Costa Rica and Pura Vida!

In July of 2013 our family spent two fabulous weeks in Costa Rica.  We started out with five nights at the isolated Finca Luna Neuva Lodge, which is a small organic farm surrounded by rainforest in central Costa Rica. We were able to do a farm tour and have two different guided rainforest hikes right on site. We saw sloths, toucans, a fer-de-lance (poisonous snake), lots of frogs, a basilisk (the lizard that runs on water) -- plus we smelled an ocelot and heard howler monkeys.  Finca Luna Nueva was the perfect location for us to explore the Arenal volcano area. We had a huge three-room family unit, delicious breakfasts with plenty of fresh fruit, and took full advantage of the lodge's ozonated pool (fun!) and hot tub. 

We hiked at 'nearby' La Fortuna Falls. Brave the rocks, go ahead and get in the water, like I did, just make sure to stay clear of the base of the falls.  The water is chilly but so refreshing.  There’s another area, off to the side a bit that has easier access and the water is much calmer.  The boys played in that area for quite a while, trying to catch the many fish swimming there.  

 


Later in the week we hiked at the Arenal Hanging Bridges, listening to howler monkeys and enjoying the blue morpho butterflies and peccaries (wild pigs). The hanging bridges themselves were so cool, some swinging as we walked.  We could look out at the trees, then be above the trees made for some very interesting perspectives.  There was a lovely waterfall along the trail and many wonderful views, including Arenal in the distance. We even saw the top of the volcano, which is apparently rare.

 

 

     

For an amazing adventure, we went on the canopy zipline tour with Los Canones, then spent the rest of the day at the Los Lagos resort, enjoying their pools and natural hot springs. Great day. The ziplining was fantastic!  The resort was very nice and there was lots to do there, but we were happy to be staying at our quieter farm in the rainforest.

     
We spent a memorable afternoon getting a tour and volunteering at a local animal rescue center, Proyecto Asis. Holding a snake, petting a peccary, feeding a kinkajou, and having baby spider monkeys crawl all over us -- priceless!  Our day at Proyecto Asis was definitely a highlight of a wonderful trip!

               

 After our time in the Arenal area, we drove to the more rural Bijagua town.  Our goal was Casistas Tenorio, reached by another long gravel/rock/unpaved road, but like Finca Luna Nueva, it was definitely worth it.  Our hosts were Dinora and Wilfredo, who were very gracious and welcoming. Our casita contained a queen-sized bed, set of bunk-beds, a small kitchen area, and bathroom.  We had plenty of room, especially when you considered the porch with bench and rocking chair, surrounded by beautiful foliage. Shortly after we arrived, Dinora came to get us to show us a baby sloth up in a tree nearby.  So close!  Like FLNL, Casitas Tenorio is a farm bordering the rainforest.

On our first morning, we woke to our first real rain of our trip -- and it rained throughout our lovely breakfast.  Again, lots of fresh fruits, plus farm-fresh (literally) eggs, toast, and homemade jam.  We had a lovely conversation considering our stilted Spanish and our hosts’ broken English.  We had a farm tour with Francisco, seeing the cows, pigs (huge!), chickens, and horses.  As the rain progressed, we decided to read a bit while our boys played card games with the hosts’ son and nieces -- and then the soccer ball and football came out.  The kids got along well, with the language differences not being much of a barrier.  We decided not to hike Rio Celeste until the next day, but since the weather was clearing up Wilfredo arranged to go horseback riding with us.  We rode up and down the local roads, past a few farms – even seeing Lake Nicaragua in the distance. When we returned, the grownups got off their horses, while the boys kept riding on the farm with the managers’ kids.  Meanwhile, my husband and I went toward the forest and spotted the baby sloth (again) and a family of howler monkeys.  So cool!

     

The next day there was no rain – perfect to see the unique coloration of the waterfalls and river at Rio Celeste in Tenorio National Park.  But before we could go, first the boys ‘had’ to help milk the cow and feed the pigs (huge!!).  What a great experience!  It was a long 9km drive up an unpaved road to Tenorio National Park.  Quite rocky!  Even though it hadn’t rained much over night and was a dry day, there was a lot of mud at the beginning of the trail and my trail sneakers got stuck in the mud a few times – I actually unintentionally pulled my foot out of my sneaker while trying to get unstuck.  Luckily the trail afterward was much drier.  There were 254 steps down (yes, we counted) to the Rio Celeste waterfall.  The water was such a beautiful turquoise color.  Amazing, really.  If we’d done this hike the day before (when it was rainy), it wouldn’t have been nearly as bright. Then we hike onward to see the Azul Lagoon (what a color!) and then the area where you can see the waters mixing together and forming that beautiful color.  After our hike, we rinsed our sneakers and ate at the soda (diner) at the trailhead.  Once we ordered, the rain came down. Hard!  Perfect timing -- Lucky us!  

