(..OK Lucky...here is the rest of the story....)
Let’s pick up from where I left off … Michelle returned back to the spot where I was waiting at the beach. She cries out to me, “I found it!” What do you mean I ask? She told me about the pictures she had seen, with a small peninsula jutting out of the ocean causing the natural phenomenon that looked like a whales tale. She coerced me back to the spot, about a mile down the beach to the point of Uvita, and I got to see it too. It was truly amazing; the sand is the perfect outline of a humpback’s whale tail breaching. Pretty cool stuff.
We were able to walk all the way out to where the tail would seemingly meet the whales body as the two parts of the ocean tides converged onto the land forming the whales tale.
We enjoyed Dominical but wanted to be closer to the beach at Manuel Ballena so we left Dominical to stay in Uvita.
While there, we decided to spend a day exploring what it would be like to live here, and what it would cost to uproot our lives. We took a day to look at property that was for sale. We found that most of the West coast of Costa Rica was for sale. With the promise that the road connecting Dominical to Quepos would be paved soon, Real Estate seemed like a good idea. After spending the day with a realtor, we decided a move like that is wrong for us at this time, even if property values did sky rocket. We were back to the beach and ready to travel down the road again… next stop Drakes Bay.
We loved the ride. We were almost the only people on the road and the views were incredible. Finding the turn off for this desolate bay was a challenge. Just by chance we found a couple of farmers looking for a ride towards Drakes, so we offered them a ride. Neither spoke English, but with Michelle’s improving Spanish, we found our way with in a couple of hours.
Michelle had checked the Internet for places to stay (we used it at all times, it helps so much and also trip advisor) and we ended up staying at a bungalow/hotel owned by a retired American and his Costa Rican family. They set us up in the honeymoon suite way above the town. We had to climb a good many stairs. We had a huge front porch that had us looking out over the bay below, so pretty.
Each morning we’d have breakfast with the pet friends of the wild. A scarlet macaw by the name of Judy, and two green parrots that would hang on the branches as we ate. After breakfast it was time to explore and look into the dive shops. What we found out… we had been spoiled with our previous dive places. The water on the Pacific side has a very strong current and really mixes up the surf so visibility was a mere 20 feet. So diving at this time and place was not at it’s best. We did run across several big underwater creatures, but at times it was difficult to tell where you were. But… We did have a great experience boating next to a school of dolphins. We stayed with them for a while watching the young ones play around with each other jumping, twirling, and doing mid air somersaults.
Later on we met up with a group of girls who were from Great Britain. We ended up having drinks that night with them and planned on doing a canopy tour the following day with them as well. Things didn’t work out the next day. We woke up late, and figured they too over slept. We decided to take in a late hike. Later on we saw them. They went ahead and did the canopy tour which they said is a must do! We apologized for not making it and said our good byes. The following day we took off to do some zip line canopy fun. What a rush. We felt like birds in the jungle. One zip line was over 300 feet and on the guides own property. Safety was their main concern, as we hoped, but for me, just flying thru the jungle at such heights made me understand why we came here. WOW….what a wonderful world we live in. The next day we continued our travels down the coast to Port Jimenez to catch up with a friend of Michelle’s.
We found our way further south on the dirt/paved road that just goes on for ever. We tried to locate Michelle’s friend Lynn by email/ phone calls but we were unable to get in touch. We spent the night at Puerto Jimenez, a quite town with many beaches, and again many developments.
It would have been nice to spend more time there, but we were looking for Caribbean waters… and so the question was …should we go to Panama, which was right below us …. Or ……
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
Part 2 - Costa Rica 2009
April 11, 2009-
After the show we went back to our bungalow to pack up and get on the road again... We traveled by private bus to Jaco, a town that we had lunch at 4 years prior. This time, I wanted to check it out and see what was really going on here. Well, the town had really changed and had lost its local town innocence. Big hotels are there, and bigger ones are being built. Loud music was playing in several bars to the point where we were unable to distinguish what was what.
