Costa Rica Trip Days 4-5: Monteverde

The trip from Arenal to Monteverde can take up to 3 hours by car or van, or you can choose another option to break up the trip – a boat ride across Lake Arenal, followed by a van ride straight up a mountain. We chose the second choice but it still took us about 3 hours (maybe a little less) to get to Monteverde. The boats were quite hilarious, and we wondered if we’d even make it across the lake. We were one of the last to arrive to the boat and because of that, our party was split up between two boats – one larger and one smaller – because of both limited seating at that point and distribution of weight (between luggage and people). Anyways, James, Keely and I ended up on the larger of the two boats and Nana, Papa, Annie and Quinn were on the other smaller boat. I joked that they let the smaller boat go ahead so that we could pick them up if it sank. Joking, I think but these boats were pretty dinky! In any event, we made it across to the other side of the lake where there were 6-8 vans lined up ready to take parties to Monteverde based on various hotels. This part was again quite hilarious as they tried to fit all of the luggage into the back of these vans that were packed to the gills with people and two staff members. Let me tell you, these guys are talented to get that many bags into these vans…and also that most Americans (most of the tourists there were from Texas, it seemed) overpack. Our group’s luggage was tame compared to what others had with them. In any event, we were told that it would be 1.5 hours until we could stop for a siesta…err, bathroom break…so James decided to use the facilities of nature J Luckily, no one seemed to care! The road up from the lake is so curvy, and so narrow. I can’t stress that enough. I was quite shocked that the vans didn’t fall off the side of some these steep hills, or break down as they seemed to labor up each hill. It was crazy! At one point, we reached a larger road that had actual concrete shoulders for drainage – but even that would have been a minor road in the United States. 

When we reached Monteverde, we were dropped off at the Hotel Fonda Vela. It was true to its photos, think Swiss Family Robinson. And the weather was quite different! We went up about a mile in elevation…and instead of summer, it felt like Fall. What a change. For many reasons, Monteverde was my least favorite part of this trip and I think the weather was one. But you can’t go to Costa Rica without experiencing the cloud forest (at least on your first trip) so we had to do it, and I don’t regret it. It actually provided the most fun experience of the trip with zip lining. After our morning, we took a bit of time to settle in and explore the very lush grounds. There was a pool and hot tub – honestly the only thing you could do was the hot tub because it was so cold. And it was always misting in the cloud forest…you are literally up in the clouds! So cold, and damp. Not a great combination, but a very unique environment that is a can’t miss experience.

Later that afternoon, we set out for the Don Juan Coffee Tour which was a most enjoyable experience. We learned all about the process of growing, roasting and selling CR coffee and also had some of the most delicious bananas and chocolate I will ever eat. The bananas were fresh off the tree, and you will never eat another banana so sweet. Quinn loves bananas and must have had 4 at least. After the tour, we enjoyed the free coffee and picked up some gifts to bring back home. A word about CR coffee…it is all Arabica now, they do not allow any other coffee to be grown and exported because they chose quality over quantity. They are a small country and they have to be judicious about what they export so that it is successful. They also serve coffee to small children (starting at age 2) and Costa Ricans drink their coffee black or with warmed milk and sugar. The milk is warmed so that it doesn’t cool the coffee before you drink it. Quinn had some coffee each morning, and really enjoyed it (he’s not had it since we have been back in the States, though…when in Rome, I suppose).

The next morning we set out for our experience on the hanging bridges and zip lines. First, we did the hanging bridges with a guide. The guide was very helpful…even if we didn’t see wildlife or exotic birds (I never did see the infamous quetzal) he was informative about the plants, trees and cloud forest environs. There were eight bridges in all, some more than 300 feet high. In between, there was walking on trails that connect the bridges. A good bit of walking, and in some very damp conditions. On the last bridge, Nana had a spill and sprained her ankle. We were worried but she persisted and managed to push through to do the zip lines. Papa was a maybe for the zip lines, but I think male ego chipped in when he saw that Nana was going to do it, he couldn’t chicken out! That may or may not have been the smartest decision, but he made it through the whole zip line course. The kids loved the zip lines! I was a little nervous about the heights, but really it was pretty exhilarating. To be on top of the tree cover, flying through the air at relatively high speeds is a pretty good adrenaline rush. We also did the Tarzan swing, which was probably the most outside of my comfort zone. Imagine stepping off a platform in free fall…not knowing when the rope will catch you. All of us did the swing besides Papa who gratefully watched from ground level. Again, the kids loved it! If you ask them what their favorite part of the whole trip was, they will most certainly say the zip lines! Our guides were also great here, and they really made everyone feel safe. They took special care of Nana with her busted ankle, and they always made sure the kids and Papa had a guide with them on the longer zip lines. After that exhilarating experience, we had our driver drop us in the town and we ate lunch at the Tree House Café which literally had a tree growing through its two levels.

