The tremendous trip tips
During our month in CR, we were only able to "reserve" a few days to explore this amazing country. Beware that if we weren't there to work, we would most definitely have chosen otherwise. As we had already been in the area before, we didn't feel like we "absolutely need, must and have to see" everything there. Today I am going to tell you something about those trips, where we went and what we did.
If you're also interested in our 1st CR adventure, check it out here. Eventually, if you're looking to get a full picture about our CR stay, have a look at this post.
If you're also interested in our 1st CR adventure, check it out here. Eventually, if you're looking to get a full picture about our CR stay, have a look at this post.
Basically, except for running to the beaches every day, we had planned some trips in the area to see more (mainly animals) in this wonderful country (yes, we really do love CR).
1) Playa Corozalito & the Ara Project
Total trip time: 1 day (possible to do in half a day)
Total trip time: 1 day (possible to do in half a day)
When going to the Ara Project you can very easily combine it with some beach time. Obvious, and the nearest choice, is Punta Islita beach but we wanted to see something else. I am not going to talk about Corozalito, as I would repeat myself (Big Beach Brochure to be found here).
Instead, I will let you know about our bird experience. You can book the tour online and also pay for it online which makes it much easier. It costs 20 dollars and for that, you get to learn about Macaws, watch them mess around and watch them being fed. You start with a bit of a lecture (but an interesting one!) about macaw distribution and what threatens them (or has threatened them before). Then you get to see the birds and you finish with some information about the macaw itself. For me, the last part was as interesting as the first one however, not everybody felt that way - the problem with this tour were the people (isn't it always?). Some arrived late, some talked all the time during the "lecture" and some left to see the shop during the last part. And I am still wondering now (yes, I linger on things a lot longer than I should :D) how they could be so rude. The volunteers there did their best, they were trying to tell you something assuming you are interested in the subject since you booked this tour. This made me listen even more and ask one question more just to (mentally) make up for those individuals.
The funniest moment was when one of the visitors asked if the volunteers knew the term "Ara". In her native language, she explained, you don't say macaw, you use the word "ara" instead. They replied politely that they knew the word but I was on the brink of saying "yeah, welcome to ARA project" ;) (I did not 'cause everybody has a blond moment once in a while. Yes, even I do :D).
However, to be completely honest, I expected a bit more. The place is huge and it's a shame they only show you a small bit of it (maybe there's a reason for that - but they could easily explain why they can't show this or that). Despite that, I was happy to be there and learn about the macaws, overall it was a nice interesting afternoon (and Telchac made so many great photos :)).
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| Just a little fella we met (right next to the road). |
Instead, I will let you know about our bird experience. You can book the tour online and also pay for it online which makes it much easier. It costs 20 dollars and for that, you get to learn about Macaws, watch them mess around and watch them being fed. You start with a bit of a lecture (but an interesting one!) about macaw distribution and what threatens them (or has threatened them before). Then you get to see the birds and you finish with some information about the macaw itself. For me, the last part was as interesting as the first one however, not everybody felt that way - the problem with this tour were the people (isn't it always?). Some arrived late, some talked all the time during the "lecture" and some left to see the shop during the last part. And I am still wondering now (yes, I linger on things a lot longer than I should :D) how they could be so rude. The volunteers there did their best, they were trying to tell you something assuming you are interested in the subject since you booked this tour. This made me listen even more and ask one question more just to (mentally) make up for those individuals.
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| Aren't they amazing?! |
The funniest moment was when one of the visitors asked if the volunteers knew the term "Ara". In her native language, she explained, you don't say macaw, you use the word "ara" instead. They replied politely that they knew the word but I was on the brink of saying "yeah, welcome to ARA project" ;) (I did not 'cause everybody has a blond moment once in a while. Yes, even I do :D).
However, to be completely honest, I expected a bit more. The place is huge and it's a shame they only show you a small bit of it (maybe there's a reason for that - but they could easily explain why they can't show this or that). Despite that, I was happy to be there and learn about the macaws, overall it was a nice interesting afternoon (and Telchac made so many great photos :)).
2) Samara trails & the Wildlife Refuge
Total trip time: 1 day (possible to do in half a day)
The day of these two tours started extremely early for us. The reason for that was that we had booked the refuge tour at 10am. Also, we wanted to start the Samara Trails tour as soon as possible considering how fast it could get hot. So at 6:30am we parked the car in Samara (unusually deserted at that hour) and hopped in the van that was supposed to take us to our starting point.
