Day 12- Santa Rosa and Tamarindo Beach

Day 12:  Saturday, February 26

                                           Looking out to the Pacific Ocean on Tamarindo Beach

     Today was an  gorgeous adventurous day. We rode the public bus into the neighboring town Santa Rosa, a small town between the Oaks and Tamarindo Beach. The bus stopped right in front of the Oaks. Larry paid 7000 colones, Costa Rican money, which was about $1.40 for both of us to ride oneway. The bus was packed, and we were lucky to get a front row seat. When driving through Santa Rosa, we saw a girl's soccer game going on with a makeshift outdoor bar set up across the street. A party was going on at thelocal community center, with balloons adorning the entrance. Someone had arrived on horseback and tied the horse to the building. The bus went to where the road turned to dirt and then turned around and went back through the town.     
     The bus followed a curvy road into Tamarindo Beach. The driver had a heavy foot and between the pot holes and the bouncey springs we managed to arrive safely. Surfers were spotted on the northern part of the beach. We walked down the southern end of the beach which took about half an hour. Large formations of harden lava rock appeared in some of the the areas. The water was very warm and the tide was way out. Many tourtist were sitting back into the trees, opting for the shade and not the direct sunrays. Fisherman brought in grouper and other varieties of fish by tender boats. Many  tourist were taking tender boats out to ride a couple of  catamarans that were anchored out in the ocean. Our new friends from Canada took one out a couple of days earlier and said that they spotted whales and dolphins. We walked back up the beach and out on to the only main road through the town, window shopping and stealing some cool air  from some of the shops that we visited. It was a very hot afternoon. We stopped at the large major grocery store to get a few supplies before heading back to our complex. The bus ride back was faster and swerver than the ride into town and I was glad to place my feet back on the ground.
     Upon arriving back, Larry and I took two large glasses of ice tea down to the pool and took a dip to cool down. It was a welcome sight  that we enjoyed immencely after an afternoon of sand and sun. As the sun set we listened to the monkeys howling in the background. Chalk up another great day in Costa Rica.

Day 10 and 11 At the Oaks

Day 10 and 11  Thursday and Friday, February 23 and 24

                                                                     Coffee Beans

Camoflouged critter at the pool...

Can you spot it?

                                                           Monkeys in the trees

     Enjoyed another fantastic day in Costa Rica.  The most remarkable moments  of the past two days have been the monkeys that came out close to our condo after sunset around 6:15-7:00. They are up in the trees eating the leaves, their dinner. The only way that we knew that they were there was because of the barking noise that they make. They sound ferocious, but when you see these 20 pounds or less dark brown, furry creatures, you just can't believe that they are making these noises. Our neighbors told us that it is a mating call. They are fun to watch when they swing from the tip top of the trees. We were a little timid about going to the edge of the woods because snakes are prevelent in Costa Rica. That's one thing that I hope that we will not see.
     We also learned a lot about Costa Rica today. The people are called "ticos" and they have inhibited the area for over 10,000 years. Back then they lived in tribes  with a chief as leader. Christopher Columbus landed on the caribbean coast of Costa Rica in 1502 to repair his ship and hoped to return back when he spotted gold, but never did. Nicaragua gained independence from Spain in 1821 and  Costa Rica seceded from Nicaragua in 1824 under their first head of state, Juan Fernandez. At that time they raised  corn, beans, and plantains for survival and sugar, cacao, and tobacco for export. In the 19th century, the caffeinated red bean (coffee) transformed Costa Rica into the wealthiest region in Central America. More that 1/3 of the Central Valley  was dedicated to coffee cultivation and it accounted for 90% of all exports. Today there are an estimated 130,000 coffee farms.   
      A railroad was built to transport the coffee beans to the Caribean side of Costa Rico. Bananas were grown along the railroad tracks as a cheap food source for the workers. Eventually bananas found their their way to New Orleans where the people went "bananas" over the fruit. Bananas then surpassed coffee as Costa Rica's most lucrative export by the 20th century. We have spotted truck loads of over ripe bananas and were told that they are being transported out to feed the local pigs. Can you imagine the delight that a Virginia pig would have feasting on a meal of bananas?
     During the 1970's an oversupply of coffee caused the prices to crash. Big business and environmentalist teamed up to bring an import into Costa Rica: ecotourism. By 1995, there have been established more than 125 government protected sites. Almost 1/3 of the entire country is under some form of environmental protection.  Tourism now has surpassed coffee and bananas as a main source of foreign  currency.

