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Day 1 - 12/18/2003 On the evening of the 17th of December, we had our usual gathering of women in San Francisco. We had a Christmas pot-luck. Then, Paula took us to the airport around 11:00 pm. The check-in was a breeze, except for the travel pants I was wearing that had about 6 zippers that were setting off the metal detectors. Our flight left at 1:00 am. We arrived in Houston about 3.5 hours later and had breakfast. Then, we had another 3.5 hours to San Jose, Costa Rica. We watched 'Door-to-Door' with William H. Macy on the flight. It is a film about a young man with Cerebral Palsy that becomes a door-to-door salesman. It was great! We got a shuttle to the rental car agency about 1/2 hour from the airport. I was designated to drive, since it was a stick shift. The driving here is a little crazy, but not as bad as the Italian cities last year. We hit a toll booth before we had any Colones - the official money. I said 'No tenemos Colones', so they took at dollar and gave us the appropriate change in Colones. About 20 minutes into the drive, we followed a billboard to a town called Grecia which promised ATMs or 'Cajeros Automaticos'. We got into a cute center of town with a huge, red stone church. (We later read that the church was actually metal and imported from Belgium in the late 1800s.) We found one ATM that wouldn't take our cards, and one that would - woo hoo! It was another 10 minutes to the Vista del Valle Plantation Inn, where we were greeted with a guiparinyo (a sugar cane and lime drink) on our patio. We watched the sun set over the rainforest - beautiful! We didn't get the room closed up quite fast enough, and suffered some insects as a result. We had dinner with the inn keeper, Johanna, who runs the place with her husband. They are 61 year old expatriots from Marin county. They met at church and had dated for a while in Marin, where Johanna was raising her daughter. Then, Johanna decided to move to Costa Rica for a while. Mike was struggling with his faith, and so went to Europe to live and study with Frances Schaffer, a well-known theologian. After about a year, Mike returned to the US and sent a letter to Johanna in Costa Rica. It was a miracle she received it, since she had moved to another address. She got in contact with Mike, and he came down after her. A short while later, they were married. When they moved home to Marin, she made him promise they would return one day. The inn and plantation is a manifestation of that promise. Dinner in the open air restaurant was salad, shrimp and rice. We also got a dinner show in the trees surrounding the terrace where the kinkajous and pizotes (an animal in the racoon family) were playing. Day 2 - 12/19/2003 We had a nice, long sleep until about 8:00 am. We went down and had a breakfast on the terrace - traditional Tican breakfast (egg, rice, beans, tortilla, cheese) with fresh tropical fruit salad and home made granola. We got into the car around 9:30 and headed for the La Paz waterfall and butterfly gardens. We passed through Grecia again and then on to San Pedro de Poas (Poas is the volcanoe the park is located on). People kept looking at us strangely, so we wondered if we were lost. We found a beautiful waterfall by the side of the road and took some pictures. About 2.5 hours and 60km later, we arrived in Vara Blanco - the town where the gardens were. It was misty, buy not rainy per se. We had a buffet lunch there. I made small tacos with tiny corn tortillas and platanos and chili. Yum! We also made cabbage salad with salsa. After lunch, we entered the butterfly habitat. It was a huge, netted dome with a tropical garden. There were thousands of butterflies flying around - green with yellow, white and black stripes, yellow and black stripes, and monarchs. There were quite a few of these boring, big brown butterflies that would take off flying when the sun came out. When they flew, they revealed beautiful, electric blue wings on their backs. We saw butterflies and catterpillars in various stages of development. We saw one butterfly that was about 3 hours from coming out of the cocoon and one that was mere minutes from being complete. It was already opening and closing its wings. We continuted on to the hummingbird gardens as a heavy rain started to fall. We were worried the hummingbirds would be taking shelter. But, they were in their full glory. You could stand in the midst of them and feel the thunder of their wings as they passed within inches. The last stop was the waterfall trail through the cloud forest. We descended down past 5 waterfalls - the biggest being 130 feet tall. It was gorgeous. We headed back up to the main lodge and started 'home'. We took a different route. It went throught a large town called Alajuela. That turned out to be a mistake on Friday night at 5:00 pm, just