We arrived right after the holy days, so things were rocking. The beach is what made this town desirable and most activities take place in the water. It has Great surfing, boogie boarding, body surfing, etc. During our time there we signed up for a horse backing riding adventure through the mountains. We rode with 2 guides; one was a good old Costa Rican cowboy that knew only a couple of words in English. “Costa Rica Yee Haw” and the other was a young adult that has been educated in the local high school and able to speak some English, so he helped out with the interpreting.
The ride took us up above the town and beach, to where we were able to view the whole coast line. When we were in Costa Rica 4 years ago, we rode horses and were not in shape for it. We hurt the entire week. Well, I was a bit smarter on this ride (make sure your stirrups are adjusted properly!, so you can walk during the days following your ride). They took us up this mountain trail that is owned (the whole mountain) by a fellow from Spain. We got to the top of the mountain, and the owner was there with 3 other people sitting around a chatting. We were introduced to this 83 year old man and a little pow wow began with all of us.
The gentleman told us the story of him coming to this area 21 years ago and purchasing the mountain for 3cents per sq meter. He is now in the process of sub dividing the mountain into parcels for development and selling it for $5.50 per square meter. Do the math…the guy was loaded!!!!. We told him about my Mom and Aunt Pat, who he invited to come visit any time as his guests in his large home with a separate bedroom and bathroom wing for the aunts to enjoy and be comfortable in. After our little break we headed down the other side of the mountain to see monkeys and tropical birds. At the end of our ride, the “Good Old Cow Boy” has to give Michelle a big bear hug…why of course?!!!???
April 13, 2009-
From there we decided to rent our 2nd car of our journey. Things are better this time for me, the driver. Costa Rica has rules while driving, not like some of the other places we’ve been. We took off the following day for a hike through the Carrara National Park. We went looking for the infamous scarlet macaw. This park is one of the few places in the world the Scarlet Macaw still survives.
Now normally you need to rent a guide to take you through the park, but we didn’t. There were none available. Plus there are many different types of plants and vegetation that can harm you if you are not careful…humm??? Then you can get just plain lost too! So as we are walking, we stopped at this viewing spot for crocodiles, yes crocks, in the river next to our trail. They are a ways away, but you have to remember where we are at…in the frick’in jungle! At the crock viewing spot, we met up with a group of people from the east coast, pretty close to where Michelle grew up in New York. We asked if we could tag a long with them because they were the smart ones…THEY HAD A GUIDE!!!
We hung with them while trekking back down the trail, listening to the guide explain about the flora and fauna of the jungle. The plants, birds, insects, etc., are very interesting since there are so many species that are threatened of extinction. During the short time we trekked with this group, Hurwitz’s and Milner’s, we were able to share our recent travel stories as they did with us. They were 2 families, with their kids, and we all just yakked it up for the rest of the hike. Even though we did have a guide, he still got a bit confused with his directions and we were lost in the jungle for a few moments. (please send me an email at Tundraa72@aol.com)
Just a tad scary, but we made it out OK with some fond memories and new traveling friends. We even might have inspired them to venture out and check this world out while they can…who knows. We were touched with their friendliness and kindness and their willingness to share their lives, their guide and their stories of what is happening back at home.
April 14, 2009 – Leaving Jaco was very easy. Being tired of the noise and growing city life, we wanted back out into the wilderness. We drove south towards the town of Quepos, but with the goal of going south. The city had finally graded the connecting road between Quepos, a major Pacific coast city in Costa Rica, and Dominical. In the past, this would normally have been a 3 hour drive due to deep pot holes. Now with the road paved, I was able to cruz it in an hour. Nice! We got into Dominical and it felt like a step back in time.
Way back … to maybe the early 70’s of Mexico! The main street is off of the beaten track, and houses … Hostels, bungalows, bars, trinket stores, and many outdoor restaurants and cafes all line the main street. At the end of the road, there is a beach with a wicked surf that many surfers, local and from a far, come to. It’s not a nice place to swim because of a serious rip tide, but surfers congregate in droves. We met a couple who travelled down from the states in their motor home and were living down in Dominical right on the beach. We wouldn’t mind doing it for a trip, but to actually live that way…..it just doesn’t feel right for us.
