Up in the clouds...

Words are not adequate to describe the cloud forests of Costa Rica. I truly feel like I am in another world -- far removed from traffic, pollution, stress, bad news report(including the stock market), etc.!

Leaving Arenal was difficult as we awoke to a gorgeous sunrise over the volcano. What a surprise after having gone to sleep in a heavy rain storm. For my Texas readers outside of Hurricane Ike´s devastation, the sound of rain is divine at night.

We piled into our trusty van with Francisco at the wheel and headed north to the cloud forest. Before we left the volcano region, however, we had a fun stop at the Lost Iguana Restaurant. This very popular stop had almost gone under until iguanas began to appear on either side of the nearby bridge. Passersby started to feed them and, just like stingray city in the Caymans, the word spread. I have never seen so many big iguanas in my life. On just one side of the bridge there had to be at least 30 of them in the trees. At first you don´t see them as they blend into the trees and then your eyes begin to pick them out. There are many different types -- one had an orange mohawk while another`s jaws looked he was chewing on a golf ball. Someone had broken off a tree branch and was feeding one lazy fellow a banana on the end of the stick.

Continuing on the terrain and sky began to change as we started to climb into the mountains. Literally we began to enter the clouds. After about a 2- hour drive through beautful countryside reminscent of remote mountain villages, we arrived at El Silencio Lodge and Spa. The resort has a main entrance/lobby and restaurant that was designed to incorporate as much of the natural surroundings as possible. Glass floor to ceiling windows bring in the cloud-shrouded mountains and streams. After meeting the delightful owners (he is the architect of the property as well as the Four Seasons Costa Rica) and learning about this "planet-friendly sanctuary for soft adventure and inspired wellness", we were treated to a delicous lunch of locally grown products. All meals are included at this lodge. Service is absolutely incredible; for example, if the housekeeper discovers muddy shoes in your room after a day of hiking, he will take and clean them for you.

After lunch we were taken to our individual villas which are scattered up the mountain. Each one features a private viewing deck complete with rocking chairs and outdoor hot tub as well as gas fireplaces.

If we had longer here, there are many activities such as hikes to various waterfalls, a labrinth for meditation, tours to nearby villages, horseback riding,etc.

Unfortunately, the bubble bursts for me early tomorrow morning as I have a noon flight from San Jose back to Austin. Tana and I are already planning to put together a future group back to Costa Rica. This country is just too special not to share it with our friends.
Linda

Waterfall rappelling through rainforest canyons

I awoke this morning to a beautiful view of the volcano straight through the glass doors at the foot of my bed. We are all in love with the Arenal Nayara Hotel. The grounds are gorgeous and each room is equal to a 5* property at much better rates. We have a fabulous balcony with a jacuzz tub and hammock that looks directly toward the volcano. As you may have guessed, the volcano is the focal point of the Arenal region. We have been incredibly blessed as the view of the entire volcano has been totally visible both days. Many times visitors never see it completely, especially during the green season

Tana and I were picked up at 7:15 this morning for one the greatest adventures we've ever had. We took the Pure Trek Canyoning adventure in which we were guided through a slot canyon and then rappelled down a series of waterfalls with treks through incredible rainforest canyons in between. Of the eight of us on the tour, half were on their honeymoon and no one (but us!) was over 30. One of our fellow rappellers who had just gotten married last week in Malibu was Ted King who had been on General Hospiral for 4 yrs. We were outfitted in very tight harnesses, helmets and heavy-duty gloves and driven about 30 min) again up a VERY bumpy hill to the start of our adventure. Our guides then gave their very nervous clients detailed safety instruction about how to rappell down the five waterfalls. Basically, we jumped off a platform, facing the waterfall and rock wall and, using our 2 hands, controlled our speed and direction with the ropes attached to our harnesses.

Words cannot adequately express how afraid we were at the beginning and how proud we were of our accomplishments at the end. Would we do it again -- definitely!
Following the tour we were loaded back into the truck and hauled down the mountain to a delicious lunch of local foods that was prepared for the "survivors!"
Fortunately, we had 2 hours to get cleaned up and then headed off to a well-known resort here, Tabacon Hot Springs Resort, for a site inspection and then on to the local village, La Fortuna, for shopping.