before a holiday week. It was like driving through Chinatown on a Friday night headed for the Bay Bridge. But, we got a fun glimpse of Costa Rican culture. We finally got out of Alajuela and into Barrio San Jose and headed toward the freeway. We had to get some directions in Alajuela from a nice family who came out when they saw we were reading a map. I said 'Buscamos el autopista numero uno' (we are looking for highway one). The old man stared at me, confused. So, I gave him the name of a town near where we were staying. He referred to roads as 'major road' and 'major, major road'. It turned out we were looking for the 'major, major road'. We passed a couple cathedrals and monasteries and large houses. Finally we found the Highway 1 back to the hotel. We rolled in just before dark and dinner. Mike and Johanna both joined us for dinner tonight. They assured us we must have become lost if the trip took us over 2 hours each way.....that might explain the strange looks we were getting from people on the way up. We heard more of their story - how they ran a foster home in Marin county for many years before moving down here. They raised over 70 teenagers who were at-risk. The resort they are running here is non-profit for the most part (though someday they would like to make some money). They employ about 25 families from the village around them. Recently, they purchased some adjoining land from their neighbor who was in financial trouble to save it from being sold to a pig farmer. It took them a year and a half to obtain financing, and now they are selling off 1/2 to 1 acre parcels to people who are interested in creating a spiritual retreat and maintaining a green belt. People are only supposed to build small homes set back on the property. Day 3 - 12/20/2003 We started the day in relaxation mode - a little time by the pool reading and some swimming. Then, Nancy and I decided to head out to the 'trail' to the waterfall. We were expecting a strenuous hike, but not what we found. We went a few hundred meters down a steep slope and then encountered a series of ladders loosely affixed to the side of the cliff heading downward. They were a bit rusty and missing rails on one side. Not sure we were in the right place, we decided to bail out of continuing. We later learned that this was the correct trail. It was a little more like mountaineering and a little less like hiking. We had some lunch at the hotel and then headed to Sarchi - the town known for its artisan wood workers. We bought some gifts for friends back home and then continued up the hill into the cloud forest. We passed through a town we really liked, called Naranjo. There were beautiful rainbows popping up all over the valley, and even through the blue sky. This was possible due to tiny water droplets that were blowing down off the cloud forest above. Winds were 60 mph or more that day. It had actually kept us awake by banging through the bamboo forest next to our room all night. There were creaks and groans as the bamboo bent backward, and then loud bangs as it snapped back on itself or into the side of our room. In the highest town called Zarcero, there is a huge topiary garden in front of the church. We stopped to take pictures, but it was so cold we had to buy some additional clothing at a nearby store. All I could find long enough was a soccer jersey for the Costa Rican team. We were like midwestern tourists at Pier 39 in July with shorts and t-shirts on. We also stopped at a grocery store so I could use the 'servicios' and get some snacks. On the drive back, we saw children doing La Posada for Christmas. We also saw some teenagers having graduation from 'El Colegio' (high school). Day 4 - 12/21/2003 Today, Nancy and I went on a horse ride first thing. Poche was our guide. He really only spoke Spanish, so I would keep talking back and forth between he and Nancy. We wove our way through the coffee plantations and up to the top of one of the mountains. It was beautiful! My horse was named 'Patchy' and Nancy's was 'Duchess'. Mine was the 'special' horse for beginners. we rode for 2.5 hours. I was sure glad I am used to sitting on a saddle, because I would be quite a lot sorer if I didn't. After returning, we spent some time at the pool - swimming, resting and reading. I worked on a drawing of a banana tree. We headed back to Grecia after that to get money and gas for the rest of the trip. The church on the square was full of worshippers attending service. We took some pictures and bought some cotton candy (algodon de azucar). We took a stroll around the town square and headed back for dinner. We had guiparinyos and played dominoes for our pre-dinner treat! Dinner was beef tenderloins with tarrgon sauce. Dessert was chocolate flan. Yum! Day 5 - 12/22/2003 Today, we left the Vista del Valle plantation and headed for the beach. We had a 69 km drive to