Man and Woman vs WILD

A Green-billed Toucan at La Paz

No trip to Costa Rica would be complete without a few wild adventures. Home to canopy tours, volcanoes, cloud forests and all sorts of poisonous creatures, creepy crawlies, and colorful birds, Nicaragua and Costa Rica offer a lot in the way of adventure. Our wild encounters took the form of a canopy tour that included a 750 m line (nearly a half-mile), a late night with a leatherback turtle, walking among the tops of the trees in the cloud forest, watching red hot magma spew from a volcano, swimming in the pool of a waterfall, getting up close with hummingbirds and all sorts of other critters, hiking through the forest at night to see the nocturnal critters in action, and driving through some of the most beautiful landscape we’d ever seen (it is so similar to New Zealand – it’s absolutely gorgeous).

Since we’ve already talked about the night watching the leatherback and the volcanic eruptions, let’s take you on a journey through the cloud forest…

For years we’ve been planning a trip to Costa Rica (in fact, we would have gone in 2007 had we not been invited to service yet) so when we got the invitation to Belize, we decided we’d get to Costa Rica for the 2008 holidays and we’d do all the things we’d previously planned. One of those was a trip to the cloud forest in the Monteverde reserve. We stayed in the neighboring village of Santa Elena, arriving on Christmas Day after a scenic drive from Playa Tamarindo. The roads were quiet and we were able to stop at every spot along the way to try to capture some of the beauty of the mountain landscape. It was one of our favorite Christmases. So, upon arriving in Santa Elena, we passed our hostel a couple times and finally saw the sign on the nondescript building, only to be welcomed to one of the best places we stayed on the entire trip – Sleepers Sleep Cheaper Hostel.

Sleeper's Hostel, it doesn't look like much from the outside, but the roooms are huge, very cheap, and quite amazing.

The owner, Ronny, and his family are super-friendly and we had a beautiful room overlooking the mountains with Volcan Arenal off in the distance. This was also the coldest place we stayed being right within the mountains just a few miles from the cloud forest - it was great. Ronny helped us plan our days in the cloud forest then we made our own dinner in the big kitchen and rested for the upcoming busy day!

The rain began to fall the night before and was strong through the night – with forceful winds that blew cold air through the windows. We awoke early wondering if the canopy tour would still go in such strong weather, and wondering if we should hook ourselves up to a cable and fly above the valleys in said elements. After a hearty breakfast with Ronny’s family and the other guests, we put on as much clothing as was reasonable to stay dry and warm and boarded the van to Extremo Canopy Tours. There were too many options for the zip lines, but we selected Extremo because it has some of the longest and highest lines and because it goes out over the valleys rather than just in the cloud forest. This way you see much more than just trees (we’d already done the zip line here in Belize among the trees and after a while, it’s just the same on a different line).

what have we gotten ourselves into with this ziplining?

We were both a bit anxious about the weather, but clearly the crew was still taking us out – Ginnie asked one of the guides about still going and he just said “yes, it’s more extreme like this.” So, that was that. We got into our gear and made our way to the lines. It was so much fun! Extremo has 14 cables (4 of which are crazy long: 1-1410 ft, 2-1275 ft, 3-1800 ft, 4-2250 ft) with heights ranging between 225 ft and 450ft above the valley floor, a Tarzan Swing, and a 90 ft Rappel.

A video of Anthony's Tarzan swing through the...err...jungle/rainforest

Flying out over the valley we could see cows grazing hundreds of feet below us and streams and fields and the secondary forest. We had a mix of lines among the trees with the longest out over the valley. On a few we were attached together making it even more extreme. The rain held off fairly well, but our first long line was one we did together when the rain and wind decided to pick up, blowing us side-to-side as we flew for 1410 ft.

Hold on tight!

Rain impacts the braking since we use our own hands (gloved, of course) and the leather soaked up the rain and reduced friction on the cable, so we did come in pretty fast when it was the two of us. We each had a couple lines where we had to be stopped by the guides as we came in and just weren’t slowing down! Not to mention, it really takes upper body strength and you have to sort of pull yourself up to then press down to stop and it’s just not as easy for females physiologically, but we are also generally lighter so don’t get as much speed, but still… On the final really long line, everyone was a bit worried about stopping somewhere in the middle – you don’t want to just have to hang there and wait for the guide to come and pull you in (or worse, have to go hand-over-hand and pull yourself in, which Ginnie had to do on a super-short line that she didn’t get much speed on), so Ginnie went first and held very loosely with the brake hand so as not to inadvertently press down and lose speed; however, this was not the best strategy either since a huge gust of wind hit her just right and spun her backwards! It wasn’t anything scary, in fact it was fun, but it caused a bit of concern as to how exactly she’d be able to brake! No matter, the guide came on out as she got close to the platform and pulled her in. Then came Anthony and he was doing great, but for whatever reason the guide said “he’s not going to make it.” They must be able to tell by the sound of the person coming on the line if he has enough speed, so the guide quickly unhooked Ginnie and headed right out to meet Anthony. Turns out, Anthony made it fine without the assistance of our guide.

One of the best sections at Extremo is the Tarzan swing. Basically, the guide drops you off a platform and the bungee cord you are attached to swings way high up to the tops of the trees while at the same time, swinging back and forth. We heard the first people go and their screams sounded intriguing, we knew we couldn’t just sit it out – so we “jumped” right in. It was so fun, you just free fall then the bungee catches and you swing ridiculously high. Some of the others in the group asked Ginnie if she was a dancer because evidently she was “graceful” as she swung – I think it has to do with loving freefall and combined body memory from cheerleading, I think I just automatically tightened up and held my legs together and just rode the fall.

Ginnie's oh-so-graceful swing on the Tarzan rope

We felt like we could end the tour with that, and we still had that crazy long line to go! We loved the canopy tour, it’s far better than the one here (when we were putting on the gear Ginnie told the guide we’d done this before in Belize and he said “Belice?” and then looked to another guide and asked him if there was a zip line in Belize, as if I were lying, and then was pretty stunned to hear there is – I assured him it was nothing like Extremo!).