     In Costa Rica 75% of the population is Catholic. Every town appears to have a park near the center  with a church and a school. Costa Rica provides every child with a public education and free college education. It boasts a 95% literacy rate and that is something they are proud of. They also have a free health care system for all citizens. There has not been a military  here since 1949.  Costa Ricans are friendly and  peace loving. We are loving every minute of our visit with this country and its people.

Day 9: At the Oaks

Day 9: Wednesday, February 23

     What a great day! Sunshine, blue sky, and gentle breezes.
     Larry and I enjoyed a long walk this morning. Got to see the friendly iguana again. This time when I approached him, I watched him disappear down a hole in the ground so I must be invading his territory. What a fasinating creature! The birds here are loud and colorful. This morning we spotted one that was bright yellow, but too big to be a canary. He was singing outloud as we had breakfast out  in the breezeway.  We have also noticed that there are kingsize hummingbirds here; although, I spotted a regular Virginia size one this morning. They are attracted to the purple and red horn shaped blooming flowers that hang off of the structures that provide shade for the automobiles here. We have also spotted white egrets, skinny with long thin legs just like the ones in Florida and some large blue birds that are similar to the bluejays back home, but a tad different.
     We have been  swimming, reading, and talking with a few of our neighbor this afternnoon. The complex is very empty. Just a car or two are parked in front of each building so we generally have the place to ourselves. We have read that this area booms with visitors during June, July, and August...most likely when families take vacations when school is out.
      Today has been peaceful and romantic at times. Planning to grill burgers on the grill by the pool tonight and enjoy the gorgeous sunset that seem to occur here every night. It don't get much better than that.

Day 7 & 8: At the Oaks

Our condo at the Oaks in Tamerando Beach, Costa Rica

                               These flowers hand over the covering where you park your car.

Marco points out the beautful vines where the cars are parked. Condo in the background.

Beautiful flowers in the neighborhood at the Oaks

Our pool and palapa

Day 7 and 8:  Monday and Tuesday, February 21 and 22

     We have planned to make the next two days just for enjoying the condo in the Oaks. We walked among the 16 buildings that each have 6 condos, looking at the flowers and the green, green grass. There are palm trees and  lots of bushes that are in full bloom. Everything is well irrigated here. During this season, summer, everything is very brown unless it is irrigated. During the rainy season, July through December we were told that it rains everyday and everything is very green.We have seen many sprinklers going and workers moving them around to give everything a little drink of water.The area where our condo is located is called the Oaks and we are in building 4. It backs up to one of the three swimming pools on the property. The entrance to the complex has a big gate in the front of it with a guard who stands there to check people in and out. The condominiums are not in a compound, but  they appear  to be from the front. They  have a guard available to watch over the buildings who makes rounds....one guard came by our front door last night checking the doors and windows across the hall from us.
     The temperatures are pleasant. We have air conditioning, but really do not need it because there is a nice breeze blowing all the time so we have all the windows up and the doors wide open. Haven't noticed any bugs. Tatiana said there are mosquitos....but they must appear during the rainy season, because we have yet to spot any.
     Larry and I are having an American  breakfast each morning of cereal, juice, toast and went for a walk afterwards. Tuesday morning we went to the top of the mountain behind the condo and could see the ocean over the hills. We swam in the exercise pool, one that was deep and extra long, made for swimming laps as well as the endless pool behind our complex. Tuesday was the first day that we have been able to work on getting a bit of a tan. Both days we had lunch, read, and did some computer exploration. It really was a relaxing day...and  our brains have finally recouped from all the Spanish.
    I had a little experience with the resident iguana. He hids in the bushes and jumps and runs when I walk past....both mornings. I don't know who is scared the most. Larry spotted a larger one running off into the brush as well.
    Tuesday was an unusual day. The electricity went off at 8:00 AM  and did not come back until 2:00 PM.
We did not miss much other than not being able to boil water for tea at breakfast. We have been told that the water is drinkable; however, Tatiana told us to stick with bottled water because our systems may not adjust well to it. We have been told that the electicity does  go off occasionally for 5 minutes and that Tuesday was an unusual situation. Some work was being done that caused it to have to be off .
    We have met some people here in the complex. They are from Edmonton, Canada and are starting their second week here.This is their second trip to Costa Rica. We thought it was notable because they came to visit their niece who is working on her doctorate....studying the local monkeys. She is 30 and is in the phase to defend her thesis. We thought Kathy might be interested in this tidbit.
     We are off to take a swim and watch the sunset which it does promptly everyday at 6:00. It's been another fabulous day in the neighborhood in Tamarendo, Costa Rico.

