Howler Monkeys of Monteverde

We saw our first howler monkey during our hike to the base of the Arenal Volcano.  We saw a male howler monkey in the trees.  What was really interesting was his call, which sounds like a deep, long roar.  Howler monkeys are supposed to be the loudest of all monkeys.

We didn't see any howler monkeys in Monteverde, but we sure heard them.  Every morning, between 5:30 - 6:30am, they would begin their ritual calls from the valley.  From way up the mountain, from the balcony of our room, I could hear the howler monkeys announcing their awakening and presumably claiming their territory.

In the video below, IF you turn up your volume, you will hear a male howler monkey right at the beginning of the movie and in the middle.  The view is of Monteverde from our balcony; we were on the 8th level up the side of the mountain.  I took the video on Wednesday, August 13, at 5:42am, local Costa Rica time.

Videos from Tabacon Thermal Springs

A highlight of our trip to Costa Rica was our couple of days at Tabacon Grand Spa and Thermal Resort.  Here is a short video of one of the hot springs.  You can see the steam rising from the water, which was indeed hot.  CJ refused to go into the hot water, opting instead for the cooler pools.  I just adored the hot springs.

In one of the pools at Tabacon, there was a water slide.  Here's a video of Maki and CJ coming down the slide.  CJ loved the slide and ended up going down a bunch of times.

We Drank the Water in Costa Rica

Yep, we drank tap water in Costa Rica and didn't get sick.  We drank water from all three hotels, as well as from a roadside restaurant and didn't get sick.  The Paradisus Playa Conchal even had a sign in the bathroom that said their water is checked every week and exceeds international drinking water standards.

We did buy bottled water on occasion, especially for hikes and because Maki didn't like the taste of the tap water in at least one hotel, but it's official -- the water is safe to drink in Costa Rica.  Yee haw!

I Finally Got To Go Ziplining!

Maki and Alex went ziplining at the Selvatura nature reserve in Monteverde, while CJ, mom, dad and I visited the treetop canopy and hanging bridges.

So it was a pleasant surprise for me to learn that the Paradisus had min-ziplining over the pool. Not surprisingly, there was a waiting list and the only time slot available was 9:00am on Saturday, the morning of our departure. I really wanted to try ziplining, so I signed up. I was a little nervous, but a pair of 11-year old twins were with me and I figured that if they could be brave and zipline, so could I. Plus, their mom asked me to look after them since she was going to be waiting at the other end.

Ziplining was fun!!! This baby zipline was pretty slow since the line wasn't very steep. It took 20 minutes to get the gear on and get instructions, and 8 seconds to actually go down the line. That's me on the zipline, at right, getting splashed by a boy in the pool; it was common for the poolgoers to throw water at the zipliners. I got pretty soaked. :-)

CJ was pretty bummed that he couldn't go ziplining. He wasn't tall enough, so we promised him that he could go ziplining when he is 11. CJ: Mama, when I'm 11, will ziplining still be here in Costa Rica? Mama: Of course.

Encounters with Animals

Costa Rica is known for its wildlife and we have been lucky enough to catch sight of some of Costa Rica's wonders. Some of our sightings incude:

During the Arenal hiking trip, we saw a couple of howler monkeys in the trees. One male was even broadcasting loudly in his loud, lion-like roar. CJ called him the Monkey King.  Early mornings in Monteverde, around 5:30pm, the male howler monkeys would wake us with their roars.

At Tabacon and Playa Conchal, we saw several coatis, long, black creatures that reminded us of racoons.  We are told that they like to hang out by hotels and eat garbage.

During our boat ride on Lake Arenal, we saw plenty of birds along the shore.

During the tour of the Monteverde Reserve, we saw a black guan, a green toucan, lots of spiders and beetles.  

We also saw a toucan at Tabacon, close to the restaurant aptly named Los Tucanes, and toucans at a roadside restaurant.

On the road to Guanacaste, we spotted a two-toed sloth in the trees, a couple of white-faced monkeys, and lizards. 

At Playa Conchal, foot-long lizards are everywhere.

Fun in the Sun

Friday was sunny, clear, less humid, a little cooler. Mom headed out early to go bird watching, while dad did a round of golf. So Maki, Alex, CJ and I headed for the beach. 

