Back and Forth

San Jose is not a destination. With apologies to the city, it simply lacks charm and character. There are few old colonial buildings and the rest is a conglomeration of shops set amongst aging and decaying infrastructure. On the advice of some Canadians we met in Jaco, we decided to investigate dental work in Costa Rica. The cost for cleaning or repairs here is about 25% of what it would be at home.

We then headed north to La Fortuna for one more attempt to see the Arenal volcano spewing lava. The slightly cooler temperatures are a welcome relief from the heat of the beaches and the mountain scenery is lovely. From the balcony of our hotel we had a perfect view of the volcano - although once again it was only cloudless for about an hour each morning. Every evening we were prepared to take a taxi to the north west side where the lava flow is most visible but in the four nights we were there, it never fully cleared.

Back to San Jose by bus - a trip that should have taken three and a half hours turned into nearly six as we were on the milk run. Then on to Cahuita and the National Park and beaches again. This time we managed to get a hotel next to the entrance to the park, with a large room with a kitchenette, air-conditioning, and cable T.V. Being able to cook your own meals is a pleasant change from restaurants. We spent the first couple of days hiking through the parks watching white-faced and howler monkeys feeding in the treed all around us.

On February 22nd we made our way to Limon to meet Andrea and Steve Burdick who were arriving on the cruise ship Coral Princess. They were on a ten day cruise out of Florida and we had arranged to meet for lunch at 1 pm. Unfortunately we were going by Costa Rica time and they were on Florida (ship) time! We thought we would surprise them by being early but their time is one hour ahead so once again they were there ahead of us. Oh well, some reputations are hard to change. It was great to see friends and catch up with all their news and activities.

The next day we decided to rent bicycles to ride rather than hike through the park as the first 1.5 kilometres is a long straight path that parallels the beach. That allowed us to get much further into the park than we had in the past. There were several families of monkeys fighting for territory and the howlers were very vocal sounding like packs of wild dogs. We thoroughly enjoyed riding along the beach on the southern side of the peninsula.

About ten kilometres north of town is a sloth rehabilitation centre which cares for orphaned and injured sloths. We had the unique opportunity to see baby sloths up close as they were being fed by staff. We also saw several sloths which had been burned on electrical wires. If the sloth recovers the centre releases it back into the wild. They also care for those that will never fully recover.

On Sunday we leave for Limon where we will pick up a bus on Monday morning to Bataan for the boat trip to La Tortuga Feliz turtle project. As the project has no electricity, this will be our last entry for a couple of weeks.

Happy winter!

The South-East Coast!

Departing Tortuguero is not an easy task. Because it´s only accessible by water, we had to book a spot on a river taxi in advance. We enjoyed the three and a half hour trip south to Limon - it´s more like a private wildlife tour than a taxi ride. Our captain would stop along the way to show us huge crocodiles, turtles, and iguanas. He would also stop along the way to buy local seafood.

Once in Limon, a gritty port city that ships most of Costa Rica´s bananas, we joined two other travellers in a taxi to Cahuita instead of waiting for the local bus. When we arrived, the hotel we had chosen said they had a room for us, but when they checked further all were taken except a huge room with a beautiful ocean view that would be almost double the price. After a little haggling we managed to get the luxury room for only a few dollars extra. Having the additional space and a second bed to lay things out on is really a bonus when you are travelling out of a suitcase.

Cahuita is a laid back beach town with Caribbean flair and colour. Lots of small restaurants line the streets along side surf, clothing and tour shops. The streets are gravel and dust but the beaches at each end of town are spectacular but very different. Playa Negra to the north is, as its name suggests, a stretch of black sand beach while to the south Playa Blanca provides a stark contrast with its soft white sand. Right beside the town is another national park. On our first walk into the park we spotted a two-toed sloth feeding from the low branches at eye level. We stood and watched for fifteen minutes as it slowly moved along the branches chewing select leaves and ignoring us entirely.

The next day we hiked almost four kilometres into the park where we were greeted by several white-faced monkeys looking for food. We were able to hand them small pieces of pineapple. On our way back we encountered not one, but two extremely poisonous eyelash vipers just beside the walking path! These beautiful bright yellow snakes are found in forests throughout Costa Rica but sighting them is very rare.

After a few days, we decided to move down the coast to Puerto Viejo - another lovely beach town. Everything there is much more spread out and many people rent bicycles to get around. With temperatures in the mid thirties, it was great relief to take a dip in the ocean. As this area has one of Costa Rica´s last two living coral reefs, the beach right in town isn´t the easiest place to swim. The coral can be quite sharp and difficult to walk on.

Since we happened to be there on Super Bowl Sunday, we watched the game while eating dinner at a local pub. We thought about continuing south to Panama but for the moment we decided to give La Fortuna another try in hopes that the volcano would reveal itself!

