Day 1 - Monday 3/4/13 - Flight to San Jose

The alarm went off at 4:30. Ugh!! The cab arrived at 5:10 and off we went to the airport. It was 30 degrees, and we had no coats, so we were happy to be off. No problems getting through security. I grabbed a banana and coffee, and Bill got a breakfast BLT. The flight to Houston was full (2 hrs 45 min), and we had a young guy between us who slept all of the way. We had a couple of hours waiting in Houston, and then it was off to San Jose. This flight was not full, and we each had 3 seats a piece, so we slept most of the way (3 hrs 24 min).

There was a line to get thru immigration, but it went quickly and smoothly. Both of us were surprised when we exited immigration to find a girl holding our name. We had been met by Lindblad/Nat Geo even thought we were early for the trip. That was nice. The girl was joined by another Lindblad person who grabbed a baggage guy who carted our 2 large suitcases (yes, they made it!!!) and escorted us outside to a van and driver who brought us to the hotel (DoubleTree Cariari) and made sure we got checked in. On the drive (and from the airplane) we could see bright yellow trees. Achilles, our driver said they were yellow pui trees which are different from the yellow shower trees which we had in Hawaii and they also have here. We were given chocolate chip cookies during check-in and then taken to our room.

The hotel is lovely but not awesome. Everyone is quite helpful and friendly. We came back down and stopped at the tour info desk where a delightful girl helped us arrange our tours for Tuesday and Wednesday. We knew what we wanted to do, but none of the organized tours quite fit the bill. So we have a private guide/driver on Tuesday from 9-12:30 who will take us into the city, and we can see what we want for 3 1/2 hours for $100 which was about the same as the organized tours. We are happy with that. We also set up transportation to the Doca coffee plantation for a tour on Wednesday. Wednesday at 7pm we have our Nat Geo welcome dinner.

After resting up for a bit we left the room at 6:30 to go down to dinner at the casual restaurant called Las Tejas. We just got appetizers since we weren't really that hungry. I got a mahi ceviche which was really quite good. It had avocado and cilantro. I also got an interesting (I thought) spinach, corn gratin. It wasn't bad, but I wouldn't order it again. Bill had a Caesar salad with sautéed shrimp, and a spicy Aztec soup. The hotel does have 3 computers set up in the lobby with free access. it is also unusually windy here in San Jose. All the locals are talking about it. That makes it a little cooler than we were anticipating!

Day 2 - Tuesday 3/5/13 - San Jose

We both woke up a little before 7 without alarms having slept an uninterrupted 9 hours. I showered, but when I went to use the hotel hair dryer (in a bag on the sink), pieces fell out. I called the desk and a replacement was brought right up.

We went down for the breakfast buffet at Las Tejas - the only restaurant in the hotel. It is an open-air, covered restaurant next to the pool. The buffet wasn't bad - all standard fare except for the sour peach juice (which I didn't care for) and the beans and rice mixture.

We went to the tour desk at 8:50, but no Tanya, the tour rep. No one was there. We had no idea who our guide/driver would be. I went to the front desk where they tried to track down Tanya. Bill went out front, and he and A.O. (the driver) figured out they were looking for each other, so off we went in AO's company van.

On the way into town, AO discussed a few things - San Jose is in a valley surrounded by 5 mountains; CR workers put in 48 hour work weeks; top industry here is micro chips, 2nd was tourism, and 3rd is produce. Bill heard very little of this since all he could see were the numerous Trackers on the road!!! He was in awe. AO thought this was quite funny and played the "Find the Tracker" game with Bill.

We first went to Mercado Central - the huge indoor market. It was a huge maze of vendors: meat, produce, spices, flowers, medicinal herbs, kitchenware, clothes, belts, and many "sodas" - small, tiny restaurants for locals. some with counter seating, others with tables and chairs. I could have spent all day here just wandering around and looking at the awesome amount of products for sale. As we were leaving, I spotted a sloth t-shirt that was so cute I had to have it.

We walked the streets to our next site - the National Theater. Along the way we saw many statues, busts of famous people. However, my favorite was just out in a pedestrian walkway of a woman in a bathing suit who must have weighed 350 pounds. It looked to be several years old and worn from idiots rubbing her boobs and behind. It is called "La Chola" by Costa Rica artist Manuel Vargas erected in 2004. We walked by 2 city bike cops, and I had to get my photo taken with them (after politely asking, of course!).

From there it was just a short walk to the Cultural Plaza - a large concrete park with tons of pigeons. Next door is the National Theater. From the outside it looks like just an enormous building. Inside it is a beautifully ornate (almost garish) building. The lobby holds the original statues from atop the outside entrance - Music, Dance, and Fame. Replicas are back outside. This was done to preserve the originals. There are also marble columns and beautiful ceilings.

After we bought our tickets (AO got in free because he is a certified guide) we went through the doors into a beautiful area with a lovely 2 story marble double stairway. Before we looked at this splendor, we went into the theater proper which was gorgeous and equally ornate. The theater was built in 1897. A few people were on stage practicing for some performance. After we left the theater, they closed it off for some reason, so we were lucky to have seen it at all.

We then went on examining the stairway area - lots of marble, frescoes, carvings, etc. At the top was a famous painting of a coffee harvest which was once used on the 5 colon bill. This is called "Allegory of Coffee and Bananas" by Aleardo Villa. AO did tell us that CR keeps changing their paper currency, usually just for the hell of it!

On the top floor were the VIP balcony seats in the theater, and a beautiful large salon. It had lovely parquet floors, rococo walls, ceilings, etc. It is not used anymore and is simply on display.