Day 6: Tamarindo Beach

Day 6: Sunday, February 20    

After a restful night, Kay fixed breakfast for everyone. French toast and camping eggs with pappya, mango, pineapple, cantaloupe, carrot orange juice, and extra strong coffee. We sat around the breakfast table and enjoyed each other's company for a long while.

     After cleaning up, the ladies loaded up in the cars to go into town to shop. One store made taylored bathing suits with many fabrics to pick from. Other stores had beach apparel and tourist souvenirs. The guys met us afterward at a hotel down the street that had a beautiful open air restaurant on the beach. They sat smiling quenching their thirst with......Costa Rican juices...they have converted Larry to all these healthy flavors. The beach was loaded with people sun bathing and enjoying the surf. Lots of experienced surfers on the nice waves.Very beautiful scenery and very relaxing atmosphere....I am always pinching myself because I can't believe we are in such a wonderful paradise.

     Marco, Tatiana, Lorraina, Betty, Carlo and Nora dropped us off at the condo and bid us farewell with a lot of hugs for they were heading back to San Jose. Things really quieted down tremendously. In their company there was always something going on, and lots of learning. Larry and I felt that our brains were like the little hour glasses in the computer, turning and turning, trying to figure out what was being said, catching a word here and a phrase there. It is hard to believe that our spanish training in  high school was over 40 + years ago. Our Costa Rican friends could not believe that Larry and I met in Spanish Class. Our Spanish grew tremendously around them, but we still have a long, long way to go in speaking it. We will miss their company tremendously.

     The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing, reading, napping, and taking a walk....just the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Day 5: Traveling to Tamarindo Beach

 Tatiana, Betty, Lorraina, Nora, Carlos, Kay....Where are Marco and Larry? We are at the fruit juice stand in Tamarrendo Beach, Costa Rica taking a break from shopping for Lorraina's Condo.

Day 5 Saturday, February 19
     We started our morning at 8:00 by taking a walk to the poolside, jacuzzi, and hotel. It was very hot in the sunshine and pleasant in the shade. We noticed a very large lizard running in the foliage about a foot long....much larger than our little Virginia critters. The view of the Pacfic Ocean was beautiful with many boats anchored in the cove of Hermosa Beach. After climbing the stairs up the hill to our condo, we had breakfast of sliced ham, salami, cheese, toast, tomatoes, strawberries, papaya, pineapple, watermelon, and Lorraina introduced us to Fruita Pan or fruit bread....lighter variety of fruit cake. Although dad and I do not care for fruit cake, we enjoyed this lighter version.
     We loaded the cars and headed for Tamarindo Beach around 10:30. The area looked very dry and brown. We passed fields of cantaloupe, squash, and sugar cane as well as horses and Brahma cows. On the way to our new home, we stopped to see four homes that Lorraina may be interested in purchasing. Three condos had marvelous views of the ocean and one had a view of a nice garden. Two condos were purched high on a hill looking at Flamingo Beach. The third condo was on a a resort or country club of 3000 acres that had golf, endless swimming pool at the beach, horseback riding and a future bull fighting arena. The last was on Taramundo Beach where you could easliy access the beach in a minute or two. They all ranged in price from $450,000 to $850,000. All were very, very nice and Loraina will come on another weekend to show her husband and make a final decision. He was working in China for the month, but would be back home in a couple of weeks. They were looking for a place that their three sons would enjoy with them on holidays.
      We had lunch on the Tamarindo Beach around 3:30. Dad had chicken and rice and I had shrimp and rice. It was filling. While sitting at a table under some trees right on the beach, an igauna scurried up a tree. Somebody in our group was so hungry they said," I'll have iguana for lunch." The restaurant was a seafood place and didn't have iguana on the menu. Lorraina said, "Iguana is very tasty....a lot like chicken."
     We finally arrived at the Oaks where our condo is on the third floor. Tatianna and Marco have two condos that are across the hall from each other. Between them is a nice area to sit out and enjoy the night breezes....and we did just that after carring everything up three flights of stairs for the eight of us. A nice gentle breeze whipped over the outside patio and we all just sat and talked as Dad and I tried to learn a few more Espanola words.
     We loaded up to go to town for pizza under the stars. The place was packed with lots of Americans and Canadians. We were lucky to find a table and order three Costa Rican style pizzas and a variety of fruit juices that were delicious....strawberry, tangerine, and Guanabana, something I have never heard of but was very tastey. Carlos tells us that it is a Costa Rican fruit that you mix it with either water or milk. We had it with water. Tasty. We stopped at an ice cream place. Several of us had chocolate, vanilla and peanut. They learned that we call that Tin Roof.
     We all crawled up the three flights of stairs at 11:30 and said "Buenas noches"....good night. It was a good day and the bed was looking "muy bueno" (very good) to us all.

