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Costa Rica

December 2024 - January 2025
  • Jeff Joll
  • Eileen Joll
A refuge from January's cold Read more
  • Jeff Joll
  • Eileen Joll

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  • Costa Rica
    Note the boys taking a rest from coffee pickingJeff loves this. Small and no view, but .....White-nosed coati - came right up to our picnic table looking for foodAlmost 2000 ft ascent in totalHighest point that I checked elevation.

    Grecia Forest Reserve

    January 21 in Costa Rica

    Great day for a hike! We got a ride to the road heading up to the park, about 20 minutes from where we are staying. From there we hiked up a (mostly) unpaved, rutted gravel road the 2.5 miles up to the entrance. Along the way, we past lots of coffee trees. We came across 2 young guys sitting in the shade, taking a break from their coffee picking (picture attached). There were some new homes, quite nice, along the way. Evidently, from what we have read, having a 4 wheel drive vehicle would be a requirement during the rainy season.

    After paying our entrance fee (about $11 for two of us), we hiked the longer of the two trails (only about 1.25 miles in a loop) up to the highest viewpoint. There we were at a little over 6000 ft altitude. Our walk up the road had started at about 4300 ... And the walk had been almost continual up hill.

    After completing the loop, we used one of the quaint little pavilions to eat a snack. Then we did the shorter, less inclined trail that was available. Once completed, we started back down the dirt road .... A much easier trip going down.

    It was a beautiful hike, about 7.25 miles in total . While it was 80 deg back in town, it had only been 70 on the mountain. The skies were mostly blue, with a few puffy clouds. And it was so quiet, only the sound of the breeze through the trees.

    After getting back to our place, we decided that we earned pizza and beer from Il Forno. This was our second visit here, veggie pizza both times. I highly recommend it if you are in the neighborhood.    Read more

  • Costa Rica
    At Asdrúbal'sAt Asdrúbal'sTiny rental At Asdrúbal'sAt Asdrúbal's1At Asdrúbal's1HikingAsdrúbal with "Ophelia"Laura and ChristopherJeffLaura and Asdrúbal1Laura and Asdrúbal

    A picnic

    January 23 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    We were invited by Laura, our Airbnb host, to go on a picnic with her along with her son Christopher and Olla, our neighbors. We left about 9:00 and headed to her cousin's house, about 20 minutes away.

    When we arrived we were greeted by Asdrúbal, her cousin. He is 80 and for the last 22 years has lived in the house he grew up in. He had worked in San Jose during his career, during which he spent 22 years as a taxi driver.

    First we got a tour of the grounds, which were absolutely beautiful and covered with all types of vegetation and included a pond as well as a pool. Later he explained that if you got drunk, he threw you in the pool. We also saw the rental unit (outside only) that he built on the property from a container unit. It looked like a nice tiny house.

    Our hike was to a nearby reserve that was gated, but it was easy to get around the gate. Access was limited because the spring and river there supplied water to a number of nearby villages. Asdrúbal pointed out his water pipe, originally installed by his father. There used to be a small canal/channel that ran to his property and powered a (sugar cane?) mill before there was electric. At the picnic area we made use of the swings and Christopher and Jeff climbed a tree.

    Asdrúbal brought his shoulder strap cooler with a 6 pack of beer and we learned his cooler was named Ophelia, after a clingy ex-girlfriend who was always on his shoulder. Asdrúbal spoke a little English and Christopher served the role of translator (both directions) as needed.

    After returning to the house, Laura prepared some sausages, grilled pork with veggies and some warm tortillas to go along with other snacks. In addition to beer, Jeff and Asdrúbal were sipping on whiskey while others enjoyed some coconut liqueur. We finished up our picnic with coffee and dessert. Somewhere during this time, Asdrúbal and Laura danced a bit. By the sound of it, her still dances regularly. The husband of a granddaughter also stopped in and visited for a while.

