Costa Rica, Pura Vida-- San Jose and Arenal

A completely different type of trip this year- nothing historical about it.  My friend and I headed to Costa Rica for a bit a eco-tourism.

The trip was full of firsts for me: first time driving in a foreign country, first time seeing monkeys in real life, first time repelling.  There were some pretty scary moments but overall it was an AMAZING trip.

We started in San Jose, the capital, staying at the aLoft hotel.  It was a little remote, but having a car made it do-able.  We drove up into the hills for dinner at a great roadside restaurant.  I had some amazing chincharon, and some chips and salsa.  The place was totally local, which made it the perfect first meal. 

Downtown San Jose

Huge oxcart art

The first day we explored downtown San Jose- the cathedral and the museum, which was full of gold.  We had lunch at a little diner-style restaurant that was pretty good, and then hit the road for Arenal.  It was a long drive.  We stopped off in a local crafts Mecca for some shopping and to stretch our legs, and again to see some waterfalls at the side of the road.  By the time we got into the town of Arenal it was already dark.  We had dinner at a rather touristy restaurant, but the pollo alla plancha was delicious.  Then it was up the mountain, on a very long dirt road in the dark to the hotel.  We just made it before the office closed for the night!

Me, being brave

The next day was probably the best of the trip.  We went repelling in the
morning.  It was actually canyoning, which meant jumping down waterfalls.  It was the scariest thing I've ever done.  Jumping off high things is the one fear that I have.  But I did it!  I really thought I wouldn't be able to hold myself up on the ropes, but once I took that first tentative jump off of the top and realized I wasn't going straight to the bottom, it was all good.  I loved it- could have kept going for many more cliffs.  Afterwards there was a lunch, which was fine. 

One of the waterfalls in Tabacon

We spent the afternoon at Tabacon Hot Springs, the MOST luxurious place I've ever been.  The river has been diverted through a tropical paradise, where the volcanic waters tumble over rocks and falls creating an unearthly haven.  Some of the waterfalls act as natural massages.  Others were just lazy pools.  There were beautiful flowers everywhere, and delicious cocktails.  We spent a lot of time on the loungers in the adult area called ShangriLa.

It was another long dark drive back to the hotel.  The next morning we did a hike around the Arenal National Park with a guide from the hotel.  We saw monkeys and many different birds high up in the trees, as well as tons of exotic plants.  Then it was on the road again, the scenic route to Monteverde.  The ride was fine, lots of cows.