Our flight home left at 8am, and we were told to get to the airport early to leave enough time. So we arranged to share a taxicab with Kirsten, who was also flying out first-thing. Cathy’s alarm watch was set…
Day 15: Return to San José
Breakfast at the Blue Monkey, some last-minute packing, and we caught cabs to the bus terminal in Quepos to get the public bus that would take us back to San José. Of course, the bus was late in typical fashion.…
Day 14: Manuel Antonio National Park
After breakfast, we hopped on the bus to the beach. Our plans were to bypass the public beach, and instead enter Manuel Antonio National Park and spend the day at one of the beautiful beaches along its shore. Manuel Antonio…
Day 13: Quepos and sunset dolphin boat ride
The next morning we caught a bus down to the town of Quepos to go eat, bank, shop and explore. Quepos is a mid-sized town that survives primarily on tourism but also has a larger local population than most of…
Day 12: Monteverde to Quepos
Breakfast the next morning was at a small bakery in town, since nobody wanted to return to the soda near the hotel. After breakfast, we piled 13 people and all our bags into a small van for the trip down…
Day 11: Monteverde
With only one full day to spend in the Monteverde area, we aimed to pack a lot into a short time. The morning’s scheduled activity was an included guided hike through the cloud forest, followed by a stop at a…
Day 10: La Fortuna to Monteverde
We’d spent three nights in La Fortuna and we were sorry to leave, but looking forward to the next stop. After a quick breakfast, we loaded our bags onto a van and drove to the lake near Arenal, where we…
Day 9: La Fortuna waterfall and Arenal volcano
I learned how to horseback ride in summer camp when I was about fourteen, but it had been over a decade since I’d been on a horse. Cathy and I opted to ride to the waterfall near La Fortuna on…
Day 8: La Fortuna and rafting on Rio Arenal
The next morning, we awoke on the early side, and I discovered with dismay that my “Eau de DEET” had failed me during the night and I was covered in mosquito bites. Oh well, at least La Fortuna wasn’t in…
Day 7: Rara Avis to La Fortuna
Another early wake-up as we prepared to leave Rara Avis the same way we came. After breakfast, we pulled on our socks and boots, loaded our bags onto the tractor, and began our hike down. Unfortunately, our uncanny luck weather-wise…