Where the waters mix to form that
lovely turquoise color

It was bittersweet to leave Casitas Tenorio, and the boys were particularly sad to leave their new friends.  We drove from Bijagua to Playa Panama, dealing with GPS coordinates that were not quite accurate and a lack of street addresses, but it all worked out since our hotel was directly on the water and there’s really only one road that runs down by the Gulf of Papagayo. We drove into Playas del Coco for a late lunch/early dinner – but really had hoped to find somewhere casual to eat closer to the hotel.  Playas del Coco had plenty of choices down on the ‘main strip’ and we ate at a Texas BBQ place (for a change from Tico food) then did a little shopping before walking down to the Coco beach – lots of people, boats, and pelicans.  We were much happier to stay in Playa Panama with its quieter beach, even though there were less restaurants to choose from.  We caught a gorgeous sunset on the way back to our hotel.  So far we were definitely 3 for 3, in terms of finding the perfect places to stay in each area. 

  









Breakfast wasn't included at Casa Conde del Mar, but we hoped to find a place to eat on the way to Rincon de la Vieja National Park.  This was easier said than done, however, because apparently a lot of places weren’t open on Sunday.  We finally got to Liberia and saw an open Burger King, which we had hoped to avoid, and stopped because we didn’t know if we’d find anything else.  (We didn’t either, so it was a good decision but a boring American breakfast).  We got some lunch meat and rolls so we could picnic in the park, then headed up the long unpaved road to the park.  We hiked the Las Pailas trail, which still covered all the volcanic highlights:  steaming fumaroles, mudpots, waterpots, bubbling hotsprings, and even a waterfall.  The sites were amazing, though the sulfur smell got a little nauseating.  We saw agouti and coati, plus lots of birds and fuzzy black caterpillars.  We heard howler monkeys but did not see them.  It drizzled a little toward the end of the trail, but felt good.  We started to eat our sandwiches at the picnic table at the trailhead, but then the rain really started coming down so we ate in the car.  By the time we were finished, so had the rain.

        

The next day we originally planned to drive down to Palo Verde for the boat tour or possibly take a snorkeling sail, but in the end, the four of us decided just to hang out at the beach and pool on-site.  We ate apples and a few snacks as breakfast, then had a relatively early lunch at the hotel (with the bonus of a pool table for the boys to play).  There was lots of time at the pool where we were the only guests there.  It was a huge pool with a couple of waterfalls, and plenty of room to throw the boys, to their delight, and no one else there to annoy with the noise or splashes.  The beach was nearly (but not quite) deserted.  The water was so calm, clear, and warm.  The boys used their snorkel masks to spot fish (lots of puffer-looking fish, plus other types) and got to ‘roll’ with the waves a bit.  Playa Panama is a ‘blue flag’ beach, meaning it is clean and ecologically-friendly – and I have to agree.  The dark volcanic sand was a bit warm, but that just encourages you to get in that lovely water!  We went to Playa Hermosa for dinner (and sunset) at The Rock. The beach was a little more crowded and the waves a little bigger, but it was still lovely. 

         

The next day, after one last time swimming at the beach and a quick shower, we had a long drive toward Poas Volcano.  How can a major highway (#1) have just one lane in each direction?  Slow ride, but that’s what we expected.  Eventually, we checked into the Hotel Buena Vista, which was quite lovely, and just a short drive to the airport or Poas Volcano.  The boys enjoyed the small pool for a bit, then we walked the coffee trail, which explained a bit about the coffee industry in Costa Rica (plus had lots of lovely flowers).  We were feeling tired so decided to stay at the hotel and treated ourselves to a very nice dinner.  We watched the All-Star game in Spanish, which was an interesting experience.

