Blogs from San José, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean - page 10

Spent the day orienting ourselves to the city and making our way to the zooological aviaries on Zoo Ave. It should have taken us 20 minutes but nothing, especially navigating, is easy here. The zoo and aviary is known for rescuing all types of animals and birds but most live there uncaged and free. Amazing menagerie of wild life, most I've never seen before outside of a zoo. Settled in the midst of the zoo, surrounded by lush trees and plants sits an fancy restaurant with colorful peacocks wandering around through the tables freely and friendly waiters fluent in English. So helpful. It's amazing how you miss communicating in your own language And it's only been four days. Interesting facts about Costa Rica...gas is above $4.00 a gallon and you don't pump your own gas, by ... read more

We arrived in Costa Rica on Wednesday and meet up with Bruce and Sue. Not a large airport and going through customs was a snap. Bombarded by cab drivers and guides just outside of the airport we followed directions from our host Tomas and went a short distance to an outside restaurant for a bite to eat while we wait for Tomas to pick us up. Tomas is a teacher and teaches until 3:00 so we settle in to wait. First impressions - bustling city surrounded by massive mountains, we are in a sort of bowl. The mountains stretch up into the clouds. Later I learn these are all active volcanos and some have erupted as recently as 2009. When Tomas arrives to pick us up it is almost 4:30 and traffic is beyond anything any ... read more

After waking up we are delighted to find that our stay here includes breakfast. Breakfast is served in an outside atrium filled with beautiful plants and singing birds of all kinds. We start with fresh fruit, pinapple, cantalope, watermelon and bananas. Also fresh squeezed juice. We have a choice of an American meal or a Tica (Costa Rica). American choices include omelet, eggs, bacon, ham, pancakes, waffles and toast. The Tica breakfast includes bLack beans and rice, plantanga, toast, and scrambled eggs. Delicious. We left the hotel to explore the city of Alajuala. Alajuala is in the shadow of the Volcon Poas, an active volcano. You can't see the top because it is in the clouds as it stands over 10000 feet high. Alajuala is a bustling city with many vehicles of all sizes. Mostly Toyotas ... read more

24 oct Au retour du Volcan Arenal, nous achetons fruits et pains frais pour bien se préparer à accueillir notre visite. Puis nous restons pris dans le traffic. Après une petite peur d'arriver en retard, nos attendons nos chicas avec leurs noms écrit sur des affiches :) Arrivés à l'auberge (après avoir été escortés par des policiers qui nous aidaient à trouver notre chemin), on se régale de bières locales, pains-fromages-fruits frais. 25 novembre Déjeuner de fruits frais et de Gallo Pinto (déjeuner tipique à base de riz, fèves, viande et épice souvent accompagné d'œuf et fruits) et départ pour la région de Guanacaste - volcan, plage et forêt. Arrêts à Puntarenas où, après une longue marché sur la place nous dégustons notre premier casado (riz, fèves, légumes et viande ou poisson - finalement, c'est toujours ... read more

Geo: 9.93333, -84.0833Today we flew from San Jose, Costa Rica, where we now live, to Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles is the most populous city in California and also the second most populous city in all of the United States.We spent the night in Los Angeles before we flew on to Shanghai, China. While we were in Los Angeles we took a shuttle to the Manhattan Beach area where we shopped and did some sight seeing.... read more