jacko the weblog

Morning at the Lost Iguana started with a quick dip in the “hot” pool followed by a buffet breakfast and then off for a “Volcano Hike”. We had a terrific guide, Hector, who was very knowledgeable about the area and it’s history. The hike was interesting for flora and the intermittent rumbling from the volcano – slightly unnerving to hear huge boulders crashing down the mountain side, out of view. When we reached the bottom of the active lava flow we could see huge lava boulders, the size of buses according to Hector, tumbling down the side of the volcano, trailing smoke. This was the same lava flow we had seen at night, quite different in daylight. And unfortunately, during this tour, the top of the volcano was hidden in the clouds.

Then, back to the lodge for lunch and off again for another intense hike through the high-elevation rain forest. This hike was unique in that it crossed 15 bridges, 6 suspension-hanging bridges, some 100s of feet in the air. We had yet another well-informed guide, Johnny, who pointed out the complexity of the jungle plants, insects and animals. A fascinating example was a certain fig tree excretes nectar that attracts a certain ant that aggressively protects the tree from anything that might want to eat the tree’s leaves. The highlights were a poison-dart frog and then a troop of howler monkeys with the alpha male doing a lot of yelling and a momma monkey with her baby hanging on her belly.

The day was complete with a drive to La Fortuna in the driving rain and lightning storm, followed by a search for a recommended restaurant. Going in circles for a bit, driving the wrong way down a one-way street, going head-on with two tour buses and stopping twice to ask for directions finally got us to the right spot. We had an amazing dinner in an open-air casual place, on a side street called La Mesa de Mamá for just about $10 US. Natalie especially enjoyed her arroz con pollo. By the time we got back to the room the sky was clear enough again to enable another fascinating lava show. The volcano gods were definitely smiling on us.

See all of the Arenal photos!

The Next Day: Costa Rica: From Arenal to Monteverde
The Whole Trip: Costa Rica: The Summary

Our final morning at Tortugero was a blur of last-minute pool visits, breakfast and packing to depart. Getting out of Tortuguero involved a two-hour boat ride through some amazing canals through jungle and farmland, followed by a one-hour drive over an unpaved road, followed by a 30-minute ride over paved roads (hooray for paved roads!). At that point we met up with the rental car. The meeting point was a restaurant in the small town of Sequires, called Caribbean Dish. It seemed to be the meeting point for many tour groups. Quite the melting pot (and not just because it was hot). Quite chaotic. Because we were a little early we had a chance to try the buffet. Not bad. The rental company finally arrived with our car, a tiny dihatsu 4-wheel drive. We opted for the $10/day GPS, which turned out to be a lifesaver on several occasions. Our first driving experience, a 3 hour drive, was sunny and then rainy, then sunny and then rainy again. It was a Saturday and the roads weren’t too busy. Approaching the town of La Fortuna we got our first view of the Arenal Volcano. This is what we had come to see, and we were pleased to see it was puffing smoke. We had heard from several travelers who had come before us that the cloud cover can hide the Volcano for weeks at a time, so we felt privileged to get this first viewing. We then drove through La Fortune, completely around to the other side of the Volcano, and across the dam which holds back Lake Arenal to reach our lodging, The Lost Iguana.

Our first evening at the Lost Iguana consisted of immediately checking out the pool and bar scene, which fortunately at this hotel, were combined. The lower pool is regular temperature, but the upper pool is almost like a sauna it is so warm and it has bar stools that belly right up to the bar. Chris and I sat at the bar having a few beers while Natalie frolicked in both pools. The rain continued, but in this position it didn’t really matter. What one would imagine heaven might be like.

Later we found ourselves at the hotel open-air restaurant with a front-and-center view of the volcano. We had a so-so dinner (the food was the most disappointing part of the Lost Iguana) with amazing views of the fiery lava flows. All of the rooms at the Lost Iguana face the volcano and have spacious balconies. The night sky was cloud-free and the volcano gave us a great show and Chris got some fabulous photos of the volcano is action. Then for some strange reason we all woke up around 4 AM to discover the Volcano was putting on an even more impressive lava show. Completely unreal.

See more photos of the trip from Tortuguero to Arenal!!

The Next Day: Costa Rica: Arenal
The Whole Trip: Costa Rica: The Summary

The sun rises early in Costa Rica and the walls made of screen allowed our room to be fully illuminated 6am. Fortunately breakfast was ready by 6:15 and we were right there ready to eat. This morning, Edie was adverturous and ordered gallo pinto, the national breakfast staple, fried rice & beans – delicious! The morning is a busy time at the hotel as it is when the guests are either arriving or departing or starting off on tours. We decided to take a short walk on the beach to see the turtle nesting sites in the daytime. A quick boat ride and walk across the airport runway and we found the spot. The egges we say layed and buried had been disturbed. Already a couple of eggs were visible and crabs were starting to swarm around the nest. A guide later told us that raccoons will decimate a nest if they find one. The odds are really against the individual sea turtle. We were told only 3 of 1000 make it to turtle adulthood!

We came back to the lodge after watching a couple of little prop planes take off. We had the whole day in front of us and decided to take a hike in the Tortuguero National Park. A guide named Norton, from the Tortuga lodge accompanied us, along with a strange little dog that just decided to tag along. It was hot and way humid. We coated ourselves in sunscreen and more importantly, bug repellent and then sweated our way through the hike in our heavy black rubber boots.

The trails were wide and well maintained and because it hadn’t rained in awhile, not muddy at all. We tooled along and immediately came upon a troop of howler monkeys. They remained high in the trees and barked at us a bit, but mostly went about their business. The jungle was quiet except for the cicadas. We didn’t see many birds at all, except one little bird that was sitting on its nest.