From there we walked across the Cultural Plaza to the Gold Museum. This goes 3-4 floors underground. There is a Numismatic (money) Museum, an art exhibit, history exhibit along with the pre-Columbian gold exhibits. Most of the gold pieces are small animals or decorative charms/necklaces. This was a really well-done and interesting museum.

More walking took us past Morazan Park to the Jade Museum. We passed a large school made entirely of metal called Edificio Metalico. It was prefabricated in Belgium, shipped to CR in 1892, and took 4 years to weld together.

The Jade Museum was a little underwhelming. AO left us here and walked back to retrieve his car. The Jade Museum had a collection of pre-Columbian jade jewelry and carvings plus a few other ceramic and stone artifacts.

While we waited outside for AO, we could see a yellow building next door called Casa Amarilla. This was built by Andrew Carnegie and given to CR. After many uses, it now houses the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ceiba tree that JFK planted here in 1963 still stands on the grounds.

AO picked us up and stopped at the National Museum so we could see the outside. This huge building was once the Bellavista Barracks and is over a century old (old for CR!). Many bullet holes from the 1948 insurrection can still be seen. After a quick look at the souvenir stalls (read lots of junk!!), we headed back to our hotel. We had a delightful chat with AO on a variety of topics. No one sends mail in CR due to a lack of proper street addressing and theft. No one even orders on-line for this reason.

We got back at 1:45 and went to lunch at Las Tejas. Bill got an enormous club sandwich, and I got a CR version of a Philly cheese steak. Both were quite decent. I had read online that as far as beef goes in CR, one must think "chewy". So correct, but beef was tasty.

Back in the room, Bill napped while I started writing this journal entry. At 5:30 we walked to the grocery store down the street. It wasn't too exciting, and we are eating quite well, so we just loaded up on water and diet Pepsi.

Bill ordered room service for tonight. He got the local typical meal - meat, rice, beans, plantains, and cabbage salad. I just got a salad since I was still full from lunch.

Day 3 - Wednesday 3/6/13 – San Jose

We had another good night's sleep and were up at 8. We went to breakfast at 8:45 - same standard buffet, but the coffee is excellent. At 9:50 our tourist van (with driver Carlos) arrived with a British couple (Peter and Diana) our age who were staying in a down town hotel. The five of us headed up in the mountains to Doca Estates coffee plantation. It was an interesting drive through the outskirts of San Jose and then up a narrow, winding road to Doca (about a half hour drive).

We purchased our tickets for lunch ($12 each) at a small ticket building. The grounds were beautiful and had the most enormous hydrangeas I have ever seen. They were the size of a basketball. Carlos led us to a small bonsai garden which is a hobby of one of the owners. Then we walked through a small but lovely butterfly garden.

Carlos then took us up to the open-air, covered restaurant where we were met by Diana, the Doca tour guide, who gave us small cups of cinnamon iced coffee. Our tour group had about 20 people. Our first stop was by a row of coffee bushes where Diana talked about harvesting the red cherry bean. This occurs between October and February. By law (1986) in Costa Rica only arabica beans can be grown. Beans are harvested 10 hours a day. Pickers are paid $2 per 25lb basked and they average 30 baskets a day. 30% of the beans are roasted in Costa Rica and 70% are exported green. Doca has 25 plantations and are considered a small company.

The red cherry beans are loaded in a truck with each picker given one chip per basket. The full truck goes to the wet processing building and dumped in a bath. The good beans sink and are sent on. The bad beans float and are later treated and used as compost or instant coffee. In old times, the bad beans were soaked in cows blood to improve their color.

The good beans go through a roller process to remove the outer cherry. The green beans are left to ferment in water to remove the sugar coating. Top quality beans - bigger and rounder - are dried in the sun on concrete for 5 days. They are turned with a rake every 30 minutes as long as the sun shines. Lower quality beans are dried mechanically in a tumbler for 1 day. Then the beans are bagged for 3-12 months to finish the drying process. The beans then go through another roller process to remove the outer shell and parchment. Some beans are sent to Germany for the decaffeination process and then returned for roasting or export.

Finally we went to a small roasting building where Diana explained the process. Of course we exited through the gift shop. They were selling a CR old-time coffee maker just like we saw in souvenir shops yesterday. I guess they are really used in Costa Rica. It is just a wooden frame with a white cloth sack attached. Coffee is put in the sack and almost boiling water is poured in. Of course I had to have one along with a bag of coffee. We also got to sample some liquor, and I got to taste guaro which is a national drink - clear and tasting like a cross between vodka and tequila. Think Everclear!!! Finally it was time for lunch which was a buffet: salad, tomatoes, cucumbers, rice with green beans, black beans, squash, pork chops, chicken, plantains, and tortillas. It wasn't that great, but Peter and Diana were pleasant dining companions.

We left for the hotel at 1:30 arriving at 2pm. Then it all went to hell in a handbasket!!! As we came in the lobby we saw many of our fellow travelers who had arrived from the US. Lindblad had a table set up with lots of folks gathered around. We went over to see what was going on. THE SEA LION HAD HIT A LARGE ROCK ON MONDAY AND DAMAGED THE PROPELLER AND THE HULL IN THE SHIP. Our cruise was canceled.

We were gobsmacked!!!!! The tour operators were trying desperately to contain the large-scale disappointment. We were given the following options:

A) Do the Monteverde 3-day trip (which was a free add-on) and then get a full refund for the trip and free airfare home

B) Do Monteverde and then an alternate non-ship tour with a $3500 per person refund.

Most everyone has opted to travel on. The alternate program doesn’t seem like a bad one. We are sorely disappointed but will have fun anyway. It is a bummer, but we are getting a hefty refund and can put the money aside to do the trip some other time on the boat.

Tonight we had our group dinner. It was a buffet and not that good: salads, fruit, small roasted potatoes, mixed veggies, lasagna, chicken, beef. We did meet some lovely people, so the trip should be fun!

