Day 16 - San Jose, Our Last Day in Costa Rica

Before we left Tortuguero this morning, they had a surprise for us. The turtle conservatory was putting a tracking device on a turtle who laid her eggs last night, which meant we could see her during the daylight and take pix! Poor thing had to wait for the glue to dry before they'd release her, and it takes forever for anything to dry in that humidity!

We flew out of Tortuguero on a small prop plane. It was a cool, new experience for the kids - though Kate thought it was loud. We had a scenic 25 minute flight to San Jose. Seeing Tortuguero from a bird's eye view put the area into perspective - the beach/coast is an island! As you can imagine, Costa Rica is a pretty country to fly over. We flew past Turrialba Volcano. At 10,000 feet high, it's quite large. It is active, with a recent ash eruption last month.

We had a tour of the capital city, San Jose. Then we went to Sibu, an artisan chocolatier. It was as enjoyable as a private tour of a winery, except we were sampling and learning about gourmet chocolate - followed by a gourmet brunch. The kids got to make a chocolate bar.

San Jose is a good place to end a trip - there is no remorse about leaving the city. No more jungle. No more howler monkeys to greet us. I must admit though, it was fun sampling rum in the grocery store (why don't we have that back at home?!). However, leaving is a sweet sorrow. Saying goodbye to new-found girl/friends but esp Glenn and Lisa, who got up at 4am to see us Californians off.

Costa Rica is a wonderful country. Without a doubt it has amazing beauty but the people are equally enriching. They are friendly, genuine, caring and helpful. I very much enjoyed speaking my limited nonsense Spanish with them! "We wait for your family to return!" Pedro said to me.

Now I know the true meaning of Pura Vida!

Day 15- The Turtles of Tortuguero

I had the best night of sleep yet - finally sleeping with the window open! We could hear the rain, the bugs, the animals... peaceful! I actually slept in - until 5am - then quickly jumped out of bed to look for wild life. I took each step hesitantly and carefully - trying to watch what I was stepping on but also look in every direction for hiding creatures! Maybe I'd see a jaguar, boa, bushmaster (only 5% of victims survive a bite), big spiders. Fortunately the worst I found was the poison dart frog (I didn't touch it), toucans, and lots of capuchin monkeys (there are lots in the trees here). 

Our activity this morning was a boat ride into Tortuguero National Park. We saw lots of birds, monkeys high up in the trees, a variety of plants/trees, and a caiman. I stopped leaning over the side when our guide told us that all their snakes swim, and bushmasters chase the boats (at night)! 

We went across the canal to the small town of Tortuguero. It has a population of 1000, 40% of which come from Nicaragua. We also walked on the beach. It was beautiful but it is too dangerous to swim here due to the current, bull sharks, barracuda, and crocodiles. We also tried some healthy coconut water. 

In town Kate stated she wants to go home. She was hot, and seems to think she would be cooler in Sacramento's 100+ degrees. She then made a good point - they don't have air conditioning here! 

I wonder what my boys think about all this good clean fun? They have been without their computers for 2 whole weeks, and all the kids hang together having all sorts of fun! Like today's chicken fights in the pool. 

Glenn commented, "Only in Costa Rica can you be at the pool side watching the monkeys." 

I am officially done looking for wild life; on our way back to our rooms there was a snake 10 feet from our door. It was small and non-poisonous, but did not back down to us.  I have no desire to see anymore snakes!

Our nighttime adventure was to go watch the green sea turtles lay their eggs. We won spots in the early viewing (7:30 pm) group. You are only allowed on the beach at night with a guide. So to not frighten off the turtles, we had to dress in all black from head to toe, and could not bring any cameras. We took a boat ride to the beach. It's a long stretch of beach where right now 200-300 turtles come ashore each night to lay their eggs, but in a month it will be 2000-3000! We were assigned to Sector 2 near the airport and waited on the end of the runway while the spotter found a turtle. We waited a very long time, listening to facts about turtles, watching fireflies nearby and lightening in the distance, and gazing at the beautiful stars. In the dark dressed in black it felt like a night-ops mission! After an hour I began to fear that we were going to be out of luck. But finally the spotter called us to the beach. We walk carefully out single file and watch the mama go back into the ocean...no eggs. Another turtle is spotted and again we watch her go back into the water, though this time we get to see the huge hole she attempted to dig. She chose next to a palm tree and could not dig through the roots. And that was it - our time had expired. Kate could not believe it, and exclaimed, "Did you know turtles are so big?" 