This was one of the longer lines that we traveled. Watch closely as Ginnie disappears into the mist.

After the zip line, our day of adventure was only 1/3 complete. We next headed out to Selvatura in the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve to walk the hanging bridges among the treetops of the cloud forest. We definitely wanted to walk through the cloud forest and thought this was the best of it all - to walk along the floor and the bridges among the trees. The rains were not too bad, although at Extremo they had their moments, and when we arrived back to town the sun was out and the winds were not as strong. Well, as soon as we got up into the higher elevation to reach the cloud forest, we were back in the rains – I mean, it is a rain forest, but still. It was far rainier for this portion of the day, but we had fun as we looked at all the trees, foliage and the mountains surrounding us.

One of the eight hanging bridges at Selvatura Park along the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve.

Not too many people were up on the bridges which made it nice. We took our time so we could really appreciate the forest and had several groups pass us (one family seemed to be on a speed run, I doubt they could have actually seen the forest) and we had fun getting silly pictures but also trying to get some good views to share what we saw. We joked about how there was no way we’d see any wildlife since they are all smart enough to seek shelter in the rain while we silly humans walk outside all cold and wet! Selvatura has a canopy tour as well, so we saw some of the zip-liners flying overhead as we left the forest. Selvatura felt like the Six Flags of Costa Rica since you could choose from many different adventures. Later in our trip we found the Disney of Costa Rica, we’ll tell you about it later in this posting.

Ahhhh!!! Come down from there before you hurt yourself. Ginnie wondered how I would have explained an injury from this stunt to Peace Corps.

We returned to Sleepers for another quick stop, then headed out for our third experience of the day – a night tour in the forest. We went to Sanctuario Ecologico, another recommendation by Ronny, where we were guided on a hike through the forest to observe nocturnal creatures. Our first encounter was with a Coatimundi who was hanging out in the parking lot looking for something to eat – s/he was still on the hunt when we entered into the park. Our guide was excellent and gave us a lot of great information about the forest, the trees, the flora and fauna, and the critters we encountered. We saw the largest ant colony either of us has ever seen and learned a lot about those leaf cutter ants: the females are the workers and they have three levels – the small ones who clean the leaves (which is important because the tiniest amount of fungus can kill the entire colony), the big ones who lead the way and do a lot of digging, and the middle ones who carry the leaves. It was pretty interesting. We were then contacted on the radio because a two-toed sloth was visible up in the trees – we spent some time watching it move around in the treetops high overhead then returned to our walk and saw a mot-mot bird sleeping (no camera flashes interrupted it in the slightest!), a cool large-winged bug, preying mantis’ on huge leaves, and a couple of colorful nocturnal tree frogs. We ended with a visit to a tarantula hole and learned more about the female tarantula’s territorialism and their ability to live up to 25 years if not kicked out of their hole by some other tarantula or enemy giant wasp through a fight.

The ginormous ant colony - this is only part of it!

A two-toed sloth hangs up in the trees; A spiny orange and brown tarantula defends her nest.

It was a really jam-packed day, but incredibly fun nonetheless. We found a fantastic Italian restaurant, Tramonti, the night before and had decided we’d end our day there. We picked up a most excellent dinner and returned to Sleepers to enjoy the meal together and then sleep very well after our day in the cloud forest. Since we spent the day in the cloud forest, we decided to start the next day with a tour of the Monteverde Cheese Factory.

Anthony laughed when Ginnie suggested it, but thought it would be fun to go if at least to tease Ginnie, though he enjoyed the free cheese just as much! The tour was really quite interesting, we learned all about the process of making cheese as well as some history of Monteverde. Monteverde was founded by 11 Quaker families from Alabama who left the US after 4 of the men were jailed for a year and a day after they refused to sign up for the draft since they objected to killing. The Quakers felt they could not live in a country that held beliefs against their own and they found themselves in Costa Rica (where the president at the time had just abolished the military and in fact to this day Costa Rica does not have a military). They found the beautiful Monteverde area and decided to buy it. Being business men, they came up with the idea to start the cheese factory (they needed something with an economical weight value; having to transport the product through unpaved forest was a factor and the cheese factory was born).

Outside the Monteverde Cheese Factory; Ginnie samples one of the many delicious cheeses

The tour concluded with a tasting of several of the factory’s cheeses, including Monterico, which is only made there and is so delicious. It’s a soft cheese similar to a Monterey jack. We liked all the cheeses, except for the coffee bark smoked provolone – yikes. Neither of us likes smoked foods as it is, and we both don’t like coffee, so the combination was horrible. That was the last one offered, too, but it was right before their homemade milk sweet, also known as dulce de leche. It’s a really creamy and incredibly soft caramel sweet. We were then asked to finish off the remaining cheese (otherwise it would be thrown away and no one wants to waste good cheese!) so we had more of the Monterico and some of the others.

Chocolate cheese...ewwww! Even Anthony has his limits; a view of the cheese making process

Our guide had a bit of trouble with that provolone, but eventually all the cheese was gone from the platter. The actual end to the tour was to return to the sales center to look in the viewing area where you can see into the factory from the ground floor (we’d looked in from above on the tour) and then we stayed to try the homemade ice cream. It was a healthy lunch of cheese and ice cream…what more could one ask for? Ginnie saw orange pineapple ice cream on the menu (well, technically naranja con pina) and was reminded of one of her favorites from Crescent Ridge Dairy back in Massachusetts. She got a cup of that and it was glorious! Fresh, homemade ice cream rarely disappoints. Despite the cool mountain air, the ice cream was a very welcome treat. Afterwards, we returned to the road for an afternoon of driving back through the lush landscape and eventually onto Volcan Arenal and the town of La Fortuna. We stopped several times for photos and to enjoy the views of the volcano across the lake (Lago de Arenal). There are no roads that directly connect the volcano and Monteverde despite the close distance (horseback rides make a day trip between them), but it’s worth the gorgeous drive anyway.

