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
San José

We got up early (didn’t know that the time was actually an hour behind what we thought). It was a beautiful morning.
Pic: Waiting for our free breakfast/tour package presentation–we look prettyRead more
Afternoon tour of San Jose

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
National Theater in San Jose

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
Sarchi woodworking village

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
Afternoon at Arenal Volcano

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
Sarapiqui River Safari Trip

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

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
Chocolate Demo, Tirimbina Preserve

After our forest walk, we watched a demonstration of chocolate-making and got to taste it, unsweetened and sweetened, liquid and solid.
Morning Drive through the Cloud Forest

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
La Paz (Peace) Waterfall Garden

This park in the cloud forest is a sanctuary for rescued animals and birds (many illegally kept as pets) that are unable to be returned to the wild: monkeys, macaws, and jungle cats etc. Here are someRead more
La Paz Hummingbirds

So many different hummingbirds, and so hard to photograph them!
La Paz Waterfall Garden

Tour continues: Blue Morpho Butterfly on Dean, monkeys visiting with our guide, snake (under glass!), sleepy jungle cats, and frog.
Plants in the park

Orchids and other plants
Waterfalls

There are three waterfalls in the park, which were accessed by a trail and stairs. Picture 5 shows the couple, Larry and Dorthy from North Carolina, who were with us on all the tours. They are soRead more
Doka Estate Coffee Plantation

On the way back to San Jose, we stopped at the Doka Estate coffee plantation. Christian used to work there, so he gave us the tour and explained the process of coffee making--very interesting! TheRead more
Carara National Park

Today's tour took us towards the central Pacific coast, with a breakfast stop along the way. A very common breakfast consists of Pinto Gallo (Spotted Rooster), a beans and rice dish with vegetablesRead more
Tarcoles River safari

Next, we had a boat trip on the Tarcoles River, to see some huge crocodiles (one was named Mike Tyson) and lots of birds including herons, toucans, hawks, ibis, and the clay-colored robin, theRead more
Rainforest Adventures Canopy Tour

We had planned to go to Manuel Antonio National Park, but decided that we didn’t want to take another long bus ride, so we opted for a canopy tour at Rainforest Adventures, on the Caribbean side ofRead more
Rainforest Butterflies and Orchids

We had a great lunch in a beautiful restaurant with a roof but no walls. Then our guide took us through a butterfly enclosure, showed us frogs, snakes, and a collection of orchids, from large toRead more
Playas del Coco

We checked out and took a Greyline bus to Playas del Coco (Coco Beach), where we’d planned to stay in another timeshare for a week. It was a long bus ride, about 5 hours. The scenery was beautiful,Read more
Playas del Coco

Dean and I went to a timeshare presentation (why, I don’t know, except we thought, “Oh well, it’s worth it for a free breakfast”), but it wasn’t worth it! However we did receive a $50Read more
Liberia Costa Rica

We picked up the rental car and drove to Liberia for groceries. Dean had trouble with the brakes, so we got a different one.
It’s still raining. I am re-reading a book because I don’t haveRead more
Storm: No power or water!

It rained all night and the electricity went off around 3 a.m. We attempted to go for a drive, but couldn’t due to the river of water running down the street. The grocery store was open, so we wentRead more
Playa Hermosa

We found out that the deluge of rain was a result of Tropical Storm Nate. We tried to drive somewhere to see the damage, but we didn’t get far. The River Tempisque on the way to the airport is veryRead more