We stayed in a hotel called the Rio Lio which happens to be for sale if anyone is interested. That evening was locals night at the Rio’s bar. We met some really cool people drinking and partying, playing great tunes from the Grateful Dead , the Allman’s etc. Our favorite character was “good time Charlie” He brought out a Jerry Garcia doll and put a present in his pants for Michelle and I. His wife is a fiddler for some of our favorite musicians, and we hope some day through our travels to meet Nancy and see Good Time Charlie again.
Everyone was very friendly and loved sharing their stories of glory with us. After a major party night, we decided to check out the local area. We went to Manuel Ballena reserve, a sanctuary with good snorkeling and a site known for whale and dolphin spotting. It also has beaches with fantastic body surfing waves and I was in my glory, bouncing around like a 5 year old boy. The beach was empty and we felt as if we had found our own stretch of paradise.
Michelle took a stroll northward on the beach to explore the boats that were beached at low tide. She was enjoying her stroll and suddenly realized that she had found the natural phenomenon “The Whale’s Tail” … it finally clicked….........................?
After the show we went back to our bungalow to pack up and get on the road again... We traveled by private bus to Jaco, a town that we had lunch at 4 years prior. This time, I wanted to check it out and see what was really going on here. Well, the town had really changed and had lost its local town innocence. Big hotels are there, and bigger ones are being built. Loud music was playing in several bars to the point where we were unable to distinguish what was what.
We arrived right after the holy days, so things were rocking. The beach is what made this town desirable and most activities take place in the water. It has Great surfing, boogie boarding, body surfing, etc. During our time there we signed up for a horse backing riding adventure through the mountains. We rode with 2 guides; one was a good old Costa Rican cowboy that knew only a couple of words in English. “Costa Rica Yee Haw” and the other was a young adult that has been educated in the local high school and able to speak some English, so he helped out with the interpreting.
The ride took us up above the town and beach, to where we were able to view the whole coast line. When we were in Costa Rica 4 years ago, we rode horses and were not in shape for it. We hurt the entire week. Well, I was a bit smarter on this ride (make sure your stirrups are adjusted properly!, so you can walk during the days following your ride). They took us up this mountain trail that is owned (the whole mountain) by a fellow from Spain. We got to the top of the mountain, and the owner was there with 3 other people sitting around a chatting. We were introduced to this 83 year old man and a little pow wow began with all of us.
The gentleman told us the story of him coming to this area 21 years ago and purchasing the mountain for 3cents per sq meter. He is now in the process of sub dividing the mountain into parcels for development and selling it for $5.50 per square meter. Do the math…the guy was loaded!!!!. We told him about my Mom and Aunt Pat, who he invited to come visit any time as his guests in his large home with a separate bedroom and bathroom wing for the aunts to enjoy and be comfortable in. After our little break we headed down the other side of the mountain to see monkeys and tropical birds. At the end of our ride, the “Good Old Cow Boy” has to give Michelle a big bear hug…why of course?!!!???
April 13, 2009-
From there we decided to rent our 2nd car of our journey. Things are better this time for me, the driver. Costa Rica has rules while driving, not like some of the other places we’ve been. We took off the following day for a hike through the Carrara National Park. We went looking for the infamous scarlet macaw. This park is one of the few places in the world the Scarlet Macaw still survives.
Now normally you need to rent a guide to take you through the park, but we didn’t. There were none available. Plus there are many different types of plants and vegetation that can harm you if you are not careful…humm??? Then you can get just plain lost too! So as we are walking, we stopped at this viewing spot for crocodiles, yes crocks, in the river next to our trail. They are a ways away, but you have to remember where we are at…in the frick’in jungle! At the crock viewing spot, we met up with a group of people from the east coast, pretty close to where Michelle grew up in New York. We asked if we could tag a long with them because they were the smart ones…THEY HAD A GUIDE!!!
We hung with them while trekking back down the trail, listening to the guide explain about the flora and fauna of the jungle. The plants, birds, insects, etc., are very interesting since there are so many species that are threatened of extinction. During the short time we trekked with this group, Hurwitz’s and Milner’s, we were able to share our recent travel stories as they did with us. They were 2 families, with their kids, and we all just yakked it up for the rest of the hike. Even though we did have a guide, he still got a bit confused with his directions and we were lost in the jungle for a few moments. (please send me an email at Tundraa72@aol.com)
Just a tad scary, but we made it out OK with some fond memories and new traveling friends. We even might have inspired them to venture out and check this world out while they can…who knows. We were touched with their friendliness and kindness and their willingness to share their lives, their guide and their stories of what is happening back at home.
