Hints
- get out of San Jose asap
- spend more time on the Caribbean coast than Pacific
- if traveling with children, load your phone with more suitable material than just season 5 of family guy
29/03/17
Currently sitting in Toronto airport lounge watching stuff about Britain starting the brexit process and waiting for our 2nd flight of the day to board. The coffee isn't good. The kids have gone a bit mad as it's their bedtime but midday here (Eva told the canadian immigration officer that her sister has a hairy chest). i tried to explain timezones but we left it that we had travelled 5 hours back in time.
We just bought the obligatory maple syrup and moose keyring in the gift shop. The flight from Heathrow was 7 hours of TV and watching. I got through Star trek, allied and lion, all of which were pretty good.
On the plane now and I've just realised we don't have seat back screens this time damn it!
Clocks went back another 2 hours before we landed. Kids has long since crashed, which made extraction from the airport tricky. We bundled into a cab and made it to our only prebooked room in a nice hotel in aeuueja - chosen for its close proximity to the airport
Paid 30,000 cash for room plus the deposit from online
30/03/17 - San Jose, extinct volcano, waterfall gardens
Up at 4am this morning. They started serving breakfast at 6am so we only had 2 hours of the girls bouncing about like crazy loons on the beds. Payaya was served. Eva is not a fan.
Around 9am we took a cab back to the airport to pick up our hire car. I had actually done some prep work here and bought a insurance policy in the UK - meaning i could cut through the budget sell of their insurance. It was excellent. Only down side was the 3k auth on my card.
We headed out, automatic car on the wrong side on the road. What could possibly go wrong? Luckily nothing did. Our first stop was the poas volcano! It turned out to be a very sanitised experience. There is a road right up to the crater. You can't actually drive all the way up though. In order to sell you parking you have to walk the last bit. One Impressive crater lake, and a lagoon.
later we continued on to the la Paz waterfall gardens. This was 40us (actually caused Ben pain to part with this so I Kerry had to part with the credit card) each to get in, but it was excellent.
We left at about 4pm, panicing slightly that we wouldn't find anywhere at a reasonable price to stay. We stopped and took photos of a large group of coati . By this time i had started making subtle references to sleeping in the car.
Headed out and after about an hour we decided to stop in the largest town so far, San Miguel. We asked in the bar and managed to swing a traditional cabin
Went to the bar for food. Amazing pork ribs, chicken and rice meal for 4. Cost 40us for room and 30us for food. That in colones was 42000.
The girls liked the dog Ica who carted an orange around as a ball.
Bed at 8pm. Knackering day. The gardens were lovely saw lots more humming birds.
31/03/17 - La Fortuna
Up at 6am this morning. We left early and started our drive to la Fortuna using a mix of our printed map and the OsmAnd GPS app on my phone. my Stopped at a local cafe for a a local breakfast for a local people. A bowl shaped mount of black beans and rice with scrambled egg. Actually really good. We also managed to get a coffee - so far a proving to be a difficult task.
Made it to la Fortuna around 10am, dwarfed by the cone of the Arenal volcano.
We landed a room at the first place we tried - the hotel villas vista Arenal. And it had a pool!
We spent most of the day in the pool. It was an awesome place. We were going to go in some hot springs, but the thought of sitting in hot water in this heat is not appealing.
01/04/17 - Arenal volcano
The natural alarms went off at 5.30 this morning. A concophony of beeps, clicks and whirs. It's like being in an electronics shop.
We packed up and drove to a place that Kerry had found on the internet the night before - mistico hanging bridges park where we did a 3 hour walk around some rain forest. The bridges, and the bits where i couldn't hear other tourists were nice. We saw a blue morpho butterfly IN THE WILD!
I spend far more time in restaurants watching others eat than eating myself. This is not through choice.
We headed back to the town and had a 'tipico' lunch - rice, black beans, chicken and fried plantain for about a fiver. This is the cheapest thing on the menu and really good. Kids had pizza.
Bought soft toys for kids;
'Pearl Marine' the 🐢, and 'Cuddly Tubby' the coati🐈
We stayed in a cabin at the Hotel Fortuna Villas on the main road. Cooked pasta for tea as this place had a kitchen we could use. And free freshly brewed coffee in the morning! Bed at 8, after an evening swim.
Room was 60us - best place on this coast we stayed
#Arroz and pinto#
Cook Rice, chop red pepper, white onion, red onion, corriander, black beans. Cook with lid on pan for about 20 mins, a little oil
02/14/17 - Pacific coast and maccaws
We have the car for 4 more days, and so decided to drive to a new place today!