  

On our last day in Costa Rica we had probably the best continental breakfast I’ve ever eaten.  No buffet, but rather a first a plate of fruit, followed by toast (with jam), then delicious banana bread and cinnamon rolls, with unlimited coffee, tea, and fresh orange juice.  Much better than expected.  Kudos to Hotel Buena Vista.  We checked out early then drove up to Poas Volcano, hoping to catch the crater before the clouds came in.  Well, we got there by 8:05 but saw no hint of the crater we knew was there.   It was a bit chilly, so we wore our jackets, and we were walking through the clouds but didn’t really get rained on.  We did the hike to the Botos Lagoon but didn’t see any hint of that from the viewpoint either.  However, the hike through the cloud forest was amazing – so creepy and very different than any of the other forests we’d hiked before.  Just hiking that trail made our trip to Poas well worth it.  Afterward, it was time to head to return our well-used rental car and hit the airport for the flight home.  Our wonderful trip to Costa Rica was over.  Pura vida!

 

Part III: Yellowstone and Bozeman, MT - The End of Two Fantastic Weeks!

On Monday July 14th (day 10 of our trip), we drove east through Lamar Valley, spotting so many bison and pronghorn -- and nursery rocks (boulders that help shield saplings from wind and sun).  Whoever first called Lamar Valley "America's Serengeti" was certainly right!  We drove across it several times during our stay at Roosevelt Lodge, always seeing plenty of wildlife.

 

See the nursery rocks?

We did a beautiful hike up to Trout Lake.  It was steep at the onset, but so many wildflowers, birds, and butterflies along the way.  When we started circling the lake (which had a beautiful reflection), there was a bison blocking our path, so we went the other way.  We never did get to completely circle Trout Lake because the bison stayed put and we didn't want to chance bothering him.  We never saw any of the otters I'd read about, the wildflowers were absolutely amazing, so this was still one of my favorite hikes.

 

So many wildflowers on this lovely hike!

This was the bison that made us decide NOT to completely circle the lake -- obviously some people weren't concerned.

We drove into Cooke City and picked up some sandwiches, which we ate at the picnic area near Soda Butte Creek. We saw a few black bear, with our first real bison traffic jam on the way back to Roosevelt.

Moose near Cooke City 

Soda Butte on a beautiful day

Part of dozens in the bison herd that crossed the road in front of us.

 We had reservations for the horseback riding trek to the cowboy cookout.  No cameras allowed while riding, but the trail went past Lost Lake, Lost Falls, and a petrified redwood tree.  The cookout was nice, with a singing cowboy, corny jokes, and a bunch of kids (including ours) making a teepee out of fallen tree limbs.  My boys really enjoyed the horseback riding and cookout, but it's not something I'd need to do again. A bit crowded, nose-to-tail riding, and hard to hear the entertainers.



Tuesday we drove toward Mammoth, seeing a black bear along the way, and enjoying the distant view of the Mammoth Hot Springs area.  We had an OK breakfast in Gardiner and picked up sandwich suppplies.  Driving back into the park, there were bighorn sheep on the cliffs -- and a beautiful bald eagle, who apparently likes to watch for the young sheep, deer, or goats that might fall from the cliffs.

We saw many black bears. Alas, we didn't get great pictures.

Seeing Mammoth Hot Springs from a distance helped us appreciate how big it is!

An up-close look at the bighorn sheep.

A pair of elk.  See the female?

A bald eagle watching for animals falling from the cliffs

We hiked a bit at Undine Falls in a light rain, then hail, thunder, and lightning briefly had us waiting in the car before we hiked out to the lovely Wraith Falls.

A close-up view of Undine Falls

A prickly little flower on the trail to Wraith Falls

We drove back through Lamar Valley, out to the Beartooth Highway enjoying the view of the mountains, even though it was a bit cloudy.  After stopping at the Top of the World Store, we continued east, intending to go at least as far as the Rock Creek Vista.  Well, the rain came.  At first, just a drizzle.  Then we could hear thunder and see lightning in the distance.  Maybe we were foolish, but we kept driving.  Then all of a sudden, more thunder & lighting -- but now closer -- plus hail or freezing rain.  The temperature dropped down to 35F.  By now we certainly wanted to turn back, but by then we were at the scary series of switchbacks with no room at all to turn around.  Eventually there was room to stop the car and we turned back.  It was surreal to drive on a narrow, icy road in a thunderstorm in July.  I tried hard not to think about the drop-off on the other side of those barriers!

Beartooth Butte

Pilot and Index Peaks

Mountain on the right, clouds on the left, and a sharp curve up ahead.

Another hairpin curve right ahead with ice coming down!

 

See the car tracks in the snow/ice/hail?

And the sun comes back -- boy, were we glad to be out of the storm!

