September 24, 2017-arrival in San Jose
24 сентября 2017 г., Коста Рика ⋅ 🌧 64 °F
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, BruceЧитать далее
San José
25 сентября 2017 г., Коста Рика ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F
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 prettyЧитать далее
Afternoon tour of San Jose
25 сентября 2017 г., Коста Рика ⋅ 🌧 70 °F
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, andЧитать далее
National Theater in San Jose
25 сентября 2017 г., Коста Рика ⋅ 🌧 70 °F
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, firstЧитать далее
Sarchi woodworking village
26 сентября 2017 г., Коста Рика ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F
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 itsЧитать далее
Afternoon at Arenal Volcano
26 сентября 2017 г., Коста Рика ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F
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, andЧитать далее
Sarapiqui River Safari Trip
27 сентября 2017 г., Коста Рика
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
27 сентября 2017 г., Коста Рика ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F
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 theЧитать далее
Chocolate Demo, Tirimbina Preserve
27 сентября 2017 г., Коста Рика ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F
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
28 сентября 2017 г., Коста Рика ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F
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 hadЧитать далее
La Paz (Peace) Waterfall Garden
28 сентября 2017 г., Коста Рика ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F
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 someЧитать далее
La Paz Hummingbirds
28 сентября 2017 г., Коста Рика ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F
So many different hummingbirds, and so hard to photograph them!
La Paz Waterfall Garden
28 сентября 2017 г., Коста Рика ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F
Tour continues: Blue Morpho Butterfly on Dean, monkeys visiting with our guide, snake (under glass!), sleepy jungle cats, and frog.
Plants in the park
28 сентября 2017 г., Коста Рика ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F
Orchids and other plants
Waterfalls
28 сентября 2017 г., Коста Рика ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F
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 soЧитать далее
Doka Estate Coffee Plantation
28 сентября 2017 г., Коста Рика ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F
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! TheЧитать далее
Carara National Park
29 сентября 2017 г., Коста Рика ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F
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 vegetablesЧитать далее
Tarcoles River safari
29 сентября 2017 г., Коста Рика
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, theЧитать далее
Rainforest Adventures Canopy Tour
30 сентября 2017 г., Коста Рика ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F
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 ofЧитать далее
Rainforest Butterflies and Orchids
30 сентября 2017 г., Коста Рика ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F
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 toЧитать далее
Playas del Coco
1 октября 2017 г., Коста Рика ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F
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,Читать далее
Playas del Coco
2 октября 2017 г., Коста Рика ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F
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 $50Читать далее
Liberia Costa Rica
3 октября 2017 г., Коста Рика ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F
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 haveЧитать далее
Storm: No power or water!
4 октября 2017 г., Коста Рика ⋅ 🌫 75 °F
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 wentЧитать далее
Playa Hermosa
5 октября 2017 г., Коста Рика ⋅ 🌫 73 °F
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 veryЧитать далее







































































































