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Costa Rica

January - February 2024
A 19-day adventure by Debra Read more
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  • TravelerCosta Rica
    11211112
    Day 9

    Manzanilla

    January 23 in Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    It was a very busy drive to Manzanilla. Lots of people riding bicycles, motorbikes, tut tuts and you have to watch so carefully to get around because the roads are so narrow. We arrived and the sea was just as rough as our area so we couldn't swim. The lifeguards were out and watching anyone that went into the water very carefully. We walked down the beach to take a look at the freighter ship that grounded there. Not sure how old it is. The graffiti was well done on it and the waves crashing into it was pretty cool. On the way back a guy showed us a young sloth right up close in a tree. We were treated to it moving around and looking down. It was a 3 toed sloth. We then found a local Soda and tried some Caribbean food. It was not as good as the previous night but still a treat. Their mango and pineapple ginger drinks were delicious.
    We drove back to our place and our cat (they still haven't told us the name) came in and jumped up on the couch with me just loving the attention😍 We are trying the wine our hosts left for us and relaxing. Another great day.    Read more

  • TravelerCosta Rica
    22123111
    Day 10

    Talamanca

    January 24 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    I was up at 6:30am and watched a tailless large rat-like animal rummaging around the garden. We hear different birds each day around our place. It's very beautiful and melodic. Our clothes are still not dry from laundering yesterday!!😆 we ate the delicious bananas from the tree on the property then got ready and drove to Bread & Chocolate, a recommended restaurant. I had the avocado, egg and bacon on a grilled plantain and this was by far my favorite so far. Anthony had the Caribbean pancakes with chocolate sauce😋😋 we then drove to set up a tour at the Organic Chocolate and Coffee Farm. Our tour is at 2pm so we headed to a beautiful beach just down the road. The surf was pretty powerful again and the red flags were up. We watched a few surfers catch a few waves. It is so calming and meditative watching the waves crash and wash in. We read our books in the shade. It was 32 but feels like 36 with the humidity, but we had a nice breeze so it was comfortable. Our tour guide was Oscar and their farm has won awards with the best chocolatier in Costa Rica.Read more

  • TravelerCosta Rica
    1
    112122434132
    Day 10

    Caribbean Organic Cocao Farm Tour

    January 24 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    We had such a fun tour with Oscar and 2 young women. He spotted and pointed out 6-8 sloths, toucans, howler monkeys, red poison mini frogs, agouti( rat-like rodent with no tail), big spiders, & macaw birds on the walk up to the farm. He said he was early arriving for the tour so he was slow vibing!!
    He shared so much information about the process. This is a smaller farm so they make enough chocolate to sell in their store. They have several small farms in the area that grow cacao beans and the bars are named after the farm that grew the beans. They do don't export because it's too small of an organic operation. They check for a particular fungus on the beans that turns the bean black with airborne white spores on the outside that can spread. They create other products using the cocoa butter portion of the beans. We tasted so much chocolate, all that you see in the pictures and all were 😋 delicious.
    After the tour and purchases, including the t-shirts. The shirts have a sloth wrapped around a tree with the words "slow good" which is the vibe of the 3 -toed sloths who sleep 18+ hours a day and consume the THC in the type of tree they prefer, as well as eating the cocao beans....he said they are high and can't remember what happened a few hours prior, so they keep sleeping! After the tour we headed for dinner back at Soda Mirna's and had the Cribbean chicken, plantains and coconut milk rice 😋😋 We are checking out in the morning and heading to tour an organic fruit & cacao farm and then more beach time before staying the night together with T&S, C&D. We are going to miss this very affectionate resident cat when we leave🥰    Read more

  • TravelerCosta Rica
    11
    Day 11

    Playa Punta Uva

    January 25 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    We had a very rainy night with extreme downpours. We woke to sunshine. We got up and packed up then had our yoghurt, granola and fresh on-site bananas. We enjoyed our coffee and final cuddles with the cat. We drove to a new beach called Playa Punta Uva. We had about 45 minutes
    to check it out before heading to the Jaguar Rescue Center. We walked along and someone had done some beautiful mermaid sandart. Following the Jaguar Rescue Center Tour, we returned and had some serious sloth action. A sloth may have fallen out of a tree or perhaps came down for its weekly poop. Whatever the case, it was so sad. It was all wet and crawled along the beach to get back to a tree. We had just learned that they do not like to be around humans. Some can die of heart failure if they are too close to humans. Well, this poor sloth was surrounded by people taking selfies, etc ( which is illegal to do because people used to exploit the animals by charging for photos with these wild animals). The sloth eventually made it back into the trees🥰. We sat and read for a bit and decided to go back to the beach area from yesterday. We sat, reading our books and watched as the rain clouds moved in. At about 4pm, the shower lit hard. We had already made it to the car while everyone scrambled off the beach. We headed towards the main center and drove around the streets we had not yet driven down while the rain stopped. We then drove to meet Tom & Shaun, Craig& Dawn at their VRBO and stayed one night with them. I made fresh guacamole and Shaun and I cut up watermelon, mango and pineapple for snacks. We hot caught up on our adventures and shared some tours to do, watched a Netflix climbing movie then went to sleep.    Read more

