For our "big" trip this summer we went to Costa Rica. It is such a diverse country and we wanted to show our girls as much as possible so we broke the trip into two parts: 8 days in the jungle/adventuring and 6 days at the beach.
Part 1 - Jungle Adventures
-----Wednesday------May 29
We booked our tickets to fly in and out of DEN because they had a non stop 5 hour flight into Liberia (northern airport in CR) Bonus; they just opened a Capital One lounge in the DEN airport and after last years trip to Europe and our lounge access in Dallas and Helsinki, our girls think going to a lounge is THE BEST.
So, although our flight didn't depart until 10:20 am , we went to the airport with 2 extra hours to spend in the lounge.
to hot and HUMID! I forget how oppressive humidity can be when you are not used to it. We got our rental car and went on our way to our first 2 night stay at an amazing "tree house". It was our most expensive stay of the trip but such an experience. The property is called Suitree. The rooms sit up above the canopy.
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| This was our treehouse, #4. |
Getting there....although both James and I have been to Costa Rica before... I forgot how incredibly challenging the roads are there. Google maps took us round and round in a circle....in and out of Sardinal roads that were closed. We finally happened upon the correct road to the tree house.
Yes, that is a dirt road through the jungle and a GIANT puddle. There were also cows, lots and lots of random dogs, people on horses, bikes, people walking, potholes that will swallow your car and just about everything else you can imagine in the road.
Our tree house was #4 at the top of a VERY steep hill. We parked our car at the bottom and the staff gave us a ride on a golf cart to the top....but only 2 people at a time because it was too steep to hold us all.
We had a great view above the canopy.
It gets dark in Costa Rica at 6 pm every night. There are NO street lights and between the darkness and the randomness of the roads, we decided not to drive at night. So, we opted to mostly eat dinners at the restaurants at our hotels.
We made reservations at the resort restaurant and just before we were going to dinner it rained. May is the start of the rainy season in Costa Rica, so more rain means less tourist and better prices...but it also means a daily rain storm or two.
Since the rain seemed to be stopping we decided to walk down to the restaurant instead of calling for a golf cart. About 5 minutes into our walk down the hill the skies opened up. It was running down the hill so fast that my flip flops were more of a hazard and I eventually just took them off and walked barefoot on the road. We arrived at the restaurant completely drenched....they handed us a bath towel as we sat down.
But even with soaked clothes we had a nice meal including guacamole that they made right at our table.
We took a golf cart to the top after dinner and into bed which took a bit of time due to the bugs. They were everywhere. We were in the JUNGLE of Costa Rica. I had warned my squimish girls about this before we left....yes, there will be bugs....big weird bugs...and no, we can't keep them out or prevent it. The first night going to bed I killed at least 10 bugs. One that even scurried out from under my pillow when I moved it. Just part of the jungle. My girls got better about not screaming and just moving away when they saw them.
-----Thursday-----May 30
James and I enjoyed the quietness on the balcony before the kids woke up. The views were incredible.
We made our way down to breakfast at the resort...it is included with the room. Everywhere we stayed in Costa Rica had breakfast included (except our Airbnb).
After breakfast we relaxed at the resort pool
We went into Sardinal (nearest town) for lunch, cash and a few snacks from the grocery store. A local man told us about a "soda" (this is where the local people eat...its like a cafe) that was in a 100 year old original house with everything cooked the "old way" on a wood fire. So, of course, we had to try it. From the parking lot it didn't look like much. There was also a random cow chained to a fence. The kids weren't so sure.....
but it was a beautiful little place
We all ordered pollo casada (chicken) from the cutest lady who spoke no English. The meal comes with juice, fried plantains with a local cheese, the main dish (pictured below) and rice pudding. All for around $10.
It was SOOOO delicious and one of the favorite meals we had on the trip.
We went into town for a few snacks for our room....Elin had heard of an ice cream sandwich called Trits...we tried those (YUM) and got a few crackers and other things like bread and jam (we took a pouch of peanut butter with us) to have a picnic dinner in our room. Cash....I tried. The ATM was in Spanish only and I could not figure out how to get local currency out of it.
Back to our tree house. We all had some quiet time,
then a BIG storm rolled in with lightning and torrential rain which we enjoyed from our tree top balcony.
Elin had the cutest fuzzy hair from the 100% humidity.
We spent the rest of the evening in the tree house and enjoyed the rain and lightening storm. We played Uno
watched a movie and ordered room service guac and chips to snack on along with the other things we bought at the store. It was a nice relaxing evening.
-----Friday-----May 31
Time to pack up and move on. Next stop Arenal Volcano. But first, breakfast. They make the best smoothies with fresh fruit at the restaurant. This one was watermelon.
On the road, we stopped in Liberia for cash...again, couldn't get it....I have never had so much trouble getting local money. One ATM was closed (no money) the other we couldn't figure out. We got on the "highway" , which was another interesting experience, then to another ATM in Canas where we finally got English instructions and cash. The money there is pretty and it's easy to use because each bill is different color. The exchange rate was 518 Colones to $1. The green sloth one is around $20.
We stopped in Nuevo Arenal for a late lunch at the German Bakery
Then to the Arenal Observatory Lodge for the night. It sits on the side of the Arenal Volcano.
Our room had a balcony that directly overlooked the volcano. Most times it was shrouded in clouds.
After check in we went across the swinging bridge to the pool and hot tub.
The pool was cold and refreshing. It poured and poured while we were there but we love swimming in the rain and the hot tub felt nice. We had dinner at the resort restaurant.