Had cerials, mango and pineapple for breakfast. Planted top.
Eventful journey
2 simultaneous throw-ups (Hannah reading in the car - good lesson). Car is now a bit smelly. Went over a bridge and saw a crocodile swimming down the middle of the river.
Kerry thought she saw a sloth in a tree, but it turned out to be a bit of moss.
Decided to head towards the Pacific coast via San Ramon. Kerry had been googling where to see parrots and came up with natuwa sanctuary near aranjuez (https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g309287-d2558044-Reviews-Macaw_Sanctuary_Natuwa-Punta_Arenas_Province_of_Puntarenas.html). The place was well hidden down a rippio road, but was excellent. $20US each.
we saw;
Great green Maccaw 300 left in wild - Mountain almond being cut down
Chestnut mandimled toucan - largest of 5 species- Omnivores
Jaguars - Only 50-60 left in CR Eat 2kg meat per day
Green wing macaws - Native to south America
Blue and gold macaws
Scarlett macaws
Tapiers largest mammals in CR
Hyacinth macaws
Native to Brazil
Sun Conner parrekeets
African greys
White crested cockatoos
Marmoset monkey
Spider and capuchin monkey
Oscolotts
Native to CA
Stopped on the coast road between Tarcoles and Jaco as it was getting dark and we needed a room.
24000cr room in old knackered place close to beach
Run down Swiss chalet
Adventurous happy place
Special shower pipe
After watching the sun set at the local beach 'playa pita' We walked up to the Main road 'Steve and lisas' for cena. Only ones there. Had a pina colada. Cost 29k, about 40 quid
Eva learnt some Spanish - 'tienne WiFi password?'
Some one told us that a Volcano is exploding?
03/04/17 - Monday Carrara National Park
Up at 6am to find we had no water. Guy came down and turned it on. Kids went in the pool while i drove to the local supermarket to get breakfast.
We drove to the Carara national park. Cost 30us for us all to get in and 50us for a guide, Enrique. We walked around for a couple of hours, getting hot.
A Cicada pissed on me.
Nesting Scarlett macaws
More leaf cutter ants
Two bat's ghost bat
Jesus christ lizard
Rodent
Hannah spotted a green and black poison dart frog
Saw a 2 toed sloth
Moon-walking bird. Many dance in a group (lex)
Great tinamoo - blue eggs
White faced capuchin 🐒
920 bird species in CA
We ate a homemade lunch at the pool
I, dick head, ben of hallngbury, locked us out of the room and the owner opened it with a steak knife
Spent the afternoon at the local beach with the hosts 5 year old daughter. We went back to Lisa and Steve's for a pina colada after home cooked pasta, and discovered our hotel owner works there. Kerry got her daughter's address for the girls
04/04/17 - Quepos
Cooked pancakes for breakfast and then we packed up and headed to another local beach 'playa mantas' we had been recommended by our guide yesterday. It was down a long dirt road last a resort. Lovely beach but again, no beach bars or anything I like thailand.
Hot journey to Quepos, down the coast past Jaco, a beach resort.
Cheapest hotel with air con we could find was full of young Costa Rican women. A steal at 20,000cr. Tiny room though. And the air con didn't work. 'Hotel 🏨 Mar y Luna' We immediately went out and spent want we had saved on massive ice creams (8k). Eva had a meltdown because she didn't get a cone. Happy days.
36 degrees at 4pm so we headed to the beach in the car. Had a good swim. Nice sunset.
05/04/17 - Manuel Antonio National Park
Up at 6am planning an early start for the national park. Packed up the car and breakfasted at the place opposite.
Manuel Antonio no (40us Guide, 32us entry)
Helmet headed lizard
3 and 2 toed Sloth
Hawk bird? nesting on ground well camouflaged
Deady crab
bats
jesus christ lizard
Howler monkeys capuchin monkeys
Coati
Raccoons
lovely beach inside the park;
Kids loves sensitive plants
Left around 2 and stopped at a cafe made out of an old American bomber.
Got bored of waiting to be served and had empanadas and guava juice from a guy on a motorbike for 3k. Kerry pointed out that instead of the sophisticated coffee and lunch I was promised her, instead i gave her an empanada in a bus stop. Fair point. And the juice had ants in Ben maintained they were pips.
Drove back up the coast to Jaco and found a German owned 60us place with swimming pool and crap ac. Colonial hotel. Went to Jaco Beach. Massive swath of sand. Great surf beach. Very powerful waves. First cockroach spot of the trip in Jaco.