The trail was amazing, we saw many birds and plants and got to know a bit more about Costa Rica. We even met a little hairy fella that was having breakfast on the tree. We disturbed him a bit which he expressed by starting to pee when I stood almost directly under him. It wasn't very nice of him but, of course, I did not stand still and jumped away almost immediately. Not fast enough though - seemed like I had my first souvenir for the day.
After the tour, we grabbed some breakfast at the bakery in Samara (it was famous for its "European" bread and pastry and is recommended if you want to skip the Costa Rican specialities for a day or two). This was the first and the last time we tried this bakery. The croissants weren't bad and I can imagine going there every once in a while if I lived in CR but the month is not so long so we stayed on our CR diet :)
Our next stop was the wildlife refuge. We found the place without any problems, it just took a few minutes to make sure it is THE place as it was not marked in any special way.
Useful tip: Have a look at the directions in advance and reserve enough time in case it's more complicated than expected - especially when you have a booking. It is rude and unfair to other people if you arrive late or if you have a private booking and not arrive at all.
After we were sure we were at the right place, we had a little snack and went in. It was very nice that we were greeted with a jamaica drink (typical for CR and absolutely delicious!). Then after everybody arrived we could start (no late-comers, thank God :D). I am not going to bore you with all the details (it's much better to go and see for yourselves), there are just a few things you need to know:
a) a baby monkey in the refuge made sure this was a special day for me by peeing on me for the second time that day. So courtesy of Costa Rican monkeys I can say I am one of those people - are there many of us? :D
b) if you like animals and want to know how they help them and take care of them, this is the place. They asked not to post any pictures which I won't do but check out their website and you'll get the picture. It's not only the cutest thing you'll ever see but you get to support someone who is doing an amazing thing for these animals.
As the refuge is in Nosara, we thought (for about a second) of going there. Our hosts described Nosara as yoga lovers and hipsters' paradise and as we aren't either we decided to go to some other beach instead and make a day of it.
Total trip time: 1 day (possible to do in half a day)
The day of these two tours started extremely early for us. The reason for that was that we had booked the refuge tour at 10am. Also, we wanted to start the Samara Trails tour as soon as possible considering how fast it could get hot. So at 6:30am we parked the car in Samara (unusually deserted at that hour) and hopped in the van that was supposed to take us to our starting point.
The trail was amazing, we saw many birds and plants and got to know a bit more about Costa Rica. We even met a little hairy fella that was having breakfast on the tree. We disturbed him a bit which he expressed by starting to pee when I stood almost directly under him. It wasn't very nice of him but, of course, I did not stand still and jumped away almost immediately. Not fast enough though - seemed like I had my first souvenir for the day.
After the tour, we grabbed some breakfast at the bakery in Samara (it was famous for its "European" bread and pastry and is recommended if you want to skip the Costa Rican specialities for a day or two). This was the first and the last time we tried this bakery. The croissants weren't bad and I can imagine going there every once in a while if I lived in CR but the month is not so long so we stayed on our CR diet :)
Our next stop was the wildlife refuge. We found the place without any problems, it just took a few minutes to make sure it is THE place as it was not marked in any special way.
Useful tip: Have a look at the directions in advance and reserve enough time in case it's more complicated than expected - especially when you have a booking. It is rude and unfair to other people if you arrive late or if you have a private booking and not arrive at all.
After we were sure we were at the right place, we had a little snack and went in. It was very nice that we were greeted with a jamaica drink (typical for CR and absolutely delicious!). Then after everybody arrived we could start (no late-comers, thank God :D). I am not going to bore you with all the details (it's much better to go and see for yourselves), there are just a few things you need to know:
a) a baby monkey in the refuge made sure this was a special day for me by peeing on me for the second time that day. So courtesy of Costa Rican monkeys I can say I am one of those people - are there many of us? :D
b) if you like animals and want to know how they help them and take care of them, this is the place. They asked not to post any pictures which I won't do but check out their website and you'll get the picture. It's not only the cutest thing you'll ever see but you get to support someone who is doing an amazing thing for these animals.
As the refuge is in Nosara, we thought (for about a second) of going there. Our hosts described Nosara as yoga lovers and hipsters' paradise and as we aren't either we decided to go to some other beach instead and make a day of it.