We returned to our rooms to a night full of very loud thunder. There was no counting any seconds between the lightening and the thunder. It was so close and loud I swear it hit the bungalow next to us!

Day 14 - Welcome to the Jungle

There was a competition this morning that got Chris out of his room by 5:30 am. Our TD was hiding somewhere and whoever found him 1st (with the answers to the crossword puzzle) would win the prize. Chris was determined! I was checking out the butterfly garden, when next thing I know, Chris is talking to quietly... He found TD in the butterfly bushes!

Today we stopped at a pineapple farm. Why? Because Costa Rica is the main producer of pineapple in the world. We went to Finca Corsicana; they distribute to Whole Foods. We filled our bellies with the best pineapple I have ever tasted. I wish I could say I learned something but the guide's humor ("You are right, congratulations. NO!") made me more confused than when I started. But I can tell you you're wasting your time if you pick a pineapple by pulling out a leaf, smelling it or poking it! And you need to put it right into the refrigerator; it doesn't "ripen" on your counter, it ferments!

Our destination today was Tortuguero on the Caribbean coast. There are only 2 ways to get there - either fly or take a boat. There are no roads, only canals. We took a boat. Our TD has definitely hyped up this part of the tour so our expectations are pretty high. His response to every missed wild life has been, "don't worry you will see it in Tortuguero."

We are staying in an Eco-lodge. That is a fancy way of glorifying rustic; you can't put toilet paper into the toilet! The rooms don't have windows but at least they have screens to keep out the bigger bugs! Greg warned me, "Don't get freaked out but there are ants in the bathroom. Big ants." I actually had to put my phone down at night because its light was attracting too many bugs.

For Glenn's birthday the resort surprised him with a cake. Craig, not usually the loud, blurting type, scoops up a big bite and exclaims uncontrollably, "Holy crap. This is the worst cake I've ever had." His blatant rudeness had us in stitches!

This rustic hide-away is making for some great family memories. Thanks mom!!

Day 12 - Thanks for Making Me Go

As usual, AIS was 8am - when we discovered that the family of 15 (celebrating 50th anniversary) was leaving the tour. Tragically, the dad (guessing 70?), who recently had stints put in, had a heart attack - they believe during the zip lining. He is in stable condition and the family joined him at the hospital. Craig reassured us that he would continue on with the trip should anything happen to us  ;-) So now we are basically on a private tour - excepting the wonderful family of 4 still with us. 

Our day started with a river float along the Peñas Blanca's River.  Yup, sounds like a sleeper!  Unfortunately we did not see any moose, but we did see everything else!  We saw Jesus Christ lizards - they are rather small so I have no idea how the guide spots them. And a sloth (looks like a nest), monkeys, plenty of birds, poison dart frog (tiny so they pick one up for us to see). Oh yeah and at least 6 crocodiles!!  We stopped at the farm of Don Pedro (he's 101 years old) for coffee, plantains, cheese and tapioca bread. Then we divided up into dry and wet boats. You can guess who went in the dry boat. No, not me. Though extremely tempted to, I had heard this was the best thing of the entire trip. Dry boat was passengers 70+ years old. Everyone else split into 3 boats and were given buckets. We were told 2 rules for the water fight: no pushing people in and no throwing buckets.  Honestly I never thought I'd have so much fun getting water thrown on me, but there's nothing better than laughing for an hour straight! The guides turned on us and were our own worst enemies. They obviously didn't hear the rules because - just after seeing crocodiles - they pushed every one of us in (except youngest Kate and Ainsley). 

After the float we stopped to see huge, friendly  iguanas.  Then in our free time, a group of us (only 7 could go) went horseback riding. Chris, Jeremy and Kate have never been. It was amazing ... The sheer bliss of flying as one with a horse!  I had a mama, and baby tagged along beside us! They let us gallop to our hearts content - through field after field.  We all had so much fun! When we got back, Jeremy said, "thanks for making me go."  He meant every word of it!

Today was my favorite day! 

Day 11 - Faster, Higher, Longer

AIS was 8am today but this time we needed to have our bags packed as well. We were on our way to our next destination - Arenal volcano and Tilajari Hotel. 