Just as we returned to our hotel for dinner the bottom fell out of the sky. You wouldn't believe how hard it can rain here -- but it is the rainforest!

Tomorrow is my last full day in Costa Rica. We will leave the Arenal region and drive about 2 hrs to the cloud forest area where we will be staying at El Silencio.
Lucky Tana gets to stay another night and will be at one of my favorite properties near San Jose, Finca Rosa Blanca.

Hope to send a last email from El Silencio. If not, I'll be home Monday night.
Linda

Where's Noah when you need an ark???

Just as I finished the last post and walked back to my room, the heavens opened up and it started pouring. It rained all night and was still pouring when we left Harmony House at 8 this morning. It continued to rain for about 4 hours as we drove northeast toward the Arenal region in north central Costa Rica. Don't think I've seen this much rain since one night in the Amazon region of Peru. The potholes were much easier to see as they were all filled with muddy brown water. In spite of the rain, however, the scenery was still beautiful.
Again, Francisco was a superb driver as he managed to pass big trucks the size of our 18 wheelers on 2-lane roads that had no yellow stripe!
After several hours we crossed the bridge over the Tempisque River that was built by the Taiwan gov't to bolster friendship with Costa Rica and in hopes of discouraging their trade with "red" China as it was known then (That didn't work!)
The rain stopped as we reached Lago Arenal. This huge lake takes hours to drive around but again great luck was with us. Rarely is the volcano not covered by clouds (kind of like Mt. McKinley) but today we had an incredibly clear view of this still active volcano. The red lava is only seen at night but during the day you can see the smoke coming from it's molten center. The lake was formed when the volcano erupted violently in 1968, killing dozens of people living in the small village of Arenal. The lake now covers the destroyed village.
We stopped on the dam dividing the lake and made group photos. This is a major road and people had stopped to have a picnic in the middle of the dam -- only in Costa Rica!
We are spending 2 nights at a new property in the area, Arenal Nosara. It's really lovely and very different from our last 2 hotels. From our room, there is a balcony with a jacuzzi tub and a beautiful view of the volcano.
After a quick, but delicious lunch, Francisco whisked us off to The Springs. This new resort is being developed by the owners of Peace Lodge which is one of the most incredible properties in this country. Every client we have ever sent there falls in love with it. I'm not sure I have the ability to adequately describe The Springs other than to see it surpasses Peace Lodge. It is built over several hot springs and has so many different waterfall pools and hot springs sites that I lost count as we wandered through the property. It is still under construction but is open to guests. We did a site inspection and then changed into bathing suits and relaxed in the hot springs while enjoying views of the volcano. There was even a brief eruption of red molten lava. Dinner was delicious on the beautiful open air patio--still in full view of the volcano.
Tomorrow is a new adventure for Tana and I. We are off at 7:15am for a waterfall rappelling adventure. Sure am glad my Medjet coverage is still current.
Details to follow!!!
Linda

Zipping through Nicoya

We were so lucky today as the rain held off and we had gorgeous weather. This was great as today's activities were outdoor activities.
After a site inspection of Hotel Harmony House, we took off on our Zipline adventure. We all climbed into our van driven by trusty Francisco. Believe me you have to be a good driver to handle the roads in this area. One of the loveliest things about the Nicoya Peninsula is that it is not as developed as Guanacaste, but.... that means the roads are not as good After being outfitted in our ziplining gear (helmets, harnesses and heavy-duty gloves) we climbed into the back of an old flat-bed truck that had been fitted with benches on each side. For 30 min. we laughed as we clung on for dear life with the truck climbing a dirt road up this hill filled with potholes and ruts. The scenery really was beautiful and when we finally arrived at the top of the hill we stumbled out and beheld a gorgeous view of the Pacific Ocean in front of us.
Of the 6 of us, 3 had never done ziplines but they caught on. This was very different from the one I had done in Nicaragua as it was over hills not rainforests and the lines were much longer and faster. After the first zipline,we had to hike up a steep zip-zag path to the 2nd one. There was a close call on one of the ziplines but everyone was OK. It really is a fun adventure, and I look forward to doing more. Ziplining is one of Costa Rica's most popular experiences.
Returning to Harmony House we headed for the juice bar for a delicious almond mango lasse and light snacks. Just enough time for a quick dip in the beautiful pool, another outdoor shower (I love it) and we were off for dinner L'Acqua Viva hotel (a new property nearby which we wanted to tour. It's very different from Harmony House as it has a Polynesian decor and is a lot newer.
I'm typing this late tonight as we are to be packed and ready to leave by 8am for the Arenal region

Getting in touch with nature...