While we were on our final leg of the trip in Alajuela, we stayed at our favorite place of the entire trip, Paraiso Tropical, with the friendliest and kindest manager, Carlos Herrera. Carlos greeted us with a huge welcome and offered us an incredible deal since we mentioned that we’re PC volunteers. We stayed with him for four nights and got to know much more about Costa Rica through our conversations with him and his family.

One of many beautiful peacocks that roamed around our room at Paraiso Tropical

We ate a delicious and filling, traditional Costa Rican breakfast daily: gallo pinto (rice and black beans cooked together with Lizano Salsa, onions, and peppers – delicious! We have to admit, it’s quite tastier than the Caribbean rice and beans we have here; we did learn on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica they eat rice and beans – the red bean kind, just like Belizeans), huevos revueltos (scrambled eggs), tostadita integral (wheat toast; Costa Ricans like to put an –ita/o on words, we have heard that is why they have been dubbed “Ticos” and they may typically just have white toast, but the father who owns the property is very health conscious and prefers wheat), topped off with some yummy platanos maduros (a sautéed plantain – so good).

The amazing breakfast of Gallo Pinto that we were fortunate enough to have home-cooked for us each morning while staying in Alajuela

Carlos gave us great information about the surrounding areas and helped us as we planned our volcano visits and other trips.

One place we knew we had to visit was La Paz Waterfall Gardens. We’d found out about it while searching online and came upon a PCV website with information on things to see in Costa Rica. This is what we teasingly considered the Disney of Costa Rica. La Paz is a big garden park with several areas to walk through and see the natural wildlife of Costa Rica. The trip ends with a walk to five waterfalls, the last being La Paz, the most photographed falls in Costa Rica. This was one of our final activities and we’d passed up many opportunities to see frogs, birds, and other wildlife since we knew we’d see it all here. We were not disappointed. We picked up our tickets and started on the self-tour. First stop was the aviary where all sorts of native birds fly overhead or right next to your head, as they did with each of us – they definitely shocked us as the toucans and parrots zipped right by our ears! The birds are so colorful and beautiful and vibrant. Fortunately, Ginnie didn’t wear her earrings on our visit since the African Grey Parrot likes to steal them and fly away.

A blue and gold macaw just chillin' out on his perch

One of the many colorful small birds at La Paz

This guy was just too cool to pass up a photo opportunity

A colorful little bird that looked like a Baltimore Oriole, only red instead of orange

This colorful guy is called the Toco-Toucan

After spending quite some time with the birds, and a couple really interesting mammals – two we can’t recall the names of – we went right into the butterfly garden. Here we saw many types of brilliant butterflies, including the blue morpho we have here in Belize (and have seen at a local butterfly farm), our own Monarch Butterflies from the northeast, as well as many others. Little kids on the tour got to hold some and a bit of arguing ensued among sisters, but it was cute to watch from a distance. Anthony tried to catch one, but I guess he wasn’t sweet enough, it didn’t stay!

A blue morpho butterfly and small monarch at play in the gardens

After the butterflies, we passed by some spider monkeys and capuchin monkeys. As always, they are fun to watch as they swing through the trees and frolic. We watched as one of the spider monkeys found a tomato and hid away from the others to enjoy it without any interruptions, he looked sneaky and like he had to keep his eye out for any potential thieves.

One of the many capuchin monkeys

The path then led right into the hummingbird garden where feeders were set out for the birds to come in for a treat. They are sooo fast! It’s incredible to watch them and have them so close, when they hover right by your head it’s absolutely amazing. The bigger blue ones liked to eat and then just fly up and hover for a few seconds, then go right back to eating. We figured out their pattern, but they always hovered in a new spot, so it was pretty tough to get a picture! They all just zip back and forth so fast and their wings are incredible. We tried patiently to get a good picture. Considering National Geographic had to come up with a special system to be able to get a hummingbird photo, I feel pretty good about what I did get though.

There are hummingbirds of various shapes and sizes in each of these photos. You may have to look closely, but trust us, they're there.

Once we passed through the hummingbird area, we came to the snakes. Neither of us is that into snakes, but for some reason we took a picture of nearly each one there – I think it’s because they went from mildly venomous to instant-death venomous. Maybe the pictures can be a good thing to study so we can know them on sight if we have any more encounters while in Belize.

The large oxen who pull Costas Rica's famous carts; A casita sits atop the hill

We came out of the snake area and headed to the Casita, a replica of a traditional Costa Rican home from a century ago. Then we were led right into the Ranarium (Frog Exhibit) to see some of the native Costa Rican frogs. As we learned on our night tour, all frogs are nocturnal and they eat ants and termites. The venomous ones are poisonous because of the termite-ant diet as each critter provides particular enzymes to the frog and together they create the venom. The frogs in the ranarium are only fed one half of the diet so they don’t develop the venom – interesting, no true? They range in size from the size of a pinhead to several inches. We saw some of the really tiny tiny lee poison dart frogs and a few of these bigger green ones that just sit on the underside of big green leaves. The tiny ones are hard to spot so the ranarium puts little markers near leaves where one is resting to help you find them.

A few of the many poisonous dart frogs that we observed. The two small ones, although nocturnal, were out foraging for food late in the afternoon/early evening

The final portion of our trip was a 45-minute walk along the waterfalls trail. We walked through the rain forest and viewed 5 amazing falls, each greater than the last.

A local boa constrictor, non-poisonous, but rumour has it that these guys can put the squeeze on you quite quickly (sorry, couldn't resist that one)

The fourth of the falls at La Paz

A final adventure-filled day included the 60km drive through the Valley de Orosi. We saw a number of coffee plantations, small villages and their churches, a large hydroelectric dam, human-made lake, a house made entirely of bamboo and coffee bark, and the ruins of a church wiped out when its village was hit by a flood and abandoned in the 1800s. It’s a beautiful ride, but signs and directions in our guidebooks were not entirely accurate (at one point the lonely planet guide actually gives directions as if you were traveling in the opposite direction from where they had you start). The trip is a loop, but you can easily end up in a remote area if you come off the loop, so be sure to stop and ask as you travel (or follow a tour van because it’s probably going in the same direction!).

