Costa Rica Winter 2017
Fort Lauderdale 12/18/17
The night before a big trip is always a restless one. You can't help but mentally map out your plan of action for getting to the airport on time, checking in, and getting to the destination. Even though I've experienced the drive to Dulles airport multiple times, there's always an inexplicable novel feeling as soon as I get into the taxi. I'm excited, nervous, sleepy, yet energetic all at the same time. Our trip started off in Fort Lauderdale, a quaint, laid back Floridian town that's right by the beach. It was a relief to feel the warm sun kiss my skin after having my face freeze off back home. This was the second time that I've come to Fort Lauderdale, but I still love it more than any other part of Florida. And yes even more than Orlando, which is too touristy for my taste. As soon as we got to the hotel, I immediately changed into my swim suit and headed for the beach. Although the water was cold, everything else felt surreal. It was as if I was in a dream and at any minute my alarm for school would ring. Needless to say, I still haven't woken up from this dream.
Miami 12/19/17
Yesterday we were supposed to drive to Miami, but all three of us preferred to stay in Fort Lauderdale. The laid back life of Florida is a pleasant change from the hustle and bustle back home. We didn't have anything planned for these two days so we just went with the flow without worrying about time or work or obligations. From failing to find a sun hat in Macy's for my mom who forget hers, to spending a good hour on the beach doing nothing, it was probably one of the most relaxed days I've had since August. Soon we left for Miami and once we reached, we headed for dinner at this family owned Cuban restaurant. You could taste the authenticity and love in the food! When you travel, the best places to eat are where the locals go. The intriguing aspect of Miami is how integrated the Hispanic and Latino communities are with the rest of the city. There’s a perfect blend of those cultures with the typical Miami, Floridian culture and there was Spanish everywhere! From billboards to restaurants to advertisements to people speaking it as if they were in their own country. I probably learned a few new words, but it was amazing to observe how people stayed in touch with their roots even after coming to America. It's so beautiful that in this country, there are people from all over the world who bring their cultures and traditions and food and language, creating a melting pot.
Miami to San jose 12/19/17
When you wake up at 5am, the day feels twice as long. This can be a great advantage when traveling to a new place, but as soon as the late afternoon hits, it’s quite hard to keep your eyes open. We flew to San Jose, Costa Rica from Miami. The view while landing reminded me of the opening scene of the Netflix Original, Narcos. There were mountains surrounding the entire city and little red-roofed houses which populated the ground. As soon as we landed, we were swept off our feet by a refreshing breeze. The sun was powerful, but the breeze kept the weather pleasant. We rented a car from the airport and started driving to the hotel. I couldn't help, but feel like I was back in India! The little houses with bars on the windows and gates that were as tall as the house, people crossing the street when there was a ton of traffic, cars driving very close to one another...all of these were sights we’d see in India. Driving in Costa Rica was no child's play, you have to pay attention because everyone tries to stick their cars in front of you or drive 30 kph over the speed limit. We had already decided that our first day in San Jose would be a relaxed one, since all of us woke up at 5am for the 8:30am flight. We stopped for lunch in a surprisingly well-developed area with expensive looking apartments, a PF Changs, and a curb appeal like that of Washington DC. Surprisingly there wasn’t much to do here in San Jose. We drove from the airport to the hotel, but didn't find any restaurants worth eating at which is why, when we saw PF changs and what looked like a shopping center, we headed straight for it. Anyways, as soon as we got to Arenal, we would only be eating the local food. After lunch we went back to the hotel and rested for the remainder of the day, figuring out what we would do for the next two days here in San Jose.
