Blogs from Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean - page 2

Today does not start well. After waiting for an hour for a sandwich at the hotel restaurant yesterday, we opt to have breakfast elsewhere. The old man has spotted a place in the village which does a buffet breakfast. He’s very disappointed when he discovers it’s not self service. And there’s no return visits. I’m happy with my plate of pancakes, pineapple and plantain. When I planned our trip I had hoped to stay somewhat further south, close to Las Baulas National Park, where you can take a guided tour to watch leatherback turtles come ashore to lay their eggs. However, the park is 42 miles away and the tours don’t start until after dark. We don’t fancy driving such a long distance back in the dark, late at night. We decide to visit the National ... read more

I wasn’t feeling well yesterday, but 9 hours sleep and a breakfast of rice and beans (I’m beginning to feel like a contestant on I’m a Celebrity) and I’m raring to go. Today, we are going to Ricon de La Vieja volcano. It’s a 17 mile drive, which starts on Route before we have to turn off onto a smaller road. With 6 miles to go, we run out of paved road and the bouncing around in the gravel begins. A few miles later, there is a sign saying we are entering private land and must pay 700 colones each (about £1) to continue. Unexpected as we’re heading for a National Park, but the man has a gun, so we don’t argue. Our first destination is Rio Negro Hot Springs; a series of 10 pools, situated ... read more

We flew from San Francisco to Houston, had a three hour layover then onto Libera, Costa Rica. We rented a car from Enterprise. One of the smartest moves we made was to rent a GPS. I asked how much they cost, the answer $12.00 per day, I said no thanks the cost was to high. Enterprise then said they would rent it for $8 per day, SOLD. I also paid extra for a AAA type service. I had read about people having their tires punctured and when local show up to help they rob you . I want to have a service just in case we ran into trouble. Our first stop was La Fortuna the town in the shadow of Arenal Volcano. The GPS gave us directions like turn right at the road or turn ... read more

Late entry of the zip lining photos.... read more

We spent the day visiting a variety of beaches going south from Playa Panama. Jose Diego was our driver today and he did a great job with the navigation and making sure we had a great time. Dantita Beach and Dante Beach were the first stops. We drove and hiked a vista first and then took a walk on the beach. We stopped at Flamingo Beach and took another walk. Another stop at Brasilito Beach . Then we had lunch in Tamarindo and after we took a short drive took a walk on Playa Longosta. We went back to Tamarindo and took our surf lesson from Iguana Surf Shop. We were in a small group lesson with a couple from France. Kendall was our instructor. After a short lesson on the beach it was into the ... read more