungee jumping from the highest platform in Latin America (http://www.monteverdeextremo.com/).  The bus wasn’t arriving to bring us to the jump location until 10:30am, so we decided to eat an early breakfast (included in our $11/night B&B stay!) and walk around downtown Santa Elena.  We toured a few of the local shops and bought our first souvenirs of the trip.  Unfortunately, we found that the prices for many things were not much less than we would pay in the states which was a bit disappointing.  They have some very pretty wooden items that are made locally, however, so I might have to go back before I leave J.

               

               We made it just in time to grab some last minute items and head back to the reception office before the bus picked us up.  Two of the other guests at the B&B were also going to bungee jump.  Apparently they had been zip lining the day before and enjoyed it so much they wanted to go back and try something else.  Of the four of us, Laura was the only one to have done it before and she was the most scared to go.

                

                There were tourists buzzing all around the place. We checked in, met our “jump master” and headed to the platform.  The jump takes place off of a cable car that runs to the middle of a gorge and stops, and the instructors only take two at a time.  Since Laura and I are similar in weight and the two other guys are a bit heavier, we had to go together so they only had to change the rope once.  So, off we went and on the way they handed me my helmet (complete with attached camera) and a set of gloves.  They explained how I would have to grab a rope and secure it to my harness once I stopped bouncing in order to get me back onto the tram and let me play with that.  I went first and jumped on the first countdown – Laura took a bit longer, but apparently not as long as her first jump.  By the time we got back to the platform the clouds were rolling in and it looked like it might rain any minute.  Luckily it held off for the guys as well and started shortly after.

On the platform waiting to get strapped in :)

Me and Laura on the tram ride out to the jump spot

Gone!

Me, just after clipping the rope onto my harness that would hoist me back onto the tram

View from the tram

                

                Our next adventure was canyoning.  Again, Laura had been before but I hadn’t.  We were picked up at the bungee place and brought to our next stop where we were outfitted with harnesses, helmets, gloves, and rain jackets since it was raining and a little chilly.  We hiked from the reception center to the top of a line of about six waterfalls that we would be rappelling down.  This is where it gets a little strange.  We had two guides (one at the top, one at the bottom) and along our hike one of them disappeared and apparently turned on the water that would flow through the canyon as we were going.  Laura went first on the first descent, and although she has done this before a few times, she looked like she was struggling.  Then I went.  I haven’t been canyoning, per se, but I have used the equipment for rock climbing, ropes courses, etc. and this wasn’t in the best condition.  They apparently leave their ropes outside so they were wet and worn which meant we were getting hung up on them rather than being able to smoothly descend at our own pace.   Then, on the last fall, the rope was not quite long enough for us to reach the pool at the bottom on our feet – our guide (one now, as the other had left) told us to grab the rope with both hands, and we were dropped into a lovely, stagnant pool of water.  That was it.  We left, told everything to our host at the hostel, and at least he seemed sympathetic.  He couldn’t give us our money back as we had already paid the company, but he offered discounts on other tours and said he would send a “secret shopper” in to see if they had a similar experience.  At the very least, it was an adventure ;).

   Me - those rocks were slippery!            

                 The B&B was next for a hot shower and change of clothes before we headed out for a night tour.  We hopped on a bus with about 12 other people already on it and headed to a nature preserve.  There we were given flashlights and put on our rain coats.  We headed into the forest as it was beginning to get dark and our guide, Bernard, pointed things out via flashlight and laser pointer.  We saw a walking stick (stick insect) that was nearly a foot long, an orange-kneed tarantula in her burrow, several lizards, a couple of two-toed sloths, and loads of insects.  We also saw some bioluminescent mushrooms growing on logs which we had to find in pitch black darkness without our flashlights on while trying to follow one another on a narrow, slippery path.  That was interesting!

Giant walking stick

Orange-kneed tarantula in her burrow

              

                  After the tour we met our new friends from the jump, Will and James from England, in the common area of our lodge for a game of cards.  We taught them a few, they taught us a few, and we got to learn some British vocabulary in the meantime!   While we were playing, Jose, our host at the B&B came in and asked if we'd like to see a sloth.  We had seen one from a distance during the night tour, but there was one hanging from power lines in the street and eating from a tree hanging over them right outside the lodge!  

Sloth outside B&B - apparently they are deaf and have terrible vision so this little guy didn't mind us hovering around and taking pictures.

Despite the canyoning, it was a fun day all around.

Monteverde

May 19, 2012

               Last night there was a wicked thunderstorm, better than any I have seen in years.  Enjoyable though it was, it was tough to sleep in so getting up and heading out early was a little more difficult today.  We chatted with Gingi, the hostel owner, for a while before we left.  He gave us directions to a local beach he recommended we check out and some advice on renting surf boards in our future travels.  We found the beach easily enough and it was definitely different from the ones we had seen before, so totally worth the side trip.  We spent probably an hour taking pictures and gathering rocks and shells to take home.