April 14, 2009 – Leaving Jaco was very easy. Being tired of the noise and growing city life, we wanted back out into the wilderness. We drove south towards the town of Quepos, but with the goal of going south. The city had finally graded the connecting road between Quepos, a major Pacific coast city in Costa Rica, and Dominical. In the past, this would normally have been a 3 hour drive due to deep pot holes. Now with the road paved, I was able to cruz it in an hour. Nice! We got into Dominical and it felt like a step back in time.
Way back … to maybe the early 70’s of Mexico! The main street is off of the beaten track, and houses … Hostels, bungalows, bars, trinket stores, and many outdoor restaurants and cafes all line the main street. At the end of the road, there is a beach with a wicked surf that many surfers, local and from a far, come to. It’s not a nice place to swim because of a serious rip tide, but surfers congregate in droves. We met a couple who travelled down from the states in their motor home and were living down in Dominical right on the beach. We wouldn’t mind doing it for a trip, but to actually live that way…..it just doesn’t feel right for us.
We stayed in a hotel called the Rio Lio which happens to be for sale if anyone is interested. That evening was locals night at the Rio’s bar. We met some really cool people drinking and partying, playing great tunes from the Grateful Dead , the Allman’s etc. Our favorite character was “good time Charlie” He brought out a Jerry Garcia doll and put a present in his pants for Michelle and I. His wife is a fiddler for some of our favorite musicians, and we hope some day through our travels to meet Nancy and see Good Time Charlie again.
Everyone was very friendly and loved sharing their stories of glory with us. After a major party night, we decided to check out the local area. We went to Manuel Ballena reserve, a sanctuary with good snorkeling and a site known for whale and dolphin spotting. It also has beaches with fantastic body surfing waves and I was in my glory, bouncing around like a 5 year old boy. The beach was empty and we felt as if we had found our own stretch of paradise.
Michelle took a stroll northward on the beach to explore the boats that were beached at low tide. She was enjoying her stroll and suddenly realized that she had found the natural phenomenon “The Whale’s Tail” … it finally clicked….........................?
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Costa Rica Ye Haw .....
Back on the Road Again...this is where Central America begins………Heading to Costa Rica was to be a family and friend adventure, but things changed and because of our airline ticket type, we had to continue on. So, since we were on our own and we had been to Costa Rica 4 years prior, we changed our plans some. We traveled north from San Jose to Fortuna, home of the most active volcano in Costa Rica, named Arenal.
There are 122 volcanic mountains in the country of Costa Rica which have been labeled , “The Pacific Rim of Fire”. and this is where we will call home for a couple of days. We found lodging in a bungalow with a front porch view of the entire volcanic mountain. It was a pretty majestic view!
To our surprise, we came at the time of the holy holiday, which is the 3 days prior to our observation of Easter . No one in the entire country is to sell or serve alcoholic beverages other than wine. and if you are found out to have broken this law, you are served a stiff fine and possible jail time. What we did find was places that took the chance or had connections, to where they were able to sell drinks….only at a 800% mark up.
So our first day was to take in the near by hot springs called “Baldi Hot Springs”.
This place was the size of a large amusement center. Baldi has several pools with different temperatures to play and soak in. Where the springs begin, the pool is a scorching 152 degrees (67 C) and runs down pool after pool to the coolest one at 89 degrees (32 C). The pools were as large as a regular swimming pool with swim up bars and water slides.
The place was packed due to the holiday. After enjoying the springs, it was time for some eats. After checking out their menu, we decide that this was the place mainly because they had an amazing salad bar, and we were really craving raw veggies something fierce.
Our next day started by hiring a driver to take us up to Arenal Lake to do some kayaking. The lake is at the base of the volcano, and was a majestic scene. It had been a while since we were in fresh water so we took advantage of the entire outing. Pretty much, all of Costa Rica, except San Jose, is a rain forest/ jungle, so we were checking out the wildlife on top of the water, rather than under this time. The one thing that kept popping up during our time on the lake, is this huge smoking, yes smoking volcano right in front of us. WOW is all I can say!