Adios amigos!

Tortuguero

A 4 1/2 hour minibus ride took us from La Fortuna through the banana plantations to the San Juan River in the north east. There we boarded a river boat for a 2 hour ride through the lush forests to the remote village of Tortuguero. We had chosen a hotel, but when we arrived at the dock, the owner said they were full until tomorrow. We walked most of the town in search of a room but everything was full. One last lead to follow and fortunately there was a room available - not a great room, but a place to sleep. And for only $14 so you can imagine what it was like ! We washed our sweat drenched clothes in the sink, hung them out to dry in the 32° sun, and headed out for a great fresh fish dinner at Miss Junnie´s restaurant. Only when we retired for the evening did we realize why the price was so low. The sheets were like sandpaper ! At least the place was clean.
Early the next morning we moved over to our original choice and what a lovely place with nice touches everywhere. We took a 3 and 1/2 hour tour of the river and National Park. The wildlife was fabulous - spider monkeys, caymen, birds of all description, and best of all we watched a 3 toed sloth feeding from low branches. It was so close we could have reached out and touched it. In the afternoon, we hiked into the Park and saw several spider monkeys playing in the branches just above us.
The next day we walked the ocean beach to the north and visited a Lodge which had a breeding place for the Gaudy Leaf Frog. Later in the afternoon Sue took a canoe out on the river - no easy task with the swift current and wake thrown up by all the river boat traffic.
Tortuguero is a small remote village teaming with children. Most people there are employed in the tourism industry in some way or another. The wages here are quite low and the standard of living reflects that when compared to other parts of the country that we have visited. We had hoped to stay more than 4 days but our hotel was booked so we decided it was an opportune time to head for Cahuita and the southern beaches.

Hasta Lluego !

La Fortuna and the Arenal Volcano

Another 2 hours spent standing in lines to cross the border back into Costa Rica ! Exit stamps, entry stamps, baggage inspection where you remove all your bags from the bus, haul them in a huge line-up, only to have a border guard give them a casual look without even opening them. Our original plan was to stay in Liberia once again but we managed to make it that far by noon so we decided to stay on the Interamericana Highway a bit further until we reached Cañas. After parking our bags at a little hotel near the bus depot, we headed off to explore the town. The Catholic Church in town is famous for the psychedelic mosaic tiles which cover the walls and tower. Later, we visited Las Pumas wild animal shelter just outside of town. It is home to recovering Pumas, jaguars, ocelots, and many exotic birds which were orphaned or injured. It was incredible to be so close to such powerful creatures.
Upon returning to the hotel room, the key broke in half in the lock - this time we couldn´t get into our room ! After several attempts with everything from pliers to tweezers, we finally managed to pry the broken piece out with a tiny nail. The next morning we jumped on a rumbling old bus headed for Tilaran, a tiny mountain village which serves local farmers. After several attempts to get information in Spanish about the next bus to Nuevo Arenal, we managed to hop on the correct bus and within a couple of hours we were there.
Nuevo Arenal is a relatively new village on the banks of Lake Arenal - at 88 square kilometres, the largest lake in Costa Rica. We had met an American ex-pat while in Tilaran who now lives in Arenal and he just happened to have a friend who owns a hotel and .... yes it turned out to be quite nice, and a clean room with a hot shower for $20 is always a good find. We really enjoyed this lovely little town -especially the cooler temperatures after the blazing, dusty heat of the Guanacaste area on the north-west coast. The next day at noon we caught the only local bus heading east to La Fortuna next to the Arenal Volcano - with fireworks every day, the second most active volcano in the world. Our plan was to jump off the bus about 20 kilometres before La Fortuna and stay in a little town called El Castillo where the volcano views were supposed to be the best. We managed to get off at the correct place only to realize that the town is 9 kilometres waway on a dusty gravel road. It sure looked a lot closer on the map we had ! As we pondered our situation, a car happened to come from the direction we needed to go and the occupants soon realized our predicament. They asked where we were headed and when we told them we were booked into a B&B some 9 km. away, they turned their car around and drove us right to the front gate. Turns out they are two young guys from Nova Scotia !
The B&B sits high up on a hillside and is surrounded by spectacular gardens which attract birds of all kinds. The huge bedroom windows face directly toward the Arenal volcano. The best part, however, was the view of spurting and flowing lava from the huge outdoor hot tub. Well, in theory anyway, as clouds covered the top of the volcano for the next three days. We did manage to visit a fantastic reptile research facility where we saw several species of poisonous snakes, poison dart frogs, butterflies and the famous gaudy leaf frog with its bulging red eyes.
We moved into the town of La Fortuna for a couple of days in hopes that the clouds would part - they didn´t, so we packed up and headed for Tortuguero.

Hasta Mañana !