Going back home

Smooth early morning organization, we are ready for our trip to the airport with luggage full of dirty clothes. If someone opens our luggage it will regret it!

We are traveling in business class, somehow we got automatically upgraded when we bought the ticket, which make the trip so much more pleasant. We leave behind the beautiful green hilly country where we really hope to come back one day.

We have to go through custom in Miami, Oscar is ready to book a hotel with swimming pool in Miami, he declares to be a vacation person which means he needs to be always in vacation!

He got the traveling bug...and how easily contagious ...

Bye Bye Sámara

Departing a beautiful location is never easy. It is like try to catch the last ray of hot sun, the last image of the beach and make sure to imprint the last memories. We say our usual bye bye to the hotel #1 and #2, the beaches and the waves and the turtle, the horses and the woodpecker we saw at breakfast.

We are on our way to S. Jose', still driving through the jungle, mountains, pasturage and nature more nature. They really seems to have it all.

We stop at a road restaurant, it is really true that only in the States you can not have a decent meal on a road trip.

A couple of hours later, we are on the outskirts of San Jose' where our hotel is. A very American Doubletree with at least a local architecture. We enjoy the warm pool, we decide against the swimming pool ...San Jose' is not as warm at night. We don't find the courage to explore the city. It is a little too late for the kids and it is New Year Eve so we don't know what the traffic would be like.

We try to return the car but the place is closed, oh well we manage to arrange to leave the car at the hotel parking with the key inside. Tomorrow is an early rise.

The special buffet at the hotel is pretty delicious and we already know we are not going to make it to midnight! The margarita drinks to inaugurate the new year seem pretty good to me.

A full relaxing day!

It is our last full day in Samara...let's make it relaxing and all for me. After breakfast at Playa Paraiso we go to the beach in the more secluded area.
When he gets a little too hot and we start roasting we decide to enjoy the hotel pool. We are the only one there ... the kids have fun, Alain gets some pizza for lunch. It is always the best treat!

In the afternoon, we enjoy a stroll on the beach, a little shopping at the lady with the good karma.

The dutch man, owner of a cafe on the beach, is semi-complaining about the Christmas crowd, I can not see what he is talking about. Samara still seem secluded and pleasant...maybe I should go back off season to understand him. I would guess it has been a while since he has experience crowd.

For dinner we have a great local experience at a local beach restaurant Sheriff (who would have thought we that name!).

Tamarindo and Playa Concha

Today we have to move in a new hotel, by chance we find one just across the street from the previous that somehow we had not consider because of lack of pictures on internet. The owner is a French Canadian, the restaurant is not open but the room are ok and the pool is nice. Two absolutely "must haves" in our choice.
After the move we take the road to Tamarindo, known resort town about 2 hours away. Road trip in Costa Rica are not fast but the scenery is always pleasant...
We get there and I can feel that this is not going to be our cup of tea. The day is overcast, the beach is crowded, and there is traffic in the only main street. We crab a lunch in a quite but pretentious beach restaurant and we just go through a little shopping.
We don't want really to stay there any longer...later we found out that it is also call Tamagringo, it appeals a certain type of travelers that we are not.

We start exploring the recommended Concha, it is crowded but pleasant, the sand is white and if the day would not be overcast the water would be really blue. There are a lot of locals and there is no much presence of tourists!

We find some more "little stuff" to buy. It has been a long day, we are heading back to our little Oasis of Peace.

We are having dinner at Esmeralda which is the restaurant across the street from Playa Paraiso where we go for pizza. The dinner is surprisingly really good because from the outside it did not look such as an appealing place.

The rule is, if you see enough locals get in!

Playa Pelada and Horseback Riding

A little exploration on the north side beaches, Playa Pelada was judge to be worth the stop plus there is a little beach restaurant.

We meet our companion of the Rancho horse-back riding...small world (the world of tourists).

After lunch we enjoy this very protected beach with some rocks and of course waves. Today, the kids are wearing a t-shirt they are at the border line of a sun-burn.

We can not lounge as much as we would have like because we booked our horse-back riding tour on the beach in Sámara. We get there a little late but the guy is cool and he does not really get why we apologize so much for our delay.