Our guide kept telling us how lucky we were to see Arenal volcano. Usually it is shrouded in clouds. We first saw it on our drive and again from our boat ride across Arenal Lake. We drove around it to get to our hotel. But we saw it closest from our zipline - now that was cool!  It is a mile high and used to be one of the 12 most active volcanoes in the world but it has been unusually quiet this past year. 

We have ziplined in Mexico, Hawaii and of course yesterday. But nothing prepared us for the ziplining today.  This course was 650 high and 1/2 mile long - giving you speeds up to 45 mph. My camera can't begin to take a pix of a distance like that, but to give you an idea, it felt like we were zipping off the top of the volcano!  You put a lot of faith in the hands of the locals who safely attach you to cables!  At one point, as I was flying through the air, I did wonder what if ... But you just can't let your thoughts go there.  Besides, I knew we were safe - we had helmets on!

We are in the rainforest now - absolutely gorgeous! It gets 230" of rain per year. So it was no surprise that it rained during our entire zipline adventure. (Which of course elicited a "this is the hardest it's rained so far" comment from Craig.)  We really couldn't be sure if the loud rumbling from the sky was thunder or the volcano erupting. Neither was very reassuring - I don't think water, cables and lightening go well together. 

Family members who did not zip went for a nature walk/run. Apparently the local guide made them go fast and was obviously nervous about the critters that come out in the dark (under the canopy of trees).  He was worried because "you can't see the snakes."

Yesterday we had an offer to spend several more months in Costa Rica. I don't know why everyone in our group was so hesitant, but Kate and I jumped at the opportunity. All we had to do was break in to a local's house! He was an honest-looking American who had locked himself out.  He had a small opening that a small child could crawl through.  The opening turned out to be round and the size of a plate.  I seriously didn't think Kate would fit, but she contorted her body through, and opened the door for the man.  She was the hero!  If we got caught, we wouldn't be leaving this place for some time!  Later the hotel owner assured me it was legit, and you can't let a local kid do it because you don't want them to know how to break into your house. 

Day 10 - Buena Vista Ranch

AIS in the bus today was 8am. We found out the couple in our tour went home - supposedly due to bugs in the room, but more likely marriage trouble as they were on their 3rd marriage to each other and had a screaming match in the lobby. I can't imagine getting here for this wonderful adventure and then turning around to go back home!

Today the bus took us 1.5 hours to Buena Vista Ranch where we chose from their variety of activities. No one chose the 45 minute horse ride to the hot springs. Instead everyone did the zip lines and/or hanging bridges followed by the waterslide and lunch. There were 10 zips - not very fast, long or high but nonetheless fun! It was Kate's 1st time and she did great! Craig finally got to see monkeys - there was a troop on the trees next to our zip lines. The tranquil hanging bridges offer birds-eye views of the forest. Since I took a brief tour on them - scenic but uneventful - I got to the waterslide a little late so I caught it just as our group was starting to come down. At 400 meters long, the slide is fast and almost flips you a few times. You have to use a tube and helmet. Girls have to wear a girdle but full-on body armor might be more appropriate. Chris said it was fun but hurt a little. Kate thought it was so-so but didn't go again. Greg went screaming by - videoing his whole ride. Most people looked like they were either in pain or struggling. Not very convincing for me so I played photographer.

We got back to the hotel and went swimming together one last time in Costa Rica's Pacific Ocean. Playa Hermosa has very gentle waves perfect for hanging out - you wouldn't come here to surf.

Next it was Jeremy's turn to join Glenn in the confessional. However in the typical teenage way, rather than talk to each other, they chatted through Facebook.

For our last sunset, Tauck threw a beach party with a bonfire, food, drinks and marimba music. The 15 kids on the tour connected at the party, playing games, and then sat together at dinner.

Tomorrow we head to Arenal volcano area in the north central part of the country.

Day 9 - A Bit of Rain

There is nothing to do in small Playa Hermosa -but hang around and have a good time with family!

It poured a lot today, though somehow not while we were running or walking or at the beach. The joke of the day was, "This is the hardest it's rained so far" - every 5 minutes.

Our balconies are attached but separated by lattice work (and a locked door) so it looked like Greg and Glenn were at confession. (You can see the balconies behind us in the pix)

In the evening our Tauck tour (Tauck Bridges Jungles and Rainforests) officially began - with a reception. There's a family of 15 (celebrating their parent's 50th), plus 2 more families - a couple, and grandparents who brought their 2 grand kids. Lisa's back was the target of our name tags.

