Reset search
Costa Rico 2.25
  • Judith Rivlin
  • Judith Rivlin

Costa Rico 2.25

Roads trip, with Jane Read more
FollowInsightsInsightsCalendarCalendarPhotosPhotosShareShareBucket list
Newest first
  • Trip start
    February 23, 2025
  • Judith RivlinCosta Rico 2.25Traveler
    National museumJane in front of our hotel, hotel Balmoral

    Costa Rico 2.23-3.2.25

    February 23, 2025 in Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Arrived in San Jose this afternoon with enough time to walk around town a bit. We went to the National Museum a few blocks away. There’s a wonderful butterfly sanctuary, archeological finds, and a presentation on CR history - explaining this was a vital place before Columbus landed here on his 4th across-Atlantic trip. We were surprised to find a number of Korean, Japanese and Chinese food stalls and shops. This evening we will meet up with our fellow travelers.Read more

  • Judith RivlinCosta Rico 2.25Traveler

    Costa rico

    February 24, 2025 in Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Our day began with an historian’s lecture about Costa Rican history. Then we left San Jose to visit the Dota coffee cooperative where we to toured the production process and visited fields where coffee grows. Though I mostly stopped drinking coffee at home, I am enjoying it here and had some for breakfast and then more samples at the Dota facility. We learned about natural and machine processes, and honey processed coffee - that’s when the beans are dried without first being washed, leaving sticky cartilage (like honey) behind, making for a more complex flavor with notes of floral aromatics and fruit, though we didn’t get to taste the “honey coffee”. After lunch we headed to the Savegre Hotel Nature Reserve, driving through a cloud forest. The lodge is in a valley, and access is via a very steep and windy road full of switchbacks. About half way down the road, cars were stopped because a truck that had careened off the road two days prior was being extricated and the road was blocked. We waited for a little over an hour while several large flatbeds pulled it up and out. See photo! (It reminded me of a similar experience during our family trip to CR in 2007, when a vehicle blocked a bridge we had to cross to get back to San Jose for our return flight.) The lodge where we are staying is quite remote and is known for its proximity to the elusive Respondent Quitzel, a colorful bird with really long and dramatic tail feathers. With hopes to spot one, we will be leaving our lodge at 5:20 am! If we don’t catch a site of the special bird, we will at least take a nature walk on trails leading to a 400-year old oak forest. It is cool and rainy here this evening. Our guide, Jose, is excellent: hard working to take care of us, and full of information while we ride the bus (today for about 3 hours, broken up). Our bus driver is excellent, too, and I didn’t worry as he navigated the challenging drive into the valley.Read more

  • Judith RivlinCosta Rico 2.25Traveler

    Day 3: Savegre Valley

    February 25, 2025 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Our early morning effort to see the Resplendent Quetzal was worthwhile - we saw the tail feathers of the male bird outside the nest, and caught a fleeting glimpse of the female who quickly flew away. After breakfast, we took a downhill nature walk on forest trails that began high up and with a sweeping view of the valley. We then had a lecture about the history of this area, that only began hosting tourists in the 1970s. It is an isolated area with a population of about 250, and a small elementary school. After lunch, Jane and I visited a place set up to attract birds - we were mesmerized by the hummingbirds and other colorful birds. Then we visited the little spa and enjoyed the jacuzzi.Read more

  • Judith RivlinCosta Rico 2.25Traveler

    Day 4: Rafiki Lodge

    February 26, 2025 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    We had another early morning, this time unsuccessfully searching for the Resplendent Quetzal. We searched in a location on the lodge property where others had spotted the birds yesterday. We weren’t so lucky, but it was worth a try and reminded me that much of nature is beyond our control. A lot of driving today, and with another significant delay from a car accident blocking the road. Our first stop was a brief visit to the Pacific Ocean where we dipped our toes in the water - very warm! A few people were surfing but the beach was pretty quiet. From there, we went to a cooperative grocery store where we bought ingredients for our luncheon salad, and plantains. Several of us also bought sweets to gift the host for our lunch. The grocery sold eggs by weight, with a dozen costing about $2.50. The store also sold many more kinds of beans than we typically see at home. We then drove to a family house that was set up for us - several of us made the green salad, while Jane, another trip member Vicki, and I fried the plantains - easy and delicious. Our lunch consisted of rice, beans, chicken and squash stew, plantains, salad, tortillas and watermelon. We then drove a short distance to the Rafiki Lodge, where we will spend 2 nights, glamping. We are staying in private tents that have comfortable beds, plumbing and electricity. Before dinner, one of the sons in the family that developed this property gave a talk about their journey (from Africa, the US, and various places in Costa Rico) to select and develop this property, and the challenges the country faces juggling natural preservation and tourism. This small resort of 14 rooms is the primary employer in the town of 125, and continues to brainstorm about ways to maintain a biodiverse community that’s also financially viable.Read more

  • Judith RivlinCosta Rico 2.25Traveler
    1

    Day 5: Rafiki safari lodge

    February 27, 2025 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Before breakfast, and from the lodge’s open air common area, we observed the never-ending show of colorful birds, including toucans. After breakfast, we enjoyed a short nature hike to the river where we went white water rafting, 4-5 to a raft. The river wasn’t very high but the water was fast enough to make for a fun and wet ride - with a mid-way stop for fresh fruit and to sit under a waterfall. Returning to our lodge, I went down the very fast water slide (see video of another trip member), that was both refreshing and surprising! The afternoon was unscheduled, but a few of us went on another short nature walk with our guide, Jose, where we saw more birds through his scope. After dinner we went on a night hike around the lodge property with local guides. With them we saw a lot of camouflaged night life including several snakes, frogs, spiders, sleeping birds, and a scorpion.Read more