Day 4 - Thursday 3/7/13 – San Jose to Monteverde Cloud Forest

It was another early morning with alarms going off at 6:15. We finished packing and went down to breakfast at 6:45. We went back to the room to brush our teeth. Our luggage was ready to be picked up at 7:30, so we went down to the lobby to check out. Everyone (31 of us + 3 leaders) was gathered.

Three mini buses came and as everyone IDd their luggage it was loaded onto the 3 buses through a rear window. There were 13 on our bus, and we took off at 8:10. From the back, another Bill P, gave a loud moo from the back of the bus which we all found quite amusing.

There was lots of traffic and road construction getting out of San Jose, but once we got off the freeway onto a lovely 2 lane road, it really thinned out. Our main guide (Bernal Diaz) talked the whole way. He said to expect higher coffee prices soon because the coffee industry is losing 60% of their crop to a fungus (Reya). He claims the Nicaraguans are bringing it across the border on their baskets. He says they have the same illegal immigration problems as we do with Mexico.

We drove until we reached the coast and headed north. The sea was quite pretty. We were to look for howler monkeys, but all we saw were black termite mounds in the trees. They only have arboreal termites here. We saw: pretty yellow pui trees, a cara cara (falcon family), the guanacasta tree, casia grande tree which has pretty pink flowers with long seed pods, spiny cedar trees used as wind breaks/fencing.

We stopped for a break at a fairly large, open air but covered restaurant. There, Adriana Diaz, Bernal’s daughter, showed us a cashew tree. The season is about done, but there was some fruit on the ground. The stem is the edible fruit part, and the cashew nut is on the end and needs to be roasted before it is edible. We also saw cows with long floppy ears. Then we started climbing up the mountains. It was a beautiful drive. We saw cowboys on horseback. We finally hit the gravel, curvy road which was to last the whole last hour of our trip.

We arrived at Hotel Fonda Vela in the cloud forest at noon. We were let out at the restaurant building to have lunch. It was WINDY, WINDY, WINDY!!! And there is a perpetual mist all around which sometimes evolves into rain. Lunch was a buffet that wasn’t bad: cold fish pasta salad, green salad, a great finely cubed veggie salad with lots of squash, chicken, fish, beef, French fries, onion rings. I got the fish which was fried and quite good.

After lunch we were given our room assignments. We got room 2. This hotel is built on a hillside in the midst of the cloud forest. It is a scattering of wood/stone buildings that are rather rustic. Check in/front desk is in a small building. Rooms 1-12 are grouped together in several 2 story buildings looking over a small clearing down the hill. The rest of the rooms are on the other side of the lobby building. The restaurant is a bit of a walk for us, but it is a fairly pretty one even if the road is gravel and rather muddy. The pool is further down the hill from the restaurant.

At 2 we loaded back on the vans to drive into Monteverde Reserve. We divided into 3 groups. We went on the less strenuous hike (2 miles) with Max, our birder guide. The others took a longer hike up the mountain to the Continental Divide. Still others took a short hike. There were 12 of us in our group.

Max talked about the rain forest verses cloud forest and many other biological topics. No pollen, so plants require specific pollinators. We saw lots of strangler figs, even one in which the host tree had died and all that remained were the figs surrounding empty space.

At the end of the hike we went to the hummingbird building with outdoor feeders. I cannot tell you the number of various hummingbirds we saw that were gorgeous. A kinkajou kept climbing down the chain holding the feeders and stealing juice.

We got back to the hotel at 5. Bill and I sat outside under the protection of a bush at a concrete bench and table. We looked at birds and I got some gorgeous sunset photos. At 6:30 we walked to the restaurant for happy half hour. We talked to a Dutch couple from Boston and their family.

At 7 we went to the dining room and sat with Judi and Steven. We finally had a menu dinner. For an app I got the chicken tortilla soup which was quite good. Bill had a salad. I then had sea bass with a creamy shrimp sauce, mixed veggies, and mashed potatoes formed into a rosette. Bill got fried fish with French fries. We got dessert - a chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream for me and a flan for Bill.

The mist is almost like a rain and constant. We showered. Bill fell asleep while I wrote my journal until I couldn’t stay awake.

Day 5 - Friday 3/8/13 – Monteverde Cloud Forest

Our alarms went off at 7. On the way to breakfast (in the misty rain) there was an awesome rainbow over the cloud forest and a blue motmot on the railing of a balcony. Breakfast was standard: fruit, cereals, scrambled eggs, omelets, pancakes, plantains, fried cheese. Out in the lawn in front of the windows of the restaurant they had placed fruit for the birds and animals. We saw a variety of birds.

We came back to the room to pack for the day. The mini buses rolled out for a 20 minute drive to the Sky Trek where we divided into 3 groups. Two groups took the entire Sky Trek while the other group took a much shorter trail. Bernal led our group for the whole trek. The sky trek is a hike through the cloud forest with 5 sky bridges over the canopy. The first 30 minutes were rather steep with steps into the mud. Bernal set a fairly quick pace, and I soon said screw it and went at my own pace with Bill and Bill R.

Bridge #1 (has no name)- 291 ft, maximum height 63 ft

Bridge #2 (Santa Elena) - length 351 ft, maximum height 93 ft

Bridge #3 (Colibri)- length 341 ft, maximum height 118 ft

Bridge #4 (Cecropia)- length 360 ft, maximum height 111 ft

Bridge #5 (Congo)- length 900 ft, maximum height 150 ft

It was cloudy and very wet. I took photos of anything that struck my fancy. Bernal would periodically stop to chatter about stuff, so I didn’t get too far behind. The three BBBs (Bill, Bill R, Barb) saw a cool millipede and called the others back to see. We finally got to the first bridge across the canopy. Only 10 people can be on the bridges at a time which is why we were split up.

