Costa Rica was the most exhilarating trip I have ever experienced! It was just eight days new adventures and great fun. Everything is so alive and spectacular in color or size.  It unfolds as you explore and lets you find the excitement of life if you are willing to really look and are open to new experiences.  We arrived in the evening and were taken to our tropical style hotel not too far from the airport.  You can tell your in the tropics when lobbies are open air, hallways open to the night sky and dinning is done outside.  December through May is the perfect time to go.  It is the dry season in Costa Rica and it's cold where we live so what more could you want?

The next day a short city tour of San Jose including a visit to the gorgeous old world style theater, some local shops, and the Inbiopark, an introduction to the parks of the nation, is a good starting point.  Then back to the Melia Cariari Hotel for some golf or a relaxing swim before dinner.

Then the adventure begins.  We opted for Poas Volcano, famous for its geyser-like eruptions of gas and ash.  It has one of the largest craters in the world and is surrounded by a lush green forest.  Then on to Sarchi, a production center for hand-painted oxcarts.  They are still used in the rural areas of Costa Rica.  The town has hand-painted bridges reminiscent of the Pennsylvania Dutch designs along with stores full of wooden handcrafts for gifts.

Slowly up dirt a road we ascend, along mountain paths with beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean to Monteverde Cloud Forest.  The trip is long and bumpy, but well worth the time.  On out way up the mountain, Carlos, our guide points out 3 sloths sleeping in trees, a number of hawks, vultures and a few eagles.  We stayed at the Fonda Vela in the midst of the cloud forest.  Here we enjoyed great views of beautifully colored birds all around the grounds.  Early the next morning we took a hike into the cloud forest reserve.  The reserve supports 6 distinct ecological communities of plants and animals.  Carlos spots large harmless tarantulas, the famous quetzel bird, and a family of howler monkeys.  After lunch we return to another section of the cloud forest where we got the experience the excitement of riding on zip lines through the trees!  It was great to fly in and over the trees just like in the movies!  There is a lot of up hill hiking involved for this but the rides were well worth it.  Dinner was served by candle light; all very romantic a windstorm knocked out power for a few hours.  Do remember to bring a small flashlight with you.  This happens about once a week according to the hotel owners.

Off to the western beach of Quepos and Manual Antonio Park.  A pretty ride down the mountains then south to the Pacific Rain Forest. Some of these beaches are black sand.  In Quepos the coastline is very rocky causing the landscaping of the hotels to cover the cliffs using many steps to get to our casitas but the view is magnificent.  After a short hike to the beach in the park a beautiful stretch of white sand awaits us.  The warm ocean is a welcome relief from the higher temperatures and humidity in this area.  Be careful what you leave behind under the trees.  The Capuchin Monkeys like shoes, watches and especially food left unattended.  Horseback rides through the park to refreshing waterfalls are another treat.  We sit at the roof-top bar at our hotel to watch the sunset over a sparkling ocean before retiring for the evening.


Probably the most unexpected pleasure was out next excursion to Tortuguero on the Eastern shore.  We have now driven from the Pacific Rain Forest and Dry Forest, over the Central Mountains to the Atlantic Lowlands to a hydrofoil port on the river.  Here we board to take a 2- hour ride up the river to the Mawamba Lodge in Tortuguero.  The Lodge, although rustic was quite pleasant.  The ground and pool are beautiful.  Here there are no cars; just water taxis. The town is tiny and more of a Caribbean style with some cute little shops.  Just a short walk up the beach is the Turtle Museum which has a short film about the green sea turtle that come to nest there every 2-4 years.  The main attractions here is the canals and the wildlife.  We spent the next day on open boats cruising the canal in search of it.  We found howler monkeys, heron, kingfishers, caiman, turtles, and toucans.  It is like being on the jungle boat cruise at Disneyland, but these animals and birds are real!  When the motors were turned off, we would coast along the canals and hear all the jungle sounds all around us like you weren't even intruding on anything.  To sit at the pool and see flocks of pelican and herons glide over head in perfect unison was spectacular.  It was the perfect close to an action packed trip.

Fortunately no one bought too much in the shops in Tortuguero because the plane we flew back held about 20 people and only 25lbs. of luggage per person.  We spent out last night in San Jose deciding when we could come back to explore more of this friendly and fascinating country.