So yesterday there had been a couple of times when it had been a bit stiff getting the car into 3rd gear, but I hadn't paid much attention to it as the car was still driving okay.
This morning we got up at 6:15am to be packed and at the hotel for 7:00am (we had been put up in the owners' guest house overnight as the main hotel was full). We started the day off badly by checking emails and discovering that replacing the combi-boiler that broke the day before we set of for Costa Rica will most likely cost £3-£3.5k. Ouch! Plus the soonest it can be done is next Wednesday and we had arranged to host six guests over the weekend. Double ouch! A bad start to the day in anyone's books, but wait, it gets worse.
The sun was shining, so we were at least positive we'd have good view of the volcano crater once we got up there. We left our luggage at the hotel to keep it secure with the aim if collecting it on the way back en route to the airport. Then we headed up the road to try and find te road to Poas.
We'd barely got outside Alajuela when it started. All of a sudden I started really struggling to change gears. This got gradually worse as we climbed higher ad higher until it got to the point where I literally had to try desperately to get into 3rd gear and use only that gear for the rest of the climb uphill to the volcano. We were praying that we wouldn't have to stop at all, as 1st gear wasn't really happening at all. Great.
Of course we were worried about getting to the crater, but the real worry was whether or not we'd be able to make it back.
Anyway, we successfully got to the crater and it was definitely worth the effort. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and we had a perfect view down into the crater with its steaming centre. We took the obligatory photos and then decided to do the 30 minute walk through the cloud forest to see the lake before heading back to see if the car was going to get us back. This was at 9:30am, our flight was at 1:20pm.
I had to try a range of things to get the Terios out of reverse and into 1st gear (there was a big crunching sound), and 2nd gear wasn't much better. Then I prayed it would go into 3rd as we left the park and started our descent. Result! I managed. We followed a tourist minibus for a while, which was great until they stopped in a town. I had to stop and then it was back to trying 1st gear. Not happening. Hazard lights on. Pull over. Engine off, try again. Yes! Now 2nd gear? Nope. Dammit!
This was basically how our journey went for 40km. Praying I would be able to change gears, staying in as high gear as possible for as long as possible, cursing every time we had to stop the car. We were both starting to worry that we might not ever get back to Alajuela, but I thought that with a bit of luck we could get to the hotel at least.
No such luck. The clutch went just outside Alajuela. No gears, no driving, no phone. Nightmare scenario.
By this time Amber was freaking out (with good reason, it was now 10:30am), so I knew I'd better do something productive. I went and found a pay phone to call the car rental company. It wouldn't take cash. Typical. What to do now? I saw a pharmacy and figured they must speak decent English. The question was whether or not they'd want to help us. I tried my luck out of desperation an by some miracle one of the girls spoke perfect English and called Mapache for me! Finally things were looking up! The Mapache guy said he'd have an engineer with us in 30 minutes and we'd be able to pick up the bags and get to the airport on time. Fantastic.
After an hour (that's right, one hour!) we were threatening to ditch the car and get a taxi to pick our bags up. Ten minutes later the rescue team arrived, by which time we were both pretty strung out with all the stress and angry that we'd lost so much time when we really needed to be at the airport hours ago (originally we were going to drop the car off at 10:00am).
To their credit Mapache dropped the mechanic with the car and the driver took us straight to get our bags and then on to the Mapache office to fill out a statement (which we managed in just 2 minutes) before dropping us at the airport. We checked and I'm not being charged for the clutch (clearly not my fault).
You'd think that once we got to the airport things would suddenly become easy. You'd be wrong. We got through security and got a (seriously overpriced) bite to eat and were on the cusp of boarding the bus to take us to the plane when it happened.
Moisturisergate.
They were checking our bags one last time. One woman made a half-hearted attempt to search my bag and totally missed the bottle of aftersun and tub of face cream I'd forgotten were still in there, loose. Amber had put her liquids into a transparent bag in the top of her hand luggage like a good girl and guess what: the stupid woman checking her bag decided that she would have to confiscate all the bag's contents. Why? Because the bag wasn't a Zip-Lock bag. I kid you not.
As I'm sure you can imagine, Amber was by this stage in no mood to be messed around! So, we had a comedy stand off. There was no way we were leaving £50 worth of hand creams, homeopathic remedies and aromatherapeutic oils after the morning we'd had and the security lady was determined not to let these tourists get away with using any old transparent bag to hold their liquids.
In the mean time the bus left with all the other passengers...
Eventually the woman realised Amber wasn't going to give in and they informed us that I had 2 minutes to run and buy a couple of Zip-Lock bags in the duty free shop. Why the silly cow didn't tell us that in the first place I have no idea! I couldn't believe it. And then, even after I'd got the bags, the horrible woman still kept Amber's toothpaste!
That was the final straw for Amber and she ended up in floods of tears on the bus. Full scale meltdown. I'm amazed she managed to hold it in until that point to be honest, poor thing. I'd challenge anyone to go through what we did and not feel like crying afterwards. I have to say, I did feel a little sorry for the air stewards as we boarded the plane. They were looking rather concerned that Amber was in such a state and I'm sure they assumed we'd had a huge fight (I got some dirty looks). Little did they know.
To cap it all, we ended up on a plane where you had to pay $6 to watch the inflight entertainment! Incredible.
Amazingly, although I still can't quite believe it, everything was pretty much plain sailing from then on. We had a smooth flight to Newark; an easy time with passport control; and with transferring our baggage onto the connecting flight. The flight back was actually pretty fun. We got seats right by the door to the plane; we had great conversation with a guy sitting in our row whose company makes the headphone sockets on Brutish Airways planes (he also runs the Isle of White pro ice hockey team!); and the cabin crew were hilarious. They were having a great time and it made the journey so much more enjoyable.
Even so, it was a huge relief to touch down in Heathrow and know we'd made it. What an epic finale to such a wonderful holiday!
I can't wait to go back.
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Thursday, 18 March 2010
Samara to Alajuela
I'm writing this on board the plane home from Newark to London, so you'll have to forgive me if I miss any details, I'm exhausted! Can't seem to get to sleep, so thought I'd better do the last couple of days.
Yesterday morning we got our final fix of Samara (beach, pool and sunbathing) until checkout time, which was 11:00am.
The girl on reception reckoned you could get to Alajuela in about 3 hours, so we set off in high hopes of having a smooth journey and being able to do or see something interesting en route. I had my heart set on 'World of Snakes'. No prizes for guessing what they have there!
Sadly it was not to be. We must have had the worst luck ever because we kept getting stuck behind trucks that didn't have enough power to go uphill at any speed, which was a) very frustrating and b) added loads of time to our journey.
This plus the fact we'd left Samara so late meant that we were nearing all te potential interesting places just as they were closing at 4:00pm. As a result we were both in a pretty rubbish mood.
To make matters worse we had no idea which junction to take to get off highway 1 to get to Alajuela. We also had no real idea how to get to Hotel Coconut House, as both our maps were for the wrong part of Alajuela!
In the end we took a random exit, got pretty lost and stopped at a petrol station to get fuel and ask directions. Thankfully the attendant managed to direct us to places we recognised from walking around at the start of our trip and we were able to use various landmarks to find the hotel. We were so relieved to finally get there as we were both pretty sick of the inside of the car.
Really the only good thing about the journey was that we stopped for lunch at the cryptically named Restaurante El Toro #3 and were served fantasic casados by a very large Costa Rican lady. It was at the side of the road and save for a couple of truckers we were their sole clients. The food was great though and the little black dog was very friendly. I did feel a little sorry for the chckens running around the place oblivious to the fact the they might soon end up on a plate.
We almost had an accident when I saw a sign for a dinosaur park. I was trying to read it to work out what on earth it might be and momentarily took my eyes off the road. Amber had been looking at the map, so it was really lucky she noticed the van in front braking in time for me to properu test the brakes on the Terios.
Cars are definitely more dangerous than scorpions.
That night we went in search of Costa Rica's famous Cafe Britt coffee to bring back to the UK. Both small supermarkets we tried didn't have it so we ended up driving to Maxi Bodega who did. From there we drove into Alajuela for dinner.
I finally braved cow tongue in tomato
sauce, which I'd seen on several menus I'm various restaurants this trip. It was really tasty once you stopped thinking about the fact you're tonguing a cow.
After dinner we took a stroll and sat in the park in front of the cathedral to reflect on our uneventful day. If we'd known the timing would be all off we'd eiter have srated at Samara longer or left earlier to be at one of the places of interest before it closed. Bad planning, but hey, it happens. We resolved that in the morning we would try to go to see Volcan Poas before driving to the airport to make up for it and end the trip on a high note.