We saw no birds or animals, but the view from the bridge was awesome. It was difficult to take photos in the rain and with the bridge swaying, but I got a few decent ones. As we continued to walk I took photos of forest plants, neat ferns, heliconia, leaves, spider and web. At the 4th bridge, we did see 2 neat birds. An orange bellied trogon perched on the cable and posed for us. Then a black-thighed grosbeak perched on a tree and kept getting closer as if he were curious about us. This is a gorgeous yellow and black bird.

Bernal and the others moved way ahead of the two Bills and me. On Bridge 5 we could no longer see them. AND THEN!!!!!!! My Bill spotted the resplendent quetzal. The other Bill and I went crazy. Not very many people are lucky enough to get a glimpse of one. This one, a male, hung around for at least 5 min flitting from one branch to another. He has an amazingly long tail and bright green, red, white, coloring. Just then a troop of howler monkeys started to howl. We could see in the tree tops below, branches moving. Two of the monkeys were on top of the trees, and I got a decent photo. The two Bills walked on, and I just stared in amazement. Then the quetzal took flight, circled around, and flew under the bridge just behind me and then out of sight into the trees. It was truly an awesome sight, and I am so thankful that I got to experience this.

The 3 of us finished the short walk flying on air. Bernal was waiting for us at the visitors center and was duly impressed. What an amazing end to our Sky Trek. Our group was the first one back so we went into the snack bar for coffee and fresh fruit - pineapple, papaya, mangoes. Of course, we had to totally crow about our sighting of the quetzal.

When everyone finished the walk, we loaded up and headed back to Santa Elena where we had half an hour to wander around the small town. Many of us went to a grocery which I always think is fun in a foreign country. Then it was on to Casa Manos, a women’s craft co-op, They did have the Walking with Wolf book which I encouraged Karen A to buy. I had found this several months ago, and it is an interesting book about the Quakers who came from Fairhope AL to settle Monteverde.

Lunch was at Johnny’s pizza down the road. It was really an upscale Italian restaurant. I got coffee with milk which came with the foam on top in the shape of a duck. I ordered spinach soup which was quite good and then a small chicken and pesto pizza. We all had ice cream for dessert. Most of our group is quite pleasant and good company.

From there we went to the Bat Cave in a 2 story community center with a restaurant on top, the bat cave and auditorium on the ground floor. The Bat Cave is a research center, and we got a talk about bats which was rather interesting before going into the bat viewing room. Two interesting things - watching the hummingbird bats and listening to the bat sounds via a special audio system that allows humans to hear the bats.

We then went to the auditorium to hear 93 year old Marvin Rockwell, one of the original Quakers to settle Monteverde. He was quite a speaker. I thought he was speaking from a stack of note cards, but really they were photos of his journey to and years at Monteverde. He said Wolf Guindon was not well but still alive. He spoke for about 45 minutes.

We were all herded upstairs for drinks - wine, juice, tea - and beef empanadas. We sat outside with Ross and Karen A. Bill saw Mr. Rockwell wandering around with a glass of wine and invited him to sit with us which he did. We had a delightful conversation. Karen got him to sign her new book. Mr. R also took out photos of his solo trip to Africa when he was 80. It was such a treat.

We finally got back to the hotel at 5pm. Bill and I sat at the table on a hill above our room watching birds while he smoked his cigar. A gray necked wood rail foraged on the ground not far from us, and I got a decent photo.

Dinner was at 7pm. Same menu. I had zucchini soup and the same sea bass I had last night. We sat with Karen and Ross. We got back to the room where we cleaned up our shoes from today. I had to throw away my white sox which were now brown. I had worn my new mesh shoes which are wonderful, but they don’t keep out water. We got ourselves mostly packed, and I worked on the journal.

I took a break about 10 and stepped outside to look at the stars, listen to the night sounds, and the eternal wind. I was about 3 feet from the end of the building when a huge deer (probably a white-tailed) came walking around the corner about 5 feet from me. It startled the hell out of me, but he didn’t see me for about a minute of two. He moved rapidly on. What an end to a lovely day!

Day 6 - Saturday 3/9/13 - Monteverde to Arenal

We were up a little after 6, dressed, packed our bags, set them outside for pickup at 6:45, and headed off for breakfast. Outside the restaurant window where they put out fruit for the birds, we saw an agouti steal a banana and a papaya. An agouti is a large brown member of the rodent family. There was also a beautiful toucan out there. We went back to the room, brushed our teeth, got our carry ons, went to the lobby to check out. We had another stunning rainbow.

Our vans left at 8:10 and arrived at Don Juan coffee plantation at 8:45. It was sunny and dry for a change. Don Juan is a much smaller coffee plantation than Doca which we had gone to on Wednesday in San Jose. We had the coffee talk and then split into 2 groups for a much smaller tour than Doca. We did walk through some woods where a couple of blue morpho butterflies flew by. The exciting thing was seeing a brown sloth way up in the trees. The tour covered most of what we had learned at Doca. In the small gift shop, I did buy a couple of small bottles of Salsa Lizano. the everything condiment of Costa Rica, and a small coffee candle.

At 10 we transferred to more rugged, beat up mini vans for the torturous drive to Lake Arenal. It was really pretty for a half hour, and then we hit clouds and rain. The road was barely 2 lanes, rocky, muddy with lots of pot holes. I was sitting in the back of the bus which made for a pretty rough trip. It was 11:45 before we stopped for a potty break at the edge of the lake.

