Costa Rican Adventure, Part 3
Part 3 of our Costa Rican Adventure...
Off to our tree house in the jungle!
Day
6: We got an early start at 6:00am to make sure we were ready for
our driver Sterling’s arrival at 7:00am. We weren’t able to have breakfast
because the buffet included with the hotel didn’t start until 7:00am so we
asked Sterling if he would stop at a bakery. We all piled out of the van and
picked out two pastries (things like pineapple strudel and mango fritters)
and tropical fruit juice. Twelve pastries and 6 bottles of juice for $10!
TIPSTER: We researched transportation options for the trip
from San Jose to Puerto Jimenez and opted for a 45 minute flight (~$100 each
way per person) vs. renting a car and taking a 6-8 hour drive each way. We
are convinced it was money well spent and would recommend flying, especially
for families with children.
We got to the Sansa airport terminal early, which was a bit unfortunate because
it is nothing more than one hot room with limited seating. We were issued our
boarding passes about 30 minutes before our scheduled flight time. I had to
laugh–they were laminated sheets of paper which are reused each day. We boarded
our small plane on time. The flight was short and it was fun to watch out the
window at the changing landscape. I thought it would be very bumpy but it wasn’t.
We felt the hot temperature and high humidity the minute the door of the plane
opened. It took about 30 seconds for them to unload luggage from the plane,
and another 15 seconds for two drivers to approach us and get our luggage in
the vehicles. Before we knew it, we were on the way to Black Turtle Lodge (BTL).
TIPSTER:
If you are going on a “water vacation” invest in polarized sunglasses – they
enhance the experience greatly. With polarized sunglasses we could even see
the depth differences in the water from our plane.
BTL was just as marvelous as we pictured it–truly a jungle setting only a short
walk from the ocean! I was immediately taken in by the sights and sounds. Maureen
greeted us and showed us around the property. Four of us settled in the tree
house, while the other two got settled into the cabina just a short walk down
the path. The lodging was very quaint, neat and clean with beautiful wood.
The bathrooms were enclosed for privacy but open to the air--and critters!
While the rooms appeared critter free, we were told they can find their way
in if they want. Nico shared stories of finding bats, crabs and snakes (a large
boa), among other things, inside their second story home on the property. I
chalked that up to it being above the kitchen. Since we had no food...no worries,
right?!
Our next stop was the beach. It was so fun to see our youngest child’s reaction.
It was his second time to be at a beach, but his first memory of it. His eyes
were huge as he soaked it in! So precious! We were hungry and had arrived too
late for lunch at BTL, so we walked a couple hundred feet up the shore and
ate lunch at the Black Pearl. The food and atmosphere was delightful. We came
back and played in the ocean until it was time to shower and get ready for
dinner. We met and dined with the other guests, including a couple and their
young son from Montreal. Dinner was very satisfying – a salad, shrimp skewers
with sautéed veggies and garlic mash, wonderful bread and a tasty pineapple
cake with fresh whipped cream.
As was becoming routine, we were beat, so we hit the pillow around 8:30pm.
Oh...but before that one of the kids wanted me to walk to the bathroom with
him. I shined the flashlight all around to assure him there were no visitors.
All of a sudden something caught the light–frog’s eyes! I thought it was a
fake frog... until the eyes moved, and then a leg moved! It was the biggest
frog we had ever seen.
Adventures galore! First kayaking...
TIPSTER:
If offered, have your local lodging host book excursions. They know the options
and will choose wisely for you. Nico arranged all our activities and we couldn’t
have been more pleased!
Day 7: We woke up to the sound of howler monkeys! We had good
coffee, fresh juice which tasted like a mild grapefruit juice, fresh homemade
bagels with cream cheese, homemade biscuits and granola with yogurt.
After breakfast we played in the ocean and got out the boogie boards. We cleaned
up for a nice lunch of tostadas. At 2:30pm a “taxi” picked us up to take us
to a kayak tour. The taxi was an old beat up pick-up truck with benches on
each side and a plastic canopy over the top. We felt like we were on Green
Acres! It was a very fun experience.
We each chose a single kayak. Some of us had never kayaked before. Our guide
Lara was very helpful and encouraging. The first half of the trip was through
the mangroves. The water was very warm and not terribly fresh looking. The
air was hot and sticky. The scenery was extremely interesting, but not beautiful
per se. The bio-diversity is amazing if you know what to look for and what
it all means. Thanks to Lara we were “in the know” and it was simply fascinating.
Hot, stale and sticky...but very fascinating.
We pulled our kayaks out of the water and up over a ridge after we left the
mangroves in order to sea kayak back. While we took a break and waited to see
if the waves would cooperate, Lara took two huge pineapples and a coconut (still
in the outer husk) out of her kayak. She showed us how to open a coconut while
her assistant cut up the pineapple with his machete – and we all enjoyed a
scrumptious, juicy, fruity treat!