Valley de Orosi overlook; the ruins of a church in a small village; a famous, still standing church in town that was built out of materials grown in and around Orosi; an outside shot and closeup of the famous house built of only coffee bark and bamboo; The last supper carved into the side of the house

Our encounters on the wild side of Costa Rica gave us a lot of time to enjoy the thrill of adventure and to learn about the forest and the diverse wildlife of the country (and much of the region, really). We loved our trip through both Nicaragua and Costa Rica and met so many friendly people and enjoyed the many different regions we were lucky enough to see. There is so much more to see and do in both places, but we feel we had a great introduction to each and will gladly return!

UPDATE…
*We just learned there was a devastating earthquake in Costa Rica on January 8th. We don’t get a lot of international news and since the US news we get didn’t mention it, we just found out. We are hoping our friends at Paraiso Tropical are safe and well, and we hope all the people affected are getting the assistance and support they need to rebuild and move forward.

Ant and Gin vs The Volcanoes

During our travels in both Nicaragua and Costa Rica we observed a number of volcanoes (Volcans - en Espanol). Some we watched from a distance as they sent smoke and lava oozing from their peaks, and others we had opportunities to climb or hike. Nicaragua is home to three major volcanoes (Mombacho, Masaya, and San Cristobal), while Costa Rica is host to eight (Arenal, Tenorio, Poas, and Irazu being the most popular among visitors).

In Nicaragua, Volcan Masaya sits idling off in the distance from the colonial town of the same name. The volcano is still considered active although it hasn’t erupted since 1772. It consists of five separate craters and is said to be the most easily accessible of all volcanoes in the country. According to legend, pre-Hispanic inhabitants of the area would throw young women into the boiling lava at the bottom of the crater to appease Chaciutique, the goddess of fire; according to locals, skeletons have been found in the nearby lava tunnels.

Volcan Mombacho stands guard over Granada. The slopes of the volcano form Omotepe, an island of biodiversity in a mostly deforested land. The last recorded incidence of activity occurred in 1570 when one of its walls collapsed, draining the inner lagoon and washing away an indigenous village of 400 people.

Volcan Mombacho off in the distance sits in the middle of Isla Omotepe. This picture was taken from the abandoned castillo on Isla San Pablo

Volcan Masaya as seen from Coyotepe Fortress

In Costa Rica we visited Volcan Arenal, Volcan Poas, and Volcan Irazu.

In the small town of La Fortuna, Volcan Arenal is Costa Rica’s most famous volcano. It is constantly active and spews out lava relatively often (although, according to experts, activity can vary greatly from week to week).

View of Volcan Arenal from the central park in La Fortuna

Due to its high volatility, no one is allowed to climb Arenal, in fact over the course of recent time a few hikers have met their end by being too close to the flowing lava and frequent explosions. Arenal is considered one of the ten most dangerous volcanoes in the world, due mostly in part to its continuous activity and proximity to major residential areas.

A coatimundi searched the roadside for some lunch

A view of Volcan Arenal at night; A crater that sits off in the distance from Arenal

The start of the trail out to Volcan Arenal on our night time hike

One of the many beautiful flowers that surround Arenal

While visiting La Fortuna, we had the opportunity to spend our first night at the base of Arenal and our second night on a guided tour of the area. While we safely watched from a distance we were able to see lava shooting from the top and slowly flowing down the side, before hardening into dark rock. It was pretty amazing especially since Arenal was the first time either of us had witnessed actual lava flow. After our night time tour of Arenal we headed over to Baldi Termae Hot Springs. The springs are heated by the nearby volcano and consist of 12 pools of varying shapes, sizes, and temperatures. The coolest pool hovered around 70 degrees and the hottest of the pools was a scorching 109 degrees. The springs were a nice way to relax at the end of a very long and tiring day. We spent 3-4 hours hopping from pool to pool and felt very well rested as we returned back to town for the night.

Hanging out at the Baldi Hot Springs after a long day

While staying in La Fortuna we also had the opportunity to visit La Catarata de La Fortuna. La Catarata (waterfall) is a 600m hike down into a steep canyon. Once at the bottom you are rewarded with spectacular views of the waterfalls, a crystal clear swimming hole, and rushing rapids. The hike was a bit taxing on our knees heading back up, but was well worth it. Anthony braved the freezing waters first, and eventually Ginnie tiptoed in up to her waist. I guess you could say that the water was much colder than we’re used to, but not nearly as cold as New England in even the hottest of summer days.

La Catarata de Rio Fortuna; a shot of the waterfall on our hike down to the river; Ginnie striking a pose

Enjoying a swim in the somewhat chilly water, but still quite refreshing

After spending a few days in La Fortuna, we headed south to Alajuela. Alajuela sits about 12 miles northeast of San Jose and serves as a great jumping off point to many of the nearby attractions and national parks. While staying in the area we visited both Volcan Poas and Volcan Irazu.

Volcan Poas lies approximately 25 miles north of Alajuela by way of a long and winding, but very scenic road. The crater of Volcan Poas is 2704 meters high and measures about 1.3km wide and 300m deep. It looked very different from what one would traditionally recognize as a volcano since rather than being an immense conical shaped mountain, it is a deep crater perched atop the clouds at almost 10,000 feet. When we first arrived at Poas the weather quickly chilled our bones. The winds were howling, rain was blowing, and clouds hovered all around. We spent an hour or two hanging around, walking the trails, checking out the gift shop, and grabbing some snacks and hot cocoa, before deciding that we should give the crater one more chance. After all, the sun was trying in earnest to break through the clouds and the rain looked as if it was letting up a bit. We headed back to the lookout area and at first the entire crater area was completely covered in thick dark clouds; however, after about twenty minutes we were rewarded with a really cool view of Poas Volcano (albeit for only a few minutes, but well worth the wait). The excitement of the crater coming into view resulted in cries of "there it is" and applause from the several visitors standing by. The last major eruption of Poas (which created the present crater), took place in 1953, since then, the park has closed a couple of times, once because of a small eruption in 1989 and again in 1995 due to noxious gases.