By 12:15 we were on a ferry boat that was just big enough to carry all of us. The rain had mostly stopped, but it was still terribly cloudy so we could not see the Arenal volcano. We could see some birds along the shore: anhingas, great blue herons, black crowned nigh heron, great white egrets. It took us about an hour to cross the lake where our nice mini vans were waiting for us.

We went to an interesting restaurant in La Fortuna called La Choza de Laurel. This was a large open-air restaurant set up for tour buses. It was a long lunch with all 34 of us and a Japanese tour bus which arrived just a bit after us. I had a guanabanas (soursop) smoothie which wasn’t bad. I had a decent ceviche and some asparagus soup. Bill had arroz con pollo - a chicken/rice dish with French fries, and a salad. We ordered coffee since we had seen them serving it to the Japanese with the cloth filter /wooden frame coffee maker I had purchased. It was fun.

Some folks went right to the hotel after lunch while the rest of us wandered around town. Big Mistake. It started raining really hard about 20 minutes into our walk. The bus finally arrived at 4 and took the six soggy people to the hotel.

The hotel Arenal Kiroro is an awesome hotel from what we could see in the rain. We checked in and were taken to our huge room. The rain had let up a bit, but we still couldn’t see the volcano. Bill sent out some laundry (which came back in 2 hours), and I went to explore the grounds. Hopefully tomorrow will be nicer, and I can take photos. The walk to the main building is a 10 min walk through a huge garden, landscaped beautifully, along a winding walkway. This hotel has become one of my top 5 hotels in the world. The rooms are amazing, and the grounds are spectacular. The hot springs are not only beautiful but relaxing. And there are lots of birds and wildlife wandering the grounds. I could go back and spend a week there.

Dinner was at 7:30 in the hotel dining room. I had a guaro sour which was great. (guaro is the local liquor made from sugar cane and tastes a bit between vodka and tequila). We sat with Karen and Ross A. I had a palm heart garlic soup and garlic sea bass. Both were quite good. We were quite ready for bed tonight! And quite soggy, so we are hoping to dry out a bit tomorrow.

Day 7 - Sunday 3/10/13 - Arenal and La Fortuna

We woke at 6:20, got dressed and walked thru the lovely gardens to the breakfast buffet. While we were in the dining room, Bernal found a poor little hummingbird that had crashed into one of the windows and died. We went back to the room to clean up and get ready for the day.

The buses left at 8:30 to go to an add-on activity - the Eco Center Danauo run by the indigenous Maleku Indians. This is a very small center with an amazing array of flora and fauna. On the way we ran into the start of some bicycle race. Bernal had to get out and beg for clearance to pass. We passed a cluster of vultures on the side of the road. Today turned out to be a much nicer day with some sun.

At the center we first saw a 3-toed sloth way up in a tree (photo of a brown blob). At the entrance, feeding stations with fruit attracted a large number of beautiful birds: golden hooded tanager, yellow throated euphonia, clay colored robin, blue gray tanager, scarlet rumped tanager. An agouti (large brown rodent) was wandering around in the underbrush. Even though we could have stayed here forever, we had much more of the center to explore.

We saw many lines of leaf-cutter ants. This is such a cool sight as these tiny ants carry such huge leaves back to their nest. There was a good variety of plants from proteas to orchids to heliconia. One of my favorite sights was the teeny tiny blue jean frog - a red frog with blue legs and behind. He was difficult to photograph. There was a small butterfly garden with blue morphos, monarchs (which stay here year around). I did not get to photograph many because blue morphos kept landing on my National Geographic hat, and everyone wanted photos. So I stood quietly for many minutes.

Then we saw several boat-billed herons, a strange looking heron. In a small auditorium we had a presentation by one of the Maleku Indians. A volunteer was requested, but before anyone could respond, the presented came straight for me! Bernal had set me up - payback for me saying yesterday that I needed my medication from my suitcase which was on another bus. It was funny because at dinner the night before, Bernal must have stated 5 times that we would NOT be able to access our luggage for the day. Of course when Bernal about stroked out, our bus (the fun folks) erupted in laughter, and Bernal realized he had been played. So I was the Maleku guy’s assistant complete with headdress and vest for the entire presentation. I got my photo taken way too much today!!! After the presentation Bernal spotted a 2-toed sloth, and I got better brown blob pictures.

From the center we drove to Don Juan’s farm and education center arriving at 11am. While we waited (about 20 min) for the last bus to arrive, we all sat in a covered area while two neighborhood 12 year old boys entertained us with their antics. They come over to “help” with the tours when they aren’t in school. They were utterly charming and mischievous. One played with a machete and then danced with a female of our group.

Finally we were ready to tour a part of the two acre organic ranch. Don Juan was a school principal but now runs tours and helps support the local schools. He doesn’t speak much English, so Ronald (our Nat Geo naturalist) translated. Juan showed lots of unusual produce including the achiote (lipstick) tree. The seed of this tree has berries inside that were applied like lipstick to some of our group. I didn’t catch (or remember) the names of others . One was a fruit that smelled like blue cheese. Another was a small green pod (member of star fruit) that was crunchy and quite sour. We were given bits of a leaf that was quite bitter. Later on the tour we were given a juice from this leaf that tasted grassy and not bitter at all. After this tasting fun, we walked up into an animal display area. Two pigs were eating a really foul smelling slop. A beautiful milk cow named Chocolate let everyone take photos. We passed a chicken pen on the way to the larger garden.

As Juan talked about crops, I was totally distracted by Bernal at the back of the gardens. He was pointing out a chestnut mandibled toucan at the top of a tree fairly far away. I got some pretty amazing photos with my telephoto setting. The toucan then flew (beautiful sight) to a tree a little closer. I got more photos. Wow!!! Juan also showed us his cacao tree, cracked open a pod and his helpers passed around some of the seeds for us to taste reminding us not to eat the seeds.