06/04/17 - Bus to Cahuita on the Caribbean Coast
eva and coti
Car return. No major issues. We left the kids booster seat we had brought with us as it was too much to carry.
We took a taxi to the bus terminal from the airport and then a 4.5h bus ride to Cahuita on the Caribbean coast.
We arrived, hot and bothered and checked into the closest hotel - the hotel case de Las Flores. Best room so far. 2 d double beds, working A/C, swimming pool, breakfast included for $80.
We dined at a local place called Cocos, 2 doors down from our room. Reggae music and Caribbean food.
07/04/17 - Sloth Sanctuary
Lovely cool night. Slept well. We took a bus to the sloth sanctuary and did their tour (after a bit of a walk - the bus overshot).
Traveled through a massive banana plantation. Lots of rescued sloths reclining behind bars.
Solitary animals.
1kg poo and 1l wee in one go, once a week. 4 chambered stomach
3 finger bigger
Predator - Harpy Eagle
30-40 year life span 2toed
'Slothspital'
Went on a boat trip as part of the deal. Was hot.
Went to Coco's for dinner again. Busy bar with music.
08/04/17 - Cahuita National Park
Another lovely breakfast at Casa de Las Flores and then we headed out on another of 'mums nature walks', this time in the Cahuita National Park.
We all managed a 8.5k walk around the coastal peninsula of the park. It rained a bit, and the morning was nice and cool. We saw a couple of Yellow snakes
Eva came up with a new name for sea urchins - 'Sea merchants'
Crabs
Humming birds
Hermet crabs up a tree
First part was around the coast. Then inland on a boardwalk into denser jungle.
Group of about 20 howler monkeys passed through the trees right above us.
Frog spawn
Peace lillies. Like being in a really poncy garden Centre.
While waiting for the bus back to Cahuita we saw a toucan
David ate boroughs sloth footage
Cocos for dinner (again) - they serve food the girls will eat (hotdogs, pasta)
09/04/17 - Botanicals
After coffee and breakfast, we moved our bags to another accommodation 'Buenos seurte' - good luck in English! I had to pay for 2 rooms - they each have 1 queen sized bed. Got a bus to Puerto Viejo, 17km away. Did a taste test on 2 different types of banana bread.
Went to a privately owned botanical gardens and went on a self guided walk around an old Cocoa plantation. Saw Cocoa, star fruit, cinamon, vanilla, Nutmeg, Jack fruit, durian growing
Saw a few strawberry poisen dart frogs.
At the end we got to taste the fruit grown in the garden. Eva spat hers out all over the floor. We also tried the 70% chocolate they make here. It was good. We bought some.
Found out that mosquitoes are not entirely devil spawn as they pollinate the Cocoa tree. So no mosquitoes, no chocolate!
https://www.costaricaorganicsfarm.com/botanical-garden
Scampering sideways crab scared mum
Change from Cocos!
10/04/17 - More Sloths
Last full day here before traveling back to San Jose for our flight home on the 12th. Breakfast at Bueno sorte was a delicious ace of sweet breads., cakes and sugary loveliness. That is unless you asked for the 'salt' breakfast type, which turned out to be a massive great pile of Yuck. Guess which one I chose...
Kids watched entire series 5 of family Guy.
On the way to the beach a guy asked us if we wanted to go snorkeling. Hannah and I went with him. While waiting for them to get the boat in the water, someone pointed out 2 two toed sloths in the mango tree above us. One had a baby!
Octopus
Parrot fish
Sting Ray
Bump fish
Juvenile jewel damselfish
Cost $70
After an afternoon at the beach we headed back to the sloths and they had just woke up! We watched them feeding for a couple of hours and watched them move from their sleeping tree to their eating tree. They are very agile and can ecru ally move pretty fast when required to. On the way home a guy showed us a 3 toed sloth peeking out from a tree.
Moved into a single room with a queen bed and a beanbag. Hannah is taking the beanbag.
11/04/17 - Return to San Jose
Slept surprisingly well given our lack of beds. We packed up and went to say farewell to the sloths, who had moved back to their original tree. Waited for bus whilst listening to howler monkeys in the trees behind. Mid journey the bus was stopped and searched (including all the luggage) by armed police. Don't think they found anything. Taxi back to Alajuela, which is actually at just under 1000m above sea level, so nice and cool, relatively.
Hostel Trotamundos
12/04/17 - Home!
Canada's duty frees were cheaper than Costa Ricas
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