We had never been to Central America and my image of Costa Rica included little more than colorful wildlife, lush jungles and volcanoes. I knew little and admittedly did little to read up on our destination but I was mostly looking forward to a break and being together.
Our flight was relatively short but we reached some time pretty late at night. We got a shuttle to a rental and finally got on our way. I was navigating so you know what that means. We missed the exit, classic getting lost in another country, but reached the hotel eventually. I gave my husband some grief because it’s customary and I’m all about traditions. We realized later on our drive out to the east that this miss was good. The shortcut was windy, isolated and pretty treacherous including a path engulfed in water that you had to cross. It was scary during the day so I cannot even imagine doing that at night!
Driving through Costa Rica
The boutique style hotel was remote and charmingly cute and quaint. Comfortable, luxurious but simple if that makes sense. The patio terrace was enormous and we sat taking in the morning sounds which reminded me of Nizamabad and Thathaya. I used to lay in bed and hear the sounds of traffic and the office and the bustle of mornings. Was I sick or day dreaming like I was wont to at one point in my teenage life? Our spacious abode had plenty of room to meander around. I don’t know what it is about the balmy air – but it really does put you into a relaxation mode instantly.
Kids spent all their time between the beach and the pool. I was finally reading Ishiguro’s ‘Never let me go’. Our day pretty much centered around massages, pool, beach, afternoon naps indoors and back again at the pool and beach for the sunset.
We decided to go to the small village town Tamarindo which was bustling with people and shops and activity – like a beach town does – teeming with tourists and toy and food sellers – fancy restaurants and shacks all interspersed along the coastline. The beach was full of seashells and the girls collected a few. It was only later that we were told there was a law against picking seashells from the beach so we had to dissuade them from that activity. It was festive – all of it and made us happy. There were kids running around, lovers basking in the orange glow of the sunset and oh the sunset was amazing. I know the waters here aren’t quite the deep blue sapphires and turquoises we’d seen in the Caribbean but they were still shades of pretty blues but the sunset, without exaggeration was one of the most beautiful ones I’d ever seen. It set fast in slow motion if that makes any sense. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.We found our way to a restaurant that had earlier promised a fire show so we sat down to dinner. There was a guitar player and singer singing popular 80’s tunes and once we ordered the fire show went on for a good 20 minutes and the kids were mesmerized. Our youngest in her own words said it was spectacular.. The act had them juggling 4 sticks or rods with fire on both ends. The food there wasn’t much to speak of but we didn’t mind it as we had such a good time already.
Tamarindo Beach
Day three and the kids hadn’t tired of the beach or the pool. They were back at it in the sand and playing with their friend. I played for a few with them in the ocean and receded to the palapa area to relax. After several hours in the water we played a fun card game together and then set forth to our horseback rides. Our 2 hour horse ride had us gallop through the town and on to the beach of Brasilito. It was a strange mix of locals and tourists at the Westin that backed on to the beach. The locals had their tents up and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying their day at the beach – not sure if it was particularly festive being Christmas and all but they seemed very much, not surprisingly at home.
There were a few thatched huts and shacks we passed on the way. A strange man asked if he needed to watch my car ‘parking’ something he said. He looked quite high/happy and like a village hippie. He approached me again on the way back and I politely refused his offer. I had mixed feelings about riding on the tired horses’ backs. Mine was particularly tired and slow and needed some coaxing though it got it’s second wind on the way back and finished second. Our older daughter loved her horse named unicorn which may have a little something to do with why she fell even more in love with the horse. We came upon a stretch of beautiful white sand beach which was nearly isolated. We decided to stop there and let the girls swim and play. The kids got busy writing messages on the beach ‘Merry Christmas’ and such which garnered quite a bit of interest from the occasional passers by. We sat on a pair of washed up, no pun intended and so I have to mention – sturdy logs and watched a sweet little hermit crab make its way somewhere peeking out and hiding back in its shell. Our stable boy and guide Jeffrey said he was 16 though he looked much younger. He had on a Texas cowboy hat – part of their brand – Tico’s horseback riding and he was sweet and tended to the horses. We saw the sun set behind the mountains and headed back. Tamarindo was still the best sunset I had ever seen.
We got back to a lovely scene at our hotel. A picture perfect scenic sky with the ocean and boats and the hotel backyard tinkling with lovely lights and dinner table out on the lawn. The kids wanted to discuss what each of us was. Our older one decided that dad is the bravest, I am the most comforting, she is adventurous and her little sister is empathetic and loving and assertive. She had established earlier in the day that she was bossy but preferred to say assertive instead. My husband and I got into a row over the meaning of sympathetic versus empathetic as both the girls claimed to be both. He checked the internet and settled on a definition procured at one of the sites that most pleased his sensibilities and I well I just refused to concede. Apparently we were both lacking empathy and sympathy for each other that hour 🙂 We enjoyed a good meal despite a most confused waiter and after forcing the kids through a thorough hair wash yet again finally retired for the night.