Horseback riding on the beach seem such a great way to enjoy the sun set. We go all the way to the end of Sámara beach and then up the road to Playa Carillo where our guide is determined to get a coconut. At that point we realize that Oscar is having a rush again but this time we are able to stop it to the neck area. A little coconut milk seem to be the cure-for-everything according to the guide turn doctor.

We are having dinner at El Lagarto, a great spot on the beach... dinner with your feet in the sand feels always like real vacation!

Beach and Turtle

We have to have a morning at the beach, we need two buggy boards and we are pretty much set!

The temperature is perfect and the waves are just perfect for the surfer kids. They stay non-stop in the water to catch the right wave.

At night we had booked a tour to see the turtle nesting. A guide come to pick us up and after 45 min. driving in a drizzling rain we get to this deserted beach. The wind was strong and there are strong waves. We meet another guide that tells us two turtles were already out. We still have hope to see some.

We sit on a fall tree trunk while our guide try to find sign of turtles. The kids are getting tired and try to find a comfortable position to sleep. (All the surfing use quite a lot of energy!). It is very dark all around, we can see the moon which is good from the turtle point of view, but the big waves might make it difficult for them to come out.

Other group of turtle watchers are out there, but there are no sign. We are loosing hope, and the kids are really tired to we decide to go back...until the guide spot one and he emits a little cry of joy!

We have the full experience of the turtle nesting that I have to say it is pretty impressive. A medium size turtle slide slowly on the beach and start looking for a good spot. She did not like the first location so she is moving a little. We are very quite, we don't want to be confused for predators and scare her off. After that she is settled, the guide dig a little bit of sand so that we can see the eggs dropping one after another lighted by a red flashlight.

It is incredible that they lay the eggs in the same beach where they are born. They retain memory of the location where they probably feel the safest. Oh nature give us so much to think about!

Once she is done with the kids, she began the "dance", she started covering up the eggs with sand by using her legs and sliding her entire body left and right. Once satisfied with the job she goes back in the water.

We are also totally satisfied with the experience and it would have been really a pity to have miss it!

Bye Bye Rancho and hello beach!

This morning we are leaving the Rancho, and it is pretty sad. It is really a special place where nature is overwhelming in more than one way. We say good-bye to the horses and the people and we start our trip towards the Pacific.
The highwaw 1 is really a little two ways road from where you can enjoy amazing panorama. We stop at a cafe' overlooking Lake Arenal and it is just so perfect. On the panoramic road around the lake you have some Suiss/German looking chalet B&B or little hotel. Clearly owned by some cold weather refugees. It is kind of funny to have roof made for snow in a tropical country.

Our second stop is at a little restaurant "El Vaquero" , with slow service but good attitude.

In the early afternoon we made it to Sámara that has the feel of the perfect beach town: not too developed, small hotels and a stunning beach with a double layer of vegetation, palm tree on the front and little hills with tropical tree on the back.

Our hotel Tico Adventure Lodge is cozy and submerged in nature.

We go for a walk on the beach and for a first swim the water ... it is really really warm!

Horseback Riding

We have been looking forward this next adventure, M & O have already visited the horses that are always around the restaurant. The ride starts with a river crossing, not the most reassuring one but one only hope that the horses knows what to do as it might have done it many times. We go around the lake (lake Arenal) and in the forest. Of course, Oscar had to have an Oscar's moment by developing a strange rush all over his face (we assumed he had touch a plant we found out later he is allergic to horses). Anyway, he was pretty brave and he was concentrating on the horse instead of the itching. Back on the rancho we went to look for some Aloe Vera from the garden...no need to run to the pharmacy. A little relaxing afternoon at the rancho, another yoga session for me.
We attempted a nocturnal visit to the volcano, we saw one lava explosion but it was start raining so we get to see only that one.