Finally we went back to the seating area we were first in, and Juan had several couples (including Bill and Ross) turn a roller that Juan fed a large sugar cane stick through, squeezing the juice into a pitcher. He got enough juice for everyone to have a small glass full. As it was being poured, Bernal made a comment that I should have some guaro with it since I was a fan. Juan went around and came back with 2 jars of guaro and filled my sugar cane glass with guaro, a sugar cane liquor. Those who wanted to taste it, were given some, too. Fun.

Finally we went to a covered open-air area for our buffet lunch. We sat with Karen and Ross A and Cathy and Bill R at a table overlooking a bubbling creek. The buffet had green salad, tomatoes, cassava chips, spinach salad, plantains, beans and rice, tilapia, and a chicken dish. For dessert we were passed squares of coconut ice cream on a toothpick. It was a delightful visit.

Once again we were given choices. We could go back to the hotel or go on the Arenal Sky Walk. It was already 2pm, and Bill and both wanted a chance to recover, so we opted to go back to the hotel. Others went on the sky walk which took 3 hours and was rather strenuous.

Back at the hotel, we went to the room where Bill napped and I worked on the journal. About 3:30 Bill woke up and wanted to go to the hot springs pool to check it out. So we put on our suits and headed down the stairs. At the landing I glanced out into the parking lot, and did a double, then a triple take. There in the parking lot was a for real ANT EATER!!!!!! I got a few photos, and Bill and I just stood there amazed until he wandered around a building. We were both gobsmacked!!! A parking lot is the last place I would expect to see an anteater!! We went on over to the pool and found the hot springs which were amazingly landscaped into a series of pools descending the hillside. We took a quick dip and relaxed. We dried off and went back up to the pool and sat there looking at the volcano. We have seen about 3/4ths of it today, but the top continued to be covered with clouds.

The relaxation was rudely interrupted by a noisy, screeching of two coata mundi who came chasing through the pool area and out into the bushes. Everyone was totally startled. So much for a calm afternoon. We went back to the room, showered and walked down to dinner. Bill and I both had a guaro sour. We ate with Ross and Karen. I had ceviche which was good and a strange burger - with cheese, ham, fried egg, bacon. I ate half of it.

Day 8 - Monday 3/11 - La Fortina to Playa Herradura

We were up at 6:15, packed, dressed, put our luggage out at 7 before going down to breakfast. We loaded on to the bus and headed out at 8 for the long drive to Los Suenos Marriott at Playa Herradura. The sun did come out but we ascended and descended into clouds before we got halfway there. There were fields of produce and an area where ornamental plants are grown for export. Most fences use trees for fence posts. They are pruned periodically and make for an interesting sight. We went through lots of small towns with many schools and sodas (what they call the small neighborhood restaurants).

San Ramon was a larger town with a lovely church and an interesting school called Escuela Jorge Washington with a carving of the quarter likeness of George Washington over the entrance. We made a quick pit stop there at a very large souvenir shop with an amazing garden on the hillside behind the shop.

Then we headed toward the ocean. It was a much drier landscape with lots of beautiful produce stands. We stopped at noon for lunch at Restaurante Nambi in the town of Tarcoles - another tourist restaurant with a buffet. As we arrived they were having a 2 girls/1 guy dancing show. I thought it was rather a feeble attempt at "Las Vegas". The buffet had pasta salad, green salad, rice and beans, arroz con pollo (chicken and rice), plantains, small boiled potatoes, baked fish, and some sort of strips of beef cooked in a sauce. The neat thing was the tamarind juice which most people disliked, but I really enjoyed.

At 1 we boarded 3 tractor drawn carts for a 20 minute ride to a boarding area for a ride on the Tarcoles River. We saw some neat lizards, especially the Jesus Christ lizard. Most of the birds we saw were common to Florida - spoonbill, various herons, egrets, jacana, osprey, snowy egret, and the magnificent frigatebird soaring overhead. The river is full of crocs, and we did see one that was really 16' long and came quite close to the boat. Grackles are considered a pest bird, and we saw plenty of them. I really liked the black necked stilt and the spotted sandpiper. We meandered down a mangrove creek where I saw some neat looking crabs. Then we headed back to the landing.

We drove a half hour to Los Suenos Marriott arriving at 4. It is a huge property on the edge of the Gulf of Nicoya and the Pacific. Check in took a while, but we got to our room. It is very humid and hovering between warm and uncomfortable. Bill and I walked the grounds and sat under a large tree out by the large beach. There was lots of hotel security at the boundary of the hotel and the beach.

Dinner was at 7:30 and was really quite nice. It was outside on a covered terrace and was a served dinner. We started with a caprese salad. This one was a huge tomato sliced thinly with the cheese in between each slice, so it looked amazing. Then it was cut into quarters from the top down with a sprig of basil on top. I had ordered blackened sea bass (which really wasn't blackened). It came with some delicious polenta, cooked spinach, and mashed potatoes. For dessert we had a passion fruit cheesecake which I didn't love. We made it back to the room at 9pm. I wrote in the journal and hit the bed.

Day 9 - Tuesday 3/12 - Playa Herradura

The alarms went off at 5:30am, dressed, and went to breakfast. This was a really high class breakfast buffet with Bill declaring his waffle the best ever. I had some cereal and a banana and an egg Florentine on a polenta round. It was quite good. We had to sign a receipt even though it was included in the room. The charge was $55 for the two of us for breakfast!!!!!

The buses took off for Manuel Antonio National Park at 7am - a one and a half hour drive. Cathy R and I talked cameras. We passed lots of hotels - some huge - that have never been completed due to the construction bust. We passed lots of African palm fields which replaced bananas after banana companies had labor problems in the 1950s and left the country. These palms are used for oil. We even saw truckloads of the basketball-sized spiny fruit that was in an Amazing Race challenge season 4.