If this blog gets posted, it will be a miracle! I'm on a laptop and the instructions are in Spanish so just bear with me.
Yesterday we bid farewell to the northern Guanacaste region and began driving south to the Nicoya Peninsula.
Drove through major rain storms and on roads you can't even imagine. An old joke about the roads is that if you see someone driving straight toward you, you know they are drunk because they aren't trying to avoid the potholes! It's so true -- we were weaving all over the road. Apparently, they regrade the roads after the 'green' season, but the rains destroy them annually. Oh, forgot to tell you that a lot of them are dirt roads. The scenery was beautiful, however, and worth the bumps and bounces.!
One of the funniest sites was an open truck we got behind that initially looked like it was carrying a big bag of something, but, as we got closer, we realized it was a huge 'mama' pig. She was so big that her nose touched one side and her tail the other. They had put food in the bottom and she was happily chomping away and adding to her already sizeable girth! She did look up occasionally, and I got a great picture. We were all feeling guilty about the bacon we had eaten for breakfast, but Francisco, our driver, informed us that the farmer said he was taking "Mama" to meet her boyfriend for the evening! We all felt better after that and hoped she enjoyed the rendezvous.
Lunch was fun as we stopped in the town of Nosara and had lunch in a "Chinese Costa Rican" restaurant.
After numerous stops to take in local flora and fauna (stopped once for a 2-ft iguana crossing the road!) we finally made it to our stop for the next 2 nights -- The Harmony Hotel in Nosara which is 40 mi. from the nearest paved road.
This place is just what every American needs for a few days. It's a very holistic type of inn and dedicated to helpingtheir guests relax and get in tune"with the natural rhythm and sacred connection to the earth." It's the most "green" place I've ever stayed in -- even the straws are made from recycled paper . Again, the grounds are absolutely gorgeous with giant ferns, bird of paradise, ginger plants and numerous other tropical plants.
Just as we arrived the bottom fell out of the sky and it poured all evening which was actually lovely to listen to. I took a great nap and then joined the group for a delicious dinner of local specialities in the open-air restaurant.
We had a good laugh when one of our group came to dinner and announced that she had tried and tried to find the TV with her remote control. When we were able to talk again, we explained that the remote control was for the airconditioner and that there was no TV. I've finally found someone more 'blonde' than me!
This morning started out fabulous. Took an outdoor shower on my patio. It's a beautiful wooden deck with one of those huge round shower heads attached to one wall. The rest is open but totally secluded by the lush tropical plants. The sun is out and everything, including the beach and pool look very enticing.

After breakfast we're off to do site inspections of this area and then a canopy (ziplines) adventure.
Hope everyone is doing well.
Linda

Another boring day in paradise!

This truly is paradise as I sit in the beautiful open air lobby, sipping my Cafe Britt coffee (Costa Rican specialty) and looking out aover the lush green volcanic hillside. We are in the "green" season but have been fortunate regarding the weather, thus far.

I'm already learning that by the time I get back to the hotel (and computer access) I am way too tired to write anything halfway coherent so have decided it's best to wait until early the next morning before the rest of the crew arises and send my daily journal.

Breakfast by the pool was yummy, but we said goodby to one of the couples who had been with the group since Saturday. They are actually from Ft. Worth where I grew up and she had gone to my high school. Her sister was in my class and I had fun catching up on friends from the past. They have to be at Texas Tech for their last Parents' Weekend Saturday so are doing the rest of our trip on their own in a very abbreviated fashion.

