Our First Visit to Costa Rica

Wow, we can now see why so many people travel or move to Costa Rica! We fell in love with the interior with its temperate climate and incredible bio-diversity. We have never seen so many different types of plants, flowers, insects, reptiles, mammals and birds. God’s creative hand was everywhere. There were several times when my thoughts went to The Garden of Eden and I wondered if it was something like the place I was then standing. Every direction you looked evoked a sense of awe. Only God can do that! One major attraction of Costa Rica is the bird watching and the spotting of other unique wildlife. Another attraction is the variety of outdoor recreation. People from all over the world, especially from Europe, the U.S. and Canada, travel there to experience the many wonders that Costa Rica has to offer. On one of our tours we even had a man from Russia and a woman from Lithuania (spelling?). If you are a lover of the outdoors, Costa Rica has so much to offer. Barry had been looking forward to experiencing one of the thrilling zip-line canopy tours (they use that term loosely because it is actually more of a thrill ride than a tour because you are literally "zipping" over the tops of trees and probably couldn’t spot an elephant if you tried!) Now I must admit that I am not speaking from personal experience. Since I am neither fond of speed or heights I passed on that activity. When Barry returned to our hotel room after his Canopy Tour he had a smile from ear to ear and was covered in mud. Yet another reminder that men are merely little boys in grown-up bodies! He said it was awesome and I believe him. I am glad he got to experience that thrill. I did manage to step slightly out of my comfort zone by doing a "Hanging Bridges Tour". This involved hiking along trails through rain forest with a guide and crossing over numerous suspension bridges that draped over and through the trees, plants, vines and bromeliads that make up the forest. My fear is more than just being uncomfortable with heights; it is a fear of falling. Although I was a little tentative on the walks across the bridges I was O.K. because I didn’t get the sense of how high above ground we actually were. This is because many of the trees are over one-hundred feet tall and the tops of the shorter trees beneath you were so dense that you didn’t really feel like you were as high above ground as you actually were. So, I was doing fine on the bridges until I accidentally dropped my plastic water bottle cap. Instinctively, my eyes followed it’s descent. Well, it dropped and it dropped for what seemed like an eternity. At that moment, I started to get vertigo and had to grab the rail and close my eyes for a minute. My heart raced and my palms broke out in a sweat. Of course, Barry and our guide were already at the far end of the bridge and had to wait for me to catch up with them. I proceeded across the second half of the bridge like a snail while clutching the handrail. I was so glad to have solid ground beneath me again. Now, you can better understand why my decision to not do the zip-line was a no-brainer for me! God has been helping me to overcome so many fears in my life, but that one is still a work in progress.

Usually the month of April brings lots of tourists, but several tour guides said that the numbers were down for some reason. That made it so much more enjoyable for us, though. Of the three tours we took, on one we were the only people, on another it was one other couple and on the third it was only six others. All in all, we were very fortunate. All of our bi-lingual guides were very knowledgeable and personable, as well.

Our three weeks there were spent exploring the north-central region and ended with a trip to the north Caribbean coast. Our first five nights were spent at a very comfortable B & B in San Jose. We enjoyed the National Museum, which gave us a good education about Costa Rican history. Their Gold Museum was interesting, as well. We took one tour from San Jose where we visited Volcan Poas, The La Paz Waterfall Gardens and took a riverboat sight-seeing tour. The Poas Volcano is one of several that are still active. It actually erupted ten days before we arrived and the park was closed temporarily until they assessed the conditions. The park was admitting a limited number of guests the day of our tour. However, when we walked up to the overlook the volcano was entirely hidden in a cloud. That, of course, was a disappointment. From there we went to the waterfall gardens. We hiked along paths, across bridges and up and down steps to view four spectacular falls connected by a beautiful stream. Then, it was off to one of the many rivers in the area where we spotted our first howler monkeys, saw a few caimans (they look like a miniature crocodile), bats, iguanas and lots of birds.