Playa in Santa Teresa

               











               After the beach, we headed to Montezuma to see a waterfall we had read about and have some lunch.  The first place we parked (and paid $2 for) we were able to see the lower part of the falls but with the rain the night before we were not able to go very far up the path.  So we and a couple from Northampton, MA who we met on the trail decided to drive a little further up the road to see if we could get a better view of the falls.  This path was longer, steeper, and very muddy.  The only things we had to use for support were roots along the trail (which was nearly  vertical) and vines hanging from trees, but overall it was a fun climb.  We also found an old zipline platform and another trail that led us just above the waterfall.  Unfortunately, being the start of the rainy season, the water is the color of a café latte and not very pretty to look at.

Top of the falls in Montezuma

 Rocks in the falls

Trail down to the waterfall in Montezuma

Hot, sweaty mess      











                The humidity along the coast in Montezuma was ridiculous, and Laura and I were both hot, sweaty messes by the time we got back to the car.   It just started to rain, so we headed into town to have lunch at a place we had read about.  Unfortunately, it was closed, so instead we looked in a couple of souvenir shops and hit the road again.  Along the way we stopped at a local super market and grabbed some snacks for the 5 hour drive to Santa Elena where we would be spending the night.

             

These things are like the fried Chinese noodles you put in chow mein covered in Dorito seasoning.  Sounds kind of gross, but they are delicious!








                Apparently we could have taken a water taxi across the Golfo de Nicoya and saved ourselves about half of the time and had a much easier road to traverse, but instead our GPS took us the long, hard way around.  We went over several mountains on roads that were steep, muddy, very rocky, and sometimes washed out in places.   It was quite the adventure, but, it provided for some really pretty views that we might not have seen had we gone the easy way.  The good thing is that everyone (especially our rep at Avis) told us the road from Monteverde (Sta Elena) to Arenal (La Fortuna) where we will be on the 21^st  was nearly impossible to drive without a 4x4 SUV, but our hostel owner in Sta. Elena says the one we did yesterday is much worse than that.  At least we are well prepared J.

View from the road to Sta. Elena

Another vista

               









               Upon arriving in Sta. Elena we stopped at the local tourism office to see what they would recommend we do/see/eat in the area, and then attempted to find the B&B we would be staying at.  About 20 minutes later, we finally found it!  Jose, the owner, was very helpful with recommending/booking our activities and somewhere to have dinner.  Apparently his mother owns the soda (what they call inexpensive places to eat in Costa Rica), so we stopped in there to try some of the comida typica (local food).

The porch just outside our room at Camino Verde

Comida typica - caseros (plates) with rice, seasoned black beans, salad, vegetables, fried plantains, and mine with a quesadilla, Laura's with beer-battered fish.  So good.  Oh, and a mango smoothie :)

             









                 We went back next door to do some research into the activities that Jose recommended and had him officially book them for us, and then went straight to bed.  Tomorrow we go bungee jumping, canyoneering, and on a night tour of the rainforest.    

Samara

May 18, 2012

               Today we learned how to surf!  Laura had been before, years ago, but I had never tried it.  There were a few schools right along the beach which was about 500 meters from our hostel, and the one the staff recommended, Choco's, was the least expensive too.  We really went just to check it out, but they convinced us when they told us we could use the board for 5 hours after our lesson to practice.

           
















           



                  Frank, our instructor, showed us a couple of ways to get on the board and then we were out in the water.  The waves weren't very big, but big enough to get up and get going, and there was a pretty strong rip tide as well.   Between keeping a hold of the board in the waves, trying not to drift halfway down the beach while waiting for a good one, and surfing itself I was pretty tired after about three hours.  Here's a nice shot of me standing up to high and about to fall off at the end of the day :)

               While "practicing," we met two brothers from St. Louis here on vacation.  They had also taken a lesson, but apparently their instructor showed them a couple of things on the sand and sent them out in the water.  Frank, on the other hand, got out in the water with us to tell us when to paddle, when to stand up, and how to fix anything that went wrong.  The poor guys hadn't been up on their boards once, so we gave them a few helpful hints and they were able to ride a couple times before heading to a restaurant right next to the school on the beach for some lunch.  Laura and I caught a few more waves and called it a day.

 

Me in a tree rinsing off - yes, there is a shower inside a mangrove tree.  I want one at home!














                As we were walking back to the car, the St. Louis boys offered to buy us a beer for helping them out.  We had already decided we would have to sample all of the local Costa Rican beers before we head to Panama (there are three biggies - Bavaria, Pilsen, and Imperial), so we had an Imperial and chatted for a bit.   It was getting late, however, and our next destination was about 4 hours' drive north and then south again so we headed out shortly after.