I forgot to mention that Tana arrived about 8:30pm Monday night and was exhausted but glad to be here after having been in some form of transportation since 6am that morning. Her beautiful drive throught the central Costa Rican countryside was not what I had expected as sunset is at 5:30pm year round since we are so close to the equator. Most of her drive was in the dark over less than ideal roads -- a little like she and I had through the depths of the Torres del Paine Nat'l Park in Patagonia, Chile.

Yesterday was spent exploring the northern Pacific beaches of the Guanacaste region. Our first stop was in the town of Tamarindo where we got to see a very traditional style small hotel, Capitan Suizo. The name comes from their Swiss owners who built the hotel in the 1990's. I loved the beautiful tropical grounds and the pool which looked right out onto the beach. The hotel serves as a 'rescue sanctuary' for monkeys. It is illegal to have monkeys in cages in Costa Rica unless they are injured or in need of assistance. They had 3 small monkeys who had lost their mothers. Wish I could download my photo of the youngest. It must have only been days old and probably didn't weigh 2 lbs. Apparently, they have to be in constant contact at that age with some living being so the hotel hires 'nannies' to care for them and hold them all the time. This lady was carrying him around and we fell in love with the little guy. We were told his mother had fallen out of a tree and died. There was another one being cared for who was a litte older but still needed constant care.

From there we left our van and walked down the beach doing site inspections at several properties that Leigh Ann recommends for clients. All were lovely in different aspects so we can now better qualify the properties according to clients' needs and interests.

Just before lunch we stopped at a property on Playa Grande which has access to a major leatherback turtle nesting area from Nov.. to Mar. These giant turtles come ashore at low tide and maneuver across the sand to a spot where they dig a big hole with their back fins and deposit hundreds of eggs. The mother then covers the nest and returns to the sea. About 6 weeks later the fertizled eggs hatch and the baby turtles attempt to crawl back to the sea. Many perish or are eaten by preditors which is the reason Mother Nature provides so many eggs -- only about 10% survive infancy.

The Costa Rica gov't is very concerned about the turtles and will flag nests with the date the eggs are laid so they will know when the eggs are hatching and try to protect the baby turtles as they struggle to reach the sea. They can find these nests because the mother leaves tracks the size of tire treads on the beach as she comes ashore. The small hotel located by the beach access to this major nesting area may be forced to close as the gov't is trying to limit human access to this area. The lights also disorient the turtles as they attempt to nest.

Following a delicious and leisurely lunch(typical of Costa Rica) we saw several more properties and beaches. Our day culminated with a spectacular sunset at Playa Pan de Azucar (literally Sugar Beach). I had heard about the lovely, old hotel at this beach for years and was anxious to see it but had already been warned about the 'challenging access' to it. That was an understatement! About 30 min. from the hotel, the winding dirt road along the cliff up the hill to the property was filled with huge potholes and ditches. Francisco, our excellent driver for the week, mentioned as we went up down one particularly steep hill that he hoped we would be able to get back up it on our return! If it rained while were we at Sugar Beach, the hill would be too slippery to back up.

It was worth the journey (Michelin would give the beach and sunset view ***'s) We barely arrived before the sun started to set, but it was one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen and the colors changed minute by minute. When darkness descended, we walked back up the steps to this quaint hotel and enjoyed a drink in the open-air restaurant overlooking the beach. This would be a fabulous property for anyone wanting peace and quite on a beautiful beach, but they need to be prepared not to run into town on a whim. The drive back was interesting to say the least, and we all breathed a sigh of relief when we had passed "the hill."

Today we depart the Guanacaste area and drive south down the Nicoyal Peninsula (still on the northern Pacific) to Playa Nosara where we will be spending the next 2 nights.

Love to hear from you -- just click on comments to send me a message.

Linda

Independence Day -- Costa Rica Style!

September 15th is Costa Rica's Independence Day celebrating their independence in 1874 from Spain. We were very fortunate to be able to share in a local equestrian Folkloric Show at the Hacienda Pinilla's stables. The participants were dressed in their elegant traditional attire and presented 'equestrian folk dances.' The horsemen were incredible and acutally performed choreograhic routines including polka on horseback. There was a small, local band playing tradional music and girls dressed in the beautiful old costumes performing folk dances. Leigh Ann had gotten each of us small Costa Rica flags which we patriotically waved.