It was good to hear from our TD, Stu, that the bugs (no see-ums and sand fleas) are the worst here. We have some bites but they are tolerable.

Day 8 - The Fun Boat

A bit sad this morning at the bakery La Panaderia de Paris when she said, "hasta mañana" and I had to say no. 

Craig and Reene livened up our adventure today!  We kayaked into the estuary of the Rio Matapalo.  Our guide, Minor (nicknamed Tarzan) took grandma and Kate in his kayak. It didn't take Kate long to decide she wanted out of his kayak because he was dripping a little water on her. So she joins Craig and Reene. No sooner than Craig tells her that her job is to keep the camera dry - and next thing  we know, they roll the sea kayak over!  Kate is screaming for her life - afraid she is now crocodile bait. I'm not sure why?  It's not like we saw any, and hopefully they aren't so dumb to choose her over Craig!  I scooped her out just in case.  After Craig and Reene surfaced from under the kayak, Reene can't stop laughing!  Amazingly we recovered everything that fell out, including the camera Kate was assigned to...dry no thanks to Kate but to Ziplock!

I wish I could say our adventure was full of wildlife. We saw lots and lots of crabs, and some very rare pink el bag-o "birds" in the trees.  We even got out of the kayaks to walk to the monkeys, and saw ... More crabs!  I am sure Craig is convinced that Costa Rica's wild life has flown the coup!  The resort monkeys didn't visit him, and his room was too soundproof to hear the howler monkeys. 

We checked out of the condo and moved to another beach an hour's drive north - Playa Hermosa. The hotel is much smaller, simpler and very nice. We are spending the next  3 nights at Hotel Bosque del Mar; it has a tree house feel to it, as huge trees weave through the property and balconies. 

With our move came the arrival of Glenn and his family - we are all here now and ready for our adventure to begin!

Iguana coming down the tree to say hi to Greg. 

Day 7 - Last Day in Tamarindo

Just pictures today.

Day 6 - Surf's Up

Tamarindo is a surfing mecca. Jeremy wanted us all to surf together so today Chris and I took lessons with Greg and Jeremy next to us on their boards and Kate on a boogie board. It's a shame Greg didn't capture a pix of my grace and style...not! If only I were a natural, like Chris and Jeremy. At one point I ran smack into Greg. I was sure my board knocked him out but apparently it only hit his board, whew! I told Jeremy I was going to be pretty sore tomorrow and he asked, "why, for doing a bunch of nothing?" I didn't know surfing required so much agility - and I didn't realize how much agility I lack. That was hard work for my old body!

The rest of the day was spent enjoying the board rentals, but best of all was the arrival of grandma, Uncle Craig and Aunt Renee!

Day 5 - Just Another Day

Nothing to report today, just more of the usual: run, walk, relax, swim, read, eat, drink, sunset.  This morning at low tide Kate, Greg and I combed the beach for shells - it's like looking for treasure! In addition to finding several great shells, Kate found a perfect sand dollar and asked if it was worth anything... I remember thinking that as a kid too!

We walked around the hostel part of town looking for (cheaper) surfing lessons. (What we found was the same price as the guys hanging out at the beach in front of the hotel.). Do not come to Tamarindo on vacation during the wet season and stay in a hostel!  These were up a hot, dusty road far from the beach. And the ones with A/C only allowed you to use it at night.  Tamarindo would be unbearable without A/C! 

Last night we tried to watch one of the movies from the condo. Jeremy was excited at the selection and couldn't narrow it down. We popped it in and were confounded by what played on the screen... a video recording of a movie screen. Wait, it gets better. The videographer has skills!  He got the seat in from of him but not the heads of the actors!  Our guide in Peru tried to describe this to us but it was lost in translation - until we saw it firsthand. Classic!!

Day 4 - On Top of the World

Maybe today I fell in love with Costa Rica. There I was walking down their rinky dink street at 6:30 this morning on my way to the bakery, and it occurred to me: I like this place!