Thursday, our fourth was mostly spent lazing till check out time with breakfast, beach, pool and finally the yoga class. Yoga was fabulous and I really wished I’d caught it the previous two days. After that we took off to Arenal but on the way stopped at the adventure eco park. We got to see some amazing species – frogs, reptiles sans me, cats and sloths. This one particular sloth suddenly got up and waved furiously at us and by the time we got out the phone to capture it she got into slow motion and collapsed. It was so surprising and funny to watch. Then we set off on the road again.
It was a good 4 hours with a breathtaking view on the way at sunset. Our lodgings were so below par it was hard to stomach. But it was what it was and we couldn’t help but adjust. We found out later it was the same with several others – accommodations are hard to get and most are just barely okay. Reminded me of Nice a bit. Thankfully it was just one night. We left bright and early the next day on our tour. An all day event that took us on hikes strenuous and short to the Arenal volcano, the waterfalls, misgivings rainforest with the hanging bridges and finally ending at the hot springs.
It was filled with plenty of information on volcanoes and wild life sighting and I tried to register all the plethora of information.
Flora
- There were 112 volcanoes in Costa Rica, 5 active now; Arenal means of sand – basically volcanic sediment, instead of lava it shoots out rocks; the first recorded explosion was 400 yrs ago and then one in 1968 before a surprise one in 2010 again
- We saw a rare flower Sobraliya amaryllis – 30 hr orchid, purple & white, alive only for 30 hrs
Fauna
- The Eyelash viper has enough venom to kill four people – comes with around 20 colors – we saw the yellow one. We also saw Broad billed mot mot; howler and spider monkeys; several poisonous spiders and Tarantulas; Fruit Bats and another native bat species
Our next lodge was beautiful. Nestled in the midst of a farm and rainforest. We had lovely hammocks on our balcony a mile or so from the entrance. It rained all the time, a gentle drizzle and the sun peeped out in full splendor every once in a while and lasted 15 minutes if that. The estate had a huge number of cabins and treehouses even – we heard a large group of family/friends were coming in and rented more than half of the cabins there. We took short walks and the restaurant had views to fruit trees that attracted a myriad number of birds of all colors, toucans, parrots, hummingbirds of red, green, yellows and blues all next to each other like a rainbow. I never understood how people spent hours birdwatching but there we were having spent at least an hour doing just that. I mentioned Thathaya and Nizamabad before and coincidentally I had a full fledged dream about him. I got up pondering over the detailed story which I don’t remember much of now but it’s a testament to the experience as it obviously brings about some of my happiest memories of loved ones and treasured times.
Our drive out was equally beautiful, windy and foggy. We stopped several times and loved the pit stop at this bucolic shack with locals where we got some local empanadas – the papas one reminded me of a masala dosa – very tasty but pretty heavy. We typically listen to audio books in cars as a family. This time we picked Sapiens – a bit much for our 6 year old but the rest of us thoroughly enjoyed it. We reached the city of San Jose and checked into our hotel. We were so exhausted that we barely lasted and were fast asleep by 7 pm. Our flight was the next day so we spent some time on a guided tour at the Nacional Theater and learned a bit about Costa Rican history. The theater used the naval ship engineering mechanism to lift up its lower seating area to the stage for a bigger group of performers – a manual task requiring a dozen or so people pushing for 190 or so rotations for about half an hour. This is one of the only ones in the world that was preserved and still uses this mechanism. We spent some time in their square and kids ran around playing. Another group of little girls sat watching our girls and one of them waved and the girls then walked up and said something. I think they only spoke in Spanish and had a hard time communicating but then they started playing tag. Was a lovely thing to watch.
We were plenty impressed with the country. They primarily export bananas and coffee – though you can see plantations of every kind on every speck of earth, slopes of hills and large lands we saw on our drive. The people had a genuinely easy, laid back vibe – they are serious about their pura vida. We noticed they are very punctual and every tour guide was infinitely knowledgeable about the wildlife, their flora and region. Any question you threw at them and you received plenty of detailed information. The country itself we learned escaped the worst of colonization unlike the other Central American and South American Spanish speaking countries. What’s even more impressive is they decided to devolve their army and instead invest in their people’s education and well being. Not the richest but a very stable and healthy country that really takes care of its environment. We left wanting to come back with the kids when they’re a bit older to explore much more of this beautiful country.