We took out one double kayak and one paddle boat. Maki and I started out in the paddle boat, while CJ and Alex were in the kayak. I had forgotten how hard it can be to paddle against the current, but boy was it fun to be out on the water. We were warned not to go past the mountains, but there was no danger of that; it took forever just to get close to the cliffs! Since we were all wearing vests and the water was very calm, CJ and Maki jumped into the water and played around. On the return trip, Alex and I paddled, while Maki and CJ were in the kayak. CJ, of course, cannot use an oar, so he told us all where to go.

It's our last day and we thought it fitting to just laze around the pool, so we spent some time in the pool and on the deck chairs. There are several connecting pools, including a really cool shallow area with rocks, perfect for sunbathing. There was a water aerobics class happening in one pool, and CJ seemed interested, so CJ, Alex and I joined along for about 10 minutes. Who knew what a workout you get from dancing and jumping in the pool. I just hope our little class doesn't end up on YouTube!

After a nap, we headed back for one last visit to the beach.  CJ, Alex and I had a great time running in the sand, making a sand castle, and playing the water.  We headed to a less crowded part of the beach (this wasn't hard, we just walked to the left 500 yards) and enjoyed the sounds and sounds of the surf.  Check out the photo of Alex, left, being zen o the beach.

Dinner was at one of the nice restaurants on the property: Cauri, which features an international a la carte menu. Spices, our first choice, which features Asian fusion cuisine, was totally booked. The food here at Paradisus is great. Our favorite meals were at Chimera and Sofia, but we have been pleased with the resort food.

We met some families who had been here for a week. I thought about that for a second. Could we stay at a beach property for a whole week? I don't think so. It's been fun to relax in the sun, but I love the adventuring and sightseeing that we have done. Plus, Costa Ricans seems to be proud and aware of their rainforest and ecology so much that it would have been a shame to miss the other parts of our trip. Yes, getting to Monteverde was bumpy and long, but totally worth it.

On the other hand, ending our vacation with a couple of days at an all inclusive resort where your wristband gets you everything you need has been luxurious and fun.

Vamos A La Playa

After 5 days of sightseeing, we headed for a couple of days on the beach. We left Monteverde at 9:00am on Thursday. It took us four hours to drive to Guanacaste and check into our hotel, the Paradisus Playa Conchal. The road out of Monteverde was ridiculously bumpy, as reported before. I got to sit in the front passenger seat and see that we were traveling, on average, about 20 kilometers per hour. We traveled that way for about an hour and a half. Our drive called it a road massage. Then we hit asphalt and it was smooth driving all the way to Guanacaste.

Paradisus Playa Conchal

Guanacaste is on the Pacific side of Costa Rica and it is gorgeous. The Paradisus is a gorgeous, all inclusive resort with 6 restaurants and a host of activities. I didn't actually know much about the place when we booked it, but the travel agent recommended it, so we agreed. When they say all-inclusive, they mean it. All the meals even alcohol), room service, and activities are included. There isn't even tipping when you order room service. The activities include kayaking, paddle boating, deep sea fishing, snorkeling, diving, ziplining, horseback riding, and ATV rides. There's yoga, water aerobics, bird watching, cooking classes, even kids programs. There are off property excursions that include ziplining and nature tours that are extra, as is the golf, but so far, we haven't spent a dime extra, except for the Internet cafe. The rooms are gorgeous with two sitting areas, a flat screeen TV and balcony. The bathroom even has a toilet and bidet.  CJ: mama, there are two potties in here!

We hit the beach in the late afternoon. The beach is beautiful.  The sand was nice and smooth in one part, rockier and full of shells in the part next to the cliffs. The water is clear and blue-green, warm as bath water, with no jellyfish.  CJ is totally my son when it comes to the water. We walked to the beach and within a few minutes, he was entirely drenched, rolling around in the water, running into the surf.

We were beat afer a half day of travel and beach time, so we ordered room service (which was excellent and CJ got his salmon, which he had been pining for all day), then hit the hay early.

