Costa Rica: Arenal Volcano
Written by admin on January 22, 2012 – 2:57 am -<< Back to: DAY 6: Monteverde Cloud Forest
DAY 7: Arenal Volcano
The rain was on its way out and we awoke to a nice rainbow so close we actually saw the end of it! Our next destination was a few hours away around Lake Arenal and to the base of Arenal Volcano.
We ate a quick breakfast and said goodbye to Rustic Lodge. We had a very pleasant stay and would highly recommend this hotel. Service was excellent and everyone was friendly and courteous. Thumbs up!
Getting back on the rugged road reminded us how lucky we were to not have gotten lost on our night drive in to Rustic Lodge on the first night. But just when we thought it might not happen to us, we found ourselves in the countryside an hour away from our starting point. At least we had some great views driving through some very rural farmlands in the hills.
So after roughly 2 hours of wasted time being lost, we got back on track and got closer to where we needed to be.
On the drive around Lake Arenal, there are many tourist stops such as cafes, restaurants, and hotels to stop for a quick rest or a view. We held off on those stops and came to a place that was a perfect rest stop and also had some affordable, delicious Costa Rican meal.
The drive around Lake Arenal took a long while as it was a massive lake. We found the Volcano Lodge & Gardens ok and got checked in.
It was now almost 2pm and we went closer to Arenal Volcano park for a hike to try to get a glimpse of the famous volcano. But it was so cloudy and fully covered that we couldn’t see a thing. At the park entrance, we took the 1968 volcano lava flow trail and did the shorter 2 hour loop since we didn’t have much time until sundown.
The trail wasn’t that fun since the lava rocks were sharp and jagged, which was very hard on the feet. At the top, however, we got a great view of everything below.
Later that night, we took a drive into the nearby small town of La Fortuna for dinner. It was fairly busy and very much catered to tourists. We didn’t have anywhere else to go and our dinner pretty much ended in disappointment.
Not to worry as tomorrow we head out to Rio Celeste -Tenorio Volcano National Park for some waterfall, hot springs, and something so blue it’s out of this world!
To be continued…
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Costa Rica: Monteverde Cloud Forest
Written by admin on January 8, 2012 – 10:41 pm -<< Back to: DAY 3-5: Scuba Diving
DAY 6: Monteverde Cloud Forest
The strong mountain wind whistled through the night and we awoke to the same sounds. Certainly a change in climate and temperature from the dry and hot beaches. The owner greeted us in the dining room and we had their complementary breakfast which included fresh fruits, eggs, toast, fresh coffee and juice.
We quickly left and headed out to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, about a 20 min. drive, to meet up with a guided tour group through the park. Along that road, we passed by many tourist stops such as a bat jungle, butterfly garden, insect exhibit, frog ponds, and numerous canopy tours; so many in such a small area.
We found the park and soon met up with our guide. It was a small group and the guide took us through about a 2 hour short trail loop. The rest of the group was much older and the walk was slow and kind of boring. Lengthy descriptions of floral and plant species ensued, as we didn’t really witness any animals along the trail.
The most exciting thing we did kind of see was spotting a Resplendent Quetzal, a very rare bird only found in the surrounding areas of central America. Another group had spotted one and we came up and were able to see it way up in the canopy far away. The guide set up his telescope and we took turns looking through it.
Our tour ended and we saw a total of 2 quetzals and a few other birds. No monkeys, snakes, jaguars, or other wild amazonian creatures like I had somehow imagined. Needless to say, I was a little disappointed. We should have gone on another hike of our own right away but somehow didn’t. We left the park and stopped in downtown Santa Elena, Monteverde on the way home for lunch. Didn’t like the tourist prices so we went back to Sabor Tico for lunch instead. Yummy.
In the late afternoon, we headed back to downtown to check out some more shops, get some small groceries, and to find a good restaurant for dinner. We went to lots of different places but most served American dishes and/or were too pricey. We agreed on Sabor Tico again and it was definitely our best choice. The owner remembered us and thanked us for our patronage. This place is so good we would gladly eat here again and again!
Tomorrow, we continue our trip through the countryside to Arenal Volcano for a one night stay around Lake Arenal.
Continue to Day 7: Arenal Volcano
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Costa Rica: Scuba Diving
Written by admin on January 2, 2012 – 5:16 pm -<< Back to: DAY 1-2: Miami to Costa Rica
DAY 3: Scuba Diving Pool Session
In the morning one of the gal at the dive shop we signed up with, Diving Safaris, picked us up in front of our hotel. We soon found out that it was just a block away and within walking distance. We got there and was introduced to Mark who would be our instructor for the entire 3 days. It turned out that we were his only students so we pretty much got private instructions for the entire course!
We started out day one of the lessons in the swimming pool. We learned about all the gear and how they work. We also practiced breathing techniques and safety steps underwater. It was around 4 hours before we finished our session and headed back to the hotel. Took a nap and also went around on the hotel shuttle to see the entire Villa Sol resort.
