Blogs from Alajuela, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean - page 6

Due to my current hectic travelling schedule, I’m a bit behind on the blogs but have found a few days in the country to finally try and catch up with some of the outstanding ones. Rewind to February and after a cold January (especially my week in Finland) it was time to jet off to find some winter sun, it’s a hard life sometimes. I was going to be away for most of the month, the main part of my trip was to be in a different country but the first week I decided to pop into Costa Rica since I was headed in that general direction anyway. I’ve visited a few places in the North and a few places in the South of America but this was to be my first sojourn into the central ... read more

5 January 2016.No blog yesterday as it was a travel day from Tortuguero to Arenal, high up in the mountains and overlooking the Arenal Volcano. Well in theory that is! The volcano is only visible about 70 days a year and today isn't one of them. This hotel is more luxurious than previous accommodation, each cabina is set in its own garden and each has an uninterrupted view of the volcano, and there is a laundry service and hair driers! Today's guide was Felix, a jaunty little chap whose voice had one volume - loud. We trekked up the side of the volcano on a path carved out by the lava flow in 1968, the last time it erupted. Vegetation is lush (high rainfall) and very varied, from bromeliads to coffee trees and lilies in beautiful ... read more

First weekend field trip!! So excited. We are going with our school to Baldi Hot Springs and then hiking at Arenal Volcano area. My host-dad is so cute; he lent his pair of binoculars to watch wildlife in the forests haha. I woke up early today. He made me breakfast and then I headed out to USAC. The ride was quite long, maybe 2-3 hours? We were driving from Puntarenas (coastal) to Alajuela (more inland). It was cramped too because there were many students. There were aisle seats too. Susanna, one of the USAC staff, sat next to me. We talked about the hot springs, comparison of cultures in the US and Costa Rica, and got to know each other a little more. She's so friendly yet sassy LOL it's awesome. We made a pit stop ... read more

Saturday Lots of rain last night. The room was quiet, the highest room, far away from the street. The only commotion was a couple of pesky roosters that woke up at 6am! The mountains were all clouded in at that hour, but we hope to get some good photos later. Had breakfast on the balcony, fruit and coffee. We sat and watched the birds. Saw a hummingbird in a close flowering tree, but he was too quick for a photo. We walked to the central park area. It was about 9am, and starting to get very humid. The flowers were gorgeous, and the smell so sweet. Many yellow butterflies were fluttering around. We chased a few more hummingbirds, but they were too fast for us! The best view of the volcano, Volcan Aranel, is from the ... read more

Here is a description I found of beautiful Naranjo: "Set at the base of the Espírito Santo Hills in Costa Rica’s gorgeous Central Valley, the area surrounding the town is stippled with farms growing all kinds of crops– plantains, corn, tapioca, coffee, rice, beans, sugar cane, tobacco, and beef, to name a few. The coffee plantations are perhaps the best represented, and plantation tours are becoming increasingly popular among tourists. This fertile area is drained by the Grande Colorado, Molino, Barranca, and El Espino rivers, and, at an elevation of 3,398 feet (1,036 meters), the temperature is a consistently cool 68° F (20° C)." The coffee here is supposed to be incredible, and we went to a breakfast stop on the way up with a breathtaking view to give it a try. My rice and vegetables ... read more