Souvenir Shopping in Costa Rica

Whenever we visit a foreign country, I like to purchase local souvenirs. I'm a big shopper, so it's fun to go shopping for local crafts, artwork, jewelry, items only found locally. Heck, I'm even turning into my mom; on this trip, I did a bunch of Christmas shopping. Based on what we've seen so far, good Costa Rica souvenirs include:

• Woodwork, including bowls, placemats, decorative boxes, card holders, small statues, etc. It's apparently illegal to cut down a tree without a permit, so artists must use wood from fallen trees. I especially like the chopping boards made of different colored woods glued together.
• Coffee, coffee and more coffee. We have had some amazing coffee on this trip and I'm coming home with bags and bags of the stuff.  The most famous brand is Britt, but we've seen at least a half dozen brands.  I even picked up a bag of organic, shade brown coffee, which Ricardo says is important to the preservation of the environment.  The Smithsonian has even developed a certification for organic, shade-grown coffee!
• Jewelry, some silver, but mostly made of wood and a native nut that, when polished, looks like beautiful wood.
• Preserved butterflies.
• Handmade paper.
  
• Embroidered bags, clothing and kitchen accessories.
• Paintings and watercolors by local artists.  I picked up some beautiful prints for my office.

I have about a half dozen bags of coffee, which strikes Maki as hilarious since I have pretty much given up coffee in favor of green tea.  On this trip, however, since the coffee has been so terrific, I have been drinking lots of coffee in the morning.

The Cloud Forest

On Wednesday, we had another early morning so that we could leave for the Monteverde Reserve by 7:00am. It's brutal getting CJ up by 6:00am so that he can be dressed and have eaten breakfast by that time. It took a lot of cajoling and bribery, but we did it.

We took a short van ride to the Monteverde Reserve. This ride was even bumpier than our last ride to Selvatura, if that's even possible. We are told that the locals do not want the roads to and from Monteverde paved to discourage hordes of tourists coming to visit. It's definitely true that large buses are not going to survive on these roads and it's likely that some types of travelers will be deterred by the bad roads.

Monteverde Reserve

We were lucky that day at the Monteverde Reserve. It had rained our last two days, but today was glorious. Our guide Ricardo is a first-generation Quaker. His dad is a Quaker from Alabama who founded a dairy farm and helped create the Monteverde Reserve. Ricardo was our guide for four hours. He told us about the primary forest, the pioneer forest (which was planted after the fields were converted back to rainforest), the plants, the trees, the bugs, and the animals. We didn't see any monkeys, but we did see a black guan (bird), a green toucan, lots of butterflies, and lots of beetles and caterpillars. Miraculously, it didn't rain; it would have been less fun and perhaps a little treacherous on the path if it had been raining.

We crossed one hanging  bridge in the rainforest.  A sign warned that only 10 people can be on the bridge at the same time, so we were careful when following another group.

We visited the hummingbird garden at the end of the tour. Mom says the hummingbirds were remarkably well behaved, meaning they weren't fighting and sipped from the feeders very nicely. I know nothing about hummingbirds; they all seemed beautiful to me. We saw blue ones, green ones, purple ones.

Food, Glorious Food

After the cloud forest tour, we got dropped off downtown and lunched at a most unusual place. The Tree House restaurant, which literally has a tree growing in the middle of the restaurant. There is no front wall or roof in part of the restaurant, which means that when it rains, you can only eat in the small, enclosed area. The tables among the branches were taken, so we sat in the enclosed area and enjoyed yummy smoothies and beans and rice.

Rice and black beans is a staple at very meal - breakfast, lunch and dinner - and it is delicious. Other staples are plantains (yum!), chicken, eggs and coffee. We've enjoyed some great food here.

Alex decided to stay and relax at the hotel, so the rest of us ventured out to dinner. Mom, dad and CJ went back to Chimera (because CJ said he loved the chocolate mousse and mom loved the shrimp sambal), so Maki and I had a rare night alone at Sofia, Chimera's sister restaurant around the corner. OMG, the food was just as good here. I had a roasted sweet potato and plantain soup, then shrimp with green mango slaw. The best part of the meal had to be the mango ginger mojito - amazing. Maki's cinammon-crusted pork chops were to die for. Food is an important of every vacation for us, and we have realy enjoyed our dinner these past couple of nights.

Adventures in Selvatura

On Tuesday morning, we got up early to explore the town and get ready for our afternoon adventure in Selvatura. After breakfast, Mom and CJ relaxed at the hotel, while Maki, Alex, dad and I walked to Santa Elena, the local town. It was a pretty steep walk down to the town, which consists of a couple of blocks of shops and restaurants. I picked up some souvenirs, Maki's dad bought a map, then we caught a taxi back to the hotel.