San Jose 12/21/17
I would recommend that if you begin your Costa Rica trip in San Jose, don't spend more than one night there, because there is absolutely nothing to do and more often than not the volcanoes are closed to the public or there are too many clouds for you to go and see them. We decided to go see Irazu, a volcano, because the other one, Poas, was closed. The drive to Irazu was absolutely beautiful. As went up the mountain, not only did the temperature suddenly drop, but we were basically in the clouds. Everything was foggy and green and wet, but along the way we got to see the villagers working and going about their lives. The way of life here was so laid back and peaceful that it really made me think about taking a step back in my own life. After driving for an hour and a half to Irazu, we were sent back, because there was too much cloud coverage to see the crater with the greenish blue water in it. Disappointed, we drove all the way back down the mountain. However, we started getting a burning smell from the car, probably because the drive up the mountain really took a toll on the engine. In the name of safety, we drove all the way to the airport to exchange the car. If you will be driving in Costa Rica, double or triple check to make sure that the car you rented is in tip top shape for you to drive around in. After exchanging the car, we decided to check out downtown San Jose for lunch. It was three o clock and all of us were starving since we has eaten breakfast at 8:30am. Let me just tell you, San Jose downtown is barely a downtown and more like the market place in Mumbai. There were barely any restaurants except for McDonald's and everything was run down and dreary. Yet again, absolutely nothing to do. The traffic, on top of everything else, was three times worse than outside the area. It took us so long to drive back to the hotel. By the time we got there it was 5:00pm and we hadn't even had lunch. Over dinner, we modified our reservation for the Arenal hotel so that we could arrive a day early. .
Arenal 12/22/17
All of us were super excited to drive to Arenal. We packed up, ate breakfast, and started the three hour, scenic drive from San Jose. There were mountains everywhere as well as a lot of greenery and little towns. Halfway through the drive we pulled over near this small stall, managed by two kids who were selling pineapples. Even though I've taken five years of French and three of Latin, I knew enough Spanish to be able to buy a pineapple from them. They were very happy and couldn't stop smiling when they saw that they had foreign customers. Everyone in Costa Rica was so sweet and welcoming! We gave the two siblings an extra dollar for putting in extra effort to cut the pineapple and put it in a to-go container for us. Their faces lit up with the most warming smiles I've ever seen; I couldn't help but smile myself. We said “Adios” and continued the drive to Arenal. In no time, we stopped again and once again, I had to use my broken Spanish to buy fresh coconuts. The refreshing coconut water reenergized us. I've never had such good coconut water in my entire life! Full with fruits, we neared the hotel, only to stop yet again. This time it was for a sloth in a tree. At first we didn't know what everyone was looking at, but after whipping out our binoculars, we could see the sloth hugging the tree and taking a peaceful nap. Our first animal sighting was complete! Finally when we reached the hotel, we were greeted with a delicious elixir of orange and pineapple juice. I would one hundred percent recommend staying at El Silencio del Campo in Arenal. They have a bunch of adorable villas in a secluded area of the rain forest, as well as multiple natural hot springs that you can walk to from your villa. There were walkways, lined with tropical plants and flowers, that connected everything on the property. As we walked through the camp there were rare tropical birds resting in the nearby trees and singing as we walked by. After talking to the concierge, we went to the La Fortuna Waterfall, which happened to be only fifteen minutes away from the hotel. Not only did we have to descend about 500 steps to get to the waterfall, but we had to work our way through extremely slippery rocks and then all the way back up once we were done . It was totally worth it in my opinion! The waterfall was powerful enough to create waves that would push us up against the rocks and even though I was covered in goosebumps the entire time, I still enjoyed the waterfall. Walking back up to the parking lot basically killed our calves, which is why we tried to get to the hot springs at the hotel as fast as possible. There's nothing like sitting in the warm water, surrounded by tropical vegetation on all sides, and just listening to the sound of nature.
Arenal 12/23/17
During our first night in Arenal, we sat together as a family and planned a day of hiking and zip lining for our next couple days here. I woke up excited and slightly nervous. Even though I've gone zip lining before, it's a lot like a roller coaster, where when you're waiting in line and you have butterflies in your stomach despite the fact that you've rode the coaster at least five times before. Because we booked the 11:30am zip lining and self guided hiking tour, we got to enjoy the breakfast at El Silencio as well as the tropical Costa Rican morning. With a view of the birds eating fruit, we downed a typical Costa Rican breakfast inclusive of eggs, Gallo pinto, Lizano salsa and hot sauce, and coffee. With full stomachs, we headed to Sky Adventures for ziplining and hiking.
