We flew into the San Jose, Costa Rica airport at 9:30pm and stayed the night at the Marriott Hotel Hacienda Belen.
Day 1
At 9am we met the rest of our Backroads tour group in the lobby of the hotel and were then shuttled by van to Espiritu Santo Coffee Plantation. We took a tour of the grounds and learned all about the process of cultivating coffee beans, harvesting, roasting and finally packaging. It was a very informative tour with fun guides! We had lunch at the coffee plantation before heading into the cloud forest to our lodging for the next two nights - El Silencio.
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A coffee plant |
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| The Espiritu Santo coffee plantation |
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| Coffee beans growing on the bush |
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| The roaster |
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| Packaging the roasted beans |
We got settled into our own casita at El Silencio before joining our Backroads group for a 2.5-mile hike to a waterfall. That evening we enjoyed gourmet Costa Rican cuisine at the El Silencio restaurant.
Day 2
The next morning's activities included a 4.3-mile bike ride from El Silencio to the largest waterfall in Costa Rica - Catarata Del Toro. The bike ride was tough with lots of hills and potholes! Once at the entrance to the waterfall grounds, we were joined by a naturalist who explained all about the local flora and fauna. The first part of the hike contained several lookout points where we viewed the waterfall from above. Then we descended the 350+ stairs to get to the base of the falls. It was a great hike!
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| Catarata Del Toro |
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| The gorge leading away from the waterfall |
After hiking, we opted for the van shuttle (instead of biking) to Olga's house - a local who prepared lunch for our group and taught us the art of tortilla making. Afterwards, we worked off our lunch by walking back to the lodge. That afternoon, we ziplined through the lush forests on 4 different lines on El Silencio's property. Very fun!
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| Ready to zipline! |
Day 3
This morning we checked out of El Silencio and had an hour and a half drive to the starting point of our white-water rafting experience on the Sarapiqui River. We had a ball navigating the class II-III rapids and also enjoyed the calm spots where we took in the beautiful surroundings. It was fun to hear the howler monkeys on either side of the river as we floated by. After rafting, we had another traditional Costa Rican lunch (rice, beans, vegetables, tortillas) served to us by the rafting guides under a palapa picnic area.
In the afternoon, we were shuttled to our hotel for the night - Arenal Kioro which had a picturesque view of the Arenal Volcano as well as lush grounds full of tropical plants and flowers.
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| The view of the Arenal Volcano from our hotel room |
Dinner this evening was prepared by Chef Scott - an American who has lived in La Fortuna, Costa Rica for close to 20 years and operates his own restaurant - the Lava Lounge. Our dinner, held at his house, was conducted as a cooking demonstration with lots of participation. We learned how to make guaro mojitos, a plantain dish, ceviche, as well as a Costa Rican recipe for Sea Bass. Every dish was excellent and a very fun, interactive way to have dinner!
Day 4
We started our day with a leisurely boat ride on Lake Arenal where we had more great views of the Arenal Volcano and saw lots of birds along the water's edge.
Afterwards, Jim chose to do the 9-mile bike ride winding along the edge of the lake, while I opted to go on the Hanging Bridges hike with a few others from our group. Both options were great and we both had a chance to see a bunch of Coatimundis up close. We met back up at the Eco Termales Springs which had several pools of increasing temperature.
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Coatis along the road |
After a relaxing soak, we were served lunch and then it was time to make our way to the La Fortuna Airport (also doubling as a karaoke bar). Our group divided up into 3 small planes which whisked us away to the small coastal area known as Punta Islita. From the Punta Islita Airport (which consisted of a gravel airstrip and a bench covered by a palapa roof) we were taken to the amazing Hotel Punta Islita which sits perched above the ocean. We had our own casita with spectacular views of the water.
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| Hotel Punta Islita |
Day 5
Following breakfast, we joined our tour group for a walk to the Scarlet Macaw Recovery Network where we saw the colorful birds and learned all about the network's efforts to recover and protect the endangered Scarlet Macaws.
Our walk continued down to the hotel's beachfront area and then continued on to a viewpoint overlooking Punta Islita and the Pacific Ocean.
Back at the beach, Jim tried his hand at surfing and was quite successful at standing up and riding the waves into shore.
In the evening, we attended the Farewell Dinner under twinkling lights down by the beach.
Day 6
Before checking out of the hotel and finishing the tour by flying back to San Jose, we joined our tour leaders for a quick walking tour of the village of Islita. We saw the church, school, store, and community craft building. Most of the buildings in the village were adorned with ornate tile mosaic murals.
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| The Islita Church |
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| The store in Islita |
It was another quick flight by small airplane to get back to San Jose, Costa Rica. Once back in San Jose, we said goodbye to the other members of our tour group before heading back to the Marriott. We spent a lazy afternoon lounging by the hotel pool, knowing that the next morning we would be up super early in order to make our flight back to LAX.