After leaving San Jose we headed to the Arenal area to see the lake and volcano of the same name. This was our favorite area. To say that Volcan Arenal is active, is an understatement! It is spewing hot lava into the air and down it’s sides day and night. What an impressive sight! During the day, the lava and molten rocks look white as they flow down the sides of the volcano. At night it is absolutely spectacular. If the volcano is not in a cloud you can clearly see red-hot lava shooting from the mouth and cascading down the sides. Through binoculars you can actually see rocks bouncing down toward the base of the volcano. This is one of the most breath-taking things I’ve ever seen! We spent three nights in the Arenal area because we wanted the best chances to see the volcano. Many people visit the area and never get to actually see it because of cloud cover. Well, we were really blessed because it was clear almost the entire time. Our first day and night in the Arenal area was spent at the Tabacon Resort and Spa which has acres of flowing hot springs that flow and fall into pools of various sizes, shapes and temperatures. We spent our first day relaxing amidst the lush jungle surroundings while soaking in the springs. Our room had an unobstructed view of the volcano. It was from here that we took the Hanging Bridges tour. On that tour we saw our first sloth, an eyelash viper, a spider monkey and lots of birds. At the end of that tour we transferred to the Arenal Lodge where we rented one of the chalets. The entire front of the chalet was glass. We could sit in rocking chairs or in bed and watch the volcano erupt. That was unbelievable. We rented horses and went for an hour and a half ride on the lodge’s vast grounds. We also did two different hikes which were both great. Leaving Arenal we headed to Monte Verde which is on the other side of Lake Arenal. We took a 45-minute boat ride across the lake and then transferred into a van for the bumpiest ride of our lives. Monte Verde is a mountain community famous for it’s unpaved access roads. You must endure a 1-½ hour bone-jarring ride to get to this mountain wonderland. Monte Verde and Santa Elena contain two cloud forests. Monte Verde is where Barry did the Canopy Tour. We stayed in the tiny community of Santa Elena for four nights and spent most of our time hiking. Two highlights of this area were a night tour in the forest where we spotted tarantulas, bats, and lots of insects. Beatles that looked liked giant fireflies were flying everywhere. My favorite part of this experience was hearing the sounds of the jungle at night. We heard crickets, frogs, birds and other things I couldn’t identify. It was a symphony of sorts with a wonder all it’s own. Our other favorite experience in the Monte Verde area was hiking alone through a private reserve. We saw our first toucan. That was really exciting! We also saw a bunch of Agoutis which look like a cat-sized hamster or rat. And, we saw a Coati climbing a tree. They look similar to a raccoon.

The last area we visited was Tortugeuro in the northern section of the Caribbean coast. It is a protected wetland area with lots of winding rivers and estuaries. It is only accessible by boat. From San Jose we had to drive 3 hours to a river where we began a 2-hour boat ride that ended at Laguna Lodge located on an estuary to one side and the Caribbean coast to the other. We spent two nights there and had three different guided wildlife tours to different areas. Two were by boat and one was a hike through the jungle where we spotted more howler monkeys, a snake and another sloth. One night we heard this very loud barking noise. We were surprised to discover that four large bullfrogs lounging in the pool were the source of the strange sound. One day, a group of toucans flew over the pool and perched for awhile in the papaya trees. Since we were on the coast, mosquitos were abundant and we had to deal with high humidity again.
The last thing we did before leaving Costa Rica was to hire a cab driver for a day. We decided we’d like to return to Volcan Poas and take our chances with the visibility. We were fortunate the second time and were really glad that we went. We took a short hike to a lagoon beside the volcano that is the original volcano, but now is filled with lovely green water that is highly sulphurous. That same day we did two coffee plantation tours; Café Britt and Doka. Their coffees are REALLY good and we thoroughly enjoyed both tours, which were very different from one another.

During our time in Costa Rica we saw snakes, lizards, unique mammals and birds, butterflies, frogs, turtles, monkeys and much more. It truly is an outdoor wonderland! We even got to spend part of one day with Poody’s husband, John, at the National University of Bio-diversity in San Jose. He gave us a tour of the small public park that is attached to the University and then we had dinner together. That was a special treat.

Overall, we LOVED Costa Rica and are looking forward to our return. We are also looking forward to our return home on May 18th. So until then, may God bless you and keep you well.

Phase I of the Dock 

Building Out the Dock 

Piecing it Together 

Team Work 

Barry Hard at Work 

Almost Finished! 

The Finished Dock 

The Long Walk to the "Potty" Area 

They're Off! 

Ripping Down the Estuary 

Edith Taking Barry for a Ride 

Lorena & Edith in the Family's Dugout Canoe 

Richard & Karla Relaxing After Lunch 

Enjoying Our Lunch 

Cleaning the Fish 

Manny and our Lunch 

The Approach to Manny's Restaurant 

Manny's Restaurant 

Manny's Family Preparing our Meal 

The Kitchen 

Mom and kids 

2-year old Reyna 

10-year old Edith 

12-year old Lorena 

Trouble in El Salvador

We have been enjoying our time in El Salvador and have only had one unfavorable experience. I’m happy to report that what I am about to share is not a reflection on this country. You see, in our first week here we learned that our Wells Fargo ATM cards will not work ANYWHERE in Central America. This is not good! We were down to $10 cash and hitched a ride to the nearest town with ATMs, markets, etc.. I, along with three other boaters, began filling my shopping cart with food while Barry headed for the ATM to get cash. He tracked me down in the produce department after a short time and reported that he’d tried three different ATMs without success. So, we then tried my card and had the same result. The ATMs were saying our cards were not authorized. I then confirmed that we could pay for our groceries with a credit card and Barry “hightailed” it to the bank to speak with a teller. Entering a Salvadorean bank is an experience in itself. A shotgun toting security guard (that is their weapon of choice here) not only checks all bags, but also pats you down as you enter the bank. Once at a window Barry was told that the reason our card would not work is because all Salvadorean banks use a four-digit PIN and, of course, ours is five! We couldn’t even use the cash advance part of the card in the bank. We resorted to getting a cash advance from one of our major credit cards to give us some spending money until the situation with our check card got resolved. That evening when we returned to the boat we called Wells Fargo customer service to find out what was going on. Barry was told that if we changed our PIN to four-digits our cards would work. So, we did just that. Barry took a chicken bus back to the town of Zacate the next morning to go try our ATM cards again.