Day 4: Trip to Hermosa Beach

                                                            Sunset on Hermosa Beach
Day 4  Friday, Feburary 18
       It was another beautiful morning in San Jose....blue sky and just about the most perfect temperature that you could ever wish for. We were up and ready to leave at 7:00 AM. Dad had a ham and cheese sandwich for pre-breakfast and I had coffee. Marco, Tatiana, dad and I left to pick up Lorraina, a Costa Rican lady whose husband owns a car air conditioning factory in China and was the former ambassador to Taiwan and South Korea. She traveled with us to our destination, Playa Hermosa or Hermosa Beach. She is looking to purchase a condo in Tamarando Beach tomorrow, but for today we are heading north to visit their friends, Carlos and Nora his wife, who are at their time share for the last night. We stopped at Puntarenas after an hour ride to have breakfast. Puntarenas is a port on the Gulf of Nicoya where cargo and cruise ships anchor. It is a scenic view across the water with mountains in the background. When we got out of the car we noticed that the temperature was quite warm, but there was a breeze that made it nice. Dad had eggs and ham and a thick corn tortilla. I had beans and rice and scrambled eggs and a thick corn tortilla, that dad ended up eating as well....he really likes them. We traveled for another hour and stopped at Canas to get gas and viewed native birds, about ten parrots, a peacock, and one baby toucan whose bill was long, green, and orange, very brillant colors . There was also a baby fawn who let you pet it and licked Lorraina to death. We loaded back up into the car and headed for Liberia and stopped again to have a slurpie kind of ice cream. It had powdered milk sprinkled on it. We also stopped to pick up some groceries. We traveled about 25 kilometers before arriving at Hermando Beach at about 2:30. The trip was suppose to take about 4 hours, but we stopped a lot and enjoyed some of the sights along the way.
     Carlos met us at the guarded gate and lead us to the condo. We met Nora and Carlos' sister Betty who is also staying with them. They immediately wanted us to eat lunch....chicken on a bun with lettuce, tomato and avacado, french fries, and eggplant. Lunch is always the big meal here...like the American dinner. After lunch we rode the open air minibus down the mountainside to the beach, less than a half mile and walked along the black sand beach. The Pacific Ocean was cool as we strolled barefoot in the water. While out on the beach we viewed about 14 monkeys in the trees. They were eating the leaves....their dinner. They made the most vicious sounds at times but were fun to watch. We spotted one that had a baby clinging to it. By the time we got back to the starting point of our walk, it was 6:00, the sun was setting and we got some fantastic pictures. We boarded the little bus and road up to the top of the mountain to the open air restaurant and had a margarita and watched the fantastic colors of the sky disappear. Juan ordered a huge tray of fish sticks, chicken, and onion rings. A man began to play his sax, flute, recorder and other instruments to slow jazz sounding music. It was awesome to enjoy the company of our new friends and watch the full moon rise while listening to the music. We sat for a while hoping to spot the new Costa Rican female president who was staying at the hotel next door. We saw her body guards come through the restaurant, but she did not appear.
      We walked back up the hill and sat out on the terrace eating nachos, guacamole, salsa, ham, peanuts, dried fruit and cantaloupe under the stars and tried to decypher what our new friends were saying. They speak fast. They roll their r's a lot. They laugh often. They really try hard to make us feel comfortable, but it wears your dad and I out trying to figure out what they are saying. Their English is better than our Spanish, but they think not. Anyway, it is fun and we are having a really good time. We went to bed about 10:30 thinking," Oh my gosh, we have to do this again tomorrow" because everyone is packing up in the morning and going with us to Tamarendo Beach which is only an hour south of here. It is tough, but somebody has got to do it.