This little guy was quite curious about our camera

A shot of Volcan Poas after the clouds began clearing up

Some of the local fauna along the hike to the Laguna in Poas

After waiting for almost two hours, we were pretty excited to see the crater (because, seriously, how many times can we be faced with clouds when we climb these things to see impressive sights?)

Some pretty flowers at Parque Nacional de Volcan Poas

The last stop on our volcano tour was Irazu. Volcan Irazu is the largest and highest (a towering 3432 meters) active volcano in Costa Rica. Irazu’s last major eruption occurred in 1963 when it sent plumes of smoke and ash all around, covering the nearby Central Valley of Costa Rica (it even reached as far as downtown San Jose).

Irazu sits amid a bare landscape of volcanic ash and craters. The main crater is 1050 meters across and 300 meters deep and is surrounded by several smaller craters of varying sizes. When we finally reached the summit of Irazu, we were rewarded with amazing panoramic views of the volcano, a lake, several nearby mountains, and beautiful cloud formations. It was well worth the trip and we would definitely recommend that anyone visiting central Costa Rica includes a stop on their itinerary. Not to mention we finally beat the clouds since we were above them, they couldn't cover our views for once!

Ginnie hanging on the fence outside of Irazu; Some flowers on the outskirts of the primary crater

The barren landscape of Irazu

Yes, that's Ginnie off in the distance taking some photos

Amazing views all around
Outside the crater
Never too early in the day to exercise
Another coatimundi hanging around the park ranger

Surfing, Beaches, Craters, Lakes, and Leatherbacks

Laguna de Apoyo and San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

After leaving Granada we headed out to Laguna de Apoyo (about a 20 minute ride from town) for a stay at Crater's Edge. The laguna, a lush crater lake, was formed by one of the largest volcanic eruptions in Nicaraguan history over 21,000 years ago. The laguna is 6km in diameter with a depth estimated to be 200m at its center (supposedly the deepest body of water in all of Central America). Crater's Edge is a small (6 rooms and a separate dormitory), but quaint hotel run by a very friendly Canadian named Anne. The hotel offers spectacular panoramic views of the lake combined with activities like kayaking, swimming, tubing, or if you prefer, just hanging out on a hammock. We did some kayaking around the lake for a little while, but soon opted out of the boats and into inner tubes as we cruised out to the floating dock to hang out for the afternoon.

Crater's Edge Hospedaje

The lake water remains at a nice bathtub-like temperature all year round due to the heat which continues to emanate from the depths of the crater. It also provided enough minerals to your skin as you swam, that as you left the water, it felt as though you had been through a fancy spa skin treatment. The best part of all...although it contains trace amounts of sulfur and other related volcanic chemicals and minerals, it lacked the typical rotten-egg smell that often accompanies natural hot springs.

A nice place to watch the sun set

The meals are prepared by a small staff using all locally grown ingredients, and consisted of a sumptuous breakfast buffet, vegetarian pizza for lunch, and a delicious stirfry for dinner. Dinner was served by candlelight on a patio overlooking the lake with stars lighting up the sky overhead. It was definitely a great place to kick back, relax, and enjoy yourself at your own pace...which, we did.

The dock where we spent the better half on an afternoon; a brief rain shower rewards us with a beautiful rainbow over the lake

After leaving Laguna de Apoyo, we headed west to Rivas (the last major town before the border). While in Rivas we attempted to navigate our way to the TICA bus station prior to heading over to the beach town of San Juan Del Sur. We met a number of weary travelers and many naysayers who all talked at great length about the craziness and confusion of crossing the border on foot. Well, as it turns out, it was just way too expensive to purchase an onward bus ticket to Liberia, Costa Rica ($23 each for a 2 hour ride. Turns out that you must purchase a full-fare Managua to San Jose ticket, even if you alight earlier in the ride...no thanks!). So after a bit of confusion, a little over an hour of wasted time, turning down offers from about 35 different taxi drivers (Not an exaggeration, we swear!) that wanted to take us to the border, San Juan Del Sur, and who knows where else, we ended up catching the next bus for the coast that would finally get us to the beach.

The beach at San Juan del Sur; Ginnie taking it all in

After a short and quite pleasant one hour trip, we reached San Juan Del Sur and checked into Casa Oro.

One of the many surfer transport vehicles at Casa Oro; a small church at the end of town (not only had a full-on manger scene in the back, but many snow globes and other festive arrangements all around the surrounding park

Casa Oro was sort of a combination of a surfer hangout/backpackers last chance stop. It's a great looking place with lots of information on tours, surfing, ziplining, etc, but its rooms are more than rustic. What makes up for the lackluster rooms though, is an amazingly friendly staff and all around festive atmosphere and positive vibes. Casa Oro is close to the center of town, only a block from the beachfront, and offers shuttles to just about every beach in the area. We stayed in San Juan Del Sur for three days and had plenty of time to see a lot of things. The town sits on a horseshoe shaped cove and is framed by dramatic cliffs all around. It remains a tranquil fishing village, but is slowly starting to turn into an outpost for all types of recreation.

A pre-columbian stone statue stands watch over the beach below; local kids building sandcastles and slinging mud

Most people come to San Juan to surf, we were no different. After renting our boards and gearing up, we jumped into an old beat up Range Rover and were driven over to Playa Remanso where we began a day of surfing. This was Ginnie's first attempt to become one with the ocean, and only Anthony's second. Our instructor, a man named Fred, came all the way to Nicaragua from the sandy shores of Peru. He was a total surfer for life, spending most of his days in the water either giving lessons or surfing killer waves (he'd traveled as far as Indonesia, and actually was rejected a second visa because he overstayed his first, saying the waves and surf was just too incredible to just up and leave). We paid $20 for a one hour lesson, and as it turns out, he spent almost 2 1/2 with us - teaching, practicing, and reviewing everything until we were confident (semi-amateur) surfers. Fred believes that, as an instructor, it is his duty to insure each of his students is able to learn and understand the various aspects of surfing prior to being let go on his/her own. The lesson was really amazing, and by the end of the afternoon we were not only standing up and riding in many waves of all shapes and sizes all on our own, but we immediately began thinking of when we could surf next. Sadly, the next day, we had to leave San Juan del Sur, but on the bright side we were heading to Costa Rica (on the not so bright side...the infamous border towns of Sapoa and Penas Blancas, a story in and of itself!!! Cue the dreadful music.)

