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Costa Rica, a Nature Lover’s Dream & Then Some …
(by Patti Day-Miller - February 12, 2008)
The republic of Costa Rica lies entirely within the tropics, just 8-11 degrees north of the Equator, and is bordered on the north by Nicaragua and on the south by Panama. About one third of its 19,650 sq. miles is protected within reserves or national parks. With beaches on both the Caribbean and Pacific Oceans, soaring mountains, smoldering volcanos, several types of tropical forests, and wildlife in all varieties, shapes, sizes, and colors, it is considered one of the most beautiful places on earth. But I knew very little about any of that before last summer.
I hadn’t ever thought of traveling to Costa Rica, until two different people told me during the same week last summer that they’d gone there and enjoyed it very much. They both recommended Caravan Tours. And for this Christmas, I was determined to see at least some of my children (we have offspring in Texas, Indiana, and Pennsylvania). Though my youngest son and my daughter could not go with us this year, in July Lanny Dragon of “Lanny’s Tours & Cruises” made reservations for my oldest son, his spouse, our 13-year old grandson, and husband Dave and me. It was a billed as a 10-day tour with nine nights and eight days in Costa Rica, the rich coast. Departure date: December 16, 2007.
We landed in Costa Rica’s capital city, San Jose, late on Sunday, December 16th, arriving at our hotel just after 11:30 p.m. Caravan had a driver to meet us at the airport and transport us to the hotel, and our tour guide, Rolando, was in the lobby waiting for us. He quickly checked us into the Aurola Hotel, a Holiday Inn, gave us our room keys, our cards for complimentary food and beverages, and the remote control for the TV. Then he showed us to the dining room ‘cause Dave was ready for a sandwich. (Luckily the dining room didn’t close until midnight on Sunday night.) The only negative was that our three family members coming from Indiana couldn’t get to the airport that day for their flight due to a snow storm. Dave worked hard to rebook them for the next day, but we weren’t sure if they’d be able to make that flight or not.
The next morning we encountered a full breakfast buffet—fresh pineapple, watermelon, papaya, juices, cereals, meats, breads, and a chef to prepare eggs any way we liked. Plus we tried gallo pinto for the first time, Costa Rica’s black beans and fried rice, which is a breakfast staple in that country. We learned later that day that breakfast and lunch are traditionally the two largest meals in Costa Rica, with the evening meal being very light. The black beans and rice is served at lunch also, as arroz con pollo, with lightly seasoned stewed chicken (or pork). It is very tasty, I must say.
At 8 a.m. we (all on time) boarded our bus for our first day of sightseeing. In San Jose we drove past the statue of Costa Rica’s hero, drummer boy Juan Santa Maria, and then had a most scenic drive along coffee fields, gardens, and dairy farms to visit Poas Volcano, dormant since 1991. Unfortunately, it sits in a cloud forest at an elevation of 8,850 feet, and it was cold and raining with much wind when we arrived; so there were no great views that day. However, they had an informative video at the center, a beautiful hand-crafted wood display, and a nice gift shop (found my first pig for a friend there), plus a refreshment stand where many purchased hot drinks. It is the nation’s most visited national park.
From there it was on to the first of many great lunches, and then back to San Jose for a visit to the underground gold museum, which was quite well done and filled with over 1,600 pieces of pre-Columbian gold dating back to AD 500. There’s a Visitor Center there also, where Rolando suggested we might want to get free maps of Costa Rica, onto which he’d mark our tour route with colored markers. After that, Dave and I walked to the National Theater, which is probably Costa Rica’s number one architectural gem. It was built with coffee baron money because a prima donna would not perform in Costa Rica because she felt there was not a proper venue for her. It was quite lovely and quite ornate with its Neo-Baroque interior.
Then dinner at the hotel, and then I began playing the waiting game to learn if our three family members had indeed been able to get on the rebooked flights. Since we were to leave our hotel the following morning at 6 a.m., Dave went to sleep, and I decided to wait downstairs. Around 11 p.m. Rolando met me and said, “They’ve arrived at the airport and are en route to the hotel right now.” He and I went outside to greet them as they pulled up, and never have three tired travelers looked so good to my eyes. I had been so worried that they had not made their flight, and since our tour was heading out of town for a tour of the country the next morning, not making their flight would have meant missing the tour completely.
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