Day 3: Braulo Carrillo National Park

Owen, our driver, Kay, and park guide

Red eyed leaf frog

Day 4: Thursday, February 17

Another picture perfect day. Blue skies and lots of sunshine; although, it did rain on us for a little while. Reminded me of the daily light rains that occur in Hawaii. Our exchange family invited us to stay in their home until Friday. Marco builds homes and condominiums and Tatiana is a lawyer. They wanted to take us to the condominium complex that they developed on Friday in the north west of Costa Rica called Tamarindo Beach on the Pacific Ocean. This is where we will call home for about a month. Everyone tells us it is one of the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica.
We began the day with a wonderful breakfast at 9:00 of fresh fruit....pineapple, bananas, pappya, watermelon, cantaloupe. Dad had eggs and thick toast with their home farmed honey. We had good tea and coffee as well.
Around 10:30 Marco had a driver (Owen) take us to Braulo Carrillo National Park named for one of Costa Rica's presidents. The park was established in 1978 when a road was being put through the mountains to the Limon (northeast) area of Costa Rica to protect the forest. Limon is the area where thousands of turtles lay their eggs in July, August, and September...shucks we won't get to see that this trip. On the drive there we were able to stop and see crops of coffee plants. A gentleman demonstrated how he attached a basket to his waist and picked the red beans that were ready to be harvested. During the rest of the ride to the national park we entered a lush mountain of thick forest with wild pink flowers, ferns, rushing rivers, and numerous waterfalls coming down to the road. One river was yellow coming from a volcano and the other was a clear water river almost running side by side. Upon arriving we took a tram for about an hour through the park viewing Brocolli Trees, Royal Palms, and a variety of extraordinary plants viewing both the tree tops and the bottom of the forest. The biodiversity of the park is attributed to the altitude of the mountain and misty clouds that come across the area with humid lowlands. Our guide informed us of many plants and animals that the rainforest provides homes to. We were able to hear a toucan call.We took a guided hike through the rainforest and were able to spot fresh animal tracks of a tarapin, a short legged three section  footed animal, and view gigantic ants and a large ant colony that was carrying square pieces of leaves in a line through the jungle back to the colony. Amazing the work they do. We went into an enclosed netted house that had the famous Mariposa Butterflies (blue) hatching from puppas and they were flying and landing on our shoulders and hands. We also got to see a red eyed leaf frog, although it was sleeping. They are nocturnal so whoever takes their picture must scare them to death at night with the camera flashing. The park had them in every stage from eggs to tadpoles to tiny, tiny frogs...so cute.
Dad and I are learning more and more Spanish everyday. It is interesting how being immersed into the culture makes learning the language a whole lot more fun.
We will be leaving San Jose in the morning at 7:00 AM heading north to stay with some friends of Marco and Catinana. Saturday we will head to Tamarindo.
It was an extraordinary day of viewing the nature of Costa Rica and beautiful scenry of the mountains and rainforest. Life is good!