Some fun shots from in and around town in San Juan del Sur

A lee bit of a side note...THE DREADED BORDER CROSSING at Sapoa, Nicaragua to Penas Blancas, Costa Rica - To put things briefly, and hopefully into perspective for all of our readers, this border crossing was, by far, the longest, most confusing, chaotic mess that we have ever experienced in all of our travels. The border consisted of a single building with four windows, no signage, and no order whatsoever, had we not spoken Spanish as well as we had, we probably would have spent the New Year in Nicaragua rather than CR. After all was said and done, we had waited in three different lines, for a total of a little over three hours. Thankfully, we arrived early in the morning, it could have been worse. As we crossed to Costa Rica we followed the line as it snaked in and around things for almost a 1/4 of a mile. We can't even begin to imagine how long these people must have had to wait. Be afraid...be very afraid. You've been warned!

Playa Tamarindo, Costa Rica

As we left the border, we were lucky enough to catch a bus heading south to Liberia, CR. After about an hour or so, we reached, caught another transport, and finally arrived at Playa Tamarindo around 3PM. A long day of travel, but what a relief it was to get to our next stop. Playa Tamarindo sits atop the Nicoya Peninsula on the Pacific side of Costa Rica.

Local surf rescue vessel (sponsored by Kelloggs Cereals); Finally...a yummy mango

What was once a small fishing village of only a few thousand people, has turned into a sprawling town of hotels, restaurants, surf shops, cafes, a bookshop, and a bit too much touristy-ness.

Christmas Eve dinner at Bruno's Italian Restaurant...AMAZING!!! The owner gave us glasses of wine for Christmas, then wouldn't take the picture without them

We spent three days, including Christmas Eve, enjoying the sights, sounds, and food of Tamarindo and the surrounding beaches. As it snowed back in New England, we body surfed and lounged in the warm waters of the Pacific...it was the good life indeed.

Oh so happy to be on vacation; Ginnie striking a pose with ginormous horses outside of the restaurant

While in Tamarindo we had the opportunity to venture out on a night time tour in Parque Nacional Marino Las Baulas (Leatherback Turtle's National Park) to observe the ancient nesting ritual of the leatherback turtle. Las Baulas National Marine Park supports the largest nesting colony of leatherback sea turtles (baulas) on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, with a population size of about 800 female turtles nesting per year. Nesting season is approximately November through April. Leatherback Sea Turtles have been here for over 65 million years. They have witnessed the fall of the dinosaurs and the rise of humanity. Their habitat spans the globe from the North Atlantic near the Arctic Circle to the South Pacific around New Zealand. Extraordinary creatures, they hold important secrets about biology and medicine. Leatherbacks are the largest turtle, reaching a shell length of 1.7m and a mass of 700kg. In 1980 there were over 115,000 adult females, but there are now less than 25,000 worldwide, and they are close to extinction in the Pacific Ocean. If action is not taken soon to protect leatherbacks in the ocean and on nesting beaches the leatherback will disappear in our lifetime (information from the Leatherback Trust). We arrived at the park around 9PM, took a short boat ride across the bay, and trekked about 1.5 miles to the nesting site of one particular female who had been spotted earlier by local biologists. {All photos of turtles come from the previously mentioned site since ambient light bothers them and we were not permitted to carry cameras.}

A leatherback turtle as she heads out to build a nest and lay her eggs

When we arrived, the adult turtle was in the midst of a second attempt at building her nest. Keeping in mind the size of these turtles and the frailty of the sand below them, it was quite an amazing feat to watch this enormous creature slowly and methodically build her nest (using only her lower body flippers/feet and digging solely by touch). As we looked on she continued to the point of almost finishing, when suddenly, the soft dry sand collapsed from underneath, and she was forced to begin all over again. We sat under the stars (witnessing many meteors fly through the sky) for a couple of hours as she continued with a third attempt. Unfortunately, the earth was just not cooperative and as a result, the turtle decided to take a break and return to the ocean, perhaps to make another attempt later that night or the next day.

A leatherback slowly pushing herself back to the Pacific

The process is a very sensitive and complicated one, as the turtle builds her nest, lays somewhere around 100 eggs, and buries them before returning to the sea. As these baby turtles hatch, the trek from their nest to the water is imprinted on their memory and is used later on in adult life as they will return to the same nesting area to lay their own eggs. We definitely recommend this trip. It was amazing to witness nature just as it has been for millions of years before human beings inhabited our planet. Although, we would have appreciated being provided with a bit more information from our guide. Check out the Leatherback Trust for more information. Next, we're off to Monteverde and Santa Elena...

A Trip Through Colonial Times

Our vacation began in Nicaragua, where we spent a few days in the colonial towns of Masaya and Granada. As is the case with all the colonial towns we have visited in Central America, each has a large parque central with a church facing one end. Each town has its own unique character, Granada being much older than Masaya. In fact, Granada is Nicaragua’s oldest Spanish city (founded in 1524) and is one of the oldest cities in Central America and all of the Americas (there are varying reports of where it ranks being somewhere around the third largest in the Americas).

Overlooking the town of Masaya

Granada from a bell tower

Masaya was a great place to start our travels as it was easy to get around (it advertises its artesanias a great deal – we even ended up carrying around a piece of art for the entire trip after looking through the Mercado Viejo). For the most part, the items for sale are the same throughout Central America, but there is always something that shows a local “flavor” and we found the painting style here was just what we like. In addition to walking around the Parque Central and taking a stroll to the malecon (a promenade along the Laguna de Masaya) we visited a century-old fortress overlooking Masaya and the surrounding area from atop a hill just north of town.