Little did we know...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Yesterday morning we got our final fix of Samara (beach, pool and sunbathing) until checkout time, which was 11:00am.
The girl on reception reckoned you could get to Alajuela in about 3 hours, so we set off in high hopes of having a smooth journey and being able to do or see something interesting en route. I had my heart set on 'World of Snakes'. No prizes for guessing what they have there!
Sadly it was not to be. We must have had the worst luck ever because we kept getting stuck behind trucks that didn't have enough power to go uphill at any speed, which was a) very frustrating and b) added loads of time to our journey.
This plus the fact we'd left Samara so late meant that we were nearing all te potential interesting places just as they were closing at 4:00pm. As a result we were both in a pretty rubbish mood.
To make matters worse we had no idea which junction to take to get off highway 1 to get to Alajuela. We also had no real idea how to get to Hotel Coconut House, as both our maps were for the wrong part of Alajuela!
In the end we took a random exit, got pretty lost and stopped at a petrol station to get fuel and ask directions. Thankfully the attendant managed to direct us to places we recognised from walking around at the start of our trip and we were able to use various landmarks to find the hotel. We were so relieved to finally get there as we were both pretty sick of the inside of the car.
Really the only good thing about the journey was that we stopped for lunch at the cryptically named Restaurante El Toro #3 and were served fantasic casados by a very large Costa Rican lady. It was at the side of the road and save for a couple of truckers we were their sole clients. The food was great though and the little black dog was very friendly. I did feel a little sorry for the chckens running around the place oblivious to the fact the they might soon end up on a plate.
We almost had an accident when I saw a sign for a dinosaur park. I was trying to read it to work out what on earth it might be and momentarily took my eyes off the road. Amber had been looking at the map, so it was really lucky she noticed the van in front braking in time for me to properu test the brakes on the Terios.
Cars are definitely more dangerous than scorpions.
That night we went in search of Costa Rica's famous Cafe Britt coffee to bring back to the UK. Both small supermarkets we tried didn't have it so we ended up driving to Maxi Bodega who did. From there we drove into Alajuela for dinner.
I finally braved cow tongue in tomato
sauce, which I'd seen on several menus I'm various restaurants this trip. It was really tasty once you stopped thinking about the fact you're tonguing a cow.
After dinner we took a stroll and sat in the park in front of the cathedral to reflect on our uneventful day. If we'd known the timing would be all off we'd eiter have srated at Samara longer or left earlier to be at one of the places of interest before it closed. Bad planning, but hey, it happens. We resolved that in the morning we would try to go to see Volcan Poas before driving to the airport to make up for it and end the trip on a high note.
Little did we know...
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Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Nosara to spectacular Samara
I am writing this entry with a heavy heart. Today we make the journey back to Alajuela, from where we will be flying tomorrow afternoon. Right in front of my feet is the black metal fence marking the boundary of the Samara Treehouse Inn, through which I can see the fine sand of the beach (literally - the thin bars of the fence are all that separates my sun lounger from arguably the most beautiful beach in Costa Rica) a row of coconut palms, the expanse of the beach (it's low tide) and the surf. I don't believe in a heaven, but if I did I would hope that it looked something like this.
The day before yesterday we left Lagarta Lodge, with it's monkeys and scorpions, and drove to Nosara village to have an ice-cream at Robyn's (yummy!) before driving the 50 minutes of dusty, bumpy road to Samara. Compared to some of the drives we've had to do this was a breeze and we arrived at the Samara Tree House Inn at 12:30pm. It wasn't easy to find though! They need a big sign out front because we drove straight past it and had to ask directions in the end.
This place is fantastic. We have our very own treehouse! There's a bedroom with double bed, a bathroom with funky blue tiles, a kitchenette and a sitting area that looks straight out onto the beach. Plus two TVs and WiFi throughout. Under the treehouse are two hammocks, two sunloungers, a sink, a BBQ and a table and chairs where you are served breakfast every morning. Not bad at all!
The only weakness is that the staff could be a lot more friendly. After receiving such amazing service in all our other hotels, it's a shame that they make you feel like they're doing you a favour.
We had lunch at Sheriff Rustic - awesome cheap casados - and then walk down the entire beach in search of Villas Kunterbunt, where we had stayed before. We didn't manage to locate it, but it's definitely still here somewhere. The beach is long, so we were pretty exhausted when we got back. I tried to do some body boarding but the surf here is worlds apart from the surf in Playa Grande.
We had dinner at the best Italian in town: El Dorado. Fantastic pizzas.
Yesterday we had more of a plan. At 7am we hired a two-man kayak and paddled to Isla Chora, an offshore island that I foolishly swam to last time we were here. It's half an hour by kayak. When we got there it was just us, the hermit crabs, the frigate birds, a few iguanas and the odd pelican. All very romantic until I noticed that the large group of vultures were tucking into the remains of a baby dolphin a few metres from our landing spot!
The hermit crabs were so busy! It was like watching a busy city from the sky as they zoomed around the beach.
After about an hour we returned to the treehouse and went to take some photos along the beach. Then we drove past Plata Carillo to an amazing secluded beach with turquoise water and impressive spray from the huge waves. It's a natural swimming pool at low tide, but I think we saw it at it's best.
After we got back I bought some fresh ceviche from a guy at the side of the road. It was so fresh. Lunch was a pretty basic affair and afterwards we did some emailing, had a glass of wine, hung out (literally) in the hammocks and got ready for dinner.
The Lonely Planet recommends Casa Esmeralda and for good reason. We are very well and I finally got to eat a whole grilled fish.
Everything was as it should be until Amber was on her way into the bathroom to brush her teeth and let out a blood curdling scream.
Massive...cockroach...in...bathroom.
Damn. I hate cockroaches. Why? Because they move so flippin' fast.
Cue me scrambling around on my hands and knees in the tiny sweltering bathroom trying to catch the bugger so I can throw him out the window. Not fun. Not fun at all. I got him in the end though and we could both sleep untroubled by the fear of waking up with giant bugs crawling all over us.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
The day before yesterday we left Lagarta Lodge, with it's monkeys and scorpions, and drove to Nosara village to have an ice-cream at Robyn's (yummy!) before driving the 50 minutes of dusty, bumpy road to Samara. Compared to some of the drives we've had to do this was a breeze and we arrived at the Samara Tree House Inn at 12:30pm. It wasn't easy to find though! They need a big sign out front because we drove straight past it and had to ask directions in the end.
This place is fantastic. We have our very own treehouse! There's a bedroom with double bed, a bathroom with funky blue tiles, a kitchenette and a sitting area that looks straight out onto the beach. Plus two TVs and WiFi throughout. Under the treehouse are two hammocks, two sunloungers, a sink, a BBQ and a table and chairs where you are served breakfast every morning. Not bad at all!
The only weakness is that the staff could be a lot more friendly. After receiving such amazing service in all our other hotels, it's a shame that they make you feel like they're doing you a favour.
We had lunch at Sheriff Rustic - awesome cheap casados - and then walk down the entire beach in search of Villas Kunterbunt, where we had stayed before. We didn't manage to locate it, but it's definitely still here somewhere. The beach is long, so we were pretty exhausted when we got back. I tried to do some body boarding but the surf here is worlds apart from the surf in Playa Grande.
We had dinner at the best Italian in town: El Dorado. Fantastic pizzas.
Yesterday we had more of a plan. At 7am we hired a two-man kayak and paddled to Isla Chora, an offshore island that I foolishly swam to last time we were here. It's half an hour by kayak. When we got there it was just us, the hermit crabs, the frigate birds, a few iguanas and the odd pelican. All very romantic until I noticed that the large group of vultures were tucking into the remains of a baby dolphin a few metres from our landing spot!
The hermit crabs were so busy! It was like watching a busy city from the sky as they zoomed around the beach.
After about an hour we returned to the treehouse and went to take some photos along the beach. Then we drove past Plata Carillo to an amazing secluded beach with turquoise water and impressive spray from the huge waves. It's a natural swimming pool at low tide, but I think we saw it at it's best.
After we got back I bought some fresh ceviche from a guy at the side of the road. It was so fresh. Lunch was a pretty basic affair and afterwards we did some emailing, had a glass of wine, hung out (literally) in the hammocks and got ready for dinner.
The Lonely Planet recommends Casa Esmeralda and for good reason. We are very well and I finally got to eat a whole grilled fish.
Everything was as it should be until Amber was on her way into the bathroom to brush her teeth and let out a blood curdling scream.
Massive...cockroach...in...bathroom.
Damn. I hate cockroaches. Why? Because they move so flippin' fast.