A
few minutes later we got the green light to put our kayaks in the ocean. About
half-way back we caught sight of some dolphins putting on a little show. It
felt so incredible to be in a kayak in Costa Rica, watching dolphins play while
the sun set. Lara said we were lucky because usually the sun is behind clouds
so you only see colors, but we saw the entire sun in its glory.
Nico planned dinner late since our new friends from Montreal and the six of
us were on the same tour. We had chicken with prosciutto, garlic mash, sautéed
veggies, oh… and a wonderful cream carrot soup, then carrot cake with cream
cheese frosting for dessert.
Once again, when dinner was done we were exhausted. Two of the kids fell asleep
in the hammocks next to the dining table. After we chatted a bit we went to
bed. The kids decided to use their mosquito nets. They probably didn’t need
them, but they wanted to experience it.
More adventure with animals, snorkeling, dolphins...
Day 8: We waited for the sound of howler monkeys
to wake us, but they didn’t. Instead, a huge pod hit the roof at about 5:45am
and woke us with a start. It happened fairly often during our stay and each
time it sounded like a huge rock landing, or even a gun being fired. We had
breakfast early – fresh fruit, juice, coffee and pancakes. Immediately after
breakfast our taxi arrived to take us to the boat marina in Puerto Jimenez.
There we met Chris and his mate – our guides for the morning. Chris immediately
memorized all our names and gave us two promises: 1) to do his very best to
show us a great time and see as much as possible and 2) it would not snow.
He was correct on both counts.
Chris
showed us landmarks and taught us a bit about the area and the rainforest.
Then he dropped us off at the animal sanctuary where a couple from Northern
California does tireless work to save Costa Rican animals from extinction.
It gave me a whole new appreciation for the dangers and consequences of poaching,
the illegal pet trade and commercialization of the rain forest. They did a
wonderful job presenting the information without making a political agenda
out of it, but instead sharing the pros and cons of progressive business. We
saw many birds (parrots, macaws, toucans, hummingbirds and more) three kinds
of monkeys (howler, white-faced and spider) a two toed sloth (incredibly interesting
animal) a kinkachoo and a weasel.
After our tour we got back on the boat and Chris took us to a nearby reef to
snorkel. He had great gear–nice clean masks and fins that go on so easy! It
was the best snorkeling I ever experienced. We saw so many types of fish–and
not just a couple here and there, but whole schools of them.
When we got back in the boat, Chris told us he had a special treat for us–a
pod of dolphins estimated to be approximately 400. We rode in the boat to the
site where he heard they were hanging out and before we knew it we were surrounded
Groups of two, three, five, six or more were surfacing at a time! They were
so playful! I loved it and could have watched them for a couple hours, but
we had to get back so we headed away. Just as we did, one of the dolphins jumped
very high in the air–a nice “Adios Amigos” to the tourists.
After we returned to BTL the kids stayed behind and played ping-pong while
we took a taxi into town to get cash, buy stamps, buy more sunscreen and mail
postcards. I enjoyed the little errand tour immensely – it was so fun to see
the little town in action during a “regular day." Everyone was very helpful.
We were surprised by the level of security at the bank (much more than I’ve
ever experienced) and the fact you really don’t need correct change while shopping.
As long as you are close (over or under) it’s all good – Pura Vida!
Later that afternoon a big storm moved in and the rain came down in buckets,
so we went for a walk – so fun! We cleaned up and went to dinner – yummy mushroom
soup, mahi-mahi served with some sort of mashed sweet potatoes and sautéed
veggies. Dessert was peach crisp with vanilla ice-cream. The kids assumed their
positions in the hammocks after dinner. We chatted with Nico about local life
for a bit and headed to bed. There were more bugs in the air due to the rain,
so we all used our mosquito nets. We probably didn’t need them, but I have
to admit it felt a bit exotic sleeping under one.
Fishing for some, horseback riding for others...
Day
9: We woke up feeling soggy. I found myself wondering what the rainy
season was like. The howler monkeys were really at it, and white faced monkeys
were playing outside the cabina. We had an early breakfast so we’d be ready
for our morning adventure. Randall (our guide for the day) picked three of
us up for a fishing trip and the taxi came to take the other three horse back
riding.
It was a fun day for all. Fishing is the most expensive excursion we did, but
the look on the boys face as they held a rooster fish for a picture before
releasing it was priceless! The real highlight of the day was seeing two green
sea turtles at the surface of the water mating. We were only 10 feet from them.
It was like watching National Geographic live!
When we got back to the marina we asked Randall to show us the soccer field
which he was happy, even proud to do, since he is the manager of the local
team. Then he drove back through the town so the boys could see the bank, post
office, markets, bakeries, etc.