Our adventure today was an ATV tour to the "top of the world". It was amazing! It was absolutely beautiful - so lush and green and pretty - and a thrill at the same time! Kate said it was "like a dream" because she was really excited to do it, and butterflies flew around us! Chris got a kick out of his ATV's warning label: no drivers under 16, don't drive on public roads, and don't have passengers. We broke all 3 rules! The guys were a tad disappointed that they didn't get to take off on the beach (like we did in Mexico) because the beaches are protected here. We rode all the way up to overlook the coast for miles, and then returned by way of 5 beaches. Playa Danta was the best. It had "toys" to play on - rope swing, regular swing, a tightrope and hammocks.

Halfway through the ride we stopped to see some monkeys in a large cage (similar to a cage at the Folsom Zoo). They were so cute! This one came down to the bottom of the cage and stuck its arm out a small hole. It wanted food - grass. It held our finger; its fingers were so soft and its grip was delicate - kinda like holding a newborn's hand.

After the ride, Greg and I laughed as we watched our right thumbs...either from tired gas trigger fingers or old age, or both, they were twitching on their own accord!

Just as soon as we got back, Greg's statement, "I'm disappointed it hasn't rained yet" was just as effective as a rain dance. It rained for about 30 minutes and then called it quits for the day.

I have beautiful pix of today on my camera but unfortunately can only attach the bad pix my phone took through the waterproof case.

Day 3 - a "Less Developed" Country

Listening to the howler monkeys... They are so loud! We can't see them so Kate is wondering if they can kill us. (They sound like a very large ape.) I know we'll see one soon and she will laugh when she realizes they are closer in size to a cat.

Today we had to tell the kids to take a "vacation" from fighting. We will see how long that lasts.

I am trying to figure out a way to describe Costa Rica (at least what I've seen so far from my sun chair on the beach - the real sampling starts when our tour begins). Maybe a cross between Hawaii and Mexico, with a dose of butterflies and wild life. Hawaii prices, Mexico friendliness, super laid back. Hotter than Hawaii (perfect at 100 humid degrees - I only catch a chill when I am wet). Obviously rainy (they invest more money in the drainage than the streets). Beautiful sunsets. Warm ocean. What is unique is the town/street, and even though I saw a video before I came, it still wasn't what I imagined. The town has the 3rd world "less developed" feel - in a desirable way . It has one main, narrow, paved street with a regular flow of vehicles. The rest of the few roads are not paved and appear to go nowhere. No sidewalks; you either risk walking on the road or you walk in the dirt, gutter, bushes, etc. (After I saw the snake, the middle of the road was most comforting.) Everything is hard to find - with no street signs or addresses - just a description of where- abouts. No such thing as dogs on leashes (I am beginning to think the US invented leashes, and how odd they must appear to foreigners). Many restaurants don't lock because they don't have walls. The grocery store is hotter than the outside, so chocolate bars are for sipping, not chewing.

Our highlight today was all swimming and body surfing together in the ocean during sunset. It's a big deal because even though dad was a swimmer, no one else inherited it, and I practically detest it. But tonight, it was heaven!

For dinner we had our first taste of typical Costa Rican food: stewed meat, rice, beans, fried egg, plantain, and some sort of sweet vegetables. Thumbs up!

Today was definitely ... vacation!

Day 2 - Hotel Diria, Tamarindo

Today our lives have changed forever. We can now say we have seen an iguana poop, and I can even say I stepped in it. Just another precaution for Kate to add to her Costa Rica list: 1) don't get into bed without making sure there's not already a cockroach sleeping in it 2) don't go under a tree without looking for up for an iguana.

And the sound of the sea lions? Yup - monkeys. Next we have to figure out what sounds like a goat because we're pretty sure the resort doesn't have a farm! So the irony is that this morning, as soon as the sun came up, I went running down the beach and through the trees looking for wild life. It wasn't until I got back to our resort that we actually saw it all!

Some simple facts about Costa Rica:
- They accept the US dollar. Super convenient.
- They are on central time except during daylight savings - now they are on mountain time.
- They speak Spanish. It's a good thing we have Jeremy to translate for us (headed into Spanish 3) just in case we can't read the English translation right next to the Spanish sign.

Other than laying around at the beach/pool, our day's adventure was a very long walk on the beach. We were headed to a beautiful beach named Playa Avellanas. The tide was so low I thought we would have success but by the time everyone was ready, our timing was wrong. The tide came in with a vengeance so we couldn't get across the estuary. Maybe another day.

Our evening ended with meanie dad sending our condo resident to cockroach heaven. He claims he "accidently" chopped his head off. Hoping there's not a cockroach rebellion!