Cue me scrambling around on my hands and knees in the tiny sweltering bathroom trying to catch the bugger so I can throw him out the window. Not fun. Not fun at all. I got him in the end though and we could both sleep untroubled by the fear of waking up with giant bugs crawling all over us.
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Sunday, 14 March 2010
"Martin, I think there's a scorpion in the shower, but it could be a crab..."
Last night, just before bed, Amber found a 3" black scorpion next to the tiled shower area. Last time something like this happened was in Guatemala, when a tarantula climbed out of the plughole and I had to carry it through the hotel to the front door and across the road to let it go. This time I wasn't prepared to pick it up, but it did encourage it into the box for my aftershave and take it out of the hotel to get rid of it.
I had a great exchange with the night guard:
Me: (tapping the box) Hay un escorpion.
Guard: Un escorpion?
Me: Si.
Guard: A dentro? (In the box?)
Me: Si.
Guard: Muerto? (Dead?)
Me: No.
Guard: Vivo?
Me: Si!
Guard: Ah...
At which pointed he agreed that I should probably take it far away from the hotel and get rid of it!
Don't worry, we have photos.
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I had a great exchange with the night guard:
Me: (tapping the box) Hay un escorpion.
Guard: Un escorpion?
Me: Si.
Guard: A dentro? (In the box?)
Me: Si.
Guard: Muerto? (Dead?)
Me: No.
Guard: Vivo?
Me: Si!
Guard: Ah...
At which pointed he agreed that I should probably take it far away from the hotel and get rid of it!
Don't worry, we have photos.
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Rancho Tico, un almuerzo muy rico!
So we set off in Terry the wonder jeep to find Nosara village and an ATM. I took out a bunch of colones (rather worryingly the machine told me I have insufficient funds to take more than I did, but that's just not true).
We decided to follow up a recommendation from some Americans we met yesterday, who made us feel very jealous with stories of visiting Madagascar and the Galapagos, and also India where they saw wild tigers. Almost makes you want to be rich and retired. Almost. Anyway, they recommended we try the food at Rancho Tico. So that's what we did, and it was really good. Two cokes and two plates of casado: un con pollo y un con chuleta. Delicious! Plus the guy serving us was great at his job and made us feel very welcome.
The restaurant is basically a wooden dance hall with a very tall roof and heavily varnished wooden furniture. Despite the heat of the day it was really nice inside this cavernous space enjoying good local food. Amber even spotted a few small bats hanging down from the roof.
After lunch we decided to head back to the hotel and do Internet stuff before heading down to the beach to watch the pelicans fishing.
I had a horrific lizard related accident. I was running barefoot from the room to the pool and an anole ran right out in front of me just as I put my right foot down. He scampered under a bush afterwards, so I thought I'd just stunned him (he was still breathing), but when I came back the ants were swarming all over his dead body. Not good.
For some reason I thought it would be quicker to drive to the river mouth to watch the pelicans, so a 5 minute walk took us 10 minutes in the car! Common sense 1, Martin 0. Amber found it suitably funny.
The pelicans are great fun. Such big clumsy birds, but their aerial acrobatics when they plunge themselves into the surf are really fantasic. It like they transform into streamlined torpedoes, just for a second they make even the terns (who were also fishing) look inelegent. We must have used a quarter of my camera's memory card trying to get perfect photos of them diving.
We had cocktails on the terrace whilst watching the sunset and then had a fantastic meal at our own outdoors, cadlelit table. All very romantic and the best steak I've ever had.
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We decided to follow up a recommendation from some Americans we met yesterday, who made us feel very jealous with stories of visiting Madagascar and the Galapagos, and also India where they saw wild tigers. Almost makes you want to be rich and retired. Almost. Anyway, they recommended we try the food at Rancho Tico. So that's what we did, and it was really good. Two cokes and two plates of casado: un con pollo y un con chuleta. Delicious! Plus the guy serving us was great at his job and made us feel very welcome.
The restaurant is basically a wooden dance hall with a very tall roof and heavily varnished wooden furniture. Despite the heat of the day it was really nice inside this cavernous space enjoying good local food. Amber even spotted a few small bats hanging down from the roof.
After lunch we decided to head back to the hotel and do Internet stuff before heading down to the beach to watch the pelicans fishing.
I had a horrific lizard related accident. I was running barefoot from the room to the pool and an anole ran right out in front of me just as I put my right foot down. He scampered under a bush afterwards, so I thought I'd just stunned him (he was still breathing), but when I came back the ants were swarming all over his dead body. Not good.
For some reason I thought it would be quicker to drive to the river mouth to watch the pelicans, so a 5 minute walk took us 10 minutes in the car! Common sense 1, Martin 0. Amber found it suitably funny.
The pelicans are great fun. Such big clumsy birds, but their aerial acrobatics when they plunge themselves into the surf are really fantasic. It like they transform into streamlined torpedoes, just for a second they make even the terns (who were also fishing) look inelegent. We must have used a quarter of my camera's memory card trying to get perfect photos of them diving.
We had cocktails on the terrace whilst watching the sunset and then had a fantastic meal at our own outdoors, cadlelit table. All very romantic and the best steak I've ever had.
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Lazy days
After breakfast and blogging we headed back to the room. There are two large dead trees that obscure our view. There was a huge iguana sunbathing on a branch of the left hand tree. He made for some great photos. The right hand tree is home to a pair of parakeets who must be nesting in a hole in the trunk.
The howler monkeys were in the tree over our room. Again I got some great shots. The photo album from this trip is going to be monkey-tastic!
While Amber had a snooze on the sunlounger, I took a half hour stroll up the hill. It's interesting that here too there are a lot of houses being built and sold. According to Lonely Planet it's mostly North Americans moving down here to retire and enjoy 'sophisticated jungle living', but I have my money on a Swiss takeover. The lodge down the road is called Casa Suiza...
Didn't see much on my walk: Some woodpeckers, a hummingbird or two, a big iguana (we played hide and seek) and a Sceloporus lizard, who refused to be photographed.
Next up is a dip in the pool and then we have to venture out to find an ATM and some lunch. I'm keen to hit the beach for a bit and then later on watch the brown pelicans dive for fish in the river mouth.
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The howler monkeys were in the tree over our room. Again I got some great shots. The photo album from this trip is going to be monkey-tastic!
While Amber had a snooze on the sunlounger, I took a half hour stroll up the hill. It's interesting that here too there are a lot of houses being built and sold. According to Lonely Planet it's mostly North Americans moving down here to retire and enjoy 'sophisticated jungle living', but I have my money on a Swiss takeover. The lodge down the road is called Casa Suiza...
Didn't see much on my walk: Some woodpeckers, a hummingbird or two, a big iguana (we played hide and seek) and a Sceloporus lizard, who refused to be photographed.
Next up is a dip in the pool and then we have to venture out to find an ATM and some lunch. I'm keen to hit the beach for a bit and then later on watch the brown pelicans dive for fish in the river mouth.
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Saturday, 13 March 2010
Baby howlers
This morning we got up at 5:45am and set off into the private nature reserve in the hopes of seeing some wildlife. To be honest I have a feeling the dry season is great for seeing birds and monkeys, but not so great for much else. Hence we saw plenty of hummingbirds, a nice hawk sunning his wings, a few skinks and lots of rainbow crabs (a lot of mangrove trees due to the saline water). The best sighting had to be a couple of troops of howler monkeys, one of which included two tiny babies that were, quite frankly, adorable.
Funny thing is, we got back from our 2 hour hike in the forest and there is a group of howlers in the hotel's mango tree! We could have saved ourselves the effort. Still nice to get a good walk in before breakfast. Can't believe it's only 9:30am.
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Funny thing is, we got back from our 2 hour hike in the forest and there is a group of howlers in the hotel's mango tree! We could have saved ourselves the effort. Still nice to get a good walk in before breakfast. Can't believe it's only 9:30am.
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The bone-shaker!
Yesterday we said farewell to the RipJack and headed south on our way to Nosara and our next hotel, Lagarta Lodge.
First off, we went to take a look at Tamarindo to see how it has changed in the 7 years since Amber and I were last there. We couldn't believe our eyes. The place bears absolutely no resemblance to the chilled out little surfer town I've had in my head all this time. Now it's jam packed with hotels, shopping malls, restaurants and hordes of gringos. They even have a Pizza Hut and a shop claiming to be an official reseller for Apple!!!
We didn't even stop the car. Very sad. I was hoping that at least the Pollo Rico cafe would still be there as I have such happy memories if being there with both Jethro and Jen, and then subsequently with Amber.
The Lonely Planet, the staff at the RipJack and a friendly security guard all told us to avoid the bumpy coastal road to Nosara and instead stick to the paved highways (a far longer, less scenic route). As usual we did the opposite and pointed our trusty Daihatsu Terios (now named Terry) in the direction of the dusty, pot-holed, rubble covered, bone shaking road to Playa Avellenas - and adventure!
