Tales from Costa Rica

I’ve been meaning to put up some pics of our recent trip to Costa Rica, but I got sidetracked getting the new laptop set up and my home network reconfigured, etc., and I completely forgot to post anything! I decided not to talk about the trip prior to leaving after hearing about all the drama David went through while he was away on his own trip, but now that I’m back and fully functioning again I thought it would be fun to share my tale. Better late than never!

The trip did not start out well. Admittedly we could’ve planned better beforehand, but some of it was beyond our control… the way people drive for one thing. OMG! We drove through much of the country (from San Jose to Tamarindo, then back up to Tabacon), and learned that people there drive like lunatics. After a 6 hour flight, we spent 5 more (though told it would only be 2) on the highway from hell and I was convinced we were gonna die in a fiery crash. ;)

The “highway” was a very narrow, single lane road with NO shoulder, and people drive excessively over the speed limit, passing at will, even if and when there are oncoming cars only seconds away. What’s more, they’ll stop in the middle of the road without warning, for no apparent reason at all! John was left with no choice but to drive like the locals just to get us anywhere, and I was stressed, to put it mildly.

Disappointingly, everything we saw the first day was barren, brown and ugly. Reminded me more of a desert than a jungle. We stayed the night in Tamarindo at a lovely beach hotel however, and after a swim in the ocean to cool off and ease the aches and pains of travel, our attitudes improved significantly. The Piña Coladas helped too!

The next day we headed for Tabacon. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s a 5 star resort near Lake Arenal and CR’s most famed volcano. As we got closer, we saw a much nicer side of Costa Rica. Gorgeous even! The jungle itself was as lush as I’d imagined, as was Tabacon itself. We were handed complimentary (and very cute) little fru-fru drinks just moments after arriving and our luggage was swept away to our room while we checked in. :)

Many attractions are a short drive from the resort. If you want to relax, the thermal springs are within walking distance and nothing short of fabulous. The concentration of sulfur is really low due to the makeup of the volcano or something… I don’t remember but there’s NO SMELL In fact, all you smell is the fragrance of tropical flowers. Jeez I sound like an ad but it’s true! There’s also a world class spa located on the grounds. John and I both got a massage for the first time and wow!

If you want fun and adventure, go zip lining! It was my favorite part. The guides were enthusiastic and knowledgeable. They offered to take photos/video for everyone in the group and really made it a good time. The longest line we zipped across was just short of 1/2 a mile! Hard to believe you can cruise through the jungle canopy at nearly 30km p/hr… all with a spectacular view of the volcano and lake. I’ll never forget it.

We also hiked through the jungle up to the volcano and watched first hand as it spit out rocks and lava. The echo of it across the volcanic rock formations (which were beautiful) was a sound I’ll never forget (along with the unmistakable sound of the howler monkeys and wild turkeys nearby. It was a very cool experience.

Finally, the last night of the trip was a little frightening. We had to drive back to San Jose to turn in the rental car the night before because our flight left at 7am. We knew we needed to stay close to the airport to get shuttle service and decided to take the recommendation of one of the rental company’s employees. When we pulled up to the entrance and saw the concertina wire along the top of the 12ft high concrete perimeter wall, we were just a tiny bit concerned… but the evening passed uneventfully and the hotel owner shuttled us to a great little restaurant (with a cowboy theme oddly enough) for steaks and beers. :)

Ok I guess I’ve rambled on enough. I’ll leave you with just two bits of advice if you ever decide to visit Costa Rica, one based on what I’ve heard and one based on my own experience:

• 1) Unless you’re going to Tabacon, stick to the Caribbean side (rather than the Pacific side, where we were).
• 2) If you can, take a connecting flight from San Jose to wherever you’re going. Save yourself the stress of driving. :)

Tags: family | life