    Asdrúbal was a great host and truly seemed to enjoy our being there. He took two phone calls while we were there (one was for a party taking place there tomorrow, the other to a friend or family in the US). On both calls he said he was having a "united nations" meeting with both the USA and Ukraine (Olla) represented.

    We got back home around 4:00. It was a great day with some fantastic people.    Read more

  • Costa Rica
    1
    They have a big mating program to restore these birds to Costa Rica.They and peacocks run freely all through the park.Why would anyone buy this as a pet knowing how big they can get?1Bamboo - an invasive species like in the US1Inside that group of bamboo looking up!Smallest type of monkey but so strong it could crush a bone.He was a pet and wants to play when people come near.Serval cat from the zoo, native to Africa.

    Rescante Wildlife Rescue Center

    January 24 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F

    We went to the Escape Wildlife Rescue Center about a 25 minutes drive from our place. While it kind of looks like a zoo with some habitat friendly enclosures, it really is a rescue center where they rehab as many animals as possible and return them to the wild. Over 90% of all the animals received there are returned. The ones that are enclosed are either injured and wouldn't survive in the wild or are not native to the area. Many of the ones kept at the reserve were once exotic pets who wouldn't know how to survive or were treated poorly. Some of the animals came from Costa Rican zoos that were forced to close a few years ago. The zoos were inhumane keeping animals in small cages and not in habitats. There are no longer any zoos in Costa Rica. We had a tour guide (3 hours) who was extremely knowledgeable in both plants (plant biology degree) and the animals. This is a private facility and they get little money from the government so tours and donations are very important to them. There were three others on the tour with us - a lady from Vermont, and two from Montreal. We all are lunch together at the center's restaurant.Read more

  • Costa Rica
    Gringos!View from brewery

    Beer here

    January 25 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    Mostly the only beers drank here are the national beers which area all lagers. Imperial is the most popular. It is hard to find craft beers of any kind and even harder to find a draft. We heard about a brewery near here - Beer Designers. It was about a 50 minute walk (almost all uphill) from our place and only open on Friday evenings and Saturday from 3-12. We decided to walk to it on Saturday. When we walked in about 4:00, the place was filled with Gringos. This was a place the Americans hung out. They had about 7 beers on tap including a stout, Belgian wheat, and two IPAs. There was live music and dancing. We had some delicious tacos while enjoying our beers. We Ubered home!Read more

  • Costa Rica
    A packed church service celebrating childrenCultural centerView from the roof. We have seen a lot of rainbows but this is the first complete oneLots of people enjoying the dayMango treesThere are people dancing to the music in the parkThis boy was so excited to feed the pigeons!!Our tacos that came without silverware!The stadium we thought we were going toThe National Stadium in San JoseYoung fansThey were on their feet and chanting the entire game!Security lining up before halftime. They stayed there until the game was overThe mascot

    Alejuelan Soccer Game

    January 26 in Costa Rica ⋅ 🌬 79 °F

    We started the day by going to church at Templo Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes - the Catholic church in the town center. The service was in Spanish and there were a lot of children there with balloons. The service was dedicated to the celebration of children with a children's procession and children's choir. Standing room only.

    We wanted to go to a soccer game. The season just started this week and we had our choice of a division 2 game in Sarchi or a division 1 game in Alajuela. The Alajuela team is ranked as one of the best. We chose to go to the Alajuela game after confirming with our neighbor that it was at the home stadium. We bought tickets on line and decided to go into town early. We had spent the night there when we first arrived, but since that was New year's eve/new years day, most things were closed. The town we saw now was 100% different. It was lively with a lot of people about and music in the park. We spent some time at the cultural center which was both a history and art museum. While we were there, they opened the access to the roof where we could get a birds eye view of the area. Supposedly on a clear day, you can see the ocean from there. The workers did not speak English, but another tourist was translating things for us. Alujuela us known as the city of mangos and the park is surrounded by mango trees. After walking around a little bit, we ate tacos at a corner place while watching a local soccer game on the field across the street. When we walked by the soccer game, we saw the tourist who was translating for us playing defense!