Ziplining and Treetop Walkways

After a hurried lunch, we were off to Selvatura, a nature reserve. Maki and Alex spent a couple of hours ziplining through the forest, while mom, dad, CJ and I walked the trails and crossed 8 hanging bridges. Alex and Maki said ziplining was amazing. They did close to a dozen jumps. Here's how it works. Wearing a helmet, you get strapped into the line, you get coaching about whether and how much to brake (which you do with your gloved hands), and then you get pushed down the steel cable from one platform to the next.

Our walk through the rainforest was wonderful. It seems everyone was zipling, because we only saw 4 other people on the trail. The hanging bridges are literally hanging between the edges of a canyon. The bridges are made of steel and you can see all the way down to the bottom of the forest. Thank goodness there is a protective fence or I would not have let CJ cross a single bridge. As it was, CJ just adored the bridges and insisted on being the first across most of the bridges. He was fearless on the trail and on the bridges.

About halfway through our walk, it started to rain. Actually, it started to pour. My Liz Claiborne jacket didn't hold up to the rain and I got drenched. CJ's LLBean jacket was a champ and kept the little guy completely dry, except for the bottom part of his legs, which were not covered. Maki said it was not fun standing in the rain on the platforms, but once they got going, the rain didn't matter.

Butterfly Garden

We also visited the butterfly garden, the largest in Costa Rica. We saw the famed blue butterfliy of Costa Rica, the owl butterfly (named because of the owl eyes on its wings), the glass wing butterfly and many others. CJ enjoyed taking picture of the butterflies as they fed on fruit and as they sipped nectar from the flowers. What I found most fascinating was the chrysalis. The gardeners gather up the chrysalis (no idea how to make this plural) and tack them onto a board so that they can be monitored. Each butterfly has a distinct chrysalis. Some are light green, some are brown, some are shaped like shells, some are long ang thin. We also learned that while nearly all butterflies will feed from the nectar of any flower, each butterfly prefers a specific plant as its host plant, or the plant where it lays its eggs.

Amazing Tapas

For dinner, we decided to go off the property and ventured a local place called Chimera, which advertised Latin-infused tapas. OMG, we had the best tapas ever. We enjoyed curried shrimp, coconut shrimp, ceviche, roasted eggplant, and stewed chicken. For dessert, our favorites were the apple cake with chocolate-chili sauce, and the chocolate mousse with sangria syrup. The restaurant manager, Cindy, a transplant from Dallas, told us that she came to visit in November and has decided never to leave. Her 12-year is attending the local Quaker school, while she helps manage a coffee shop and restaurant. For her, la pura vida is a reality.

Up to the Green Mountain We Go

After a fun couple of days in Arenal, we headed to Monteverde, which is north of San Jose and up in the mountains. First, we took a short boat ride across Arenal lake. We were lucky; the weather was absolutely gorgeous and we enjoyed views of the lake, and even got to see birds along the shore. We were told that the boat ride shaved 3 hours from our trip. The rest of the trip was by van, over some very bad, bumpy roads. It took about 3 hours.

Monteverde is an interesting place. It was settled by Quakers from Alabama in the late 1940s. Here, they were free to raise cows and produce milk and cheese. But in an effort to protect the watershed above its 1500-hectace plot in Monteverde, the Quakers agreed to preserve the mountain rain forests, or cloud forests as they are called here.

We arrived in Monteverde around 2pm, just in time for a torrential rainstorm, the first during our trip. We took it easy the rest of the day and had dinner at the fancy Laggus restaurant at our hotel, the El Establo Hotel way up in the mountains. It's a pretty steep ride from front desk to where our rooms are, so we have to take buses to and from the front desk, the restaurant, everywhere.

El Establo is a beautiful resort. Because of its location, we have magnificent views of the valley and it does feel like we are up in the clouds. The weather is very temperate; the room's don't have heaters or air conditioning. The architecture definitely feels European, with pitched ceilings, and a chalet style. There's a lot of granite everywhere, which makes us wonder if there is local granite in Costa Rica.