That night, we set out on a night tour of the forest with a guide. It was actually a bust…we only saw a couple of creatures roaming the night including a coati (raccoon like animal), agouti (large rat type animal), tarantula, and the leaf carrying ants. No sloths and no monkeys. It was quite windy and when that happens, animals head out of the trees and down for cover making it hard to find them. Another point of interest here is that the internet lines went down for a good portion of this day, making it impossible to pay with credit cards for anything. We had to borrow cash from Quinn to pay for the night tour! It’s something that you can never imagine happening in the United States, and something we take for granted but in a small country you need to be prepared for all kinds of things.

The next morning, we were set to leave for our last destination and final four nights on the Pacific Ocean in Tamarindo. Insert ominous sound here…dum, dum, dum. The exit from Monteverde to Tamarindo might also have contributed to my dislike of Monteverde although most likely it had nothing to do it. On the van ride (about 3-4 hours) I suffered from what I call Monteverde’s revenge. I don’t know if I drank some bad water, ate something bad, had car sickness (the roads were once again quite curvy and we were traveling at high speeds), had reverse elevation sickness (we were now descending from a mile high to sea level) or was overheated (the weather now was changing from the 60s to the 90s with beach humidity) – or a combination of the above – but it was a bad, bad combination. I started to feel bad right before we made what was supposed to be our one and only stop – I thought I was just hungry so I ate plantain chips and drank a Coke to try to calm my stomach. It did not help, and we had to stop for me to use bathrooms every 20 minutes or so. Our driver was wonderful, always finding a bathroom just in the nick of time. I would feel slightly better after each stop, but get progressively worse. In the last 20 minutes or so to the hotel, I threw up in the van. Not good! When we arrived at the hotel, I could barely walk because I was so weak and I was still needing to use the bathroom every few minutes. The hotel staff was so nice…bringing me homemade tea and a fruit tray (for when I could stomach the idea of food). I don’t remember exactly what was in that tea, but it did wonders for my tummy. They said they see this type of thing a lot so they knew exactly what to do for me. And they were right…I was able to keep the tea down, and even venture to the pool later that afternoon. When I walked through the lobby, I was like a celebrity because they were so glad to see me up and walking! I was worried it was a 24 hour thing, but whatever it was – it ended as quickly as it started and for that, I am so grateful. It only managed to ruin part of my travel day, and I even managed to eat a light dinner that night. Next up, our last 3 days in Tamarindo on the Pacific Coast. 

Costa Rica Trip Days 1-3: Arenal & La Fortuna

We awoke before the crack of dawn, and departed Newark early in the morning for the five hour flight to San Jose. The flight was smooth – I slept a good portion of it – and we landed on time and were greeted by our driver immediately after leaving the airport. Our driver was very nice, although a little limited on English. Because of our limited Spanish and their limited English, our interactions with drivers and others in the country were somewhat limited. That said, all of the people we encountered were very nice – of course, they are in tourism so I guess that’s their job. In any event, despite being very hungry at this point our driver said it was easier to eat on our way to La Fortuna, which is about a 2 hour drive. This meant an hour or so before we stopped to eat, but when we arrived we were refreshed with some typico almuerzo – typical Costa Rican lunch. Beans and rice are the typical staple, and normally a protein is added (chicken, fish or beef) and accompanied by plantains and salad. We also had some patacones – plantains sliced very thin and served like tortilla chips with pico de gallo or guacamole and some excellent ceviche. This interaction was funny though with our waiter – I think we confused him by ordering some appetizers first – and then ordering main dishes. In Costa Rica, they are used to ordering everything at once.  We also got our first taste of the traditional CR beer – Imperial. The kids had their first of many, many sodas…typically Coke for Quinn and orange for Keely. After our lunch, we browsed the adjacent souvenir shop and then headed down the road. While I’m on the subject of roads, they are not much like what we are used to in the United States. The roads are windy, curvy and can be narrow. In many parts of our trip, they were rock and not paved. There was no curb and gutter or shoulder, and in the mountainous parts of the country you literally felt like you could fall off the side of the mountain. Actually, they were similar to Ireland. CR is a country the size of West Virginia yet it takes between 2-3 hours to travel from place to place, even though the mileage is typically under 100. It takes some getting used to, and quite frankly I was in awe that they do the amount of tourism with large buses and plenty of vans traveling the roads day and day out.

We arrived at our hotel for the next three nights, Arenal Manoa and settled in. Settling in mostly means checking out the pool. We ate dinner at the resort that night and explored the grounds a little. It gets dark in CR between 5:30 and 6 PM so it was quite strange for us considering at home in the summertime we’re used to that between 8 and 9 PM. What it did for us though was mostly keep us on Eastern Time. It’s only a two hour time difference – but we were getting up early because it’s light out at 5 AM and going to bed early because we were tired from the day’s activities. It made for a very smooth transition back to home.

The next morning, we decided to venture off on our own to the national park and hike to the La Fortuna Waterfall. While there were tours to do this hike combined with other activities, we didn’t think it was worth the extrea cost and we were right. We were able to do this excursion for just the price of a taxi each way, and the cost to enter the national park. The hike is mostly on a set of stairs down to a gorgeous waterfall where you can swim and relax. That means you have to walk back up the stairs afterwards, but I would say it was worth the trip. We didn’t swim in the main waterfall pool because it is very deep, cold and the currents from the water falling can be strong – so they do not advise children in that section but we did swim in one of the downstream areas where the current was less strong and the water less deep. It was refreshing to say the least.