Puntarenas where the ferry departed. We soon learned that tourists are easily taken advantage of here. We got our care in line, and a gentleman instructed us to stay in line, and he would get us the ticket with the token that had been issued us by the port authority. However, another man came by and told everyone 'buy your own ticket so you don't get ripped off'. So, we turned down the first gentleman's offer and went to the window to buy our tickets. As Nancy and I were walking back to the car, we heard the horn of the ferry blow. So, we ran to the car and quickly pulled on the ferry. Phew! The ferry was a long, hot hour and a half across the bay to Paquera. I met a nice couple of people. The gentleman's name was Alejandro. I carried a fair conversation with him. He was with a Nicaraguan woman (not his wife), and they were headed to Cobano, the 'big' town of the Nicoya Peninsula. After landing, we drove a bumpy 21 km to Tambor, where we were to stay. The road was paved most of the way to Tambor. We stopped in town to buy some breakfast foods and beverages. The town of Tambor is one block long with 3 restaurants, a grocery, hardware, and 2 resort hotels. We got settled in our two bedroom house with open-air kitchen and living room. It is nestled on a cliff between 2 mansions and above the luxury hotel on the beach below. It is surrounded by jungle on all sides. We walked dow to the beach for a couple hours. The beach is a beautiful, tropical beach surrounded by cliffs. However, it isn't very swimmable due to a nasty shore break. When we returned to the house, the sun was setting, and the howler monkeys were making their way into the trees in front of th house. The bats also started to come out at susnset. We could first hear the sonar, and then see the very small 3-4 inch bats with 6-8 inch wingspan darting back and forth in front of us. Dinner was at a small, local restaurant. It had a serious lack of ambience (mint green walls, an artificial Christmas tree, and the Simpsons playing loudly in Spanish on a TV above the dining room), but excellent dinners for about $3.00. Woo hoo! Day 6 - 12/23/2003 The day was started off with some bird and monkey watching just after sunrise. The families of howler monkeys were settling in for their morning naps. They would tether their tails to a branch above and lay on the branches below. We saw and heard regularly the following birds:
We decided to head for Mal Pais today to check out the beach-break surfing. On the way, we saw lots of Zebu cows grazing with cattle egrets by their sides. We also saw trogons in the tree. At one point, I saw a bird fly over and said, 'Look! A stick-tailed bird!'. We later looked up the proper name, which is scissor-tailed tyrant. The road was a nauseating and treacherous 16 km. It took about 40 minutes of first-gear grinding and bobbing and avoiding washed out spots to arrive at the surfer's paradise. the entire road was filled with inexpensive accomodation, bars, restaurants, surf shops and internet cafes. We rented boards at Mal Pais surf camp and headed out to the beach. There were inner and outer breaks. the outer was head high to double over-head. The inner was knee to shoulder. We decided to try the inner break. I caught quite a few waves for short rides, but no real long ones (a flaw of the inner break). The session ended after about two hours when I fell and hit my jaw on the board. Ouch! We returned the boards and had lunch at Frank's Place. Again, we had excellent food for about $3.00. I had fish and rice with Diet Coke and ice cream. I spent about half an hour at the internet cafe checking email while Nancy and Dottie finished lunch. We headed back before night fall and had dinner at the second resort in Tambor - a glossy, teak extravagance called the Tambor Tropical. Day 7 - 12/24/2003 We made arrangements to have Christmas dinner at the restaurant just below our house. We figured one nice splurge would be worth it. After completing the reservation, we headed to Montezuma - an artsy enclave at the southern tip of the peninsula. The road to Montezuma was far better than the one to Mal Pais. We started the afternoon there with lunch at Los Artistas - a restaurant recommended to us by Mike and Johanna. The stone and wood tables were set right on the sand. They had an eclectic menu with fusions of Costa Rican, Italian, Mediterranean and Asian foods. it was nestled on a quiet, rocky beach just out of town. We walked back to the main beach after lunch. The beach in Montezuma was a bit dirtier than the others we'd been to. But, it was the only one where we could safely swim without worries about waves and undertow. So, we all took our turns swimming in the protected cove. We lay on the beach reading for a while. After about 30 minutes, we spotted a British family we had met at Vista del Valle. We chatted for a few minutes before