So later that night, we hired a taxi to take us up close to the volcano. We joined a small group of tourists that had also signed up for the motorized trek.
At one point, we started seeing the molten lava streams, and thought, OK this is good… but, as we started passing the many sight see’rs we found that we were heading up even further. Our driver passed every one and took us up even further. He told us to wait and watch, because he knew of the best viewing area. OK, let’s see what he has … He finally pulled over and we all get out of the van. It was pitch black with clouds and steam covering the volcano.
The light breeze pushed the steam and smoke away from the top, so we were able to catch some cool scenes of red lava running down the mountainside. We were too far away to take pictures, so we said, "Hey we'll just get postcards for the pictures".We were giving our ohhh’s and ah’s with each little blast, but then a change happened.
The mountain decided to give us a real treat. A pretty good size explosion took place and lit up the entire mountain top, like strawberry syrup being poured over a chocolate sundae, burning everything in its path. It was really something incredible to see. You had to think….what are we crazy?…standing next to an active volcano and the truth is, we probably were!!! After the show, we went back to our bungalow ,to pack up and to get back On the Road Again...
Our next blog will be coming up pretty quick....so please stay tuned....
There are 122 volcanic mountains in the country of Costa Rica which have been labeled , “The Pacific Rim of Fire”. and this is where we will call home for a couple of days. We found lodging in a bungalow with a front porch view of the entire volcanic mountain. It was a pretty majestic view!
To our surprise, we came at the time of the holy holiday, which is the 3 days prior to our observation of Easter . No one in the entire country is to sell or serve alcoholic beverages other than wine. and if you are found out to have broken this law, you are served a stiff fine and possible jail time. What we did find was places that took the chance or had connections, to where they were able to sell drinks….only at a 800% mark up.
So our first day was to take in the near by hot springs called “Baldi Hot Springs”.
This place was the size of a large amusement center. Baldi has several pools with different temperatures to play and soak in. Where the springs begin, the pool is a scorching 152 degrees (67 C) and runs down pool after pool to the coolest one at 89 degrees (32 C). The pools were as large as a regular swimming pool with swim up bars and water slides.
The place was packed due to the holiday. After enjoying the springs, it was time for some eats. After checking out their menu, we decide that this was the place mainly because they had an amazing salad bar, and we were really craving raw veggies something fierce.
Our next day started by hiring a driver to take us up to Arenal Lake to do some kayaking. The lake is at the base of the volcano, and was a majestic scene. It had been a while since we were in fresh water so we took advantage of the entire outing. Pretty much, all of Costa Rica, except San Jose, is a rain forest/ jungle, so we were checking out the wildlife on top of the water, rather than under this time. The one thing that kept popping up during our time on the lake, is this huge smoking, yes smoking volcano right in front of us. WOW is all I can say!
So later that night, we hired a taxi to take us up close to the volcano. We joined a small group of tourists that had also signed up for the motorized trek.
At one point, we started seeing the molten lava streams, and thought, OK this is good… but, as we started passing the many sight see’rs we found that we were heading up even further. Our driver passed every one and took us up even further. He told us to wait and watch, because he knew of the best viewing area. OK, let’s see what he has … He finally pulled over and we all get out of the van. It was pitch black with clouds and steam covering the volcano.
The light breeze pushed the steam and smoke away from the top, so we were able to catch some cool scenes of red lava running down the mountainside. We were too far away to take pictures, so we said, "Hey we'll just get postcards for the pictures".We were giving our ohhh’s and ah’s with each little blast, but then a change happened.
The mountain decided to give us a real treat. A pretty good size explosion took place and lit up the entire mountain top, like strawberry syrup being poured over a chocolate sundae, burning everything in its path. It was really something incredible to see. You had to think….what are we crazy?…standing next to an active volcano and the truth is, we probably were!!! After the show, we went back to our bungalow ,to pack up and to get back On the Road Again...
Our next blog will be coming up pretty quick....so please stay tuned....
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