  • Judith RivlinCosta Rico 2.25Traveler

    Day 6: on to manuel antonio national par

    February 28, 2025 in Costa Rica ⋅ 🌙 28 °C

    We departed the very special Rafiki safari lodge this morning and headed for the ocean. Before leaving the area, we stopped at the home of one of the bartenders from Rafiki to learn about his small vanilla bean farm. He showed us the plants that are now about 3 years old and explained how four family members produce the vanilla, including hand pollinating flowers. He works with the vanilla plants every morning for about 5 hours before turning to his bartending gig. We then visited the small nearby town of El Silencia. While we were learning about its history, a palm tree worker who happened to be walking by gave us a demonstration of cutting the tops off palm trees to make palm oil. He is 60 years old and makes about $25 for a day’s work, and plans to retire in 5 years. We went to a restaurant set in an airplane tied to the Iran-contra affair (movie American Made), where we also saw a mother sloth resting in a nearby tree, with her baby tucked at her belly.
    On to our hotel next to the Manuel Antonio National Park. This area is pretty built up and busy, especially in comparison the Rafiki Lodge. A local expert on squirrel monkeys talked to us about the efforts being made to protect these relatively small (12”) monkeys. We saw monkeys jumping in the trees right next to the hotel.
    The weather these last few days has been hot and very humid.
    The food has been pretty good, albeit not terribly exciting. Lots of fresh fruit (watermelon, pineapple and papaya), chicken, pork, fish, and rice/beans. The water is safe to drink from the tap.    Read more

  • Judith RivlinCosta Rico 2.25Traveler
    1

    Day 7: Manuel Antonio National Park

    March 1, 2025, Bay of Bengal ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Our hotel is really nice and very well located, immediately next to the entrance to the Manuel Antonio National Park. It costs about $18 to enter (less for Costa Ricans), and was much more crowded than I remember it being when we visited as a family in 2007. Our group arrived at the front gate at 8am and it was already busy - with lines like TSA or Disney. The line moved quickly and we got into the park without too much of a delay. As we walked along the path into the park, we’d see clusters of people with scopes set up to see sloths resting high in the trees, lizards on the ground, birds, monkeys and many other critters. The guides are generous in helping each other spot the animals, most of which are well-camouflaged. We walked for about 40 minutes before reaching the primary crescent beach. Being a Saturday, it was probably busier than usual. Once we got to the beach, people in our group divided up, with some settling in for beach time and others opting to hike. There were lots of playful capuchin monkeys that were endlessly entertaining near the beach - also iguanas and other creatures. Jane and I went for a hike up and around a promontory (though we somehow got turned around and went in the opposite direction), and then set our towels on the second/quieter beach. We played in the water that was very refreshing (taking turns so one of us could keep an eye on our belongings) until the rising tide forced us to move on and out of the park. We were nearly ready to leave anyway, so we didn’t mind. On our way out, we saw the smaller squirrel monkeys playing and chasing each other in the trees. They have really long tails and one was hanging on to the end of another monkey’s tail - seemed like a younger sibling irritating an older one. Returning to the hotel, we showered outside and then enjoyed the swim up bar! Dinner tonight was not included in our package, but most of us joined Jose at a nearby restaurant. It was tasty and festive, ending with birthday celebrations for 2 of our fellow travelers: Dorothy who turned 78 two days ago and Desmid, who will be 70 on Tuesday. I think our oldest trip member is 80, and the youngest is 47. Jane and I are the only pair of friends. In our group, we have two mother/daughter pairs, two couples traveling together, two other couples, one of which is joined by the husband’s mother, and two single travelers - though the solo man had been sick and missed most of the trip. He is presently in the hospital in San Jose, we think due to issues with his diabetes and perhaps also a virus. Fortunately, nobody else got sick.Read more

  • Judith RivlinCosta Rico 2.25Traveler

    Last full day in Costa Rica

    March 2, 2025 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    On Sunday we left our hotel next to the national park to return to San Jose. The drive was some 3+ hours, with a few stops along the way. Our major activity was taking a “crocodile safari ride” on the Tarcoles River. The boats were covered, long and flat, and we had one to ourselves. We saw many crocodiles - some in the water and some soaking up the sun. Also more birds, including roseate spoonbills, storks and pelicans. Soon after leaving the boat site, Jose noticed some colorful macaws out of the window, and we got off bus to watch and photograph them. There were at least 10-12 macaws and they’re beautiful! We also found one peeking out of a tree hole. After tthe macaw stop, we were dropped at a large souvenir shop with Costa Rican goods, then on to our hotel in San Jose. It was a Sunday afternoon and traffic was terrible! We said farewell to our funny and safe bus driver, Chiri. Our group then gathered to review our week’s activities and to have our final dinner together.
    In all, the trip was very successful: the activities were as advertised (though a little less rigorous than I expected), but what made it especially successful was our tour leader who was strong - personable, organized, and generous with information (macro and micro) along the way; and we had a terrific group of participants with no duds. Jane and I got along well - though expected, a relief and encouraging in the event of future travel together. The sixteen participants in our group bonded well, though I doubt I will make an effort to see any of them - most of whom live in the west (AZ, CA and OR), with only one other person from the East Coast (Brooklyn). If any were to come to DC, it would be fun to reconnect.    Read more

    Trip end
    March 3, 2025
  • 2026© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Help Center
  • Legal notice