The road was crazy. We were transported back to our Gambia trip (when we visited friends Kerry, Sophie and baby Ned) and the long, brick-red, unfinished road that Kerry bravely hurtled the landrover down. Roads built neither for comfort, nor speed, just as an adrenaline-filled means of getting from the middle of nowhere to the middle of nowhere's neighbouring town.
Amazingly there are still restaurants and bars dotted along the roadside and we had a great little lunch at a place called Los Anomalos at Playa Marbella, with a treehouse restaurant and a no shoes policy. Great nachos.
After a while our backsides adjusted to the corrugated road surface and I starter to enjoy the driving. It was basically like driving a giant quad bike, with similar steering capabilities, so we had a few exciting skids here and there, but it all added to the experience and I tried not to think about the extortionate deposit the rental company has takenn off my credit card.
Eventually we arrived at our destination, and what a destination it is! The Lodge is owned by Amadeo and Regina, a Swiss couple, who also own the Nosara Biological Reserve, which sits below the lodge's hill top position. The restarant area and terrace bar have an unhindered view of the ocean and beach to the west, the mouth of two rivers (Nosara and Montana), the wide green rivers themselves and the surrounding forest, all of which lie down at sea level. Beyond that you can see the hills as they roll off into the distance. The view from our room is also incredible.
I can see myself owning my own nature reserve. Serious pangs of jealousy!
They run a supreme Eco-friendly lodge, with just 6 rooms. Everything has been very well thought out: flushable bog roll; instructions in all the rooms to separate recyclable rubbish and save water; locally sourced food (top notch grub too, as we found out last night!). Short of installing huge solar panels and a wind farm, they appear to have thought of everything. Swiss efficiency anyone?
Once we got into our room we headed down the hill to Playa Pelada to walk along the beach and then search for somewhere to buy a bottle of water. The map was hopeless and we ended up wandering around a ramshackle hotel at the far end of the beach where we met a guy who pointed us in the right direction. We still had to try several roads before we found Panchos mercado and bought much needed liquid refreshment.
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First off, we went to take a look at Tamarindo to see how it has changed in the 7 years since Amber and I were last there. We couldn't believe our eyes. The place bears absolutely no resemblance to the chilled out little surfer town I've had in my head all this time. Now it's jam packed with hotels, shopping malls, restaurants and hordes of gringos. They even have a Pizza Hut and a shop claiming to be an official reseller for Apple!!!
We didn't even stop the car. Very sad. I was hoping that at least the Pollo Rico cafe would still be there as I have such happy memories if being there with both Jethro and Jen, and then subsequently with Amber.
The Lonely Planet, the staff at the RipJack and a friendly security guard all told us to avoid the bumpy coastal road to Nosara and instead stick to the paved highways (a far longer, less scenic route). As usual we did the opposite and pointed our trusty Daihatsu Terios (now named Terry) in the direction of the dusty, pot-holed, rubble covered, bone shaking road to Playa Avellenas - and adventure!
The road was crazy. We were transported back to our Gambia trip (when we visited friends Kerry, Sophie and baby Ned) and the long, brick-red, unfinished road that Kerry bravely hurtled the landrover down. Roads built neither for comfort, nor speed, just as an adrenaline-filled means of getting from the middle of nowhere to the middle of nowhere's neighbouring town.
Amazingly there are still restaurants and bars dotted along the roadside and we had a great little lunch at a place called Los Anomalos at Playa Marbella, with a treehouse restaurant and a no shoes policy. Great nachos.
After a while our backsides adjusted to the corrugated road surface and I starter to enjoy the driving. It was basically like driving a giant quad bike, with similar steering capabilities, so we had a few exciting skids here and there, but it all added to the experience and I tried not to think about the extortionate deposit the rental company has takenn off my credit card.
Eventually we arrived at our destination, and what a destination it is! The Lodge is owned by Amadeo and Regina, a Swiss couple, who also own the Nosara Biological Reserve, which sits below the lodge's hill top position. The restarant area and terrace bar have an unhindered view of the ocean and beach to the west, the mouth of two rivers (Nosara and Montana), the wide green rivers themselves and the surrounding forest, all of which lie down at sea level. Beyond that you can see the hills as they roll off into the distance. The view from our room is also incredible.
I can see myself owning my own nature reserve. Serious pangs of jealousy!
They run a supreme Eco-friendly lodge, with just 6 rooms. Everything has been very well thought out: flushable bog roll; instructions in all the rooms to separate recyclable rubbish and save water; locally sourced food (top notch grub too, as we found out last night!). Short of installing huge solar panels and a wind farm, they appear to have thought of everything. Swiss efficiency anyone?
Once we got into our room we headed down the hill to Playa Pelada to walk along the beach and then search for somewhere to buy a bottle of water. The map was hopeless and we ended up wandering around a ramshackle hotel at the far end of the beach where we met a guy who pointed us in the right direction. We still had to try several roads before we found Panchos mercado and bought much needed liquid refreshment.
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Wow!
Hilda can seriously cook! I had grilled soy marinated fresh tuna, which was out of this world. Amber had linguini with chicken and made similarly appreciative comments. We definitely have to leave some comments on TripAdvisor.
After dinner we had a long chat with Hilda about life in Costa Rica and how both she and Simon wound up there. It's a fascinating story.
Before we left we asked to see a room for next time we come here. The one we saw wasn't a superior (they were all full) but it was really nice. You could easily tell they run a great operation here just from the lovely comments that fill their guest book.
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After dinner we had a long chat with Hilda about life in Costa Rica and how both she and Simon wound up there. It's a fascinating story.
Before we left we asked to see a room for next time we come here. The one we saw wasn't a superior (they were all full) but it was really nice. You could easily tell they run a great operation here just from the lovely comments that fill their guest book.
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Thursday, 11 March 2010
La cerveza mas fina...
So here we are sitting upstairs at Hotel Cabinas Conchal, the hotel run by Simon and Hilda, who we met when they came to check out the Kokoro and then again at La Fortuna waterfall. They said we really should come see them and have dinner in their hotel, so here we are!
This morning I hired a long board and spent a couple of hours surfing while Amber soaked up the sunshine. I had one or two moments of magic and caught a few large waves properly, which has put me in a great mood all day.
Amber is turning brown very quickly with all this sun. Me? I'm turning into a lobster. Hopefully the fierce red colour of my skin will calm down over the next few days!
We got our rental wheels this morning, a Daihatsu Terios. Not a car I would recommend to anyone, but we put the 4x4 through its paces trying to get to Playa Conchal. Originally the plan had been to have lunch at Simon and Hilda's place and then go to the beach, but when we arrived at the hotel it turned out that they don't do lunch, so we were directed to 'Outback Jack's Road Kill Grill' to get a bite to eat. As it turned out this was a great recommendation and we had a fab lunch.
To get from Paya Brasilito to Playa Conchal you have to basically drive across the sandy beach and over a little (but very steep and bumpy) hill. Having never driven a 4x4 before it was quite a test, but we made it in one piece and even managed to get the guard to let us park for half price!
Playa Conchal is exactly how tropical paradise should be. A pristine beach of broken up shells (from which it gets its name), the pieces of which get smaller as you reach the surf; brilliant turquoise water that starts shallow and then shelves off to about 9 feet and then deeper out to sea. There were a few families here and there enjoying the beach and there are a few enterprising Ticos who do snorkelling, jet ski and horse tours, but otherwise it's about the most idyllic beach you could imagine. The colour of the water is unbelievable.
We decided to go back to the RipJack after spending a few hours relaxing on Playa Conchal to get washed and dressed for tonight.
We've had a couple of minor fiascos: One in an attempt to find the petrol station, and one because the first ATM we came to was broken and I had to drive to Playa Flamingo to locate another one, but it wouldn't give me colones and it took me ages to work out how many dollars to get out. I may have a PhD but I so can't do exchange rates!
We've just been chatting to Hilda. Apparently Metallica were great in San Jose, although they played in the poorer of the two stadiums in a rougher part of the city, they only had three video screens and were in and out pretty quick, but Hilda said that the hordes of fans outside the stadium from about 1pm were really a sight to behold.
Hilda does all the cooking here and the smells wafting up from downstairs are really making my mouth water! Simon isn't here sadly as he got a flight to the UK today to visit family and friends, which he apparently does every 6 to 8 weeks.
Right, back to finishing off my Corona. This is the life!
This morning I hired a long board and spent a couple of hours surfing while Amber soaked up the sunshine. I had one or two moments of magic and caught a few large waves properly, which has put me in a great mood all day.
