Costa Rica

Hola!

     Before planning our trip I spent weeks and weeks planning out my vacation. Harassing friends who've been, obsessively googling, making lists on lists on lists, and reading other's blogs. I thought this might be a nice way to share our trip, photos, and to possibly help others planning their first time itinerary. We did 7 days, including our flight days. We visited the Arenal area, Monteverde, and the beach. It was quite a compact vacation. For those who do not know Costa Rica is a small country but traveling to and from each part takes a LOT of time. The roads are not always paved, it is easy to be lost, and the weather could hinder your planning. We did a combination of taxis and shuttle buses because Driving would've been too much to stress!

Itinerary overview

Day 1- Fly in Liberia & travel to Arenal 

Day 2- Hike Cerro Chato & Baldi hot springs

Day 3- Visit waterfall & twilight safari night float on Penas' Blancas river

Day 4- Proyecto Asis then taxi-boat-taxi- to Monteverde.

Day 5- Visit cloud forest reserve & night tour

Day 6- Travel to Playa Hermosa & beach 

Day 7- beach & Fly home

Our first couple of days were mixed up due to my bag being lost. We ended up visiting the waterfall on day 2, then hiking day 3. The hike was very intense we wish we did the hot springs after as originally intended!

Muddy and hungry!

(Click on each photo to enlarge it) 

(Click the "older posts" link in the bottom right corner to view more days)

Day 1

       We had arranged a private transfer from the airport to our hotel in Arenal to maximize our time. I scheduled ahead with LiberiaAirport Taxis. They never showed up! We got off the plane and were completely bombarded by other companies. It was an automatic nightmare. "Hello! Where are you going! Come with me! Come here! Good price! Going to the beach?? Its nice there! Let me take your bag! Where is your transportation? Come I'll take you!" AH! BACK OFF!  I emailed them, then found a phone number but needed a phone for long distance...and someone to translate! Finally we found someone to help assist getting ahold of our company. "Sorry your driver will be there in 5 minutes."... Then 10 minutes...then 10 more minutes. Enough! We waited nearly an hour then finally took one of the competitors. Ugh! Finally on the road. After a 5 hour flight we were now on a 4 hour car trip.

                     

                                                                 What a scenic drive! As you drive further the landscape changes immensely. Dry, flat, & hot to green, lush, mountains. We drove around a beautiful lake and lots of postcard worthy mountain views. 

We also saw these little guys! Coatis!

 

We stayed at Cerro Chato Ecolodge in Arenal. The view in front of the hostel was great! It is a family owned hostel with private rooms, or huts, actually. Miguel the owner is very helpful. He was always there to answer questions or offer assistance. This is the volcano in front of the property. It was cloudy for our stay but still awesome. We planned around the area, not just on viewing the volcano.

From the hostel you could walk into town. About 10-15 minutes to the grocery store and some restaurants. For $5 you could take a cab to the downtown area.

After signing in we walked to town. Ordering vegan was a bit of a challenge, much easier if you know Spanish. Jeff knew enough to get us by. Lots of rice and beans!

                   

 Stray dogs are everywhere, well fed ones too. We passed some puppies! And we had a visitor on our room window.

Cerro Chato Ecolodge rooms & pool

After eating at a "soda" (fast food restaurant) we stopped by the grocery store for snacks. Then headed back to the hostel. We walked the backyard, put our feet in the pool, took in our surroundings and went to bed. It poured all night into the early morning and was relaxing to sleep to.

Day 2

     The day started out awful! I realized I had left my day pack somewhere. This pack had all of my money and personal items, ID, wallet, passport, everything! Oh no! Bad luck round two! But where had I left it? How stupid of me! We were so tired! Was it at the restaurant? Grocery store? Poolside? Washed out by the rain? Immediate panic set in. I had paid for the groceries so it was with us when we left...thats it, it had to have been by the pool! I had taken it off with my shoes to stick my feet in the water and relax.  We go out to look and its not there!  We ask reception if anyone has turned it in, but of course not. I was doomed. We retraced our steps. Went back to the grocery store in case. Searched the yard, asked the other guests. It was gone. $500 in US cash and my passport. What a careless mistake for me to have made! Someone had to have picked it up. We were the last one's awake. The owner's wife was the first awake, at 6am to prepare breakfast by the pool. The owner immediately suggested that wild animals such as the stray dogs came and snagged it. But why? There was no food in it? Why would he be so quick to assume so? He told us to accept the loss and that we need to file a report with the tourism-police. We did learn a couple had checked out earlier then expected and had skipped breakfast. Did they take it? Hmm..He offered us a ride to the police station. In the back of our minds we were still hoping a guest had found it but were still and asleep and would turn it in once they awoke. At the station they had me fill out the report and told me I will need to go to the Embassy in San Jose. That was 4 hours the opposite direction! We would have to rearrange the entire trip- actually miss all of it. We even went back to the grocery and watched the security tapes on the way back- I definitely left with my bag. Being that it was Sunday we had to wait until the next day to go to the Embassy. I cried for hours in the hotel. Hours! Months of planning wasted! The whole trip ruined! Hours went by. Everytime the owner's wife passed the room she looked in our door, which was half open from Jeff going in and out searching. Crying Crying Crying. It started to rain. A few minutes after the rain had started the owner's wife alerted her husband that she had discovered a bag... She was throwing out bread crumbs for the animals along the edges of the property and spotted it over the fence in the neighbors yard. He asks, "is that it? Is that your bag there?" All the money was there. Passport inside. Soaking wet of course. We were so grateful. But how could this have happened? Our theory.. the bag was found, kept quiet. That was a lot of cash.. blame it on the animals?? Then after all of our hysteria.. the guilt.. then the rain, plant it somewhere! "Find" it! Guilt begone! One way or another we got it back, and that was all that mattered. If it had been taken they still chose to do the right thing. We offered a $100 reward, which was declined lightly then accepted greatly. I would have to make sure to keep extra care of the bag the rest of the trip...