It's better to start off with hiking and end with ziplining, which is what we did. The walk through the rainforest was so calming and relaxing for the first hour and half. We weren't able to get a guide, which is probably why we didn't see any animals, but we still got to see a lot of tropical vegetation. I couldn't help but feel like I was in the setting of Jurassic Park. All we could hear were the birds singing and the trees swaying with light breeze. We crossed about four to five different hanging bridges and even came across a small waterfall on the hike. It really felt like we were all alone in the middle of the rainforest! The bridges were also fun to cross, because you could look down and see the thick foliage of the rainforest or you could look to the side and see Lake Arenal. I got a ton of photos on my film camera that I cannot wait to develop! We didn't even realize that we had descended all the way down into the rainforest until the climb back up began. It was tough, very very tough. All of us were sweating profusely as our muscles worked hard to get us back up to the beginning of the trail. Once we reached the top we all tried to catch our breath, barely able to speak for a couple of minutes. After grabbing a quick bite at the Sky Adventures center (which actually happened to have a great lunch), we got geared up and proceeded to the first of seven ziplines. Let me just say that the ziplining we did in Puerto Rico was nothing compared to the one here! For the 30 to 40 seconds that I was on each zip line, it felt like time itself had stopped. I would look to my left and see the gorgeous Lake Arenal, still as a painting, or I could look down and see the rainforest zip past me. It actually felt like I was flying. Even though we could reach up to 60 to 70mph on these ziplines, it was peaceful, but thrilling all at the same time. As I rode that last one, I knew that I would never forget this adventure. We went back to the hotel and once again took a dip in the hot springs. Coming from the cold winter in the states, we really cherished the warmth here in the tropics.
If you're in Arenal, the best place for dinner is definitely a small soda called Tierra Mia. I can still remember the taste of the chicken with the star fruit sauce that I had. Here in Costa Rica everything tastes so fresh and pure, I'm not a big fan of chicken, but I completely enjoyed my dish. We went back to the hotel after a filling dinner and got ready for another day of adventure.
Arenal 12/24/17
There are a plethora of excursions in Arenal and at least five places that offer the exact same thing. This makes it very difficult to figure out what you want to do. My family can be quite indecisive when we have more than two options to choose from, but after careful evaluation and driving to some info centers, we decided to go horseback riding. None of us have ever ridden a horse before, but my dad and I have ridden a donkey, elephant and camel, so how different could a horse be? To say the least...quite painful. Four days later and my inner thighs still hurt. We all mounted our horses and joined a Pakistani family for the ride up the mountain. At first it was quite scary, because with each bump or slip of the horse’s feet, it felt like I was definitely going to fall off. But after a little bit, I got the hang of balancing my weight and guiding the horse. Actually, we barely had to do anything, because the horses themselves were very cognizant of what the tour guide was doing. As soon as he stopped his horse, all of our horses stopped too and as soon as his horse started running, all of ours would run too. Let me just say that riding a running horse is the most physically painful thing we did on this trip. I kept bouncing up and down as she ran, but there was a rush of adrenaline that made it more fun than painful. On the ride, we got to see the Arenal volcano from a good viewpoint as it towered above us, its tip covered by clouds. It was a beautiful and serene view. We began our descent and as we neared the stables my mom spotted a toucan! We had heard a loud bird and tried to see what it was, turned out that it was the bird we were waiting to see the entire trip! Soon we dismounted the horses, thanked the guide and headed back to the hotel. My legs were so sore that I could barely walk, but it was all worth the pain. I felt like I had made a special bond with my horse whose name just so happened to rhyme with mine. I would always remember this experience. It truly was one of a kind as well as the best way to celebrate Christmas Eve.