Amber is turning brown very quickly with all this sun. Me? I'm turning into a lobster. Hopefully the fierce red colour of my skin will calm down over the next few days!
We got our rental wheels this morning, a Daihatsu Terios. Not a car I would recommend to anyone, but we put the 4x4 through its paces trying to get to Playa Conchal. Originally the plan had been to have lunch at Simon and Hilda's place and then go to the beach, but when we arrived at the hotel it turned out that they don't do lunch, so we were directed to 'Outback Jack's Road Kill Grill' to get a bite to eat. As it turned out this was a great recommendation and we had a fab lunch.
To get from Paya Brasilito to Playa Conchal you have to basically drive across the sandy beach and over a little (but very steep and bumpy) hill. Having never driven a 4x4 before it was quite a test, but we made it in one piece and even managed to get the guard to let us park for half price!
Playa Conchal is exactly how tropical paradise should be. A pristine beach of broken up shells (from which it gets its name), the pieces of which get smaller as you reach the surf; brilliant turquoise water that starts shallow and then shelves off to about 9 feet and then deeper out to sea. There were a few families here and there enjoying the beach and there are a few enterprising Ticos who do snorkelling, jet ski and horse tours, but otherwise it's about the most idyllic beach you could imagine. The colour of the water is unbelievable.
We decided to go back to the RipJack after spending a few hours relaxing on Playa Conchal to get washed and dressed for tonight.
We've had a couple of minor fiascos: One in an attempt to find the petrol station, and one because the first ATM we came to was broken and I had to drive to Playa Flamingo to locate another one, but it wouldn't give me colones and it took me ages to work out how many dollars to get out. I may have a PhD but I so can't do exchange rates!
We've just been chatting to Hilda. Apparently Metallica were great in San Jose, although they played in the poorer of the two stadiums in a rougher part of the city, they only had three video screens and were in and out pretty quick, but Hilda said that the hordes of fans outside the stadium from about 1pm were really a sight to behold.
Hilda does all the cooking here and the smells wafting up from downstairs are really making my mouth water! Simon isn't here sadly as he got a flight to the UK today to visit family and friends, which he apparently does every 6 to 8 weeks.
Right, back to finishing off my Corona. This is the life!
Surf lesson
After another great breakfast we were picked up by Misty for our surf lesson.
She was a great teacher and the boards we were learning on were a great hybrid between the traditional 'foamies' I've learnt on before and standard boards in that they were light and had rubberised tops but the underside was hard with three fins. We had a great time in the huge waves, mostly riding foam for safety's sake. I'm glad I had a lesson as it's been a while since I last surfed and this allowed me to really think about what I was doing and correct my mistakes. Amber was full of smiles: She stood up quite a few times and only had one minor bump with the board right at the end of the lesson.
After surfing we had a decent lunch at Kike's Place and then spent the afternoon on the beach finishing the books we've been reading and watching the Billabong pro-surfers making it look easy in the evening light.
She was a great teacher and the boards we were learning on were a great hybrid between the traditional 'foamies' I've learnt on before and standard boards in that they were light and had rubberised tops but the underside was hard with three fins. We had a great time in the huge waves, mostly riding foam for safety's sake. I'm glad I had a lesson as it's been a while since I last surfed and this allowed me to really think about what I was doing and correct my mistakes. Amber was full of smiles: She stood up quite a few times and only had one minor bump with the board right at the end of the lesson.
After surfing we had a decent lunch at Kike's Place and then spent the afternoon on the beach finishing the books we've been reading and watching the Billabong pro-surfers making it look easy in the evening light.
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
WiFi
So, been here 2 days an only just figured out they have free WiFi!
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Pelicans, iguanas, parrakeets - they've all got it sussed
Yesterday morning Felico called up the RipJack and asked to speak to Amber, simply to check we arrived okay and to tell us that he was looking at a blue sky and a perfect view of the volcano. Typical!
Our room is literally next to the steps up to the restaurant, which also houses reception. The is a great view out to the ocean from the restaurant and the beach is so near you can hear the waves crashing as you eat breakfast.
After some complications, we opted to book surf lessons for today at 10:00am, so (on Annie's advice) yesterday we hired boogie boards from the Frijoles Locos surf shop and I spent the morning teaching Amber about the waves as best I could: How to catch them, how to go under and over them, how the best thing to do is remain calm and decide what you're going to do then do it. After a few failed attempts, something clicked and Amber was catching waves really well. All in all great practice for today.
After lunch yesterday I hit the waves again on my own whilst Amber topped up her tan. Just as well, as the ocean always gets rougher in the late afternoon and I took something of beating!
Dinner last night was superb. We ate at the Playa Grande Inn where we were pretty much the only people in the place. The owner recommended we try the tuna carpaccio and to my amazement it was so fresh and well marinated that Amber (who can't stand the taste of fish) ate half the dish! We followed it up with a prosciutto and arugula pizza, baked in their custom built brick oven. It was easily one of the beat pizzas I've ever eaten. The owner used to run a restaurant in New York, so that explains a lot about the food.
He took great pride in showing us a photo of Lars from Metallica and his daughter from when they stayed at the RipJack.
After dinner we had a couple of cocktails at Mar Bar and then called it a night.
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Our room is literally next to the steps up to the restaurant, which also houses reception. The is a great view out to the ocean from the restaurant and the beach is so near you can hear the waves crashing as you eat breakfast.
After some complications, we opted to book surf lessons for today at 10:00am, so (on Annie's advice) yesterday we hired boogie boards from the Frijoles Locos surf shop and I spent the morning teaching Amber about the waves as best I could: How to catch them, how to go under and over them, how the best thing to do is remain calm and decide what you're going to do then do it. After a few failed attempts, something clicked and Amber was catching waves really well. All in all great practice for today.
After lunch yesterday I hit the waves again on my own whilst Amber topped up her tan. Just as well, as the ocean always gets rougher in the late afternoon and I took something of beating!
Dinner last night was superb. We ate at the Playa Grande Inn where we were pretty much the only people in the place. The owner recommended we try the tuna carpaccio and to my amazement it was so fresh and well marinated that Amber (who can't stand the taste of fish) ate half the dish! We followed it up with a prosciutto and arugula pizza, baked in their custom built brick oven. It was easily one of the beat pizzas I've ever eaten. The owner used to run a restaurant in New York, so that explains a lot about the food.
He took great pride in showing us a photo of Lars from Metallica and his daughter from when they stayed at the RipJack.
After dinner we had a couple of cocktails at Mar Bar and then called it a night.
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Travelling fun: La Fortuna to Playa Grande
So yes, Dave and Courtney came to our rescue. However things didn't quite go to plan. Originally they were going to do the Sky Trek zip lines and be back at the Kokoro by 10:30am. We started to worry when they still hadn't returned at 11:30am. Felico made a call and it turned out that they were last in line of a huge group of people who had all decided to do Sky Trek today, hence there was a major delay. Great!
Amber was making me laugh. Her highly organised mind couldn't really cope with the concept of wasting all that precious time so she got quite anxious and couldn't concentrate on anything until they turned up. I think she needs a few more days to readjust to the 'pura vida' attitude of the locals! I'm a natural to this way of life, so I devoted this time to nursing my horrendous hangover in one of the hammocks.
Our chauffeurs finally got back at 12:45pm and we were on the road shortly afterwards. Unfortunately Felico had gone off on an errand, so we didn't get to say goodbye, but I have a feeling we'll see him again.
The drive to Nicoya around Lago Arenal was spectacular. This was especially the case once we'd broken out of the clouds and were looking at brilliant blue water and green hills bathed in sunshine.
We had quite an eventful journey. Firstly we saw a big pack of coatis rooting around in the mud at the side of the road. They are really rather cute with their long snouts, endearing brown eyes and lemur-like tails, pointing vertically into the air. They are Costa Rica's euivalent to the raccoon. Dave and Courtney were amused at the thought of anyone stopping the traffic to photograph raccoons in Canada!
The second event was less nice. The well-surfaced road was great, but the bends and last nights excessive drinking meant we had to pull over so I could make the necessary adjustment to the churning contents of my stomach. Amber commented that she was thinking something was wrong, as I had been so quiet for so long. She knows me too well.
The final hiccough of this leg of our trip was getting pulled over by a policeman for speeding. We were so unlucky because we'd been stuck behind a really slow truck for ages and had just got to a straight to overtake (which we did) and then got flagged down. The policeman was living up to stereotype i.e. a total crook. He got Dave out of the car and told him the fine was $400! Dave doesn't speak Spanish so I went to rescue him. It turned out that the policeman wanted $40 to not write the ticket. I smiled and asked him if he'd take less, he said sure, I said how much, he said to suggest a figure, we said $20, he said yes. Job done. My pigeon Spanish was even up to asking him to prove he hadn't written down any of Dave's details. I went through his whole notebook. All good.
