Blogs from Braulio Carrillo National Park, San José, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean

At this point Eric leaves me in the hands of a crooked toothed guide and a bunch of geriatric Americans.The guide proceeds to pick up a poisoned dart frog so I begin to doubt his sanity for one and ability to explain the chocolate process for another. On the way to the tour he tells a tall tale about Theobrama, some god of food who loved chocolate so much he turned the woman he loved into a cacao tree. I decide to keep my distance! We arrive at the demo area and sit ourselves on tiered seats to watch the demonstration begin. We are shown a tiny blossom that in the space of just six months turns into a cacao fruit the size of a melon. When humans saw animals eating these fruits they decided to ... read more

Having spent a sleep, wake, sleep, wake kind of night - some of it down to my body clock getting confused by the seven hour time difference and the rest due to an American woman deeming it necessary that the entire hotel heard her travel arrangements for the next day accompanied by raucous laughter at 3am - I wasn't exactly pleased to find out from reception that my travel company had switched hotels last minute and not bothered to tell me! I deposited my bags in reception and vowed not to let it ruin my day and worry about it later. I set off, map in hand, to look for the National Theatre where I met the lovely Eric for my day tour which was to include hiking through the jungle followed by a chocolate tour. ... read more

Dag iedereen, Mijn camera is nog steeds stuk van de regen aan de vulkaan Poas. Ik hoop dat de camera binnenkort erdoor komt want anders zou dat wel een lichte ramp betekenen voor mij... Zeker net nu we al die prachtige landschappen te zien krijgen. Vandaag zijn we heel vroeg opgestaan om de bus te nemen naar het Nationale Park Braulio Carillo. Dit is het 2e grootste park van Costa Rica en is het dichtste regenwoud bij San Jose. We wouden vroeg vertrekken omdat men ons gezegd had dat als je als eerste groep aankomt, dat je dan meer dieren ziet omdat ze dan nog niet zijn weggelopen van de drukte. Onderweg reden we voorbij het park en het uitzicht was adembenemend. Vele natuurlijke watervallen en torenhoge dichte bebossing langs de weg. De chauffeur zette ons ... read more

After my class on Thursday, a few of my friends and I decided to hike up Volcan Barva. Heredia to Barva: 20 minutes by bus Barva to Volcan Barva Ranger Station: 1 hour by Taxi Volcan Barva Ranger Station to Bus Stop: 30-40 minute walk Bus Stop to Heredia: 30-40 minutes by bus... read more