Hacienda Pinilla is a 4500 acre hacienda located in the Guanacaste region of northwest Costa Rica. Set amidst rolling volcanic hills lush with greenery, it meanders down to the beach where we walked as the sun was setting. The history of this "beach resort and residential community" is interesting. Pat Patilla, owner of a successful US engineering firm, visited the region about 30 years ago and fell in love with it. He acquired the hacienda as payment for an engineering project and built several simple homes for him and his family to enjoy. Seeing the potential for the area with its incredible natural beauty, he worked out an arrangement to guarantee Delta airlines a 'load factor'(I think that's the term for a certain number of passengers) if they would open an Atlanta/Liberia route. His confidence was bolstered by the fact that he knew the Four Seasons was going to open a beach resort in the region. They have now built numerous 2-bedroom villas (this is what we are staying in) as well as a hotel, stables and the soon-to-be JW Marriott which we toured yesterday.

Today we are off for the beach and plan to see several hotels along the way. Gotta run as the bus is leaving. Beautiful day so will be able to enjoy a sunny day on the beach.
Linda

3rd times the charm---I made it!

After 2 abortive starts on Continental thru Houston, I switched to Delta with a flight through Atlanta (unscathed by Ike!) Originally, I'd avoided Delta as the flight leaves Austin for Liberia, Costa Rica at 5:30am. But, even that turned out to be a great experience; at least, after a cup of coffee. We took off in darkness, but, in about 30 minutes a brilliant orange ( or could we say 'burnt orange') glow lit the horizon, almost like photos of a forest fire. As that faded, the clouds took on a deep pink hew and then the sun burst forth over the sky. I think I was one of the few passengers to see this glorious sunrise as most of the plane was asleep!

Guess I'd better explain exactly why I am headed for Costa Rica as my travels usually have a purpose. I am part of a Fam (travel agent familiarzation trip) sponsored by Leigh Ann (see profile notes). Tana Taylor, my good friend and fellow travel agent was also on the Continental flights that never took off, but American flight she was able to get this morning flew into San Jose which is in the central valley while Liberia , where the Fam began on Saturday(several agents weren't on CO and were able to get in on time), is on the Pacific coast 4 1/2 hrs away,.
When she lands about 3pm our driver will pick her up and bring her here. I'm a bit envious of the beautiful drive she will have coming thru the countryside.

For those of you not familiar with the geography of Costa Rica, it is a small Central American country located south of Nicaragua and north of Panama, bordering the Pacific coast on the west and the Caribbean Sea on the east. The Ticos (as the Costa Ricans are called) are warm, friendly and thoroughly delightful people -- they should be since they live in a little bit of paradise. With its rain forests, volcanoes (some are still active), rugged coast lines, tropical dry and rain forests; breathtaking waterfalls , abundant wildlife and flowers, it's easy to understand the origins of the name 'Rich Coast' (Costa Rica ).

This country is unique in Central America as they are celebrating over 100 years of peace and democracy. With a literacy rate of 97% this country places a strong emphasis on education. Maybe they could teach us some valuble lessons.

When I landed in Liberia, Leigh Ann picked me up, and we drove about 1 1/2hrs to Hacienda Pinilla where we will be staying for 2 more nights. I'll tell you about this lovely place in my next post as we have to leave for a site inspection of the new JW Marriott. It's not finished so we're doing a 'hard hat inspection.

Gotta run -- no time to check for typo's. Love to hear from you.
Linda

Good Lord willin' and the creek don't rise.....

Well, I guess the good Lord wasn't willin' today and the creek sure did rise -- at least at Houston Intercontinental Airport as my flight was cancelled again today. BUT, I really wanted to go to Costa Rica so I was able to keep my return flight and go out tomorrow on a Delta flight through Atlanta. The flight leaves from Austin at 5:30am so, if I'm able to send a new message tomorrow, it may be a bit incoherent.

Hopefully, the next update will be from the northern Pacific area of Costa Rica.
Linda

Off to Costa Rica...IF Ike cooperates!!

This is my first blog and hope there will be other, more interesting ones, from Costa Rica. Am watching the Weather Channel and hoping my Sunday flight (already changed from Saturday) takes off from Houston.