Coyotepe Fortress provided a beautiful view of Masaya and the Nicaraguan landscape. Its location was selected so Masaya could be protected from invasion, particularly by North American armies. Later in its life, an underground prison was constructed and the site was used to hold political prisoners in small cells filled with 10 – 15 men. We took a tour through the underground tunnels, which were still in use as a prison into the 1980’s. We saw the varying levels of torture rooms as well, including one used for psychological torture that has absolutely no light and in which men would be left for days, weeks, months, or longer.

We also had our own little adventure on our first day when we began our return to town from the bottom of the hill of the fort - colectivo van stopped for us, asked where we were going and when we said Masaya the conductor waved us on. As we went around the rotary into town, we went onto a street just after the one we’d come out on. We didn’t worry much since the man said we were going to El Mercado and it’s a bit outside the town center. When we kept getting farther and not seeming anywhere near our stop, I quickly reminded the conductor of our destination and suddenly he was confused. We were on our way to Granada a day early! He offered to let us stay on since they return to Masaya, but we were hungry and didn’t feel like riding all the way just to come back (they are close, but not that close!). So, we got right out and caught the next bus coming in from Granada. Despite our lee detour, it was a great day and the bus ride was no more than 50 cents total, so no big loss!

Coyotepe Fortress

Bats "hanging around" in a prison cell

Outside Masaya, Nicaragua from atop Coyotepe


Trying not to blow over from the wind and get the perfect shot!

After our full day in Masaya, we headed out to Granada (to stay this time) by making our way to the bus terminal. It’s a really busy terminal with painted buses ready to make their runs between several different points and vendors galore. The Granada trip was nice and short (about 40 minutes) and we were at our next stop before mid-day. We spent our nights at Hostal Oasis, a nice hostel right off the main Calle Atravesada, which is filled with merchants selling anything from toenail clippers to pastries to chickens. We were also just a few blocks from Parque Central and several churches.

This is why they call 'em "chicken buses" (this is from the Masaya bus terminal)

Granada is named after Granada, Spain, the home town of conquistador and founder, Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba. Our first excursion in town was to Iglesia de La Merced where we walked up a long and steep spiral staircase to the bell tower for an amazing view of Granada that extended to the lake, Lago de Nicaragua, and to the far reaches of the city on the other sides. The bells are very sturdy, when Ginnie bumped her head she tested that out! Not a fun thing to bump into (solid steel and all), by the way, so be careful up there :) After looking at the city from above, we made our way to Parque Central to have some lunch. We found ourselves on Calle La Calzada, which travels behind the Catedral all the way to the lake and is filled with cafes and shops and even another church, Iglesia de Guadalupe (which was originally a fort).

I saw the sign, yet still bumped my head!


In the bell tower

Men making hammocks at their workshop in Granada


The rest of our first day took us to Casa de Los Leones, which is home to an art school and gallery. We also stopped by the Convento y Iglesia de San Francisco, a very uniquely built light blue church – the front looks like a piece of a set for a play or movie as it is just a large concrete shape and then there is a gray concrete building behind it that does not line up with the front. It may have something to do with the fact that the original building was burned down by William Walker, a filibuster from the US who wanted to take over Central America and caused a lot of destruction in these beautiful cities.

Colorful buildings by Parque Central, Granda (Casa de Los Leones is among them)

Iglesia de San Francisco as seen from the front and the side

After a long day of walking the city, we returned for more the next morning. On our way to the lake to hire a boat to take us out to Las Isletas, we met Allan, a local whose “office” is Parque Central. He was very nice; he and Anthony spent time talking about Granada while Ginnie was off taking photos of the buildings surrounding the park; we decided to take him up on his offer to teach us about the history of Granada and join us on our boat trip and a walking tour of the city. We had a great trip out on the boat (and got an even lower rate because Allan brought us to his friend, the boat’s owner) so we hopped onto a 12-seater boat with just us and the driver and toured Las Isletas.

Volcan Mombacho as seen from our boat

Las Isletas were formed over 10,000 years ago when Volcan Mombacho erupted. They consist of 365 small islands just offshore of Granada. Many islands remain inhabited. While on the trip, we even stopped at a village on one of the islands for a Coke and a short break. That day they happened to be having a funeral and we learned about how they hold their funerals and take the body and the mourners by boat to the island cemetery just a few islands away. There are also islands owned by wealthy Nicaraguans who have huge houses on their isleta. We stopped by Monkey Island to get up close to the remaining 6 monkeys (5 spider and 1 capuchin – this one is tormented by the spider monkeys, we are sad for him). You can bring food to feed the monkeys, but we suspect that may be why the population has dwindled from once being in the hundreds – if humans feed wild animals, they lose their need to hunt and then they starve, it’s not good. Since these monkeys are basically dependent now on this food, we did bring along bananas, but they were not interested in the ones we had! The monkey would take it right from our hands, sniff it, and toss it on the ground. Funny thing is when we bought them Allan said they didn’t look great, but they weren’t for us – well the monkeys didn’t want really ripe bananas either. After the visit with the monkeys, we came to Isla San Pablo where the infamous small fort, El Castillo, sits. This fort was built to guard against British incursions in 1784. From here we could see Volcan Mombacho towering overhead and the skyline of Granada in the distance. Allan tells us the fort was also used to protect against pirates.