they continued their hike. Before leaving town, we had fruit juices with frozen yogurt called 'frescas' - think Jamba Juice in less super-sized containers. We peeked in a couple shops and headed out of town. We returned and got dressed for dinner. Dinner was an extravagant affair. There was a guitar/pan flautist playing Christmas carols and an eclectic mix of 60s and 70s hits. The patio was dressed to the nines with Christmas lights. I had a Brazilian salad with quail eggs and other such delicacies. My second course was sea bass with jumbo shrimp and gruyere cheese. Dessert was tropical fruit and chocolate fondue. We came back to the house and lit a candle (elegantly placed in an empty Fresca bottle) so we could read the Matthew and Luke accounts of the Chirstmas story. It seemed as though the waves, monkeys, cequedas (chickadees), birds, and bats were singing a beautiful symphony to herald the birth of the Christ child. Day 8 - 12/25/2003 Feliz Navidad! Our last full day in paradise began with some bird watching around 6:00 am. Nancy and I watched with binoculars as a parade of parrots, parakeets, macaws and doves made its way through the trees surrounding the front of the house. Finally, the sun peeked up from the southeast to greet the day and the parrot parade slowed to a trickle. Nancy returned to bed while I voraciously read the remaining chapters of 'The Da Vinci Code' - leaving myself nothing to read on the plane. Nancy crawled back out at 9:00 am and we waited until Dottie awoke at 10:30 to do anything productive. We were originally going to try to pass on to the Curu wildlife preserve in hopes of catching some sea turtles toward the end of their migration. However, it was unusually hot and humid with big thunderheads looming in the distance. We decided to go looking for some white sand beaches north of Montezumea. We stopped for lunch at the Sano Banano. We had tomato and hearts of palm salad with pesto, some Indian curry, and I had a hummus sandwich on home made wheat bread. Yum! We found a nice looking beach just north of town. We each had a nice, long swim followed by a couple hours in the sun reading. When a thunder and lightening storm came in, we decided to head for home base. We went back to our beach for about an hour and had some guayparinyos back at the restaurant. We wanted to have some apetizers, but they were not serving food until 6:30. So, we headed up the hill and showered and dressed for dinner. We even got most of our stuff packed by 6:30. Then, we went down for a couple more guarparinyos to go with our dominoes. We ordered a caesar salad from the bar and a paella to eat. The paella was very exotic with just about every legally harvested sea creature within a day's walk of the hotel. I came very close to beating the master (a.k.a. Dottie) at dominoes. But, she came from behind to win on the last hand. Tomorrow we head back for the mainland. Goodbye paradise! Day 9 - 12/26/2003 Most of our last day entailed the journey back to San Jose in order to fly out the next day. I awoke an hour earlier than necessary. So, realizing that we didn't have any breakfast fare, I drove to Cobano to the panaderia (bakery) to buy some fresh-baked bread. I bought some corn bread, orange juice, a sweet bread with candied fruit, and an 'enchilada', which was a pastry with spicy cheese, sausage, and peppers. I also put some gas in the car. The town was quiet at 7:00 except for the bakery and gas station. when I arrived back at the house, the girls seemed pleased with my breakfast selection. We ate and gave the remains to Alfredo, they guy who kept the garden. We also convinced him to get a picture of the 3 of us on the balcony from the gardens below. We made the 1 hour and 21 km trip back to Paquera, and did the frenetic ferry ticket purchase. We planned to catch the faster ferry this time. It was 1/2 hour faster to cross and was air-conditioned. Wooo hoo! The only thing obnoxious was the Spanish music variety show they were blaring at about twice the tolerable volume on the TVs. At around 11:30, we arrived in Putarenas. we unloaded and started the long and winding drive toward San Jose. At about 1:00, we arrived back at Vista del Valle, had some lunch, and a few parting words with Mike and Johanna. Then, we drove the last 1/2 hour to San Jose. We finally arrived at the Marriott, where we had a complimentary stay on Dottie's points card with them. It is quite the swanky spot with bell hops, 5 restaurants - one for each of its 5 stars, 2 pools, a spa and a driving range. We headed to the pool where there were not enough chairs due to an Intel reunion going on there. I swam for a bit and then went to the 'cold pool' where no one else was, for some laps. We went inside a short while later, because of a cool wind whipping up. We cleaned up in our first insect-free shower of the week. Then, we had dinner