    We headed to the field, a fifteen minute walk away. As we got closer to the field, it looked pretty dead and we wondered if we had the right day. Looking again at the tickets, we had the right day, but wrong field - not what was listed on the website. The game was being played at the national stadium in San Jose, 25 minutes away. We summoned an Uber and got to the game just before it started. The national stadium is home to the national team and holds other sporting events. It holds 35,000 people - one and half times more people than the Alajuelan stadium. When ordering tickets I could only get tickets on the upper sections so we were expecting a very large crowd. We were a little disappointed to see that the stadium was only about 20% full and there was no one in the lower seats. It turns out that the championship game that Alajuela lost in in December ended in a riot. As a result they were required to close their local stadium for the first 6 games of the new season, and why all of the fans were seated so far away from the field. The game we saw was no where near that exciting although some of the crowds comments were. While Alajuela dominated possession of the ball, the opposing keeper denied them of any goals and it ended in a 0-0 tie.
    We didn't plan on going to San Jose as no one really has had anything positive to say about it or things to do there, but it was good to get a glimpse of it while driving in.    Read more

  • Costa Rica
    The trees are starting to bloomBring escorted on the neighbors land. They even lent is walking sticksInto the jungleWaterfall #1Folks enjoying the swimming holes1Waterfall #2Water came out of there rocks everywhere1Swinging bridge - out of order!The edge of private property and the park area

    Los Chorros Waterfalls

    January 28 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

    Los Churros - "The Jets" - is a government owned park with two waterfalls and is closed to the public. To get to the waterfalls you descend about 15 minutes down a step dirt path. The park is closed maybe because the trail was washed out from the heavy raining season and not repaired, or to protect the waters which flow to the neighboring towns. Either way, the official entrance had been closed for a couple of years. However, a man on the neighboring property is more than willing to let you pass over his land to get to the trail, for a fee. The trail was dirt with rocks and roots and goes through a jungle like area. The variety of foilage is amazing and ends with a beautiful view of a waterfall, running stream, and swimming holes. We had to cross the stream to get to the first waterfall which we were able to get very close to in water about chest deep. We continued around the bend, climbing over rocks, to reach the second waterfall which was much more powerful. The force kept us from getting too close. We found some great rocks to sit on and enjoy a beer in front of this fantastic view. We also met some people from Utah and Maine. During the rainy season, the waters would be too high and too swift to negotiate through. The area used to have a swinging bridge and picnic areas. The bathroom and changing area is still functional but eerie.Read more

  • Costa Rica
    Cheers to Costa Rica and new friends!
    Oh to be young again and bike to the hill!FarmsThe views!!!1Patalones (front) and cerviche (back)

    Final Day

    January 30 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

    We decided to do a repeat activity. We went back to Bosque de Ninos - the park at the top of a 2.5 mile hill and then continues another .75 mile up a trail. " up hill" meant a 1700 ft elevation gain. The hike is up a dirt road but it is so peaceful and the views are amazing. We thought we would both get our exercise and take in the Costa Rican views one last time. It didn't disappoint. We returned and went to the Gastro bus a few blocks from our place. They serve the coldest beer we've ever had. We also had Patalones one more time. (Look them up - delicious!)
    In the evening we went out to dinner with our Airbnb host, Laura, her husband, Jaquin, and her son and his wife who live next door. It was Laura's birthday. We had a lovely dinner of traditional Costa Rican food while sitting outside enjoying the beautiful Costa Rican weather with our new Costa Rican friends. We were invited to come and visit anytime.
    Costa Ricans are very friendly and welcoming. Many times when people found it was our first time to the country, they said "Welcome to our country". They have a very biodiverse country that is green everywhere you look. They love their country! We could not have asked for better weather, views, or company.    Read more

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