-----Saturday-----June 1
After breakfast James took the girls on a guided nature walk around the Observatory property. They had a great time.
They saw monkeys, an eyelash viper snake, a sloth, lots of flowers, birds, and "broccoli" trees.
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| Eyelash viper |
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| trumpet flower |
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We took a few pictures around the property
then we were off to our next 2 night stay in La Fortuna. Only a 35 minute drive. As we were leaving the Observatory we saw a Coatimundi
and a man selling fresh sliced mangos and pineapple. Delicious.
We arrived in La Fortuna at Los Lagos
We checked in, had lunch and went straight to the pools.
We had pina coladas at the swim up bar...
...and spent the rest of the day swimming. We even had pizza dinner at the pool. Anikka called it the "best day EVER!"
-----Sunday -----June 2
Busy day. We booked ourselves two tours. Our morning adventure was to Mystico Hanging Bridges. Its a 2.6 mile loop through the jungle across 20 bridges
Some are suspension bridges across deep ravines, some are normal bridges
with some hiking in between the bridges.
We saw spider monkeys on the move...
...and a sloth but it was too far up in the trees for a picture. Heading back to town the girls got a fresh coconut drink.
Then we went back to the pool for a few hours before our afternoon tour.
As we were driving back up to our room we noticed that Arenal was completely "out" for the first time since we had been there so we rushed up to the lookout for a quick picture.
Change of clothes then we were off to our next adventure at a Sloth sanctuary where we had a guided tour. Another walk of about 2 miles and SOOOOOOOOOO humid it was almost uncomfortable to breath.
We saw 8 sloths on our walk. 3 mommies with babies and 2 others.
We had dinner at a lovely restaurant called Jalapas then straight to bed. We were exhausted from the hot, humid 6 miles of walking we did that day.
-----Monday-----June 3
We were up early to do one last adventure in La Fortuna before heading to our next stop.
We walked down to the La Fortuna waterfall which is one of the most famous in Costa Rica. It is 70m high and one of the few waterfalls you can swim in (but not behind due to lots of rain). It is 500 steps down to the waterfall. The girls timed themselves...it took them 7 minutes.
At the bottom you are rewarded with a beautiful waterfall. I was the only one to get into the pool...it was very rough and slippery.
The girls did dip their feet in
Then the 500 steps back up....which the girls did in 15 minutes (took me more like 30)
Back to Los Lagos to pack up...then we spent a few hours in the pools
The girls had pool side lunch from the bar
while James and I tried out each hot pool
...then a shower at their changing rooms and back in the car for our next drive around Lake Arenal. A 40 mile drive that took 3 hours and 30 minutes due to the slow winding roads.
We stopped at Cafe Macadamia for smoothies and a sandwich for James and I.
Then wound our way around Lake Arenal to Santa Elena and the Monteverde cloud forest. Through bumpy gravel roads, a few towns, little villages and lots of rain... up into the mountains with fields of beautiful green grass above the clouds. I had never heard of a cloud forest. It was enchanting.
We arrived just as it was getting dark and the sky looked pink with the rain and the clouds.
For this 2 night stay we picked a place called Valle Escondido Reserve and Farm.
It is a family owned business on a working farm. Everything at the restaurant is made from ingredients they grow on the farm. So, we tried wood fired pizza for dinner.
We didn't get to really see the hotel or the property until the next morning. Our room was very nice though and was very "costa rican" with all the local wood furnishings.
-----Tuesday -----June 4
James and Anikka were up early for their zip line adventure. Elin and I had a quieter morning of breakfast and relaxing. We got to the resort in the dark and pouring rain so it was a surprise to wake up to this beautiful view from our deck.
Beautiful clear skies with the Gulf of Nicoya in the background. By the time Elin and I got dressed and went for breakfast the clouds came in quickly and the view looked like this. The clouds moved in and out fast throughout the day.
Anikka and James went on a tour called The Original Zipline Adventure. We learned that ziplines were first used in Costa Rica for farmers to bring supplies down from the mountains. The first EVER zipline for tourists was the tour they did.
They had a course that included 10 ziplines, a swing, repelling 120 m, climbing up a hollow tree and then a long ladder. They had a great time and Anikka was amazing and fearless.
I went for a little walk after breakfast to explore the property in the daylight.
When they got back we went into the nearby town, Santa Elena, to look around the shops and have lunch.
We stopped at the grocery store for a snacks and Elin's new favorite ice cream called "Trits" that we took back to the hotel to eat on the balcony while clouds floated into our room.
We went back into town for dinner at a local soda in the main square. Delicious casada again.
-----Wednesday -----June 5
Before leaving for the beach part of our trip we took a little hike around the property.
We loved this part of the trip. The cloud forest was amazing and beautiful. Also a little chilly...we actually wore jackets for the first time all week.
We stopped in Santa Elena to pick up some coffee to take home as gifts and James brought us the most amazing pastry. It was a croissant with warm nutella.
It was a pretty 2.5 hour drive down the mountain to the coast line. We stopped by McDonald’s in Liberia for lunch....one of our traditions is to try McDs in every country. Sometimes it really hits the spot after a week of rice and beans :)
We arrived at the beach in Playa Flamingo around 4 pm ---- Continued in Part 2 -------
---Pura Vida ----
...As they say in Costa Rica. It means hello, goodbye, thank you, you’re welcome, have fun…. Basically anything and everything…( similar to aloha in Hawaii).
Maija
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