Hola Amigos,
For our final post until sometime in 2012, we write now about our "vacation within our vacation" Costa Rica. This beautiful country is where we slowed down and enjoyed the natural wonders around us. After the pace and nature of our travels thus far, the two weeks spent in Costa Rica was welcome.
After a long and layover-filled day getting to San Jose, we spent the night in the capital and picked up our rental car the next morning. We drove to the tiny village of El Castillo in the Arenal Volcano area. All the roads in Costa Rica are an adventure, especially those like the one to El Castillo which isn't paved. Add in the fact that it was still the end of their rainy season and you have some truly awful driving conditions. We were sure to get an SUV with ample clearance, and with some seriously defensive driving we had no issues. Our hotel in El Castillo had fantastic views of Arenal and its lake. Arenal has become famous for its intense activity over the last fifty years, though much of that has stopped within the last year. We didn't see anything that resembled lava or even ash, but the perfect "volcano looking" moutain is still beautiful. We spent three days around Arenal hiking, zip-lining, and swimming in perfect pools formed by perfect waterfalls. The area is lush, and we were lucky with the weather. We were able to do everything we wanted despite a little rain. Our last day was spent in the natural hot springs at Tabacon. The springs are unreal. They look like the Garden of Eden. The thermal activity of nearby Arenal provide perfect hot springs and Tabacon spent the money to make their grounds paradisiacal.
From El Castillo we took the beautiful drive around Lake Arenal and out to the coast on the Nicoya Peninsula. We spent five nights at one of the nicest hotels right on the beach in Tamarindo. One of Pat's cousin's best friends from college owns it, and he gave us a fantastic offer we couldn't refuse. He and his wife took us out to dinner and even gave us an insider's tour of the area. We are grateful to Judd and Jaqueline for all their hospitality. Tamarindo itself is often called "Tamagringo" for its party atmosphere, but we found it relatively laid back. Again we were there at probably the slowest time of the year, so we cannot comment on how crazy it gets in the winter. We had five days of sun and relaxation, however, so we don't really care. It seems the wet season ended literally on our second day there. We didn't see anymore rain our entire time, but apparently the crowds don't start showing up until Black Friday. It really was paradise. Playa Tanarindo itself is nothing to write about, but next door Playa Grande to the north and Playa Langosta to the south are gorgeous. At Grande an endangered leatherback turtle lays its eggs for much of the year, and very little development is allowed. We walked down to the end where a lonely taco shack serves cheap tacos to hungry surfers. We drove to some of the most beautiful beaches in the area as well, and they are plentiful. To the north Playa Conchal is perfect, while Playas Flamingo and Brasilito are only attractive. To the south, Playa Avellanas is again perfect and has amazing surf. Playa Negra is also picturesque. The sheer amount of undeveloped, perfect beaches really impressed us. We've never seen anything like it. Shuana was in her glory getting as much beach time as she could possibly handle. Pat was under a tree somewhere enjoying his book.
After a great stretch in Tanarindo we drove to the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula to Mal Pais. It was much quieter here. Our hotel was open but you woundn't know it driving by. The lobby was closed, the restaurant was closed, and we were the only ones there. A guy who spoke no English and staying in Room 2 came out and gave us our key. The hotel itself was great, but it was creepy with no one else around. It almost felt like a zombie movie where you get everything to yourself. The pool, the beach, the restaurants in town. The beach here is also perfect and the surf is incredible. We spent one day in Montezuma, a great little laid back surf town close to Mal Pais. We took a speed boat to Isla Tortuga, one of the country's most beautiful islands. Again the low season thing helped as people say it gets out of control with crowds in the winter. Since our hotel was essentially closed, we decided to splurge and spend our last real night at the ridiculous Flor Blanca, about ten minutes north of where we were. The five star resort consists of ten villas and one honeymoon villa and is right on the beach. It's also home to the best restaurant in the area. Again, since it was the dead-low season the prices were over half off, and we were able to swing it. Still it was an expensive thirty hours, but it was worth every penny. One sad but crazy story also happened here. We had just finished dinner and took a glass of wine out to the beach to look at the stars. As we were sitting there some species of dolphin or small whale suddenly washed up on shore. Pat and a few of the staff members ran over to see what it was and it flapped around. We thought it might have been trying to get back in the water, so Pat and two other guys pushed it back in on several pushes. As they were pushing the thing just died. Pat says it was moving and breathing on one push and the next it was not. Coincidentally we talked about mammals going off on their own to die before (the whale in the river in northern California), and this might have been the case. The dolphin was huge though, and it was beautiful. It was quite a thing to experience, but that's life. In spite of this, Flor Blanca is probably the nicest place we've ever stayed. Take a look at the pictures. It is luxury done right. It's sophisticated but understated. It was a perfect way to end our trip and take on the cold of New York for the next two months.
We have decided to spend the holiday season with family before taking the last leg of our journey to Africa. Tentatively we're looking at January 15th as a departure date to South Africa. Our plan is to volunteer for the better part of two months before traveling throughout SA, Mozambique, Madagascar, and Tanzania. By mid-2012 we plan to be done and get back into "real life". Please, everyone reading this keep us in mind for any job openings around then! ;)
Thanks again for keeping up with our incredible, once in a lifetime trip. We have nothing but love and appreciation.