After our trek not-quite-all-the-way on the Beartooth Highway, we drove back through Lamar Valley and saw some mountain goats on Barronette Peak, thanks to some nice photographers who let us peak through their spotting scope.  More deer, pronghorn, bear, bison, wildflowers -- and a rainbow!

The white spot in the middle is a mountain goat.

Barronette Peak -- there were mountain goats up there!  

 

Wednesday, we did the long hike up Mount Washburn using the Chittendon Road trail.  3 miles up and then 3 miles back (which actually hurt my legs more).  We had close encounters with a beautiful fox, some marmot, and a quartet of bighorn sheep that allowed us to take dozens of pictures of them.  It was a fairly clear day so we had great views of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone all the way out to the Tetons. This was a tough trail, but it was worth the sore muscles!

 

Along the Washburn trail -- we could see for miles!

  

  

View of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,
then beyond to Lake Yellowstone, and in the distance
the Absarokas (on the left) and a hint of the Tetons (on the right)

Yup -- snow in July!

We checked into the Western Cabins at Canyon (not really cabins at all, to my way of thinking, but still nice and the largest rooms we had in Yellowstone), then had a well-earned lazy night.  We saw weasels from our room, which was a nice treat.

Thursday brought us the morning ranger program on wildlife safety, where we got to get up close to a bison skull, elk antlers (heavy!) and a bear pelt. This was our only official ranger program of the trip -- the timing never quite worked out to do more.

We started viewing the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone along the south rim, first at the overlook of Upper Falls.

"Hidden" Falls -- well named

We did the rough Uncle Tom's trail -- 328 steps down, but felt longer than that! What a view of Lower Falls!

Then we stopped at the amazing Artist Point and took the same pictures everyone else does!

Along the North Rim of the Canyon, we stopped at Lookout Point and Inspiration Point.

We drove through the colorful Hayden Valley, seeing pelicans, eagles, geese, and egret along the Yellowstone River and cutthroat trout from Fishing Bridge.  An ice-cream treat allowed us a cloudy view of the Absaroka Mountains across from Lake Yellowstone, the largest alpine lake in the U.S.

Canada geese: nuisance in NJ but beautiful in Yellowstone!

Bison taking a steam near Mud Volcano

Thunder, lightning, and hail (again!) cut into our plans to further explore Hayden Valley, so we spent some time at the Visitor's Center.  Our younger son finished up his Junior Scientist and Junior Ranger assignments and picked up his prizes (patch and keychain).

The weather improved so we went back to the Brink of the Lower Falls -- eleven switchbacks and 600 feet down the side of the canyon (and then back up!), which was a little extra-difficult because it was a bit slippery, but the view at the bottom was fantastic.

 

Brink of the Lower Falls -- with the stairs from Uncle Tom's Trail visible on the left.

Back into Hayden Valley as sunset neared, which allowed us the amazing opportunity to watch a small grizzly chasing a coyote, which was chasing cranes.  Back and forth they ran.  Later we saw a second grizzly on the prowl, with the help of spotting scopes that were being shared.  We drove back to Canyon as it was getting dark and difficult to see the bison and elk on the side of the road.

Time to squint and use your imagination:  Just in front of the larger tree is a grizzly bear and a bit ahead and more centered in the photo is the coyote he's chasing.  They were far away from us, but this was as close as my zoom could get!

Friday, we checked out of Canyon and drove (slowly) out of Yellowstone.  We stopped back at Norris Geyser Basin to check out the Porcelain Basin (we'd done the Back Basin trail on day 1), then West Yellowstone for lunch and a bit of shopping.

 

We headed north through Gallatin Canyon to Bozeman.  The Museum of the Rockies was a nice change of pace and their dinosaur exhibit was awesome (not as big as the one in New York's Museum of Natural History) but it felt more up-to-date and was very user-friendly.

 

The boys enjoyed the blacksmith demonstration and pumping water in the homestead portion of the museum.

Saturday was our flight home -- and we were glad to be on our way, no matter how much fun we had in Wyoming and Montana.  Maybe one of the boys will go to college out west!  ;-)

Did you catch the first two installments of our vacation?  http://readyforthenextvacation.blogspot.com/2014/07/part-i-yellowstone-national-park-just.html

Maybe now I'll go back and write about our past trips.  Costa Rica, Shenandoah, Acadia, Rocky Mountain National Park, Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Aruba -- or maybe, I'll just start planning our next adventure!