We said our goodbyes to Dave and Courtney by the bus terminal in Nicoya. They refused to let us pay them the $20, despite our beat efforts. People can be so amazingly helpful, it restores you faith in humanity.
We found a helpul Tico in the terminal who caught the same bus as us. He was an English teacher who lives in Santa Cruz and he was on his way home for the day. He told us were to get off and even walked us to the next bus station to pick up a bus towards the coast, by which time it was 5:30pm.
The bus to Tamarindo was at 7:00pm so we had to hang around, but in the end we caught an earlier bus to Matopalo, which the friendly bus driver told us was plenty near to Playa Grande. It gets better: We had no idea what our stop would look like or anything, so kept asking people on the bus where we were, but we needn't have worried because the driver had called a taxi driver friend of his and literally stopped the bus next to his friend's car so we could hop off the bus and straight into the cab! It's no lie that Costa Ricans are, for the most part, really lovely people.
The taxi drove us to Ripjack Inn where we had a quick dinner before collapsing into bed, totally exhausted and grateful that what could have been a nightmare journey had gone so smoothly and only cost us $20!
Surf's up tomorrow.
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Amber was making me laugh. Her highly organised mind couldn't really cope with the concept of wasting all that precious time so she got quite anxious and couldn't concentrate on anything until they turned up. I think she needs a few more days to readjust to the 'pura vida' attitude of the locals! I'm a natural to this way of life, so I devoted this time to nursing my horrendous hangover in one of the hammocks.
Our chauffeurs finally got back at 12:45pm and we were on the road shortly afterwards. Unfortunately Felico had gone off on an errand, so we didn't get to say goodbye, but I have a feeling we'll see him again.
The drive to Nicoya around Lago Arenal was spectacular. This was especially the case once we'd broken out of the clouds and were looking at brilliant blue water and green hills bathed in sunshine.
We had quite an eventful journey. Firstly we saw a big pack of coatis rooting around in the mud at the side of the road. They are really rather cute with their long snouts, endearing brown eyes and lemur-like tails, pointing vertically into the air. They are Costa Rica's euivalent to the raccoon. Dave and Courtney were amused at the thought of anyone stopping the traffic to photograph raccoons in Canada!
The second event was less nice. The well-surfaced road was great, but the bends and last nights excessive drinking meant we had to pull over so I could make the necessary adjustment to the churning contents of my stomach. Amber commented that she was thinking something was wrong, as I had been so quiet for so long. She knows me too well.
The final hiccough of this leg of our trip was getting pulled over by a policeman for speeding. We were so unlucky because we'd been stuck behind a really slow truck for ages and had just got to a straight to overtake (which we did) and then got flagged down. The policeman was living up to stereotype i.e. a total crook. He got Dave out of the car and told him the fine was $400! Dave doesn't speak Spanish so I went to rescue him. It turned out that the policeman wanted $40 to not write the ticket. I smiled and asked him if he'd take less, he said sure, I said how much, he said to suggest a figure, we said $20, he said yes. Job done. My pigeon Spanish was even up to asking him to prove he hadn't written down any of Dave's details. I went through his whole notebook. All good.
We said our goodbyes to Dave and Courtney by the bus terminal in Nicoya. They refused to let us pay them the $20, despite our beat efforts. People can be so amazingly helpful, it restores you faith in humanity.
We found a helpul Tico in the terminal who caught the same bus as us. He was an English teacher who lives in Santa Cruz and he was on his way home for the day. He told us were to get off and even walked us to the next bus station to pick up a bus towards the coast, by which time it was 5:30pm.
The bus to Tamarindo was at 7:00pm so we had to hang around, but in the end we caught an earlier bus to Matopalo, which the friendly bus driver told us was plenty near to Playa Grande. It gets better: We had no idea what our stop would look like or anything, so kept asking people on the bus where we were, but we needn't have worried because the driver had called a taxi driver friend of his and literally stopped the bus next to his friend's car so we could hop off the bus and straight into the cab! It's no lie that Costa Ricans are, for the most part, really lovely people.
The taxi drove us to Ripjack Inn where we had a quick dinner before collapsing into bed, totally exhausted and grateful that what could have been a nightmare journey had gone so smoothly and only cost us $20!
Surf's up tomorrow.
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Monday, 8 March 2010
Dave and Courtney to the rescue
So, we had a great night last night. First off Felico gave us a bowl of his mum's delicious Chinese noodle soup to tide us over and then he took us to Lava Lounge, which is a great restaurant/ bar run by a very chilled out Californian guy.
I finally got to have some great ceviche!
The cocktails were even better than at Ecothermales. They all tasted like they'd been made by someone with very unsteady hands indeed (large measures). The night was only improved by the appearance of our fellow guests Dave and Courtney, who turned up just in time to get the drinks flowing.
Felico surprised us by announcing that the meal and drinks were on him! It seems he has an open tab at all of the best places in La Fortuna. I guess you could say that he's exceptionally well 'connected'. Again we found ourselves feeling so grateful.
After we'd had our fill we came back to the hotel to continue the party with rum, gusto, mad cervezas and cards. I learnt a new game called 'Slap Jack'. Hilarity ensued until we called it a night around 2:30am.
Amusingly, Dave and Courtney are doing zip-lining this morning (rather them than me after last night's session) after which we're catching a lift with them to Nosara as it's on their route to Playa Samara.
They're a lovely couple. They had Amber and I in stitches showing us the video of the closing ceremony at the Winter Olympics. Yes folks, those really are giant inflatable beavers...
All packed up now and waiting for our ride. Very sad to be leaving. Amber summed it up thus morning when she said that if we were told today that it was the last day of our holiday that would be fine as we've had such a great time.
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I finally got to have some great ceviche!
The cocktails were even better than at Ecothermales. They all tasted like they'd been made by someone with very unsteady hands indeed (large measures). The night was only improved by the appearance of our fellow guests Dave and Courtney, who turned up just in time to get the drinks flowing.
Felico surprised us by announcing that the meal and drinks were on him! It seems he has an open tab at all of the best places in La Fortuna. I guess you could say that he's exceptionally well 'connected'. Again we found ourselves feeling so grateful.
After we'd had our fill we came back to the hotel to continue the party with rum, gusto, mad cervezas and cards. I learnt a new game called 'Slap Jack'. Hilarity ensued until we called it a night around 2:30am.
Amusingly, Dave and Courtney are doing zip-lining this morning (rather them than me after last night's session) after which we're catching a lift with them to Nosara as it's on their route to Playa Samara.
They're a lovely couple. They had Amber and I in stitches showing us the video of the closing ceremony at the Winter Olympics. Yes folks, those really are giant inflatable beavers...
All packed up now and waiting for our ride. Very sad to be leaving. Amber summed it up thus morning when she said that if we were told today that it was the last day of our holiday that would be fine as we've had such a great time.
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Sunday, 7 March 2010
Much needed massages
Amber very kindly paid for the two of us to have massages in our hotel villa. The two girls were tiny but they didn't hold anything back. It could have been a pair of wrestlers kneading away at our aching muscles they were so strong. Agony and bliss in equal measure.
Amber asked me if I'd felt a bit girly at any point. I felt more like I'd been ten rounds with Bruce Lee!
I feel wonderful now though.
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Amber asked me if I'd felt a bit girly at any point. I felt more like I'd been ten rounds with Bruce Lee!
I feel wonderful now though.
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Zip-lining and the Tarzan swing
I just spent 20 minutes writing this entry and then deleted it by mistake. Not a happy bunny.
As a result I'm going to go for a condensed version:
Basically, the weather this morning confirmed we'd made the right decision to skip Rio Celeste, so instead we decided to do the insane zip-lining at Ecoglide. I'm getting quite into facing my vertigo now, so I couldn't wait.
The zip wires run through the forest from platform to platform, strarting very high up and gradually bringing you back to ground level, where the base is.
The whole experience was very well managed and it felt like the most simple thing to be zipping down a wire at 40mph by the time we'd done the first two.
Halfway through we had the option to do the Tarzan swing, which is basically a really high tree swing that flings you out into the forest and back. As usual Amber and I were last in line, so we got to hear all the screams of the previous victims before taking our turn. Terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time. It had to be done and we both survived.
They even give you a free beer at the end! That's my kind of service.
We had lunch in town before heading back to the hotel.
As an aside, I just saw a Swallow-tailed hawk gliding over the Kokoro. Really pleased with this sighting as it's an amazingly graceful bird and I haven't seen one before.