Arenal to Monteverde 12/25/17
We were all so sad to leave Arenal, but we had to drive to Monteverde for the next part of our trip. Unfortunately this also meant transitioning from beautiful 70 degree days to nights where the temperature would go down to the low 50s and high 40s due to the wind. While I was sitting on the patio of our villa, waiting for my parents to get ready to leave, a timid, but talkative or meowative (I guess is a better description) cat curiously stuck it's head out from behind a bush. He meowed at me and slowly started walking towards me. Then all of a sudden, he ran into my legs and kept rubbing his body against them. I pet his soft coat and decided to name him Mr Meow Meow, because he just wouldn't stop meowing. I played with him for a good half hour and learned that he absolutely loved belly rubs. I still miss Mr Meow Meow, leaving him made leaving Arenal even harder. We had nothing planned for our arrival at Monteverde except a bird watching tour the next day. This was the second to last stop of our Costa Rican adventure and the sadness had already started to settle in. The drive up the mountain was very different than the one to Arenal from San Jose. The wind picked up and the terrain changed drastically. It looked like Ladakh, dry and barren but along the way we saw signs for sugar cane juice. In India, we down gallons of it. Well not gallons, but a couple glasses at least. It's a very refreshing drink, especially for the humid weather in India. The signs led us to this small little house with a sugar cane press right next to it. With the little Spanish I knew, I was able to talk to the guy in charge. We got to work the machine ourselves and after extracting the juice from the sugar cane, the hospitable manager added lime and ginger to it. I can still taste the harmonious blend of these flavors. We took some to go and continued on to Monteverde. Before we left, the manager wanted a picture with only my mother and I to show his friends, which made all of us chuckle. He even tried to use google translate to tell us that the best part of India are its women! The people in Costa Rica are very funny, but also very genuine and sweet, something I'll definitely miss once we go back home. In Monteverde we stayed at El Establo, which is a huge property with 9 buildings, it legit took us at least 7 min to drive from the reception building to the 800s building where our room was. After unloading the car, we headed for the main town and ate lunch at a super authentic place called Amy's. Their chicken Casado (a dish with rice, beans, salad, and chicken or another type of meat) was probably the best one I've had so far! Because all of us were tired and ready to relax for a little before an early morning walk the next day, we went back to the hotel and kept everything ready for another rainforest promenade.
Monteverde to San Jose 12/26/17
We woke up at 6am, but it seemed as though the sun had already awoken before us. Light pooled into the room and when we opened the door, a rush of cold air came in, making me shiver. It was so cold that even though I made sure to wear three layers before leaving for the walk, I was still freezing. After our walk, we would have to drive back to San Jose and fly out the next day to Newark. I just couldn't believe that our trip was almost over, it felt long, but not long enough. We drove up to the center where the walk was going to start. It was no wonder that they called the Curi Cancha Reserve, the Cloud Forest, because if I looked it up, it felt as though I could touch the clouds. Five minutes into our walk, the guide spotted a Motmot (2nd image). It was perched on a low branch, staring off into the distance, still as a statue. It's beautiful blue feathers reflected the little bit of light that found its way through the rainforest. As we continued our walk, we heard many different kinds of birds and got to spot a small toucan species (1st & 3rd images) as well as a female Quetzal (4th image). The toucans small and a lush green with a very strong beak. Everyone crowded the spotter, which is like a telescope, each time the tour guide spotted a bird and positioned the instrument for us to get a closer look. The pictures featured above were all taken through that instrument. This walk was much less arduous and more relaxed than our last rainforest walk. It was enjoyable except for the cold breezes that made my ears numb. We learned a lot about the wildlife in the cloud forest and the types of birds that frequent the trail. If you're a bird enthusiast, then I would definitely recommend these type of walks, but if you're like me and love a challenge, go hiking in Arenal. There wasn't much to do in Monteverde and frankly, I wished we stayed in Arenal for one more night, but it was a good experience to drive through the mountains. After a three hour walk, we went back to the hotel and gathered our belongings, ready to drive to San Jose. On the way, we stopped for coconut water and I got some amazing shots on my film of a woman cutting the coconut with a huge knife and her daughters swinging from a tree on a homemade swing. Once we reached the hotel in San Jose, it felt like our trip was just about to begin since we started it off in this city and in the same hotel. Because it was our last day in Costa Rica, I made sure to soak in as much as sun as I could before going back to the frigid temperatures back home. It was an amazing trip and I was so happy that I could now check a Central American country off of my list.