Even more pics from the end of the school year :) Then onto Costa Rica!
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Sora and friends at Mission San Juan Bautista. One of her best
friends, Kaitlyn (sp?), is moving away though will finish
next year at Noble still so that's been a bit sad |
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Jad at the year end dance festival. 2 classes did
a TikTok Indian inspired dance this year! |
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Kai was sick for a few days so he got lots of rest at home
and finished the Lego Baby Yoda that Popo gave him |
There was a bit of a heat wave in early summer so there was a lot of water play. Luckily, the Aoalins have been very generous with us invading their pool. We also hosted the garage party at the end of May and had a lot of water balloons and gun fights that day. Lots of fun :)
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| Fill up those balloons and resevoirs |
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| Everyone got into the action |
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| Lucky the party goers did not get splashed :) |
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| Before hopping in the Aoalin pool |
Jad had his soccer tournament. It was up in Redwood City so was a bit of a distance but good experience for him. They won 1/4 games but had fun
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This girl on the other team was really good. Latino
soccer families :) |
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| Mojo, Jad, Colton and Ashton. Just missing Orion |
I got two weeks of vacation this summer and we had thought we would try to make it to Thailand to visit my dad. Joe and Chris couldn't make it with their families though so we decided to postpone a Thailand trip until next year (luckily, I have a bit more time off then too.) We thought about Japan (where everyone seems to be going these days) but though it might be fun to go somewhere new. We already went to Europe last year so in the end, we decided to go to Costa Rica.
I was there for 2 months in 2003 as part of a medical Spanish learning program. I went with Jean and Suzanne, Emily Willner and a few other med students. We were mainly based in San Jose but every weekend, we'd hop on a bus to another town/area from Limon to Manuel Antonio to Arenal/Monteverde to the Nicoya Peninsula. It was a great time and I have fond memories of volcanoes, beaches, sloths, monkeys, tropical birds, cheap food/drink and lots of time with friends. I don't think I'd be such good friends with Jean and Suzanne now if not for that trip and for that I'm extremely grateful.
Travel with the kids would be different, of course. We rented our own car and planned for three places: Manuel Antonio, Arenal and Tamarindo, figuring we'd see the animals in Manuel Antonio along with some beach time then head up to the cloud forest to see the volcano and go ziplining then finish off with some relaxing beach days on the Nicoya Peninsula. It was really hot on the trip, usually 80-90's and humid, but we dealt with that like we did in Asia. Go out in the earlier mornings, come back to the hotel/rental when possible to rest in the afternoon and maybe go out again in the evening. Mosquitoes were ubiquitous but I think that's probably a problem in any tropical place. It was also really expensive! I knew that the $1 beers and $3 dishes of 2003 were gone but I did not expect the cost. Touristy areas were comparable with US prices and non-touristy areas with costs about 60% US. Most restaurants will also charge a 13% tax as well as a 10% service charge (wasn't consistent) so that's almost another 25% to the total. I don't know how to locals afford it though maybe overall, it means Costa Rica is better off than other Latin American countries.
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A picture of me from the old days..
ahh, good times :D |
Due to some flights and efficiency planning, our trip out was a red eye directly from SFO to San Jose CR. We had a nice day then headed off to the airport at about 7pm. I'm sad that the Priority Pass accessible lounges are all on the A side of the SFO International Terminal as we always seem to be on the other side (they are not connected) so we didn't get to use any lounges this time. We flew out at about 1130p and the kids were pretty tired by then so they slept on the plane. I'm very proud of our kids for being such good travelers. They each carried their own backpack with cloths and a few items while Amy and I had packs with our stuff and various items and that was it. No big suitcases or anything. I felt kinda proud when seeing families carting all their stuff around the airports :p
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| Jad knocked out on the plane |
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Shuttled to pick up the car. Adobe car rental was very professional
and cost about $55 a day |
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After a quick meal at a local spot, we began driving
and all the kids passed out in the back |
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Our first stop was at Crocodile Bridge on the
Rio Tarcoles.. just two crocs below |
Our VRBO rental turned out to be very nice (thanks, Amy!) It was between the windy hilly road between Quepos and Manuel Antonio National Park. Plenty of room for us with two bedrooms and the small pool in the back was the best. Our only mishap was the scorpion that came out of the drain in the kids shower (I caught it in a cup and tossed it outside).