As a result I'm going to go for a condensed version:
Basically, the weather this morning confirmed we'd made the right decision to skip Rio Celeste, so instead we decided to do the insane zip-lining at Ecoglide. I'm getting quite into facing my vertigo now, so I couldn't wait.
The zip wires run through the forest from platform to platform, strarting very high up and gradually bringing you back to ground level, where the base is.
The whole experience was very well managed and it felt like the most simple thing to be zipping down a wire at 40mph by the time we'd done the first two.
Halfway through we had the option to do the Tarzan swing, which is basically a really high tree swing that flings you out into the forest and back. As usual Amber and I were last in line, so we got to hear all the screams of the previous victims before taking our turn. Terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time. It had to be done and we both survived.
They even give you a free beer at the end! That's my kind of service.
We had lunch in town before heading back to the hotel.
As an aside, I just saw a Swallow-tailed hawk gliding over the Kokoro. Really pleased with this sighting as it's an amazingly graceful bird and I haven't seen one before.
Lizard attack!
Amber nearly screamed the place down this morning when a tiny anole (lizard) fell out of the curtain and landed on her shoulder! Classic.
Last night we went to the Ecothermales hot springs with Felico and a Canadian couple (Dave and Courtney). They have an honesty system for their drinks (fools!) and some of the best cocktails we've ever had. Very different to Tabacon: Less luxurious but more of a fun vibe.
We had a great (mildly inebriated) dinner at Don Rufinos. My dish was a coconut based fish stew served in a coconut - delicious. Amber went for Don Pepe's lasagne, which disappeared very quickly indeed!
I lost one of the steel balls from my earrings and caused much confusion amongst our fellow diners as one of the waiters and I set about searching for it under the various tables. Didn't find it, but pretty funny all the same.
Afterwards we went to the supermarket to stock up on platanos chips, cervezas, and a bottle of Cafe Rica (coffee liquor).
Felico and I stayed up for a drink and discussed Chinese family hierarchies, how the Chinese come to be in Costa Rica, the 'pura vida' life and the fact that Costa Rica is always behind the times with electronic devices. Good times.
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Last night we went to the Ecothermales hot springs with Felico and a Canadian couple (Dave and Courtney). They have an honesty system for their drinks (fools!) and some of the best cocktails we've ever had. Very different to Tabacon: Less luxurious but more of a fun vibe.
We had a great (mildly inebriated) dinner at Don Rufinos. My dish was a coconut based fish stew served in a coconut - delicious. Amber went for Don Pepe's lasagne, which disappeared very quickly indeed!
I lost one of the steel balls from my earrings and caused much confusion amongst our fellow diners as one of the waiters and I set about searching for it under the various tables. Didn't find it, but pretty funny all the same.
Afterwards we went to the supermarket to stock up on platanos chips, cervezas, and a bottle of Cafe Rica (coffee liquor).
Felico and I stayed up for a drink and discussed Chinese family hierarchies, how the Chinese come to be in Costa Rica, the 'pura vida' life and the fact that Costa Rica is always behind the times with electronic devices. Good times.
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Saturday, 6 March 2010
Cerro Chato hike
Felico joined us on our hike up to the extinct crater if Cerro Chato. Again the wildlife sounds ensured we had no trouble getting up a 6:30am to allow time for a good breakfast before being picked up at 7:40am.
Our Eagle Tours guide was Gian Carlo, who turned out to be something of a disappointment in terms of his attitude to the day's itinerary. He had great bird knowledge and his howler monkey impression is second to none, but my feeling was that complained about the wether and the hike a bit too much and he wasn't so good at setting a pace that everyone could keep up with on the way down. You really got the impression that he would have preferred to stay in bed today.
The crater is around 1 km high and as a group we made very short work of it despite the steep ascent. It took us just an hour to reach the top as opposed to the usual 2 hours!!
Sadly once we got to the top the weather denied us a view of the (apparenty) stunning crater lake with its green water. This was a real shame as it felt like we'd been robbed of the prize for getting to the top.
Coming back down was a bit tougher than the ascent as the rain made things very slippy. I found myself acting as Amber's human support structure as we met tangled roots, mud, wet clay, deep drops and other challenges. Luckily it's a role I'm accustomed to (I know my place!).
We had real bad luck with the weather as it hampered our chances of seeing much wildlife. However a real bonus of the rain is that we've seen so many toucans. They love rain. Several pairs of both Chestnut- and Keel-billed toucans added some much appreciated colour to an otherwise fairly grey day.
After the hike we went on to check out the famous La Fortuna waterfall (catarata) which was an awesome sight. The base of the waterfall was stunning, with the spray flying in all directions and the water churning away. Plus the water was a gorgeous deep blue. So lovely in fact that I couldn't resist a swim (the others weren't as keen!). The space around the river was really picturesque and I felt very in touch with the forest as I paddled about happily.
There were shoals of big fish swimming in the crystal clear water. No idea what they were, but they were sufficiently interesting to make me a little regretful that I decided not to bring my snorkelling gear.
Given the weather we're now trying to decide what to do about tomorrow, as the Rio Celeste might be too muddy to show off it's turquoise water (the result of a particular species of algae). Apparently we can cancel at short notice, so we have some time to make a decision.
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Our Eagle Tours guide was Gian Carlo, who turned out to be something of a disappointment in terms of his attitude to the day's itinerary. He had great bird knowledge and his howler monkey impression is second to none, but my feeling was that complained about the wether and the hike a bit too much and he wasn't so good at setting a pace that everyone could keep up with on the way down. You really got the impression that he would have preferred to stay in bed today.
The crater is around 1 km high and as a group we made very short work of it despite the steep ascent. It took us just an hour to reach the top as opposed to the usual 2 hours!!
Sadly once we got to the top the weather denied us a view of the (apparenty) stunning crater lake with its green water. This was a real shame as it felt like we'd been robbed of the prize for getting to the top.
Coming back down was a bit tougher than the ascent as the rain made things very slippy. I found myself acting as Amber's human support structure as we met tangled roots, mud, wet clay, deep drops and other challenges. Luckily it's a role I'm accustomed to (I know my place!).
We had real bad luck with the weather as it hampered our chances of seeing much wildlife. However a real bonus of the rain is that we've seen so many toucans. They love rain. Several pairs of both Chestnut- and Keel-billed toucans added some much appreciated colour to an otherwise fairly grey day.
After the hike we went on to check out the famous La Fortuna waterfall (catarata) which was an awesome sight. The base of the waterfall was stunning, with the spray flying in all directions and the water churning away. Plus the water was a gorgeous deep blue. So lovely in fact that I couldn't resist a swim (the others weren't as keen!). The space around the river was really picturesque and I felt very in touch with the forest as I paddled about happily.
There were shoals of big fish swimming in the crystal clear water. No idea what they were, but they were sufficiently interesting to make me a little regretful that I decided not to bring my snorkelling gear.
Given the weather we're now trying to decide what to do about tomorrow, as the Rio Celeste might be too muddy to show off it's turquoise water (the result of a particular species of algae). Apparently we can cancel at short notice, so we have some time to make a decision.
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Tabacon Hot Springs
Wow. The Lonely Planet wasn't wrong to emphasise the luxury of Tabacon hot springs! Felico had booked us on the dinner and springs package, and to top it all he even drove us down there and fast-tracked us straight in.
The hotel and spa have been erected at the source of natural thermal springs and once you leave the changing room you're confronted with a wealth of options in terms of pools, waterfalls and river sections (all varying in temperature) for you to relax in. Needless to say, after a long day of rappeling this was just what the doctor ordered!
The whole place is like a jungle and superbly lit at night to really show off the pools, vegetation and clouds of steam rising from the bath temperature water.
Amber was in her element.
Once we'd had our fill of blissful soaking we headed up to the hotel's food area to indulge further in a filling if not exactly five star Asian buffet.
Without doubt the best part of the meal were the delicious peanut cookies available on the coffee stand. As I sit here writing the blog in the Kokoro's very chilled out, jazz-filled, open air reception area I'm kicking myself for not filling a napkin with some. They'd be perfect with the coffee I'm about to make...
The hotel and spa have been erected at the source of natural thermal springs and once you leave the changing room you're confronted with a wealth of options in terms of pools, waterfalls and river sections (all varying in temperature) for you to relax in. Needless to say, after a long day of rappeling this was just what the doctor ordered!
The whole place is like a jungle and superbly lit at night to really show off the pools, vegetation and clouds of steam rising from the bath temperature water.
Amber was in her element.
Once we'd had our fill of blissful soaking we headed up to the hotel's food area to indulge further in a filling if not exactly five star Asian buffet.