That afternoon, we took a trip to tour an adjacent farm. On the walk, we saw a family of baby armadillos right off the bat. We also learned about the no-touch-me plants (they curl up in a ball when you touch them to protect themselves) and the leaf cutter ants (they carry leaves to build a home for themselves – we will learn much more about them later in our trip while in Monteverde). They are red ants which means they bite – a la Tucson – so we avoided them but watched them with curiosity. We also saw one of many perros (dogs), milked a Costa Rican cow (well, me and Keely did) and saw the cleanest pigs ever. No joke, they were really clean and I have never seen a pig’s eyes that clearly. They actually look a lot like human eyes. Why do they keep them so clean? Because they are selling them.

That night, we took a trip down the road to Eco Termales Hot Springs. I should mention at this point that this little town sprung into existence because it sits at the foot of an active volcano. Arenal was active over 500 years ago, but recently because active again in 1968. Once that happened, tourism started in earnest and the town used the volcano to become a hot spot (pun intended) for eco-tourism and activities a plenty. What also springs up because of an active volcano is hot springs. The ones we visited consisted of 5 pools, one super hot pool (which was the source of the spring) and one cold pool. We spent 15-20 minutes in the hot pools and then a few minutes in the cold pool to keep our bodies from overhearing. For me, hot water is wonderful and I personally really enjoyed the pools. We spent almost four hours at the pools, including a wonderful Costa Rican dinner served family style with the most delicious rice pudding for dessert...I may have finished any unfinished portion at our table and stuffed myself with that pudding but it was worth every bite!

Our last full day in Arenal was spent doing a morning tour of two local rivers by kayak and then relaxing poolside in the afternoon while watching the Costa Rican soccer match. The kayaking tour was very fun and ended up being our best chance at seeing animals in their natural habitat. I went with Quinn, James went with Keely and Papa was with one of our two guides. The guides were both very informative. My favorite memory of this trip is Pablo shouting ‘family, come over here’ and then having to paddle upstream as fast as possible, sometimes cursing Pablo a bit because I thought, this better be worth the effort! We saw howler monkeys, a sloth (our only one!), a crocodile, bats, rattlesnake, Jesus Christ lizard (so named because it can walk on water) and lots of birds including the laughing falcon, kingfishers, tiger heron and the flycatcher bird. We also stopped about 3/4 of the way down river to visit a local farm and visit with the family that owns and cares for it (Peter's family) where we were served fresh Costa Rican coffee and sweet treats.  

That day, the Arenal volcano was finally visible. Fitting since it was our last full day, and thus last chance to see it in its full glory – but also fitting because (in our guide’s opinion) it came out for the Costa Rican soccer match. A word about being in Costa Rica during (a) the World Cup and (b) one that their team made it to the Round of 16. It was really quite awesome to be in a country that embraces and loves their futbol. Even after their team lost (a quite heartbreaking loss in penalty kicks where they were duped by a ringer of a Dutch goalie who was brought in specifically to defend those final five shots) the whole country was still very into the rest of the Cup. Everywhere else we went, they were watching the remaining games and enjoying the high quality of soccer. They were so proud of their team for making it as far as they did, the only team in the CONCACAF (North American countries) to make it that far. Quite an accomplishment for a country so small…and one that was missing their best player to injury.

That night, our last dinner in Arenal we took a taxi downtown and first visited the local church to donate a vestment that was gifted to our family when my grandmother passed away. I am glad my parents took the trouble to pack it, because I believe it was a gift much appreciated and I know it would please both of my grandparents to know that it was given to a country that needs for so much. After that we tried a restaurant that our first driver recommended and it was really good. Also very affordable – though not as affordable as we first thought upon conversion from Colons. A word about money. They will almost always take American dollars, in fact I think they prefer it and they probably end up getting more from you because they claim not to have change. One US dollar is equal to about 500 Colons. So it was quite interesting to see a bill of 100,000 C (about $200 USD). We figured it out most times and often the bill was presented in both Colons and USD. Tipping was also interesting – it is not as big as it is in the US. So we tried to be respectful of that and tip about 10%. It’s hard though when you know it’s a poor country and the tourism is so much of their economy, so you want to be generous.

The next morning, we awoke and had breakfast in the hotel – our last at Arenal Manoa. I should say at this point that this was a great hotel, I would highly recommend it. The pool and hot tub, and hot springs pool were very nice and the staff was always friendly and helpful. Breakfast was included and it was good every day. Each day, we were served the traditional Costa Rican breakfast – eggs, gallo pinto (rice and beans mixed together with some spices), queso blanco, and fresh fruits including papaya, mango and plantains.  There was also a serving station where they would make pancakes, waffles, and fresh tortillas. One of the classics from a breakfast – question to our server, how do you say pancake in Spanish? Answer – pancake :)

After breakfast, we packed up and departed for our next destination where we would spend two nights – Monteverde. I will cover the boat trip and van ride in that next summary, because it deserves its own story.