at the most casual of the 5 restaurants. We ended the evening with a perusal of the gift shop. I spent my remaining Colones on two books to keep me occupied on the way home. I had to get some sleep so I could get up at 6:00 to catch my flight. I popped out of bed at 5:54 and quietly took a shower and dressed. I took the 7:00 shuttle to the airport. I met a nice couple from Florida and one from New York with 2 children who were on my flight. I paid my airport tax and got in the huge line. It was the first time in the last 2 years I've had to wait in a real line to check in for a flight. I met a nice guy named Glen from Nova Scotia in line. He had been in some of the same places over the last 2 weeks. After 1.5 hours, I finally made it to the gate just before they started boarding. Phew! Thoughts on Costa Rica: The country is beautiful and green all over. It is far more modernized than I expected or than the travel books had made it out to be. Almost everyone I met was personable. Some spoke slowly and clearly and others were muddled, but they were usually from Nicaragua or the Carribean originally. Go figure! Though there were some examples of abject poverty, the people seemed to have a very high standard of living, overall. There seems to be a large middle class in Coast Rica, which is attributed to the success of inependent farmers - mostly dealing in coffee. Costa Rica has the highest literacy rate in the Western Hemisphere and a life expectancy within 2 months of the United States. I think our time in the central valley and mountains was more enjoyable, because we got a more true experience of the country. Our time on the coast was largely pre-packaged for tourists, though we did have a couple of local dining experiences. One thing I really appreciated was the true melting pot of cultures here. Many Europeans have settled here over the years. Also, many refugees from persecution - like Jews during the time around WW2 and Quakers during the Vietnam draft. There seems to be equality and respect among all. There seems to be no caste system based on skin color. Also, women are very prominent in business and politics. They make up 40% of the cabinet - something the US is miles from achieving. The Catholic church is very present here, but not dominant. There are strong presences of Evangelical Christianity, Judaism, Quakers, Jehova's Witnesses and a little Eastern influence in the hippie enclaves. One thing of note is that the persona of Jesus Christ is dominant to that of Mary - even in the Catholic arena. There doesn't seem to be much iconography or symbolism around. But, if you did see and altar or shrine, it features Jesus. And, if there was a prayer scrawled on a wall, it was always 'Jesucristo nos salvo', or something to that effect. In any case, Catholics and Protestants seem to be willing to worship and dialogue about their faith together. And, there is strong respect for other religions and sects. Costa Rica is a place of peace and harmony both ecologically and culturally. I hope to return again some day. Funny outtakes from the trip: 1. When we first arrived at Puntarenas at the ferry, the authority instructed me to stay in the car and for the others to walk to the ferry. He then looked in the back seat and asked me in Spanish if Dottie could walk. When I made the tanslation, the car errupted in laughter. 2. when we were on the beach for the first time - all settling into our naps, we heard a loud thud inches from our heads, and realized we'd just had murder attempted by a falling coconut. After that, we did overhead checks before lying in the drop zone. 3. There was a Costa Rican drink we really liked with sugar cane juice and lime. It was called a Guiparinyo. Nancy could never remember the name so she could order for herself. So, I told her to remember GUY PARADE No! She could always order after that. 4. The guy who took care of the garden at the beach house was called Alfredo. Dottie could never remember his name, so we told her to think pasta. So, thereafter, he was referred to as 'Pasta'. 5. There was some critter doing a mating call in our house at the beach. It sounded like a bird. Nancy was worried to was a bat. we kept asking people, and no one could tell us what it was in a way I could understand. Finally, we asked Johanna what was making the 'rah, rah, rah' sound in the house. She said it was the geckos! That explains why we couldn't see them. 6. The last morning when I returned with the bread, Dottie came running out of the bathroom exclaiming that we needed to see something. There was a largest toad sitting just under the rim of the toilet bowl. He was about 5" long with khaki and green stripes. Aparently, he may have been keeping her company all night! Then, I explained that was why I always turned on the lights and performed a thorough 'bowl check' when staying out of the city. |