Without doubt the best part of the meal were the delicious peanut cookies available on the coffee stand. As I sit here writing the blog in the Kokoro's very chilled out, jazz-filled, open air reception area I'm kicking myself for not filling a napkin with some. They'd be perfect with the coffee I'm about to make...
Friday, 5 March 2010
Canyoning
We got picked up to go canyoning at 9:30am by our guides Marvin and Freddie. Before we could head to the Desafio ('challenge') base, we had to pick up the rest of our group from various other hotels. All in all there were 23 of us.
En route Marvin explained that we were going to do 4 rappels as part of the tour (i.e. abseiling down 4 waterfalls!): two around 25 feet, one around 140 and one at 225 feet. So far so good. Luckily I'm rubbish at visualising distances, otherwise the fear might have got the better of me.
After a very bumpy ride in the back of a truck, we arrived at the base and got our gear on. Let me say now that abseiling harnesses do not leave certain parts of the me anatomy a lot of 'breathing room'. I was walking around like a cowboy for a lot of the safety demo.
Safety prep complete, we set off to find the first rappel...
Three intense, heart bursting, adrenaline-filled, life-affirming hours later we all emerged with huge grins on our faces. Tired, hungry and buzzing from a combination of fear, awe and relief.
I can honestly say that if you ever get the chance to do a canyon rappeling trip you shouldn't think about it, you should just do it (there is a time and place for Nike slogans and this is definitely one of them).
We were both pretty terrified once we got to the top of the second drop. A free-fall. But the amazing thing was that for all my shaking knees and trepidation, once I was actually on the way down it was like being on some crazy roller coaster, except that I could decide how fast I wanted to go (pretty damn fast in my case after such a big breakfast this morning!). Amber was also taking to it as if she'd been abseiling all her life. The guides were impressed!
As well as the abseiling we did some fun jumps into pools and got soaked under various waterfalls, so there was plenty to do in between psyching yourself up for the inevitable rappels.
We had to buy the CD of photos. Otherwise we won't believe we were crazy enough to leap backwards down a 225 foot waterfall.
And how does one end such an epic day?
The hot springs, of course.
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En route Marvin explained that we were going to do 4 rappels as part of the tour (i.e. abseiling down 4 waterfalls!): two around 25 feet, one around 140 and one at 225 feet. So far so good. Luckily I'm rubbish at visualising distances, otherwise the fear might have got the better of me.
After a very bumpy ride in the back of a truck, we arrived at the base and got our gear on. Let me say now that abseiling harnesses do not leave certain parts of the me anatomy a lot of 'breathing room'. I was walking around like a cowboy for a lot of the safety demo.
Safety prep complete, we set off to find the first rappel...
Three intense, heart bursting, adrenaline-filled, life-affirming hours later we all emerged with huge grins on our faces. Tired, hungry and buzzing from a combination of fear, awe and relief.
I can honestly say that if you ever get the chance to do a canyon rappeling trip you shouldn't think about it, you should just do it (there is a time and place for Nike slogans and this is definitely one of them).
We were both pretty terrified once we got to the top of the second drop. A free-fall. But the amazing thing was that for all my shaking knees and trepidation, once I was actually on the way down it was like being on some crazy roller coaster, except that I could decide how fast I wanted to go (pretty damn fast in my case after such a big breakfast this morning!). Amber was also taking to it as if she'd been abseiling all her life. The guides were impressed!
As well as the abseiling we did some fun jumps into pools and got soaked under various waterfalls, so there was plenty to do in between psyching yourself up for the inevitable rappels.
We had to buy the CD of photos. Otherwise we won't believe we were crazy enough to leap backwards down a 225 foot waterfall.
And how does one end such an epic day?
The hot springs, of course.
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Breakfast with Floridians
Just finished a lovely breakfast of pinto gallo, pancakes and fresh fruit. We were joined at breakfast by a couple from Talahassee who are visiting Costa Rica for the first time. They are leaving for Monteverde today, so we set their expectations suitably high.
He is a professional flamenco guitarist, so we had a good moan about the difficulties of playing less well known music rather than covers as a musician. All good fun.
They had some great snake stories about pythons bursting after eating alligators and giant rattlesnakes.
We're getting very excited about the canyoning trip. We leave in an hour...
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He is a professional flamenco guitarist, so we had a good moan about the difficulties of playing less well known music rather than covers as a musician. All good fun.
They had some great snake stories about pythons bursting after eating alligators and giant rattlesnakes.
We're getting very excited about the canyoning trip. We leave in an hour...
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Thursday, 4 March 2010
Things to do in La Fortuna when it's wet
We've just sat down with Felico (and excellent coffee) to discuss what trips we want to do during our stay at Kokoro. We pretty much narrowed it down to canyoning, zip lining, a trip to the Rio Celeste, and a long hike to the extinct Cerri Chato crater. We're also going to visit the Tabacon hot springs for a touch of luxury and relaxation. Bring it on.
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The adventure begins!
We were both awake at 6.00am thanks to the glorious sunshine and blue skies. There were some nocturnal birds with a particularly repetitive song that sang all night long outide our window and I can't help feeling that they may have contributed to our light sleeping somewhat. Either way we were showered and breakfasted and off to find to the bus stop by 8:00am.
We caught the bus no problem and 4 hours or so later we found ourselves in La Fortuna, where we had a filling plate of casados each before grabbing a van to our hotel for the next 3 days, the Kokoro.
The main reason for coming to this parr of Costa Rica is to see the Arenal Volcano in all it's glory, which we should be able to do from our room. The only problem is that (in true cloud forest fashion) today everything is covered in dense fog and the volcano is totally invisible! We've been told that it may well clear in the next fee days, so here's hoping.
Our log cabin is very sweet and very spacious, so I'm feeling very content right now and can't wait to go for a dip despite the damp and mist.
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We caught the bus no problem and 4 hours or so later we found ourselves in La Fortuna, where we had a filling plate of casados each before grabbing a van to our hotel for the next 3 days, the Kokoro.
The main reason for coming to this parr of Costa Rica is to see the Arenal Volcano in all it's glory, which we should be able to do from our room. The only problem is that (in true cloud forest fashion) today everything is covered in dense fog and the volcano is totally invisible! We've been told that it may well clear in the next fee days, so here's hoping.
Our log cabin is very sweet and very spacious, so I'm feeling very content right now and can't wait to go for a dip despite the damp and mist.
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Coconut House - We have arrived!
Just polished off my first Imperial (Costa Rica's famous cerveza) of the trip. We are now safely ensconced at Hotel Coconut House after a prompt flight into Juan Santamaria. Only managed to fit in 2 films this time: The Blind Side; Couples Retreat.
We couldn't believe how quickly we got through the airport and onto our taxi! It must be some kind of record. We used the official orange taxi service, which was 7 dollars very well spent in my weary eyes. At one point we had considered getting a bus, but this part of San Jose is a maze, especially in the dark.
It was great to already be recognising roads we'd walked down before on previous trips. Emphasises the fact that we've come back to a place that is really special to us.
The night porter is a friendly chap, all smiles and pigeon English. He did have some trouble extricating Princesa (one of the cats) from our room though and I took the job of getting the fan to work into my own hands after his feeble attempts left us looking at a very sweaty night indeed. It is HOT and I love it.
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We couldn't believe how quickly we got through the airport and onto our taxi! It must be some kind of record. We used the official orange taxi service, which was 7 dollars very well spent in my weary eyes. At one point we had considered getting a bus, but this part of San Jose is a maze, especially in the dark.
It was great to already be recognising roads we'd walked down before on previous trips. Emphasises the fact that we've come back to a place that is really special to us.
The night porter is a friendly chap, all smiles and pigeon English. He did have some trouble extricating Princesa (one of the cats) from our room though and I took the job of getting the fan to work into my own hands after his feeble attempts left us looking at a very sweaty night indeed. It is HOT and I love it.
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Vino!
Cheese cake was aborted in favour of a trek around the terminal followed by a glass of red wine each. A Pinot noir for Amber and a merlot for me. Feeling a bit tipsy now...pretty sure it's an effect of the fatigue! Chilling out in the departure lounge now.
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Heathrow to Newark
So, leg one of our journey is out of the way. Incredibly smooth flight with just a couple of 'hairy' moments. I always plan to sleep on long haul flights, but then I get caught up in the films. Continental have a great selection, so I sat through The Informant, The Invention of Lying, and Love Happens. We landed at 13:15, which was pretty much dead on time and we've already picked up our bags and checked them onto the forward flight to San Jose. Currently sitting in a food court polishing off a Ben and Jerry's frozen coffee. The next plan is to find cheesecake!
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Monday, 15 February 2010
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