               There are two ways to get to Santa Teresa, our next stop.  One, a coastal route from Samara, would require us to drive across three or four rivers on the way which, in dry season and at low tide are apparently quite doable even in a small car.  Being rainy season and still three hours from low tide, we opted for the slightly longer more circuitous route which took us back north through Nicoya and then east/southeast down to Santa Teresa.  Along the way there were monkeys in the trees that overhung the road which was really neat to see.  If we hadn't been moving so fast I might have been able to snap a picture.  Also, the last hour and a half of the 3.5 hour long drive was on totally unpaved, dirt and rock roads that wound through the mountains toward the coast.  At one point we had to stop to wait for a group of cows to get out of the middle of it so we could continue which was comical because they are quite stubborn.  Again, wish I was able to get a picture, but it was too dark by that point :(  It started to rain just as we were pulling onto the dirt road leading to our hostel.  At  least we were able to park nearly right out front and get our things inside.  There was another killer thunderstorm that lasted for several hours, and the hostel has a tin roof which was really neat to hear.
               The plan for tomorrow is to see some of the local sites and make our way to Santa Elena/Monteverde where we will be spending two nights.  At the moment, this girl is beat and off to bed.

Hasta luego!

Manuel Antonio

May 17, 2012

               After speaking with the hostel owner last night, the plan for today was to explore the Manuel Antonio National Park and beaches then make our way down to Samara.  The company she recommended only did tours at 7:30am and was going to cost $45 for 2 hours, so we decided we would wake up early, get to the park, and walk around on our own.  Well, it gets light very early in Costa Rica, and for whatever reason my phone and laptop are still on US east coast time so when I looked at the clock it read 7:30 but was really 5:30 here.  Oops!  Well, it let us get an early start to the day!
               As we neared the park, we were flagged down by a couple of park rangers and pulled into a little parking lot.  The guides there said they would do a tour for $30 each and that would include the $10 entrance fee to the park which we would need to pay anyway.  We debated for a while thinking it might not be worth it, but then they pulled out a telescope to show us a two-toed sloth in the tree across the street.  Even with my camera on the furthest zoom I couldn't make it out.  So, we did the tour.  Below are some of the pictures of the wildlife we saw, many taken thorough the telescope.

 Black iguana









                                                                                             


Baby black iguana

Baby Jesus lizard

 Laughing falcon

Three-toed sloth

Fire-billed toucan

 Slatey tail trogan

Green vine snake

White-faced monkey

White-faced monkeys playing

Me and Laura with our guide, Freddy










               All in all, the tour was definitely worth the price.  It was sunny and very humid, so by the time we got to the beach at the end we were ready to swim.  The water was in the mid-80's (a lot like Florida beaches in August) and we tried out two of the beaches in the park.  The first was Manuel Antonio beach where we tried to snorkel but the water was very murky so we weren't able to.  The waves were pretty big and would have been perfect for body surfing but the sand was very coarse and there were some small rocks and shells mixed in - would not have been comfortable.  The next beach we tried was Espadilla Sur which was just as nice but not as rocky so we got to body surf :).  There were black iguanas roaming around on the path and in the trees all along the beach which was neat to see.



               Just as we got to our car it began to thunder.  We had seen an interesting restaurant on our way to  Manuel Antonio and decided to stop on our way out for a post-hike margarita.  The place, El Avion ("The Plane"), is three floors with the middle floor at street level and an enormous intact airplane in the middle of it. We sat along the railing to see the ocean, but you could sit inside the plane too!

El Avion

Mango margaritas!

View from our table at El Avion










               We left El Avion heading toward Samara.  We were both hungry (but the restaurant was a little pricey) so we decided to stop in Jaco on the way.  We must have seen about 15 signs for pizza places our first day and another 10 today, so we decided we would see what the Costa Ricans had to offer.  A place called Rioasis in Jaco had good reviews, so we stopped there.  We wanted to try some Costa Rican beers, so I had a Bavaria dark and Laura had a Bavaria gold.  Both were quite good considering most of the beers I have tried from Central America resemble Cornona, which I really do not care for.  Also it was two-for-one night on pizzas, so we got a medium for dinner and took a small home for breakfast!  The place was nice, right on a busy corner in downtown Jaco with great people watching.  The pizza, made in a brick oven, was also very good - nice thin crust with local cheese and fresh ingredients.



The oven at Rioasis Pizzaria










               It took us about three hours to get from Jaco to Samara, arriving at about 9:30pm local time.  It was such a fun drive though!  Lots of hills with winding roads and narrow bridges, plus it was no longer thundering but there was a ton of lightning so even though it was dark we could see a lot of our surroundings.  We stayed the night at Las Mariposas which, although our room had a private bathroom, did not have a sink.  There was, instead, a faucet at about knee level in the shower so we had to squat in the shower stall to brush our teeth and wash our faces.  Just an interesting little side note ;)  It was a great full first day in Costa Rica, and I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Playing on Manuel Antonio beach :)