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| A nice homey base for us |
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| The pool was great for cooling off from the heat |
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The first evening, we had dinner at a fancy marina area in Quepos
and then went to the local Pops for ice cream |
The next day we met our guide Pablo (though his name is actually Paul and from Toronto) who took us into Manuel Antonio National Park. Again, the price was steep at about $50 per person but the park delivered immediately as we saw a sloth hanging out under the eves of a restaurant even before we got in the entrance. We saw all sorts of cool animals in the 2 hours it took to leisurely walk through the park with Paul and his scope. What's amazing to me is that the animals just hang out near enough to the path for people to see and there are so many of them. Manel Antonio isn't that big I guess but, from the maps I can see, the paths you walk are only about 20% of the park, so either the animals are attracted here for some reason of they are just so abundant everywhere in the park. Very cool to just walk along and see so many animals though.
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| This two toed sloth was just chillin' |
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Monkeys came right up to us.. they apparently
steal stuff if you're not careful |
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| Three toed sloth through the scope |
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A fer-de-lance the deadliest snake in
Central America due to its aggresive nature
(also seen through the scope!) |
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Crab are an incredibly important part of the
ecosystem of the park |
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This really impressed me because these Rainbow Grasshoppers were
on a branch high up in a tree (guide scope!) |
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| Black iguana on the beach |
The beaches of Manuel Antonio are also renowned and less crowded. I didn't mention earlier that June is their early rainy season so less tourists and slightly better prices than their busy season, which is Dec-May. The water was warm and the waves generally mild so it was a lot fun to hang out in the water. Kai and Sora braved the bigger waves while I stayed close to Jad.
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| Really beautiful beach inside the park.. we hung out for a couple of hours in the water |
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Jad looks like he's drowning here but the water
is really only up to his waist |
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This mama monkey and baby came right up next
to Amy |
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| Haha, we saw a lot of the animals on this sign :) |
We grabbed lunch at a place near the park entrance that our guide had recommended then went back home to relax and swim for the afternoon. Later that day we went out to El Avion, a restaurant with an old plane they had turned into a bar. Kitschy (there was a lot of that type of thing there) but still fun.
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My first michelada since 2003 (made with
lemon juice rather than tomato Mexican style) |
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| A nice sunset from the restaurant balcony |
The next day, we drove out to Nauyaca Falls. It was about 45 mins by car and cost $10 a person to walk 2.5 miles along a trail to the falls. You could pay more to have a truck drive you or even more to ride horses there but we just opted to walk. The way there was a bit tough as it was a steady uphill though really only I had trouble. Kai pushed me on the steep parts and Jad also helped to pull me along. Sora would have helped too but the boys were more eager to so she didn't as much. Coming back downhill was much easier.
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Even in the early rainy season the falls were pretty big.. I can't imagine
them in the middle of rainy season. This was the upper part of the falls. |
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The lower falls were where you could swim. It was a bit chilly but not too bad
and when you got out, it wasn't super cold because of the humidity. |
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We all had a dip though the water was too rough to really get in there. There
were guides who brought another group to climb / rappel up the falls
which looked really wet (and dangerous :) |
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| One more swim in the pool before leaving .. such a luxury :p |
The next day, we had breakfast then packed up and headed out to the Arenal area. There are technically two areas in the central part of the country to visit, Arenal and Monterverde. Arenal has the volcano and Monteverde has more jungle and animals, both have ziplining and waterfalls etc. We opted for the Arenal area, which was about 4.5 hours driving. It's said that everywhere in Costa Rica is about 4 hours away from another, not so much because of the distance as it's a fairly small country (same size as W. Virginia) but the roads are small and slow.
