Blogs from Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean - page 19

Sky Tram and Sky Trek Zipline! This zipline experience was the highlight of my trip to Costa Rica to celebrate my 70th birthday and what a trip it was! I couldn't wait to do this zipline, but one of my 40-something daughters was not so eager. After we finished she was glad she did. We booked our date and time for Sky Tram and Sky Trek with Viator weeks in advance which I recommend because this is very popular, at least in February. A van picked us up at 8:15am at the Hotel Arenal and we were soon off to zip! When we arrived at the Sky Trek Zipline a long line of people were being processed and informed about the risks involved and how to safely travel on the ziplines. (There are lockers available to ... read more

Mandy and I woke early to hear the roar of the Howler Monkeys. I ran off to photograph them in my night clothes causing the guards to chuckle. We wanted to savor every last minute so we grabbed our coffees, books and cameras, swept off a lounge chair to read and spent the last precious morning on the beach. From under the tall palms I looked out to the ocean and watched the fishermen prepare for their day at sea while the birds floated in the ocean around the boats or perched on the boats’ biminis hoping to catch a stray fish. Monkey Island stood out at the edge of the bay and behind it, the mountains’ sharp outline defined by the morning sky. Mandy relaxed with her book, enjoying the special last peaceful morning. Kate ... read more

Having read that the Osa peninsular is one of the last great jungle destinations in Costa Rica (and maybe the whole of Central America) we thought we ought to visit. However we need to compromise, so can just go to Drake Bay for a couple of days. To really experience the area we would need to travel into the national park here, but we don’t have the time to do this (and it is not cheap once you add in the cost of park fees, park lodges and guides). We have a good room in the main village, but it’s unfortunately close to the local karaoke bar so we are kept entertained by singing until about 1:30am. There is an excellent walk we do from the village and though it does not go into the park ... read more

Are you driving from Guanacaste or San Jose to South Pacific Costa Rica or even only Manuel Antonio? The you need to stop at a very special place: the bridge over the Rio Tarcoles. From the bridge you can see dozens of huge American crocodiles, and you don't need to pay anything! you might see some other water birds as well, along with macaws on mornings and evenings, when they do their daily "commute" between Carara park and the mangroves. One important thing though: make sure to leave no valuables in your car!! I saw some people with doors unlocked that had their luggage stolen in less than 10 minutes.. because it's a popular stop. Right after the river, (Southbound), starts the Carara national park. It's a transition zone between dry and humid forest. Park is ... read more

People don’t really come to Santa Elena/Monteverde to see bats, but it turns out there is an excellent live bat display just outside town. The connection is that there are plenty of bats native to the Monteverde area, there’s not a huge amount to see, but it’s the sheer enthusiasm of the folk who run it that makes this a great place to visit. I’m surprised but we can take pictures of the bats, though it is very hard to get good ones as the bats aren’t keen to stay still for too long. The main attraction here though (excluding the adventure parks which might well be the main reason for some to come) are the cloud forest reserves. There are actually 3 separate reserves you can visit, we do 2 of them, both on self-guided ... read more