3) Playa Hermosa & Palo Verde
Total trip time: 2 days (possible to do in a day if you're in the area)
Playa Hermosa and Playa del Coco aren't really your dream locations if you're like us. BUT we (meaning Telchac) had two perfect trip ideas and this was what we had to "suffer" through. So if you want to hear about this area the only thing I will tell you is that we found lots of more secluded (I daresay private) beaches which makes these places not worth it. The ocean is not trying to drown you here which may be nice :D but again not worth it in my opinion. Nightlife seemed to boom here but the kind of nightlife you'll find in any vacation town (and who comes to CR for the nightlife after all).
Let me get back to the positive side - our trips. First up were a little wildlife spotting and snorkelling cruise. As for the wildlife, we saw many dolphins, stingrays jumping beautifully out of the water, yellow-fin tunas and an amazing turtle. The snorkelling part allowed us to see many different fish, small and big, colourful and even more colourful (we saw the puffer fish!). It was our first time snorkelling which made it a lot more fun :D and which also caused our being completely exhausted afterwards.
The second trip was an early morning private cruise on Rio Tempisque - early morning meant there was no-one before us to disturb the animals and also there was no breakfast for us before the tour. It came really handy that we speak some (and getting better every day!) Spanish as our guide and captain did not speak almost any English. If you are planning the visit in this part of Costa Rica this is a MUST!!!
We saw monkeys, crocodiles, many different birds, bats (sleeping) and iguanas and more or less everything that lives there. We did not know where to look first! Amazing, amazing experience, I'd do it now if I could just snap my fingers and be there.
Useful tip: Book the earliest available tour - it's not so hot so animals don't hide from the sun, there is nobody before you who would disturb the animals and also in this particular case the water was lower meaning there was more space on the banks for the animals to chill on.
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| Breakfast time! (Very very proud of Telchac, I love this photo!) |
4) a "lil" hike to our Finca's waterfall
Total trip time: half-day (possible to make a day of it)
The Finca, where we were staying, had a waterfall on the property but you know how these things are, you stay somewhere for a long time and you do not see the things that are the closest. That's exactly the case, cause we were only able to squeeze this in during our last week. Our hosts had advised that we should have taken walking sticks but this only crossed our minds when we had already got in the car. So we decided we didn't need them and went on (BIG mistake :D). It started innocently enough, a nice forest path winding up and down. However, after a while, it got narrower and there was a steep slope on our right (I am a tiny bit afraid of heights) so our speed came down to 2 steps/min. After maybe ten minutes, I stated I was not going farther, which surprise surprise, Telchac did not fully agree with and I was convinced to continue straight ahead instead. So after another 20 minutes that included swearing and crying and spitting, we reached the waterfall. This was it:
We went for a dip and had to hurry back so it didn't get dark. Again, gruesome 30 minutes, with an added bonus: mosquitoes :D (at least we had a repellent). I was incredibly happy to see the car standing there and waiting for us.
After this, on our way back, we stopped for a moment to check something and got out of the car. And then we heard and, then, saw them. The family of howlers that have lived on the property and that we heard every day while we stayed there. They were having dinner up in the trees close to the road. So despite being in any kind of furious mood that I might have been in at that moment, it all went away and we could just marvel at how kind and beautiful CR has been to us.
These were the moments that made us love CR more and more. The unexpected, the unknown, the intangible. The moments we took with us and that we never ever forget. Last blog on this will be about THOSE moments, about unique things that are completely usual and normal there. Come back in two weeks to have a look and (possibly) a laugh. C U then!
We went for a dip and had to hurry back so it didn't get dark. Again, gruesome 30 minutes, with an added bonus: mosquitoes :D (at least we had a repellent). I was incredibly happy to see the car standing there and waiting for us.
After this, on our way back, we stopped for a moment to check something and got out of the car. And then we heard and, then, saw them. The family of howlers that have lived on the property and that we heard every day while we stayed there. They were having dinner up in the trees close to the road. So despite being in any kind of furious mood that I might have been in at that moment, it all went away and we could just marvel at how kind and beautiful CR has been to us.
These were the moments that made us love CR more and more. The unexpected, the unknown, the intangible. The moments we took with us and that we never ever forget. Last blog on this will be about THOSE moments, about unique things that are completely usual and normal there. Come back in two weeks to have a look and (possibly) a laugh. C U then!