The monkey who joined us on the boat

On El Castillo with Volcan Mombacho in the background (this wall is where teenaged Granadans come to carve their names in the bricks)

When we returned to dry land, Allan suggested we see a place that was filled with the most beautiful artwork, the cemetery. Neither of us has ever seen such dramatic tombs and they truly were artistic and stunning. It was amazing to see what people have built in honor of their loved ones. From the cemetery it’s a quick walk to Fortaleza La Polvora, another military garrison turned into a political prison during the 1980’s. We could see over the tops of the neighborhoods of Granada from one of the five points of the fort and learned more about the torture of prisoners (whose options all led to death since by speaking they would be released back into the hands of the revolutionaries who would kill them for speaking and by not speaking, they would be tortured to death). Just down the street we came to another church (one that was replicated on a cemetery tomb) and then walked further down Calle Real Xalteva to Iglesia de Xalteva, which sits outside of a small park of stone benches and walkways. This park was one of Central America’s first market sites where parishioners would come on Sundays after services to pick up their food for the coming week. The original stalls for fish and washing produce are built into the park and still remain, but are empty now. This is where we parted ways with our friend Allan as he was right near his neighborhood and we were just a few blocks from the hostel.

Tombs at the Cemetery in Granada

After a busy day of walking, we had a nice dinner back by the park and stumbled upon a Christmas concert at El Catedral, so we stopped in to listen to the carols being played by a small orchestra. It was just a perfect holiday evening listening to the carols in the church overlooking the park at night (particularly because Ginnie had just been lamenting the lack of any Christmas music so far on this trip - and it turned out this was the only time we heard any Christmas music). Earlier that evening, we had stumbled upon a band playing outside a hotel across from the church and picked up gelato at a great café where we also ate bagels both mornings. Granada was a beautiful town. From there we headed to Laguna de Apoyo, more to come on that in a next post.

Enjoying an outdooor show in el Parque Central

A Christmas Concert at El Catedral

Colonial Costa Rica

Later in our trip, we passed through several colonial towns on our trip from La Fortuna, Costa Rica to Alajuela. We stopped for more pictures of the pretty churches overlooking the unique parks. One park in one of the towns (whose name now we can't recall!) was full of fun-shaped bushes – including crazy arches leading to the church and many shrubs cut in the shape of dinosaurs. We also noticed a red church in the town of Grecia, later learning it's the only metal church in the country and was sent to Costa Rica from Europe (and evidently was supposed to go to Greece, but ended up in the village of Grecia…). We didn’t stop as we traveled through, but we did return on the last day of the trip to see the red, metal church and the neighboring town of Sarchi, famous for its painted ox carts. Being New Year’s Day, nothing was open, but we enjoyed both parks and seeing the world’s largest ox cart in Sarchi!

The crazy arches made of bushes in one central park along the route

The world's largest ox cart in Sarchi, Costa Rica

Another town with a gigantic and historic church is Cartago, which lies south of San Jose. La Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Los Angeles is a huge and intricately designed Basilica which contains La Negrita, Costa Rica’s patron Virgin. Legend has it that La Negrita (or the Black Madonna) appeared to an indigenous girl who then took it home, only to find it missing and reappearing where she had originally found it. After a few attempts, it was evident La Negrita was not meant to be in the woman’s home and she remains in the Basilica by the rock where she appeared and where pilgrims come to her for her healing powers. Many visitors walk on their knees down the center of the church; annually on August 2nd, pilgrims will walk from San Jose to Cartago (many on their knees), a 22km trek. Also in Cartago are Las Ruinas, the shell of a church by Parque Central which it is said was ruined because only the Basilica should exist in Cartago. Legend tells that attempts were made to build this church, only to be destroyed by an earthquake, and when construction began again, another earthquake destroyed the church (never effecting the Basilica) so it was decided there would be no further attempts to build another church in town.

La Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Los Angeles

Our stops in the colonial towns and to see these legendary churches left us with a lot of education and history of many areas, we hope you’ve enjoyed our stories and learned from them as well.

More Pictures

A Church in ruins in Masaya

Churches in Granada (El Catedral from the bell tower and Iglesia de Guadalupe, former fort)

Churches in Costa Rica (clockwise from top left: church with the park of crazy bushes, La Basilica in Cartago, the red metal church in Grecia, church in Sarchi)

And, these are just random

What Christmas is complete without a giant Coca Cola tree? This is just one of many seen in San Jose, Costa Rica

Next Stop…Las Playas

A Quick Zip Through Our Trip

We've spent the past few weeks traveling through southwestern Nicaragua and various parts of Costa Rica. It was a great trip and there are lots of pictures and stories to share - but we thought we'd give you a quick snapshot as we prepare our more detailed posts.

Here's the "zip"-version :)

1. Colonial towns, fortresses, and lots of churches (but not enough Christmas music - what is up with that?)

2. Catching some waves as new surfers (well, Anthony has done it before, so this was a refresher lesson for him)

3. Relaxing in a volcanic lagoon and later in volcanic hot springs - all water that makes skin and hair so soft thanks to the sulfuric acid

4. Touring active volcanoes and watching red hot lava spew out of Arenal

5. The cloud forest - zipping 100s of feet above the valley, walking on hanging bridges through the treetops, hiking through at night to see two-toed sloths, coatis, insects, and sleeping birds (cameras didn't even disturb their slumber!)

6. Watching the world's largest turtle (leatherback) nesting in a ritual that's millions of years old

7. "Do you know the way [out of] San Jose?" because we sure didn't, and even directions from the locals were a bit questionable (I mean, couldn't they put up a few street signs?)

8. Eating too much really good cheese at Monteverde Cheese Factory and discovering chocolate flavored cheese and the mystery behind products like Happy Cow on a tour (Ginnie really likes cheese and this was her idea, but Anthony went along to make fun of her and he ended up learning a lot and enjoying it too)

9. So many beautiful birds, butterflies, speedy hummingbirds, exotic and poisonous frogs, deadly snakes, jumping monkeys, cows, and waterfalls

10. The most beautiful countryside (reminds us a lot of New Zealand, only with the addition of insects and poisonous creatures)

11. Meeting some of the friendliest people

12. Speaking lots of Spanish

13. Eating great food and finding a new love for rice and beans Costa Rican-style with gallo pinto (rice and black beans cooked with veggies, cilantro, and some great seasoning)

14. And, of course - taking lots and lots of pictures!

Central America has so much diversity in everything from the people to the climate to the animals and we have been so fortunate to see so much of it all and will definitely share it with you very soon!