Until 2012,
S&P
For our final post until sometime in 2012, we write now about our "vacation within our vacation" Costa Rica. This beautiful country is where we slowed down and enjoyed the natural wonders around us. After the pace and nature of our travels thus far, the two weeks spent in Costa Rica was welcome.
After a long and layover-filled day getting to San Jose, we spent the night in the capital and picked up our rental car the next morning. We drove to the tiny village of El Castillo in the Arenal Volcano area. All the roads in Costa Rica are an adventure, especially those like the one to El Castillo which isn't paved. Add in the fact that it was still the end of their rainy season and you have some truly awful driving conditions. We were sure to get an SUV with ample clearance, and with some seriously defensive driving we had no issues. Our hotel in El Castillo had fantastic views of Arenal and its lake. Arenal has become famous for its intense activity over the last fifty years, though much of that has stopped within the last year. We didn't see anything that resembled lava or even ash, but the perfect "volcano looking" moutain is still beautiful. We spent three days around Arenal hiking, zip-lining, and swimming in perfect pools formed by perfect waterfalls. The area is lush, and we were lucky with the weather. We were able to do everything we wanted despite a little rain. Our last day was spent in the natural hot springs at Tabacon. The springs are unreal. They look like the Garden of Eden. The thermal activity of nearby Arenal provide perfect hot springs and Tabacon spent the money to make their grounds paradisiacal.
From El Castillo we took the beautiful drive around Lake Arenal and out to the coast on the Nicoya Peninsula. We spent five nights at one of the nicest hotels right on the beach in Tamarindo. One of Pat's cousin's best friends from college owns it, and he gave us a fantastic offer we couldn't refuse. He and his wife took us out to dinner and even gave us an insider's tour of the area. We are grateful to Judd and Jaqueline for all their hospitality. Tamarindo itself is often called "Tamagringo" for its party atmosphere, but we found it relatively laid back. Again we were there at probably the slowest time of the year, so we cannot comment on how crazy it gets in the winter. We had five days of sun and relaxation, however, so we don't really care. It seems the wet season ended literally on our second day there. We didn't see anymore rain our entire time, but apparently the crowds don't start showing up until Black Friday. It really was paradise. Playa Tanarindo itself is nothing to write about, but next door Playa Grande to the north and Playa Langosta to the south are gorgeous. At Grande an endangered leatherback turtle lays its eggs for much of the year, and very little development is allowed. We walked down to the end where a lonely taco shack serves cheap tacos to hungry surfers. We drove to some of the most beautiful beaches in the area as well, and they are plentiful. To the north Playa Conchal is perfect, while Playas Flamingo and Brasilito are only attractive. To the south, Playa Avellanas is again perfect and has amazing surf. Playa Negra is also picturesque. The sheer amount of undeveloped, perfect beaches really impressed us. We've never seen anything like it. Shuana was in her glory getting as much beach time as she could possibly handle. Pat was under a tree somewhere enjoying his book.
After a great stretch in Tanarindo we drove to the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula to Mal Pais. It was much quieter here. Our hotel was open but you woundn't know it driving by. The lobby was closed, the restaurant was closed, and we were the only ones there. A guy who spoke no English and staying in Room 2 came out and gave us our key. The hotel itself was great, but it was creepy with no one else around. It almost felt like a zombie movie where you get everything to yourself. The pool, the beach, the restaurants in town. The beach here is also perfect and the surf is incredible. We spent one day in Montezuma, a great little laid back surf town close to Mal Pais. We took a speed boat to Isla Tortuga, one of the country's most beautiful islands. Again the low season thing helped as people say it gets out of control with crowds in the winter. Since our hotel was essentially closed, we decided to splurge and spend our last real night at the ridiculous Flor Blanca, about ten minutes north of where we were. The five star resort consists of ten villas and one honeymoon villa and is right on the beach. It's also home to the best restaurant in the area. Again, since it was the dead-low season the prices were over half off, and we were able to swing it. Still it was an expensive thirty hours, but it was worth every penny. One sad but crazy story also happened here. We had just finished dinner and took a glass of wine out to the beach to look at the stars. As we were sitting there some species of dolphin or small whale suddenly washed up on shore. Pat and a few of the staff members ran over to see what it was and it flapped around. We thought it might have been trying to get back in the water, so Pat and two other guys pushed it back in on several pushes. As they were pushing the thing just died. Pat says it was moving and breathing on one push and the next it was not. Coincidentally we talked about mammals going off on their own to die before (the whale in the river in northern California), and this might have been the case. The dolphin was huge though, and it was beautiful. It was quite a thing to experience, but that's life. In spite of this, Flor Blanca is probably the nicest place we've ever stayed. Take a look at the pictures. It is luxury done right. It's sophisticated but understated. It was a perfect way to end our trip and take on the cold of New York for the next two months.
We have decided to spend the holiday season with family before taking the last leg of our journey to Africa. Tentatively we're looking at January 15th as a departure date to South Africa. Our plan is to volunteer for the better part of two months before traveling throughout SA, Mozambique, Madagascar, and Tanzania. By mid-2012 we plan to be done and get back into "real life". Please, everyone reading this keep us in mind for any job openings around then! ;)
Thanks again for keeping up with our incredible, once in a lifetime trip. We have nothing but love and appreciation.
Until 2012,
S&P
It's Very great article
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Its looking great and long trip.Hope so you all enjoyed that trip....As a Costa Rica Real Estate Expert I appreciate you all and best of luck for upcoming life.
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