We are back from our second trip to Costa Rica, and though it was the start of the “rainy” (or “green” season as tourism promoters describe it), we were lucky to get some fantastic weather. We started our trip by returning to the northern region where we spent our first vacation, in the El Tucano Hotel about 2 hours north of the capital, San José. We were warmly welcomed by our friend and guide “Frank Tours” and proceeded to get settled and take in some sights, new and old.
Our first trip here two years ago was RAINY! Non-stop umbrellas and fog – and we never saw the freaking volcano! This time we saw Arenal volcano, in all its glory. We got lucky with a perfect day (a sad fact is most tourists will not see, for cloud, rain, fog etc, the volcano at many times of the year). As we drove from our base near Ciudad Quesada toward Fortuna we kept looking to the skies, anticipating clouds and ominous weather to appear. It never materialized. We saw the swirling smoke around the cone and enjoyed a great afternoon steak dinner on an outdoor patio near the base, and at night we hiked some trails and got to see the lava and rocks rolling down from the 1700 meter behemoth! We also got a tour of a river valley not many tourists ever see. It was the site of a hydro-electric project high in the mountains near Poas Volcano. FYI – Poas experienced an earthquake 9 months ago that killed dozens of people. Frank told us that he was trapped for two days with his daughter on a mountain road and had to be airlifted by helicopter! (We had visited the same site, near a major attraction called La Paz Waterfall Gardens only a year before). All along the river valley were fresh brown scars where landslides and waterfalls mingled It was an amazing experience (thanks Frank!).
After a couple days we headed west and south, arriving at our hotel, Byblos, in Quepos, on the Pacific Coast near the ultra-famous Manuel Antonio National Park. We hooked up with Paul from Manuel Antonio Expeditions for a mangrove tour. It was a great day of boating around the winding estuary in search of monkeys, amphibians and birds (Irina touched the monkey!). The following day Paul’s partner Edgar took us on a walk to Manuel Antonio. We saw white-faced monkeys (also called Capuchins) who entertained and came close (but didn’t beg or steal as we had been warned). We spent the afternoon on one of the lovely white-sand beaches. Quepos proved to be a worthy destination with many fine sights, hotels and restaurants (two that stood out for Pacific views and great food were Si Como No, and Barba Roja). One terrific outing was Henry Karczynski’s “Villa Vanilla,” a real working farm which offers tours and tastings of vanilla, cocoa, and cinnamon. The tour with Josie was educational and tasterrific! We decided to fly back to San Jose on our last morning because it was fast and convenient and our little Sansa Air 12-seater Cessna flight was a treat. What amazing views of the mountainous Cordillera and Central Valley!
Now we are plotting a third trip and wondering what fantastic new places await. Costa Rica offers some great diversity and the English-speaking, Jamaican-settled Caribbean coast community of Limon would make for an interesting destination. For the moment we reminisce and enjoy the memories. “Pura Vida!” (Gracias Frank, Paul, Edgar, Josie, Henry and all the other great Costa Ricans we met).