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We stopped in San Ramon for a nice lunch at Soda El Chapperal
Giant empanadas here along with some good shakes. |
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Got our coconut at a small local market where they
even chopped it up so we could eat the meat! |
We stayed at the Heliconias Nature Inn and Hot Springs. They got really good reviews on various sites so I took a chance. Overall, the place was really nice. I think it was largely family run and it seems they have been slowly building up their property over time, adding rooms, pools, hot spring soaking areas, etc. There were probably about 20 rooms of various sizes but, maybe because of low tourist season, it was very quite and peaceful. Almost too much so as we were the only family there on three of the four nights we stayed. There was a huge pool and some warm spring tubs (most likely river water that was heated and then pumped over, rather than natural hot spring water) but only two of the five were filled while the others were under going maintenance. There was also a restaurant on premises where both locals and tourists could come by but it was pretty expensive. Our included breakfast was there as well (best gallo pinto that we had in CR) but after 4 days, it got pretty repetitive.
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Our "deluxe" treehouse upgrade.. the TV was nice as we ended
up spending a lot of time here due to the rain |
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| There were also hammocks underneath |
Our first day out, we explored La Fortuna town. It really is a pretty small place with shops, restaurants and tour booking places around the main square and church. We picked up a couple souvenirs from an artist collective and got pastries from La Principal for lunch. Then we headed to El Choyin Rio Termal, the hot spring river. So, because of Arenal Volcano, there are some hot springs around this area. Various hotels and properties have tapped into them to create some really amazing resorts with multiple pools of varying temps that are pretty cool, the most famous of which is probably Tabacon Hot Springs. Tabacon uses naturally heated water from a nearby spring and is pretty amazing, but also costs almost $100 per person for a day pass (which is crazy!) Behind Tabacon is the Arenal river which is also warmed by the same geothermal energy. The river is more of a local attraction, though there were plenty of touristas too, and free! Though there was a $10 street parking "fee".. we ran into many of these situation near attractions where one or several people would be regulating parking and charge you something. It's a bit of a protection racket but seemed accepted by even locals so we went along with it. The river itself was very cool once we walked down to it. Very warm and there were several pools where people spread out. It wasn't too crowded though also certainly not private but I can see where it could get really packed in the high tourist season.
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| Really neat experience soaking in the hot spring river |
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| Sora spent much of her time trying to catch some fish |
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| Jad photobombing Amy |
As is typical in the rainy season of the tropics, the clouds rolled in in the afternoon so we headed back to the hotel to relax. The next day, we started off bright and early after breakfast so we could make our ziplining appointment. I chose Sky Adventures Arenal which has 8 big ziplines (according to them the highest, longest and fastest in CR though I'm not sure about the accuracy of that statement. Jad was a bit apprehensive at first but he became comfortable very quickly, especially as he had to go with Amy or me. Sora and Kai also had to go together because of their weight. I was the one who stopped towards the end of one line as I was probably the lightest when I was by myself. We were lucky that the rain stopped while we were ziplining and we had some great views (though never got to see Arenal volcano itself) over the canopy. The kids said it was their favorite activity in CR so I'm glad they had a great experience.
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| The Heliconias restaurant had a kitschy giant sloth photo op |
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| Kitschy hand at the top of the mountain where the ziplining started.. Pura Vida! |
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| Kai and Sora zipping in |
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| Look at Jad smiling :D |
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A quick break in the middle with a view
of Lake Arenal |
Sky Adventures also came with a hiking path with two hanging bridges. I am not sure why we even paid for this as it was on an unmonitored path near the parking area. I suppose if there were more touristas, maybe they would be more careful maybe? Anyway, we set off on an easy hike that turned out not to be short or easy at all. It was a trek through the forest and we did eventually reach the two hanging bridges (it was neat to be above the forest canopy but we didn't see any animals) but it started raining so we turned back. The rain increased in intensity until it was a fair thunder storm by the time we got back to the car. We were all a bit soaked but it was a fun experience for the most part.
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| Natural umbrella for Jad |
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| One of the hanging bridges |
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| I love how the mists came over the forest and mountains there |
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That night we had dinner at a super local place near
Heliconias.. their special was slow roasted skewered pork :) |
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| I found a frog in our bathtub later that night |
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...Time warp! .. it's now Aug 25th and I'm just getting back to the blog. After our trip, July was busy with visitors and then we went to San Diego and then school started .. I'll stop this post for now as it's already super long and continue with Costa Rica part II and catch up over the next few weeks :)