We arrived at the entrance to Manuel Antonio at 8:40. The crowds were enormous. Everyone needed a potty break in the 2nd world bathrooms. Women had only 1 stall so it took a while. A local woman named Karen joined our group as our spotter and guide. She did an amazing job!!! As soon as we entered the park, a white-faced Capuchin monkey played in the trees down low right in front of us. Then we saw a neat tree iguana. Spotting animals in this dense forest is not easy. The trail was a .8 mil loop with the first half on a rock and dirt road about 15 feet wide. Most of the crowd went straight to the beach, so it didn't seem horribly crowded.

Karen found us a really cool zig-zag spider on his web and then a paper wasp nest high up in the canopy. We saw our first sloth which photographed as a dark blob high in the trees. The big sightings were some red-backed squirrel monkeys moving quickly from tree to tree. Just a bit farther we saw another sloth high up and I got a few better shots. Our next sighting was of 3 proboscis bats asleep high in a tree. I really loved seeing the green vine snake that was along the road. It was a really thin, solid bright green snake about 5' long. He almost came down on to the road towards us, but Karen herded him back into the woods where he moved quickly away.

Another really cool sight was a mama mantled howler monkey with a baby. I got a fairly decent photo of them since they were on a limb that was more open. We finally (after only a half mile of fantastic sightings) reached Manuel Antonio beach where many in our group were going to swim. However this beach was closed due to a croc sighting there that morning. So we continued to another close by beach, Espadilla Sur, where many in our group went for a swim.

I had brought my suit (Bill forgot his), but I just didn't want the hassle of changing from a wet suit back to dry clothes. The non-swimmers hunkered down on logs in the shade and tried to cool off. It really was bloody hot. When I went 10' to take a photo of our guides, a capuchin monkey unzipped my backpack, grabbed the plastic bag with my swimsuit and took off thinking there was food in the bag. Bill tried to stop it by swiping my hat at it but was unsuccessful. Luckily when the monkey discovered no food, he dropped the bag 5' away.

After a half hour at the beach, one of the guides, Jeff, led the non-swimmers back to meet the bus. There were a few vendors on the beach where the buses were, so I got a green coconut to drink, and Bill got a shave ice. The guy was hand-shaving the ice with an interesting tool. Bill and I both enjoyed our treats as a way to cool off.

A few more people arrived, and our bus took off for the Anaconda Restaurant a few miles down the road. Once again it was an open air restaurant high on a hill overlooking the Pacific. I got a watermelon smoothie recommended by Bernal. For lunch I got a warm fish wrap which was one of the best sandwiches I have ever had. The tortilla was fresh, the fish was fresh and tasty, and it also contained cream cheese, avocado, caramelized onions, and lettuce. The whole thing was grilled and then some wonderful sauce was drizzled over it. I ate the whole thing. The other two buses had arrived, so we were way ahead of them. After our plates were cleared, a waitress brought me (and only me!) a Tres Leche!!!! I had been bugging Bernal that I really, really wanted one, and so far no restaurant had it. I was ecstatic. It was soooooooooooooo good that I didn't care that I was the only one eating a dessert (and I didn't share!!!). In a few minutes the others got dessert menus, but no one in our first group ordered the Tres Leches. I did learn later that others down the table ordered it and loved it!!!!

We left for the hotel at 2pm. I was on the right side of the bus to get some pretty mountain photos. I also got a photo of dead palms. After about 25 years when the palms are no longer producing, the trees are injected with some kind of poison made from oranges, and the trees die. A whole section of dead trees/fronds made a neat photo.

We also saw a small pond with lots of wood storks and spoonbills. We got back to the hotel about 3:30. After going to the room, I went out to the unused massage huts to empty my shoes of sand. On the grass by the walkway was a cool looking ctenosaur.

We got cleaned up and went to dinner at 7. We sat with Cathy and Bill R, Judie and Stephen G, and Bernal. We had a lettuce corn salad. I had a small filet with ratatouille, and rice. For dessert we had some kind of crustless lemon meringue pie. Having dinner a little earlier was nice which gave us some time to relax.

Day 10 - Wednesday 3/13/13 - Playa Herradura

The alarms went off at 6:30am, and we were at breakfast by 7. I had oatmeal with a banana and a wonderful pork tamale. I also had a small piece of frittata that was okay. The bus pulled out at 8 for Carara National Park, about a half hour away. On the roof of the hotel we saw a kiskadee - a gray fly catcher. It was building a nest in a palm tree. We were on the trail at 8:30. It was a warm, humid hike, and we did manage to see a few things in this forest.

First was a howler monkey sleeping on a branch in a great viewing position. A bullhorn acacia was an interesting bamboo like straight tree with huge thorns. Ants live in these thorns and have a symbiotic relationship with the tree. When the tree is disturbed, the ants come flowing out to defend it. Another interesting tree was the cajones tree whose large round fruit come in pairs like cajones.

A great sighting was the pale-billed woodpecker, a large black and white woodpecker with a huge bright red head. The Ceiba tree was a huge tall tree with an amazing top spread out like an umbrella. We did see a troop of Capuchin monkeys leaping around, but there was no theft today. An interesting iguana was resting on a limb near the trail. As we were on our way out, our guide spotted a white ghost bat on the underside of a large leaf high up in a tree. We left the park at 10:15 before it got unbearably hot and drove through the town of Tarcoles where Bernal thought we might see some scarlet macaws. No macaws, but we did see an old man riding an ox cart. I spotted a sign on the side of his cart saying "Photos for Tips".

