Wanderlust

Day nine brought us to the Carara Biological Preserve. Apparently, “carara” means “river of crocodiles”, and that must have been true because I saw a number of them. I also was in a group that was lucky enough to see the rare scarlet Macaw. Pretty exciting for us! After wandering through this park, we had lunch, and continued onward.

Our next stop was a place called Sarchi where we saw handpainted ox carts and other crafts. I’m not much for crafts, so this part didn’t impress me as much as it did others. My new friends seemed to love it!

Grecia, a metal church, was next and made for some interesting photographs. We got a number of good shots of all of us standing in front of it. Great mementos for now when we are all at home.

The Costa Rican coffee plantation was next. We got to pick some beans and sample the delicious coffee. I have to say that part of the trip was great. I love coffee!

Finally, we returned to San José. We were back where we started at the Barcelo Palacio. I was quite sad because this meant the trip was nearing completion. We all got to use the hotel’s amenities before our farewell dinner that night.

Dinner was incredible. Some of us even cried. The setting was romantic and so memorable. Food was great. But, for the most part, we were really sad that the trip had come to an end. Many of us felt we would have enjoyed another four or five days.

My friend and I retired to our room late that night, even though our flight was leaving the next day. We hated to go, so we all hit the casino one more time.

After a delicious breakfast, we were taken to Manuel Antonio , acclaimed to be Costa Rica’s prettiest park. I think I would agree. We spent most of the morning hiking and swimming in the ocean.

The hike was most memorable as the trails were frequented by spider monkeys. They did not seem to show fear at all. According to our guide, this area is the last natural habitat for these monkeys. I found that quite sad.

After lunch, we were taken back to our hotels were we could spend the day doing whatever intrigued us. We got rides into town and spent the day doing some shopping and sightseeing on our own. Jaco is a pleasant area.

After our afternoon out, we returned for another satisfying dinner and then enjoyed some time on the beach watching the tide. All in all, I think this was perhaps my favorite area of the trip.

Day seven was neat. We got to drive past the Children’s Eternal Rainforest, a portion of forest purchased by children around the world. It brought a tear to the eye thinking about how these kids did such a kind thing.

Our next stop was the Cloud Forest Reserve where we got to walk around and see a lot of the local plants and animals. Our guide explained to us how the cloud forest is more humid than a rainforest, but it doesn’t rain as often as it does in a rainforest. Strange!

We had lunch at the Cloud Forest restaurant, and got to see some hummingbirds eat. The rest of this day was spent on the bus heading to the Pacific Ocean. The town we were headed for was called Jaco.

In Jaco, our hotel Terrazas del Pacifico turned out to be another great surprise. The hotel offered a huge adult-only swimming pool with a swim-up bar. And, best of all, the hotel was all-inclusive, so our drinks were included!

While the hotel wasn’t in the downtown, we were able to stroll up and down the beach. I almost think I preferred this as it allowed us to stretch our legs while looking for shells.

After breakfast, we headed north and were able to see orange, teak, and sugar plantations. Our destination was Cano Frego’s wildlife preserve where we were able to cruise down a driver while viewing wildlife. I spotted a crocodile, only to be told it was really a caiman, and did see some monkeys, birds, and even a few weird lizards that walked on the water.

After stopping for lunch, we returned to the hotel and had plentyh of time to explore Fortuna. My friend and I joined the other girls on the group for some shopping. We found a few neat things and then headed back to the hotel for dinner. Dinners had been good so are, though my friend did say she was getting tired of chicken all the time. I’d learned before hand that poultry is common, as seafood in Costa Rica is mainly exported to other countries.

The weather allowed us to view the lava flowing from the Arenal volcano and we all indulged in the offer to bathe in a hot spring! We also took the opportunity to head to town for some night life. After all, it wouldn’t be right to miss the opportunity to let our hair down with some of the locals!

Talk about neat. My friend and I climbed onto the boat that would take us to the plantation. By now, we’d become pretty chummy with the other group of women our age, so we tried to stick together. All of us managed to get on board together and were taken to a banana plantation. It’s funny to see bananas on a tree and not just on a store display. We had a quick lunch and then got back onto the buses.

Our next stop was really quite quick. I wish we could have spent a little more time at the Selva Verde Rainforest Preserve. We did have a few minutes to get out and explore the huge suspension bridge. I’d advise against it if you are even slightly scared of heights like me. I let my friends pressure me into it, but boy did I feel nauseous after taking about four steps, so I returned to land! We reboarded shortly after in our journey onward.

The rest of the day was spent riding the bus to Fortuna in San Carlos Valley. Today was a little more tedious than others. Thankfully, they did stop periodically so that we could get out and stretch our legs.

Our hotel stop that night brought us to Arenal Springs, a newer hotel that is the most memorable place on the trip. Views of the Arenal volcano can be had from most anywhere in the hotel. Gardens thrived everywhere, including the mini-garden in our bathroom. It was pretty cool!