While Barry went in search of cash, I stayed behind and ended up having an extremely interesting conversation with another cruiser who has led a VERY colorful life. Come to find out, he and I lived one block from each other in Redondo Beach, CA in the late seventies! Wow, that is a trip! While I’m having a nice day hearing the fascinating life story of crazy George, Barry is not having fun at all. He returns to the marina late afternoon with the news that our cards did not work again. He calls the bank again and had to speak with three customer service people before getting to the bottom of the problem. According to one of their “executive” service reps(apparently their regular CS reps aren´t adequately trained to handle a situation such as this. Go figure!), Wells Fargo inactivated all ATM cards throughout Central America because of fraud. As you can imagine, Barry had some choice words for them! He was told that they could issue us new cards that would work here and mail them to us. They claimed there was no way to make our existing cards work. We find that hard to believe, but we were at the mercy of their rules. You can probably imagine our feelings of insecurity at the thought of our cards traveling into a third-world country where the wrong person could potentially obtain access into our account. Well, what was suppose to be a three to five day delivery became ten days (the cards did not get mailed the day they were suppose to. Imagine that!). Once we confirmed they made it to the DHL office in San Salvador, our new friend Karla drove us there. She and her husband Richard are becoming good friends to us. I’m leaving out a lot of detail, because I don’t want to inundate you with all the nonsense we had to endure these last two weeks. Just know that we once again have ATM cards that give us access to OUR cash. We are planning on changing banks when we come home to visit this summer. It is interesting that we have yet to find anyone else who has experienced problems accessing their bank accounts. Good for them!

Richard and Karla who own the Galley restaurant were installing a dock to make access to their beach front home and business easier. Barry spent three days helping Richard install the floating dock. He worked very hard, but had a ball doing it. On another day they took us and Dreamweaver for a trip in their panga over to the Rio Limpa which is a river that flows west from Honduras and intersects with the winding estuaries in this area. We had an incredible day winding through the huge mangroves and passed another island in the area that is inhabited with more poor Salvadoreans. Unlike the island near the marina, this one has electricity! We took the panga into an area where it is common to see crocodiles, although we did not see any. We stopped to have lunch on a small dock built out from the island. A very friendly family serves food on their covered dock. Dad catches the fish and their 10-year old daughter, Edith, helps him clean them. Their 12-year old daughter, Lorena, helps Mom and grandma cook over the wood- burning fire. The whole family is involved in their little operation. Even 2-year old Reyna gets involved by entertains the customers! This family is extremely gracious and very physically attractive. The girls are absolutely beautiful and dad is quite handsome! We brought balloons and balls for the kids and they loved them. We ate fried whole red snapper, sauteed shrimp, rice, tortillas, cheese and beans. It was all delicious. They brought out hammocks for us to relax in after finishing our meals. What a relaxing couple of hours we had. Like many poor Salvadoreans, this family has a small canoe of sorts that is a hollowed out log. Edith took Barry for a ride in it while the rest of us watched from the dock. Even Grandma paddles the boat between their dockside eatery and the island village where they live among many other families. The current in these estuaries is very swift, but they all paddle their little boat with such ease. It is like riding a bike is to us.Our day ended with a stop on the beach near the mouth of the estuary where all the boats enter from the Pacific Ocean. We all went for a swim and the girls collected seashells. It was an enchanting day.

Our plans for the remainder of this cruising season have changed because of new information we have received. Originally we were going to continue on from El Salvador to Nicaragua and then on to Costa Rica. We were going to leave Blew Moon in Costa Rica from mid-May to mid-August during our time back in the U.S.. However, we have been hearing that Costa Rica is not a safe place to leave a boat unattended, and that there are not many marinas. So, we decided to have El Salvador be our base between now and May 19th when we fly home. This is a great place to leave the boat and a great place to travel inland to other parts of Central America from.

As of this posting we have been in Costa Rica for a couple of weeks. We took an 18-hour bus ride from San Salvador to San Jose, Costa Rica. We have had an absolute ball exploring the central and northern interior of Costa Rica. What awe-inspiring things we have seen. We will return to El Salvador in about five days. We will post a bunch of photos once we are back on-board Blew Moon. We´ve spent hours trying to post our photos this last week and have given up for the time being. But, stay tuned for the upcoming photos as well as the highlights of Costa Rica experience.

Happy Easter . . . . Stacey