September 24, 2017-arrival in San Jose

Dean has wanted to go to Costa Rica for years, so we finally decided to go. We had enough credit card points to pay for the airfare, and we exchanged timeshares for a two week trip. Our friend, BruceRead more
Dean has wanted to go to Costa Rica for years, so we finally decided to go. We had enough credit card points to pay for the airfare, and we exchanged timeshares for a two week trip. Our friend, BruceRead more
After lunch, we went on a sightseeing tour of San Jose. Although it was raining (it is the rainy season after all!) we saw the highlights of the city and learned about the economy, history, andRead more
This beautiful theater was financed by a tax on coffee, and completed in 1897. It was designed for everyone to access music and dance.
See the statue in the lobby, the interior of Theater, firstRead more
We ate a quick breakfast of cereal in our condo, before we met the tour group at 7:15 for the excursion to Arenal Volcano. On the way, we stopped in the woodworking village of Sarchi, famous for itsRead more
We stopped for lunch, and we could see the volcano from the restaurant. We ate a traditional lunch called Casado, which is beans, rice, fried plantains, sautéed onions and peppers, cabbage salad, andRead more
We took a boat safari tour on the Sarapiqui River. Monkeys in the trees, crocodiles on the riverbanks, bats on a tree trunk, and many birds, butterflies, and flowers were seen everywhere.
Tirimbina Reserve: Lunch was served here, and was delicious as always! Then we walked in the rainforest, including the longest hanging bridge in the country. We saw lots of wildlife, including theRead more
After our forest walk, we watched a demonstration of chocolate-making and got to taste it, unsweetened and sweetened, liquid and solid.
We drove through Alajuela and Heredia provinces where we saw coffee plants growing under canopies to protect them from the sun, and fields of tropical plants grown for export as houseplants. We hadRead more