When we got back to the hotel at 11, I wandered the grounds and spotted an amazing variegated squirrel that I had missed photographing on Monday. It has a very gray back and an amazing copper colored stomach. Lunch at noon today was a special meal on tables set up in the shade outside near the ocean. It was a buffet with fresh chunks of both tomato and avocado, a mango ceviche (tiny chunks of mango and tomato marinated in line juice), cajun potatoes (thin sliced potatoes with maybe some paprika or red pepper sprinkled on them), rice and vegetables, fried chicken breasts (quite good), and beef/onion skewers with chimichurri sauce. Dessert was fresh pineapple, papaya, and watermelon along with a coconut flan.

At 12:30 I went to the business center to write emails with yesterday's journal. Back in the room we changed clothes and headed out to go ziplining. There were 15 of us who chose this activity over a canopy tram tour. We left at 2:15. No one in our group had ever done this before, so there was some trepidation along with anticipation.

We arrived at Vistas Los Suenos, at 2:30. We signed our waivers and got suited up with all the rigging, gloves, and helmets. Forty of us piled into a truck pulled by a tractor. It was like being in a cattle car. We rode for 15 minutes on a bumpy, terribly dusty ride to the top line. There were 11 lines coming down. We had our instruction briefing:

1) Right hand goes on cable way behind the pulley

2) Left hand grasps straps down from the pulley

3) lean way back at least 50 degrees as far back as straps allow (I had trouble with this one!)

4) cross ankles and pull knees up.

Breaking is done by the hand holding the cable by pulling down on the cable not clenching it.

The gloves are made of leather and have 3 thicknesses. One rests the right hand on the cable, letting the cable flow freely which keeps one from spinning. On each platform was one guy that both caught us coming in, dismantled the harbingers, moved us around the platform, hooked us up again, and sent us off.

We were all a little intimidated by all of the instructions, and our first few lines were quite awkward. My problem was remembering to lay back. Bill found the zip-lining to be more work than fun. For me, it was an experience I was glad to have had, but I didn't find it that thrilling. I also felt it was an activity where one was flying so fact that nothing interesting could be seen.

A photographer took photos of everyone during the trip and sold photos at the end. One printed photo cost $20, but a CD of both Bill and me (19 photos) was just $30. Of course I bought the DC. That will be fun to see when we get home.

We got back to the hotel at 5:30 and had to be cleaned up and ready to head for dinner at 6:30. Dinner was at Villa Caletas, a lovely boutique hotel, in their dining room Anfiteatro. Villa Caletas was about a half hour away perched on cliffs overlooking the pacific. Unfortunately it was dark, but the restaurant was lovely. We sat with Bill/Cathy R, Ross/Karen A, and Steve and Donna B.

We started with mango smoothies. My appetizer was creamy fish croquettes with a lime sauce on a mixed green salad. For my entree I got mahi mahi wrapped in plantains served with orange/ginger sauce, jasmine rice, and vegetables. Bill got pork tenderloin. For dessert we both had chocolate Madagascar terrine served with rhum sauce (ie chocolate mousse).

We got back to the hotel at 9:15. I packed up and wrote in my journal. Bill will pack in the morning before we head back to San Jose.

Day 11 - Thursday 3/14/13 – Herradura to San Jose

We got up at 6:15 so we could finish packing and get our suitcases out before 7. We went down for breakfast and sat with Bill and Cathy. I had cereal and an interesting and tasty dish. The Marriott had taken a tall, skinny shot glass and put cottage cheese on the bottom, then tiny diced plums, topped with a banana puree. After we figured out how to eat it (tiny spoons would have helped), it was really quite good.

The buses were loaded, and we were on our way to San Jose by 8. The drive was much shorter than I thought because we were at the Gold Museum by 10. I wanted to walk to the Mercado (central market), but no one would go with me. So I went through the Gold Museum, taking a closer look at what I had missed on Tuesday 3/5. I also left the museum early to take some photos around the Cultural Plaza. I especially liked my photo of an elderly gentleman selling lottery tickets. The government gives out licenses to the handicapped and elderly to sell lottery tickets, and they get a portion of the money they collect.

We left the museum at 11:20 and drove to San Isidro, arriving at Siba chocolate plantation and restaurant at 11:50. We were welcomed by Julio and George, 2 friends, who founded the company. It was rainy, misty, and much cooler when we arrived, and we were seated at tables in a lovely covered porch area with fireplace.

Bowls of diced avocado and tortilla chips were placed on the table and then a lovely spicy tomato soup was served for us to put the avocado and chips in. That was really tasty and great to serve on a cool, wet day. Next was a buffet with a bean, tomato, lettuce tortilla in a red sauce. There were also fixings for a salad: onions, tomatoes, cabbage, carrots, and lettuce. For dessert they served small squares of a corn cake with whole corn and coconut topping with some lime zest. The lunch was quite good.

When the plates were all clear, we were each brought a plate with 8 pieces of chocolate plus a roasted coffee bean. Then Julio started the chocolate lecture by hacking a cacao pod open and letting us suck the seeds. George had to break in periodically to keep Julio on track, but both men were quite informative. They finished by showing some of their products wrapped in cacao paper. George demonstrated how some of their stuffed chocolate is made. Many people bought lots of chocolate. Bill bought a box of 9. It was a delightful final activity.

We left Siba at 2:45 to head back through San Jose to our hotel arriving about 3:30. We were thrilled with our new room because it was much closer to the lobby. We had our final dinner as a group. It was a buffet in a separate room. Everyone decided it was a lovely ‘alternate’ trip. Email addresses were collected, and we all went to our rooms to get ready for early morning pickups to the airport.

The trip home was uneventful. Our heads were spinning with all that we saw and did. Even without the ship sailing (which we hope to do in December), we had an amazing time.