The trip was short, but full of adventures! We quickly found out that this is not a destination to just go and relax and the beach and sip drinks like our other vacation destinations…we had to work at this one!
We had a full day of travel on Thursday, and even though we gained 2 hours on the trip there, we didn’t get to our hotel until after 6pm and it was already dark. We landed in San Jose, took a small bus (a van) to a restaurant called Rostipollos where we were met by another small bus (a van). $5 per person. Why the 2nd bus couldn’t just pick us up at the airport – I will never know…I guess it allows everyone in the company to carry our bags and get a tip. $25 per person. The bus driver started the drive and took us on some bad roads only to find out that we were stopping by his little daughter’s house so he could give her a hug since it had been a few days since he had seen her last. While in his neighborhood we saw lots of dogs, houses/shacks with fences on all windows and these mysterious metal boxes on a stick in front of almost each house. Locals use these as their trash bins so the dogs and other animals don’t get into them.
The drive to the hotel was about 5 hours long. A very long ride, but scenic. Most of the roads were OK, but as we got closer to our hotel the terrain got a little rough. We saw many people selling fruits along the side of the roads. One caught our eye since we didn’t know what it was. The drivers stopped to buy some for us and we got to taste joquitos. These fruits reminded me of ciruelas, but were green in color and usually eaten with salt. They were a bit acidic for my taste, but we now owned a bag full of them! We stopped at a restaurant to eat lunch/dinner. George offered to pay their meals and drinks – George had tamarindo juice and I had guanabana – very good! We also got some cough drops since we were still recovering from our cold. The total came out to $13 – what a deal! We dropped off one of the drivers in the town of Liberia and got a little tour of the town – no big deal. By the time we made it to the hotel it was already dark and there wasn’t a person in sight. The lobby area was open and they had a little store – also closed.
Around the corner were the buffet dining room area and a little bar and sitting area. We couldn’t see much of the view since it was dark so we headed to our room. The hotel is on a hillside, so the walk is a tough one – going up or down! We stayed in room 501 which we found out the next day had a pretty good view of the ocean. The room was pretty plain. A bed, TV, dresser, closet, telephone, hair dryer. No AC in the bathroom area, and there were small bugs and ants in the bathroom since the screens had some big holes in them…so we kept the bathroom doors closed. There was a sitting area outside the room, which was comfortable to sit in if you had lots of bug spray on. There were some cats on the property as well as iguanas, butterflies, birds…and if you listened carefully (specially in the am) you could hear the howler monkeys making all kinds of noises in the trees nearby.
We grabbed a bite to eat at the buffet just before they packed up and enjoyed a good night sleep on a bed that dipped in the middle…we called it the valley.
Friday we got to see more of the hotel and it was nice. The pool area looked deserted, there wasn’t a person around but us and the workers…this was definitely not the high season. We made the walk down to the beach area. The beach was very rocky, so shoes were a must. The beach itself is about a 5 minute walk from the resort itself and very dark at night (not recommended). When the tide is low you can see the rocks, but when the tide is high, the water pretty much covers all the sand. They have snorkeling equipment, but if you want to do it I would recommend taking your own since the quality of what they had didn’t look good…and it is so far away from the beach! We saw lots of puffer fish and an eel while we snorkeled. One of the locals also fished out a fish from the same bay area with just fishing line and a sardine.
It rained a bit after lunch, but quickly blew over. We booked the Mega Combo tour at Buena Vista Lodge with Cesar of Connexiones for Saturday – a full day adventure that started at 8am and ended at 6pm. We also booked the sunset cruise through the resort. It picked us up at 4:30pm. There was another couple from the Papagayo Resort across the bay already on the boat. As we headed out into the Pacific, the captain spotted some dolphins so we followed them around with the boat. There were at least 8 of them swimming with our boat. One of them even jumped completely out of the water to show off! It started to rain in different sections so the captain kept us dry by boating around it. We didn’t actually get to see the sunset due to the clouds, but the dolphins made it worth the trip. $35 per person. The cruise also included all the drinks you wanted (except cocktail drinks) and some snacks (but don’t come hungry!). By the time the boat dropped us off, it was very dark. Another couple got off with us who were from another hotel and they had someone waiting for them with a flashlight. I’m not sure what it would have been like if they weren’t on the boat – cause there was no one waiting for us with a flashlight…so be sure to ask about this if you go.
On Saturday, Cesar and his driver Eduardo greeted us in the hotel Lobby where boarded a bus (another van) and started our 2 hour drive. $99 per person. The day was pretty clear, but the clouds always hovered around the mountains. Most of the ride was on a real road, but as we got closer the terrain got rougher. The hills were steep and muddy and we often crossed small flows of water from the mountain. We were the only two on this tour, but another tour left the hotel shortly after us. The Lodge itself was very nice, very green. They had an onsite Internet café $3 for 30 minutes – pretty cheap if you ask me! Once we got all signed up we started getting ready for the canopy. We were both wearing shorts, but I would recommend wearing long shorts (to the knees) or pants for this activity to avoid any burns with the gear and legs. We decided to hook up with the other tour group to make the trip a bit more exciting. There were 3 other couples there so we had a great time! The first time you canopy between trees it’s a bit scary, but once you get over the first one the rest are a real blast. At one of the platforms there were about 6 howler monkeys making all kinds of noises. The guides of course egged them on making the same noises they made. There was at least one female carrying a baby and lots of males with white balls! We canopied until the end. They have a photographer there taking pictures of you at the last 2 canopies if you want to buy them, but the guides never took us to see them on the computer, so we never bought them. Most of us had cameras…just make sure you have a good strap. Photos were being sold for about $15-$20 each.
Our next activity was the slide. They have changing rooms, but be careful where you step since there are all kinds of bugs around there! They give you a helmet and a black ring to keep your elbows in. Those wearing swimsuits also get a leather diaper to help them slide better. We had to walk all the way up to the top of the slide, almost the same trail we had just done with the canopy, but this time we were sweating and it’s a good thing cause the water from the river was COLD. The guide stops the water from coming to let you get in the slide and then opens the floods that just make you fly down the slide! There is a substantial bump about half way, so make sure you don’t have any back problems if you go!! At the end, you land in a pool full of the FREEZING water. Once was enough, but they do ask you if you want to do it again. By this time your stomach starts to growl so they feed you lunch. I had the fish and George had the beef. Both were very good and used the typical staples – rice, beans, fried cheese, salad and plantains. They also served remolacha and limon (beets and lime) juice, which tasted like lemonade with dirt…but we were thirsty so we had about 3 glasses each! It rained a lot while we ate, but it pretty much stopped just in time for our horseback ride to the SPA. George and I packed disposable ponchos, so we stayed dry most of the trip.
The trail is pretty rough, lots of hills and rocks. Looked pretty rough on the horses, but the guide says there are about 600 horses on the property so they rotate them each day. We got to the SPA and changed into our swimsuits once again. We headed for the steam room, which was poured by the natural steam of the earth. After a few minutes we lathered ourselves with stinky hot mud from the volcano. We waited for it to dry as we laughed at each other and then rinsed off in the cold showers. We quickly submerged ourselves in to the first hot spring and hung out. We now felt 5 years younger. We changed once again and got back on the horses and headed towards the waterfall.