Scuba diving can be exhausting, even in the pool! It was a lot of fun to do some test dives but tomorrow, we take what we learned and apply it in the real ocean!
DAY 4-5: Scuba Diving Ocean Dives
For the next two days, we met the crew on the beach and hopped on a boat out to certain dive spots I can’t remember. Our first ocean dive was really intense and a bit uncomfortable. Waves were strong as we entered the water and made it very difficult to start the dive. After a while, we gained confidence and started our descent underwater. Pool diving was nothing compared to the open ocean! There’s no making mistakes once you start going down and you just have to calm your mind and trust that all your equipment will work.
Our first dive started at the deepest dive of 60 feet! I don’t know how we did it but we went from a shallow pool dive of 5 feet to 60 feet the very next day! The deepest dive is always first and we dived twice per day.
By the fourth and last dive, everything felt a lot more natural especially after we finished all the training skills we had to do underwater. We had passed the course and are now certified open water divers! To top it off, on that last dive, we saw a few stingrays, lots of puffers, needle nose fish, and even a baby sea turtle; all on the last dive! Here’s a video of our dives:
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Our instructor Mark took our pictures and gave us our official PADI Open Water ID cards back at the shop. We had arranged for a rental car drop off and they arrived just as we were finishing up. We filled out the necessary paperwork and got the keys to a Mitsubishi SUV for the next 6 days! Our next stop is Monteverde, a town known for its nearby cloud forest, the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve.
We left that afternoon and were told it would take around 3 hours to get to our next destination. We read that it was not a good idea to drive at night since most of the roads there were unpaved, unlit, and well…almost non-existent. We sure found that out to be very true. It was around 3:30pm by the time we left the beach hotel. Hurried on the highway and we could see the sun starting to set about halfway on the trip. It was already dark before we got to Cañas, where the route to Monteverde turns into a dirt road with big pot holes and large rocks all over. There are no big signs or lights to confirm direction. We basically had to use our intuition to follow the path as it curves and splits without warning.
Almost 4 hours later and after a few random stops along the road practicing Spanish and asking directions, we safely found Rustic Lodge, and checked in for the night! It was such a relief to see our lodge! The friendly manager referred us to a nearby family owned typical Costa Rican restaurant, Sabor Tico. It was nice to eat at a local place where no one speaks English, completely different than the beach resort we were just at. Great prices and super delicious foods too!
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After the fulfilling dinner, we drove back to the lodge and rested up. Tomorrow, we head into the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve for hopeful sightings of some exotic birds and animals.
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¡Pura Vida! Costa Rica
Written by admin on December 31, 2011 – 10:36 am -We got an email deal online for a 3 night stay in Costa Rica and thought it was worth looking into. A few days later, we turned it into a 10 day trip including a scuba diving certification course that would allow us to dive anywhere in the world!
What really made us take this trip though was the price we found for our flight: $533 roundtrip for 2 from SFO (San Francisco) to Costa Rica (LIR)! What we had to do, however, was fly to Miami and stay for one night, then fly out the next day to Costa Rica. Not bad, but a little time and money waster.
Costa Rica is an amazing getaway with some of the most diverse plant and animal species in the world. There are numerous national parks, forests, waterfalls, volcanoes, etc. to see and we were thrilled to be able to enjoy this natural beauty!
So here’s our trip:
DAY 1-2: Miami to Costa Rica
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Five-hour-flight to Miami on Thanksgiving Day, crap dinner at the only place opened nearby - IHOP, shady downtown Miami hotel stay, and a morning flight of 2.5 hours later and we have arrived in Costa Rica! We caught a cab with another couple going to Playa Hermosa, the western beach region where we stayed for 3 nights.
We stayed at the Villa Sol Hotel and Beach Resort, got the all inclusive deal which included every meal and drinks. Unfortunately, we weren’t there to drink but to dive! Our hotel room was close to the restaurant which was convenient and we sure ate a lot!
The view from the restaurant was amazing! It was very nice to sit and see the view from the restaurant or bar and simply enjoy the moment.
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We had a nice relaxing time on our first day in Costa Rica. Tomorrow, we start our first scuba diving lessons!
Continue to: DAY 3-5: Scuba Diving
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Big, Fat, Yellow Banana Slugs!
Written by admin on December 13, 2011 – 11:16 pm -In October, we thought it’d be fun to go camping with our dog, Kiwi so we found a site available not too far at Butano State Park in San Mateo County. The campsites were inside a redwood-filled park, damp and full of something called Banana Slugs!
We reserved the walk-in campsite but it was more of a car campsite, parking was just a few 100 yards to the site. Easy access but would have been better a little further away. Our firewood was wet but a nice camper gave us a firestarter. Kiwi hated the crackling fire, we cooked a nice dinner on the open fire, no rain, slept ok. A pretty fun place to camp, not sure if Kiwi feels the same!
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Tags: camping
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