Tabacon Grand Spa and Thermal Resort

We will be in a total of three hotels during our stay in Costa Rica. While I'm normally not a big fan of moving around a lot during vacations, the travel agent recommended it so we could get a taste of the varied climate, geography and sights of Costa Rica.

Tabacon Thermal Resort

Our first destination is Tabacon Grand Spa and Thermal Resort in Arenal, La Fortuna. It takes us about three hours to get to Tabacon from the airport, not including a stop we made to a darling, local restaurant called Cloud Forest restaurant where we discovered the fabulous Lizano salsa. CJ and I just loved this mild, green sauce. CJ had it on his rice and I had it on my shrimp.

The ride to Tabacon was full of switchback turns; at time, the road was full of potholes. Maki got a little carsick, so he moved to the front passenger seat, while CJ and I napped. I guess we could have flown, but we find driving to be such a terrific way to see the local countryside and sights. At one point, we were driving through some mountains and it was very foggy (forests in the mountains are called cloud forests). CJ said, "mama, it's very foggy, but I guess we have to deal with it."

Tabacon Resort is fabulous. We couldn't really afford this place were it not low season. The resort is made up of low, wooden buildings surrounded by rainforest. The grounds are amazing -- full of exotic bushes and flowers. At night, the cicadas chirp loudly and mom saw what looked a racoon. The rooms are very comfortable, and each one has its own balcony, 42 inch plasma TV, DVD player and spacious bathroom. Not too shabby.

We arrived around 4pm, decided to rest for an hour, then hit the hot springs. Tabacon is known for its spa and thermal hot springs. There are hot springs on the grounds; you can wade in several of the hot pools, including one that has a waterfall that you can sit under. The hot springs feed five regular pools; each one is a different temperature, ranging from hot to cool. The largest pool has a swim up bar and a waterslide. It's ridiculous how fabulous this place is.

About about an hour of swimming, we decided to have dinner at the restaurant attached to the resort. We enjoyed a great Mexican meal (it was Mexican that night, who knows what it is on other nights), then headed back to our rooms.

Terrific First Day

I normally read CJ four stories (coz he's 4), but I could not keep my eyes open after 2 stories. CJ didn't seem to mind because he was fast asleep after 2 stories anyway. Even though it was only the first day of our trip, DC seemed a long way off. I love international vacations precisely because we get away physically, mentally and psychologically.

Costa Rica, Here We Come

Well, after a couple of weeks of extra hard work and long nights, our vacation was finally here. About 2 or 3 days before leaving for any trip, I always question whether vacations are worth it because of all the preparation and planning, not to mention the extra work, but in the end, they always are.

I pulled an all nighter on Friday night to finish packing and complete some last projects for work. Since we had a 6:00am flight out of Dulles on Saturday morning, I didn't have to stay up too late before it would have been time to get up and get ready anyway. Ugh. We left the house at 4:00am.

American Airlines Sucks

American Airlines was a nightmare. When we got to the airport, the check-in line snaked past 3 other airlines. We waited patiently for about 10 minutes, but the line wasn't moving. I knew we weren't going to make it if things continued that way. So I walked over to the front of the line to check things out. I quickly realized that there was no line for self check-in, so I called Maki on his cell phone, asked him to come quickly and were checked in within 5 minutes. It made no sense to me that American was not encouraging people to use self check-in. As we walked to the gate, I shouted to our former line-mates that self check-in was available. Oh yeah, did I mention the rude ticket agent who sarcastically showed me how to scan my passport when it looked like I was having trouble? Yeesh, no wonder the airlines are going down the tubes.

The flights to Miami and then to San Jose, Costa Rica were uneventfull. CJ was a star traveler. He slept most of the way to Miami, then played with his play doh and trains, and watched a short movie on the PSP during the flight to San Jose.

Welcome to Costa Rica

When we got to San Jose, we waited to Maki's parents, then met our driver from Avanti, the local travel group used by AAA to book our trip. Nancy at the AAA office in Alexandria did a magnificent planning and booking our trip. Our airfare was $399 round trip, and the rest of the trip was ridiculously low priced, especially considering that we are staying in fabulous hotels, and our trip includes breakfast, a bunch of excursions, one dinner, and transfers to the hotels and back to the airport. It's low season in Costa Rica because it's the rainy season, but as Nancy put it, "it always rains in Costa Rica, that's why they call it the rainforest."