CARAVAN TOURS: COSTA RICA NATURAL PARADISE
JANUARY 10-19, 2010
Flag of Costa Rica
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JANUARY 10
NEW YORK-SAN JOSÉ, COSTA RICA
Flew out of JFK on Mexicana Airlines #1 at 12:50 am to Mexico City, then Flight #379 to San José, Costa Rica arriving at 12:15 pm. Checked in at Barceló Palacio, hung out by the pool and had a couple of beers until Hidelisa arrived after some flight problems in Chicago.
We had a wonderful buffet dinner at the hotel's Restaurant Anfora before the welcome briefing by Caravan Tour Director Derek Free.
JANUARY 11
SAN JOSÉ
Due to inclement weather we couldn't go to Poas Volcano nor hike the Escalonia Cloud Forest Trail. Instead we went to the Zoo Ave, a wildlife refuge in Alajuela where they rehabilitate then release injured wild animals. They also deal with environmental education and care of endangered species. There were brightly colored macaws, toucans, iguanas, spider monkeys, etc.
Lunch was at a local restaurant with performers who danced in their native Indian costumes. Audience participation soon followed: Renee dancing with the natives.
Next we stopped in downtown San José where we went to the Museo de Oro Precolombino, the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum. Also on exhibit were currencies and dioramas of Costa Rican indigenous tribe life.
Adjacent to the museum is the Teatro Nacional in the Plaza de la Cultura and a couple of blocks away is the Catedral Metropolitana.
On the way back to the hotel we passed by the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica with its bullet-riddled turrets and walls from the 1948 Civil War. Another great dinner at the hotel's buffet restaurant with its amazingly good array of different appetizing foods.
JANUARY 12
SAN JOSE-CAÑO BLANCO-TORTUGUERO NATIONAL PARK
Drove through the Braulio Carrillo National Park on our way to Tortuguero National Park and passed several cascading waterfalls and tropical flowers on the roadside.
Stopped for lunch at a place which also had a butterfly garden. Pupa and just emerged butterflies.
After lunch we stopped at a banana plantation where we also saw a giant beetle.
Then on to flooded Caño Blanco where we picked up our boat to take us to the Laguna Lodge in Tortuguero. Hidel and Renee; our Tour Director Derek Free; the Kupia Kumi VI.
Laguna Lodge is an ecotourism lodge in a rainforest. Reception was at a Gaudi-inspired building with a conference room and souvenir shop. There is a nice pool/bar and an open air restaurant in front of the lagoon. We can hear the roar of the Atlantic Ocean from our cabin.
JANUARY 13
TORTUGUERO NATIONAL PARK
The day started with a little excitement! The bathroom's lightbulb exploded and the ceiling started to burn while Hidel was taking a shower (the water reeked of sulfur!). It eventually died down after I scrambled to look for a fire extinguisher. They had to move us to another cabin.
Morning excursion was a boat ride along the canals and lagoon to look for wildlife. It was pouring so we did not expect to see much wildlife but we saw three-toed sloths, iguanas, anhingas, blue heron, and snowy egret. The boat passed by the village of Tortuguero with the colorful houses and shops.
After lunch we took the boat again and we visited the Green Turtle Research Station then we walked on the beach to the town of Tortuguero. The houses were painted in pastel colors and shops had beautiful graphics on their doors and walls.
Next stop was at the toll gate to get a permit then on to more wildlife sightseeing in Caño Palma Wildlife Reserve. Among the wildlife spotted were a white-faced capuchin monkey, an aracari (toucan), a two-toed sloth, a caiman, a northern jacana and her chick, and other birds.
JANUARY 14
TORTUGUERO NATIONAL PARK-SAN CARLOS VALLEY-FORTUNA
After breakfast we took the boats to Pavona where our bus was waiting for us. Had lunch along the way then visited an organic pineapple plantation, Finca Corsicana. Drove through scenic countryside to the San Carlos Valley to Fortuna where we stayed at Arenal Manoa. Arenal Volcano loomed in the background and we left word with reception to give us a wake-up call if the volcano erupted.
JANUARY 15
SAN CARLOS VALLEY-RIO FRIO-CANO NEGRO-ARENAL
Excursion this morning on the Rio Frio through the Cano Negro wildlife refuge. On the way to the boat we saw a woodpecker on a utility pole. Along the river we saw caimans, spider monkeys, mantle howler monkeys, white-headed capuchin, anhingas, iguanas, three-toed sloths, green turtles, swallows, snowy egrets, and the amazing common basilisk, a lizard that runs on water and is commonly known as the Jesus Christ lizard.
After lunch in town a group of schoolchildren performed a couple of folk dances for the group. Then we drove back to Fortuna, walked around main street and visited the park and the church.
Next we went to the Baldi Hot Springs Spa and enjoyed a relaxing soak in the volcanic hot springs before going back for a nice dinner at the Arenal Manoa.
JANUARY 16
SAN CARLOS VALLEY-HANGING BRIDGES-GUANACASTE
After breakfast we drove to the Arenal Hanging Bridges in the midst of the rainforest of great biological diversity and scenic splendor and hiked through thirteen suspension bridges led by a young university student tour guide.
Next was a scenic drive around Lake Arenal where we saw coatimundis along the road. Then we stopped at a roadside store for souvenirs.
Lunch was at Coocafe, a cooperative for coffee planters.
Stopped at the town of Liberia for our afternoon break before proceeding to the Pacific Coast for a 2-day stay on the beach. Had a beautiful room at the J.W. Marriott Resort & Spa in Hacienda Pinilla, Guanacaste.
JANUARY 17
GUANACASTE
This morning's excursion was to nearby Natural Trail of the Hacienda Pinilla which is a tropical bird and wildlife sanctuary. There were a lot of iguanas, pelicans and other birds, and heard the howler monkeys.
The afternoon was spent swimming at the infinity pool by the beach with Renee and Stuart and Hidel and some members of the tour group. Cocktail party followed and then a nice buffet dinner. A show was put on by the hotel employees at a small auditorium. More cocktails followed at the atrium of the hotel.
JANUARY 18
GUANACASTE-SAN JOSÉ
Went to the beach early this morning to beachcomb and found some pretty shells. We left after breakfast and stopped at the town of Grecia and then lunch at Sarchi and a look at a famous oxcart shop.
Checked in at Hotel Aurola in downtown San José then Hidel and I went for some last minute shopping for souvenirs and Costa Rican coffee. Tonight was the farewell dinner and a fashion show featuring Miss Costa Rica and a bevy of beautiful models in wildlife costumes.
At the farewell dinner: Hidel, Stuart and Renee Kratter; the models; Stuart, Derek our tour director, me, and Renee (seated)
JANUARY 19
SAN JOSÉ-NEW YORK
Flew out of San José on US Airways #1706 at 1:35 pm to Charlotte, NC, then Flight #3292 to JFK arriving at 10:38 pm. What an amazing vacation!
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