Day 2: Day Trip to Irazu Volcano

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Bottom of the volcano

Marco and Larry

Happy Travelers

Entrance to the National Park

                                                         
What a beautiful day! Sunny and a perfect temperature of 22 degrees celcius or around the low 70's F. with blue skies and fluffy white clouds. We started the day having breakfast with Tatiana and Marco....robust Costa Rican coffee, beans and rice, sour cream, scrambled eggs,thick bread, pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, bananas, and orange juice. Their children had to be at school at 7:30.
Marco decided to take us to Irazu Volcano. It last erupted in 1963, the day that JFK came to the country to speak. Marco was there to see his speech and said that ash flew all over everybody's clothes and continued to do so for two years. It left the soil here looking very black and fertile. It was evident that the soil was rich because the hillsides were planted with potatoes, cabbage, onions, and other produce. After traveling through San Jose, we started to climb the mountains that surround the city, seeing a lot of agriculture. Cows, sheep, and horses were spotted. Cows and sheep were tied to the side of the road to eat the grass, instead of it being mowed. Many farmers were out in the sloping hillsides planting crops. We arrived at the volcano around 11:30 and walked out to see the deep crater with beautiful greenish blue boiling hot water in the bottom. A faint scent of sulpher could be smelled. Fog was in wisps around the surrounding land and it mysteriously floated away and reapeared again and again...a very unusual site. We walked back to the gift shop and tried some nutty sweet paddies that were native to the area. Riding back down the mountain, we stopped to have a traditional lunch that consisted of chicken, rice, black beans, fried plantains, papas fritats (french fries just don't sound Costa Rican), a fried root that tasted like potatoe, three kinds of very good native fruit juice...one was white and kinda of coconutty and the other was orange but tasted like very sweet grapefruit with no twang and the last was mango. We enjoyed talking with Marco so much at lunch. He speaks only a little English but we laughed and learned a lot of Spanish while he learned a little English from us. We continued down the mountainside hitting the 4:00 traffic in San Jose but made better time getting back to the house. Dad and I enjoyed a little walk around the compound of the house looking at the native trees and flowering bushes and the sweet scents that filled the air.
Tatiana's grandmother made us dinner. Corn chowder with pork and rice. We also had this sweet milk fudge with a layer of jelly candy in it for dessert.
What a fantastic day! We are really enjoying every minute of our new adventure and can hardly wait to see what tomorrow will bring.

Day 1: Arriving in Costa Rica

Tuesday, February 15

We arrived at Dulles International Airport about 7:15 AM to discover that our backpack had been left behind at Brian and Kristy's home. I thought Larry had brought it up. He thought I had brought it up and Brian loaded all the bagage into the car....so no one knew until we got into the airport and thought, "Where is the backpack?" While we went on to check in, Brian and Kristy returned home to pick it up and bring it to us....They really came to our rescue! The backpack just had too many important things in it to leave it behind.
After getting the backpack at 8:15 we got to go through our first body scan machine ever, putting our hands over our head and having to stand for about 30 seconds and not move. We boarded the TACA Airplane at 9:15 and took off on time at 10:00. We both enjoyed sitting in the emergeny exit seats and could really stretch out and relax. We enjoyed a lunch of chicken and rice, cheese and crackers, dried fruit, and cookies.We enjoyed watching a movie, "Salt" with Angelina Jolie. Excellent thriller. The flight began bumpy because of the wind, but smoothed out quickly and we sailed into San Salvador 4 hours and 15 minutes later, landing at 1:15 after losing an hour. San Salvador looked dry and brown except for where it was irrigated by rivers. We saw a volcano there when flying in. We boarded the plane again at 2:45 and enjoyed the sights of the coastline, mountains, and blue Pacific Ocean heading to Costa Rica. Landing a little early, a few minutes till 4:00, we picked up our luggage, visited the duty free shop, and passed through customs who were doing macrame and not looking at the scanner of our belongings. Our home exchange family, Tatiana and Marco, greeted us with a big Hixson sign outside the airport terminal.We rode to their home for about an hour and a half through unbelievable rush hour traffic in San Jose , but getting to see a wonderful sun set around 5:30. Upon arrival to their home we met their two children, Juan Pablo and Gloriana, Tatiana's 89 year old grandmother, their cook and housekeeper, and got a tour of their beautiful home. We sat down for a lovely traditional lite evening meal of wraps put together with cheese, ham, bean sprouts, lettuce, and tomatoes. They also served toast and honey from their bee farm up north. The honey was wonderful because it had no pesticides. The bees only gathered honey from the nearby rainforest. Delicious. After dinner that night they took us on a ride through San Jose and pointed out parks, government buildings, shopping malls, and other points of interest. We had ice cream cones and returned home around 10:00 PM and gladly went right to bed. It had been a wonderful first day.