  • TravelerCosta Rica
    2241
    Day 11

    Jaguar Rescue Center

    January 25 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    The Jaguar Rescue Center began when 2 biologists moved to Puerta Viejo. The locals got wi d and brought what they thought was an injured jaguar to them to help it. It turned out not to be a jaguar ( but an Ocelot). Word got around though that they were the jaguar people and soon locals kept dropping off wounded wildlife. They started the center to help these animals and now it houses many varieties. The entry fee helps pay for the rescues, food and maintenance of structures, etc. They are so passionate about helping these animals despite no ho ornament support. They are even reinsulating power lines so the animals don't get electrocuted trying to cross the wires along the roads. They also take in animals that humans have tried to keep as pets or who have abused or injured these beautiful animals. So.e may have diseases or broken bones. As we were getting set up.for the tours, I recognized K. D. Lang, the singer, right away. I made sure we got into her group!! We did not bother her or approach until the tour was over. I asked if we could have a photo with her and she was so kind and said yes. Anthony chatted with her about a friend of a friend of hers who he was aware of that just passed away. We had a bit of a conversation about our Cocoa Farm Tour as we walked back to.our vehicles. We really enjoyed the information and passionate support from this tour and the many volunteers who keep it going❤️ PS..check out Lizzie's jaguar earrings👌Read more

  • TravelerCosta Rica
    222
    Day 12

    Group Breakfast then on to La Fortuna

    January 26 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    We woke by 7:30 am and had coffee together and then got packed and ready to go for breakfast with T&S, C& D to our favorite breakfast place, Bread and Chocolate. We had musical accompaniment again and enjoyed a fantastic breakfast. We said parted ways and will keep in touch to information share as we head to the areas they will go to towards the end of their trip. We had a great day of travel. We stopped to see Limon, which is a bigger center. We stopped to buy fruit and then carried on for a 5 hour drive total. The Arenol Volcano had some clouds cover near the top as we approached. We drove around and got our bearings then parked our car at the airbnb and walked through town to find a dinner spot. We did some research for tomorrow ( hikes near the volcano, the La
    Fortuna Waterfall trek down and back up 500 stairs and then on to the Relax Thermalitas ( natural hot springs).    Read more

  • TravelerCosta Rica
    21
    Day 13

    La Fortuna

    January 27 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Today we woke up early to go explore the amazing sites. Our weather is overcast and we have had 3 downpours before we have started. This will be a hiking kind of day. This post will show the beautiful orchids and flowering plants of this area. We posted each site we visited separately.Read more

  • TravelerCosta Rica
    Day 13

    Fortuna Waterfall - 500 stairs

    January 27 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    This was our first stop of the day. We walked down the 500 stairs to the 70 m waterfall. It was so powerful. We both took turns swimming in the cold water. The power of water movement pushed you to one side and it was hard to get back to the rocks because the movement pushes the water off the rocks. It was a fun experience and then we trekked the 500 stairs back to the top. We then walked around the Orchid Trail. They have so many different types of orchids growing. Their many flowering plants were beautiful.Read more

  • TravelerCosta Rica
    Day 13

    Arenal1968 Lava and Forest Hikes

    January 27 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    This was the site of the 1968 Arenal Volcano eruption. We hiked the Lava Trails and the Forest Trail which has a lake made by the volcanic eruption. We hiked approx 12 km. We saw some birds and lots of busy ants carrying leaves to their nest. The orchids grow in amongst the rocks and vegetation. They are so beautiful. We had rain off and on so this was the first day we wore our rain jackets. The viewpoint of Arenal Volcano was cool, but today was overcast so we were not seeing the full Volcano. At the end of the trails they have planted medicinal plants, fruit trees and Coffee plants. We really enjoyed the exercise today.Read more

  • TravelerCosta Rica
    1111
    Day 13

    Relax Termalitas ( natural hot springs)

    January 27 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Following our hike we drove into La Fortuna to eat at the recommended Soda Ara right up the street from our airbnb. We arrived just in time as another downpour started. The food was delicious ( grilled chicken, salad, fried sweet plantains, rice and beans and small potatoes). Afterwards we drove to the natural hot springs called Relax Termalitas. Our host provided 2 tickets as part of our stay. The pools were 39 degrees. It was so nice after our hike and the 500 stairs climb👌 We stayed for an hour and a half. We were quite relaxed and on the way home stopped to look through a huge souvenir shop and then my favorite, we found "Chocolate Fusion" and enjoyed a fantastic hot chocolate and a chocolate croissant. The perfect way to end a day😋🥰Read more

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