Nature at his best : Volcano Arenal and Jungle

We get up early as real farmers! We are ready for another day of exploring. The day is bright and clear so we decided to take a good look at the Volcano from the observatory that it is the terrace of a hotel. We were really lucky, the volcano was in full activity: rumbling, lava flowing, rocks tumbling, incredible noisy explosions and we can not stop looking at it. Every other minutes there is something happening. We take the old lava trail down to the river, it is quite a hike but we reward ourselves by a little dip in the water! Oh nature...

We climb up and have lunch at the observatory while continuing looking a the Volcano. An entire family of coati have entertained the kids for a long while.

We visit the little museum and then we get ready for another 3 km. hike across the hanging bridges. It is a very pleasant walk in the forest who gives you time to appreciate nature without the zip cord adrenaline. We are pretty tired!

Farm life and zipping

At 6 a.m. bright and early the kids want to milk the cows. It proves to be not as easy as we imagined. The cow attendant fills and entire bucket of milk in 3-5 minutes, it takes us forever to fill the bottom of it. M & O like it anyway, they go and check out on the calves and they make friend with Negra, the oldest cow who produce the most milk. Now I can tell you one or two things about cows and about the fact they have their own personality and some of them can be aggressive.

In the afternoon we venture outside the farm. We get to the zip cord location to check it out and after so much debate we decide to go for it. It is a real unique experience and I am really glad we did it. If there is a good place to experience it is Costa Rica. The first cross is kind of scary, we are 650 Ft. above ground, and it is a real adrenaline rush.

The view from the platform was incredible: the volcano, the jungle, the lake!

But as Oscar said it was fun and not fun (not fun because he wanted to do more!)

On our way back we stop to El Castillo, not really a town but as a great view of the Volcano. After so much activity we are heading back to the Rancho for our afternoon natural pool time.

Rancho Margot

Rancho Margot is not only a vacation resort it is a glimpse of how life should be. Next morning after breakfast, we decide to tour the Rancho with the in house guide. We knew it was a self-sustainable farm but we got the details of what that really entailed. I am really glad we got the tour right at the beginning to get a deep appreciation of the food we were eating, and the swimming pool, the soap, the hot water we were using. Everything was coming from the farm. we learn about compost, recycling, how to treat farm animals, vegetable garden, herb garden, absence of pesticide and rescue center. Suddenly, I start eating scramble eggs in the morning because I saw how real free range were these chickens. How nothing was smelling bad not even the excrement!

We fed the pigs and the kids got a kick out of it, they were squeaking and the piglet were running around while Matthias and Oscar were trying to diect them toward the water hose.
I was in charge of the washing!

I went to a Yoga class under a beautiful palapa, built on the hedge of the river, around there was only green incredible forests and maybe there was not so much need of yoga after all. The instructor is a auper nice lady that gives the right vibes.

On my way back, I join the family enjoying the pool warmed by the compost and with no chlorine, it is pretty unbeatable experience.

On the way to Costa Rica

As always our trips require some degree of organizational skills, however we are getting better at it by timing our thousands little tasks. We are jumping in a cab on our way to La Guardia Airport the day after a big snow storm that paralyzed the air traffic in the North East, but we have our traveler's luck and we have the smoothest drive to the airport ever!
The trip to Miami was great and the only nightmare was of course the almost two hours wait for the luggage. No one was really complaining, I am trying to imagine if the same thing would have happen in another country! People were everywhere and luggage were everywhere but the people and the luggage were not matching.
Anyway, we get to the hotel to catch few hours sleep before continuing our trip. Next morning the kids are cooperating, it must be the excitement of the trip, we are ready to fly to San José.
The airport in San José is impressive, modern, organize and only 10 min. waiting time for our luggage. Immigration fast and we are welcome as "Visitantes" and not "Aliens".

We take the car, we opt for not a 4WD, retrospectively maybe not the best idea, but we were assure that our destination did not need the 4WD. So we take our brand new car and we start our trip toward the rain forest.

The drive is about 3 3.5 hours, it is getting dark and rainy and from la Fortuna the road to the rancho is unpaved. Not quite sure how long is going to take the drive up but finally we made it. Roberto's look alike receptionist come to welcome us with an umbrella and take us to our bunglow. It is very confortable and we got a view of the night in the rain forest.