After an exhausting morning and messing up our itinerary for the day it was time to salvage our plans- but first eat! We walked back into town.

I needed a drink!

It was delicious!

This restaurant/ hotel had a pretty pool

with nice landscaping

 

"Love scenes are not allowed"

Okay! Now we decided to go to the waterfall. We originally planned the Cerro Chato hike but much of the day had been wasted. So off to the falls we go.

It was about a 30-40 minute walk from our hostel lodge to the entry of the falls. We opted to walk...

It was nice walk, a lot of up hill though..

We had a lot to look at on the way

 

        

   

   

      

    

    

        

The pictures do not do any justice! Any! It was stunning and oh so green. After we walked back to our hostel we continued our itinerary and it was time to soak in some good ol' man made hot springs. There are natural free ones but we were exhausted and at last there was a restaurant near, so off to Baldi. It was so worth it. Not as crowded as I thought it would be. A lot of big spacious pools. Super relaxing.

                                                                                                                                                                    

                         

Jeff's new lady friend at Baldi's

Day 3

Hola!

Time to take on the challenge...the beast...the muddy.. Cerro Chato hike to the Green Lagoon.  We walked back toward the entry of the waterfall and then up a steep hill to the one of the paths for Cerro Chato. I heard this was a tough hike, and I am not in the best of shape but I was up for the challenge.

                     

      

                     

      

As we entered the forest we felt as if we were in Jurassic park, or Lost, Rainforest Cafe, the Jungle Book, Indiana Jones, you get it... it was amazing! It was complete sunshine on the trail until we got into the forest then it was a light rain, which felt nice. Being a rainforest, it continued to rain on and off in  20 minute or so intervals.  Upon entering, there was no more "trail", but more a guided path of tree trunks, vines, and in areas required some hands and knees climbing.

                   

 

       

This hike was extreme. Extreme climbing for TWO hours uphill. We passed a group who had ditched a friend who could not continue. We had to keep going! It was tough!

We made it to the top. It was too cloudy out that day to get a picture. The next part of the challenge was the steep muddy decline to the Green Lagoon(a lake that had formed in the crater of the dormant volcano). If you could brave the cold you could swim in it. Have you been swimming in the top of a volcano? 

We made it. This part of the trip was very difficult to get down to and more difficult to get back up.

 It was the steepest and the muddiest. 

                                 

 

Boy we felt accomplished.

Time to climb back..and then on to the next adventure. The hot springs would have been perfect following this hike but due to our bag dilemma we were now headed to a Twilight Safari night float tour on the Penas Blancas river, hopefully to see some animals! Where are the Monkeys? Sloths??

Walking back to our hostel a dog came out to the street. Another dog ran from his house barking at that dog and they both came trotting towards us then grrr! Bit jeff on the leg!! Pierced the skin but mildly. We got back to the hostel and the owner's wife treated him with some rubbing alcohol. 

He also rewarded us for completing the challenging hike with a beer.. its as if he read my mind..

The night tour came and picked us up at our hostel. I had scheduled this in advanced online. I was hoping this would increase our chances to view wildlife and it also filled up a gap for a night time activity. It was a nice interactive tour, and very scenic. We saw some wildlife, but not much. I don't think it may have been worth the price, but it was a nice experience. They picked us up, we got on the raft. We each were asked to paddle to assist the tour guide(which I found fun). We saw some bats, monkeys from far away, and more dogs! It was beautiful, and of course our cameras could not capture it. It became dark and we continued the float, saw more bats, and lots of bugs. When we docked we went to the house on the property as part of the tour and were offered complimentary snacks and drinks. The coffee was great!

                    

       

                    The knot on the tree is a fruit bat       The dark black splotches in the trees are monkeys!