We had an incredible taco bar for dinner–tortillas, chicken, mahi-mahi, rice,
beans, fresh pico de gallo and fantastic guacamole – probably out favorite
meal at BTL. We had homemade banana cake (made with bananas from the property)
for dessert.
A day of exploring and fun with Randall...
Day
10: The howler monkeys were VERY loud–for a long time. Loved it! We
got up and had breakfast at 7am so we would be ready for Randall to pick us
up at 7:30am. All of us piled in his SUV and started out on another day of
adventure. He stopped the car on numerous occasions to point out wildlife,
birds, plants and trees. Some things we learned:
We went to a surfing beach near Matapalo for a picnic, followed by a walk along
the beach where we saw at least four pair of scarlet macaws – squawking up
a storm.
We
got back in the car and headed for the final exploration of the day. Randall
parked near a stream and we started hiking –sometimes over rocks on the edge
of the stream but mostly in the water up the stream. At one point we were waist
deep. The hike was beautiful and very worth the energy spent, because at the
top was an incredible waterfall with a swimming hole. We climbed up the rocks
by the waterfall and let the water run down our backs for a bit before jumping
in. A fun bonus was the “spa treatment” Randall gave us using clay rocks –
our own tropical rainforest mud mask!
Good-bye to the beach, tree house Nico and the pups...
Day 11: No howler monkeys this morning. We got up and had
on early breakfast because Randall took some of us fishing again, while the
rest of us packed and played in the ocean. The fishermen returned around 11:30am
– carrying two nice sized red snapper.
Nico was nice enough to fix lunch for us even though it wasn’t part of our
reservation, and when we were almost done, he brought us some of the fresh
snapper–perfectly fried and seasoned. SO YUMMY! After lunch we took one last
dip in the ocean. Darren squared up with Nico while we got cleaned up. Then
we said our good-byes and caught our favorite “taxi” to the airport.
We were sad our vacation was nearing an end–so it was wonderful to have another
stay at Pura Vida to look forward to! We arrived in time to clean up before
dinner–much needed after a hot and sticky day of travel. Nhi prepared another
LOVELY dinner–ficase salad, chicken with a tarragon cream sauce over pasta
and sugared carrots. For dessert we had peach upside down cake–YUM.
Reunion with Sterling!
Day 12: We slept in a little today–got up around 7:00am for
a 7:45am breakfast. Once again it was a treat. I never got tired of all the
fresh fruit. We had a new treat this day – banana cake with chocolate chips.
Sterling picked us up at 8:30am and drove us to the DOKA Estates for a tour
of their coffee plantation. It was very interesting and beautiful. After the
tour we tasted some chocolate covered coffee beans and some coffee. My favorite
was Peaberry. Even the kids liked it! We bought lots of coffee (some to share
and some to drink at home) and a few souvenirs.
From there, Sterling drove us to San Jose and showed us the city. He stopped
at a street market where we shopped for awhile and bought the rest of our souvenirs:
jewelry, hacki sacks, soccer jerseys and my favorite – wood frogs that sound
like croaking when you rub a stick over them.
We left the market and saw a bit more of the city on the way to a huge soccer
stadium, where we watched the first half of the exhibition game between Saprisso
(San Jose’s team) and Puerto Jimenez (Randall’s team).
After the game we went to a Tico “fast food” joint (Polle Esta) and had a bit
of food to tie us over until dinner. We said our good-byes to Sterling. But
we got his email address so we can stay in touch, as we would DEFINITELY use
him again!
We packed everything to be ready for our early morning flight and cleaned up
for dinner. Nhi did not disappoint us! The evening’s special treats were egg
rolls (they had a fancier name but I couldn’t remember it), chicken drumettes
with a teriyaki sesame sauce, onion rice and bok choy. This was followed by
a simply delightful dessert – gooey coconut bars and homemade ice-milk topped
with toasted coconut served in a half coconut shell. Amazing!
Berni, Nhi and the entire staff are so wonderful, the location is convenient,
the casita was wonderful (clean and fresh feeling) and the food amazing - definitely
a good find. If we ever go to Costa Rica again we will make it a point to return!
Oh so sad-our dream vacation came to an end...
Day 13: 3:45am came quickly. Darren and I rolled out of bed
at 4:00am, got ready to go, then woke the kids. Bernie brought us our “breakfast
to go” (another wonderful perk offered at Pura Vida) at 4:25am and we got into
our taxis at 4:30am. We thought it seemed a bit early but quickly realized
once again – listen to Berni, he knows what he’s talking about! We only waited
about 10 minutes to pay our departure tax, but by the time we did that and
checked in for our flight with no wait, the departure tax line was ten times
as long. We quickly made it through security.
We boarded the plane… SO SAD to leave Costa Rica, but excited to tell all our
family and friends about it!
Websites:
Pura Vida Hotel
Black Turtle Lodge
Doka
Estates