Toward the middle of the hike, we came upon a troop of spider monkeys. Or did they come upon us? They were low in the trees and we found ourselves constantly moving in order to stay out from underneath them. All of the monkeys make a racket and clambered around, over and past us except one young female who stayed behind. She became fixated on the little stray dog and stayed above the dog make lots of threatening gestures – shaking the tree branches, etc. It was amazing to watch. She didn’t seem to care about the humans at all. Made for a perfect photo op. Eventually we moved on and she did not follow.

A blessedly cool boat ride back to the lodge was followed by a race to suit up and get in the pool. Divine after the sweltering heat of the jungle. Later, hanging out on the deck outside our room (#7 – great location), with Chris on the hammock, me in a chair and Natalie laying on one of the beds just waiting for lunch to be served. Life is beautiful.

The afternoon called for rest and relaxation and Edie took full advantage with a lengthy siesta. Chris and Natalie took the opportunity to explore the lodge grounds and discovered iguanas aplenty. They came upon a friendly grounds keeper who led them to a tree, and pointed up saying “sloth”, “sloth”. Sure enough, there was a sloth. They’re pretty cute, in an incredibly dirty way. This one was a mother with a little baby sloth on her lap. Neither one moved much. It as kinda like looking a clump of dirty carpet in a tree (but cuter).

Our last dinner at Tortuga lodge was delicious – a swordfish delicately dressed with a sweet pineapple sauce along with seasoned veggies. As usual, it didn’t take long to hit the sack. Chris and Natalie slept through, but I was awakened by a powerful rain storm, complete with thunder and lightning. The rain pounded on the roof and reminded me of Louisiana summer rain.

See more photos from Tortuguero!!

The Next Day: Costa Rica: Tortuguero to Arenal
The Whole Trip: Costa Rica: The Summary

At Tortuga lodge there are only 4 tours offered: boat canal trip, hike through the National Forest/jungle, kayak the canals and a night turtle walk. Because the weather was so great and we didn’t want to risk waiting another day, we also elected to check out the turtles on our first day.

Visiting egg-laying turtles on the beach at night is a highly regulated activity. The Caribbean Conservation Corps, in conjunction with the Tortuguero National Park go to great lengths to protect the turtles, even from the well-wishing tourists like ourselves. There are a very few park rangers that patrol the beach and look for turtles. Once they are spotted, groups of tourists are led by guides and carefully approach the turtles only after they are in active egg-laying mode. Prior to that the turtles can get spooked by people and will turn back to the ocean. When we arrived on the beach there was already a turtle making her nest. We were instructed to wait very quietly until she was done and had entered her egg-laying trance. While we were waiting we observed a second turtle emerge from the ocean and make her way across the beach and start to nest (they do this by digging and flinging sand to make a deep hole).

We got to observe the first turtle lay 20-30 eggs (she will lay approximately 100 total). Other small groups of tourists were also there and cycled in and out looking at the turtle. A group of 5 of us crowded around the turtle, close enough to touch it. The guide lit up the egg-laying with a red light that apparently doesn’t disturb the turtle. The eggs are the size of ping-pong balls. It was all somewhat odd, but wondrous too. Kinda like barging into some random hospital delivery room. Our guide, Geraldo, had been guiding for 30 years and was clearly very proud and passionate about the turtles. The experience was very much focused on turtle conservation and care, and not at all about tourist experience. We got lucky – tourists only get 2 hours on the beach and sometimes don’t get to see a single turtle!

At the very end, we did see a third turtle coming up the beach, but unfortunately a group of about ten tourists led by a guide didn’t see the turtle in time and came right up on it. The turtle quickly (pretty fast for a big turtle) turned and headed back to the ocean. This was upsetting to all of us, but the guides seemed to think she would come back later once the beach was empty of human tourists. We hoped so. Our guide indicated the tourist restrictions put in place are making a difference, and every year the population of turtles are increasing.

The Next Day: Costa Rica: Tortuguero – Part 2
The Whole Trip: Costa Rica: The Summary

Our first morning in Costa Rica started at 6am. We had a plane to catch. Costa Rican Trails was right on time to transfer us to the smaller local airport, Tobias Bolanos International. We arrived at a warehouse with a few airplanes in front. Natalie asked the pilot if were going to take off from the street, because there was no runway in sight. Our ten-seater plane had only one other passenger (who we later found out was the “pool guy” for the resort we were staying at). After boarding the pilot, Miguel, fired up the plane taxied a few blocks down the street, turned right and then, whaddyaknow, an airport. The weather was beautiful and clear and the flight was smooth. All along the way we had great vistas of Costa Rica. The demarcation between jungle and farming is quite clear when you are 7,500 feet up in the air. These pilots have dream jobs!

We landed on a small landing strip that appeared out of nowhere, carved out of the jungle between the Atlantic ocean and the Tortuga river. Tortuga Lodge was immediately across the river, and as we arrived we were greeted with delightful frozen fruity drinks.

This Lodge was amazing, very clean and well-run. We made full use of their beautiful pool, adjacent to the river. I lounged around writing the travelog, Natalie splashed around, and Chris… um, took pictures of Natalie splashing and Edie blogging. They call this time of year the Green Season. That’s their way of saying it rains a lot, and we were prepared for this. But for the green season, we’ve had a perfect day. Warm and humid, but not too warm and humid, and clear blue skies.

This morning, we took a boat tour of the canals. The canals were dug originally to enable logging, but the logging has ceased so now the nature-lovers rule the waters. The jungle is mighty and beautiful, but not as it originally was. New growth has come in and although it feels very primitive, it’s clear that man has manipulated this environment from its original state.

We weren’t disappointed with our first trip into the wilds. Our animal sightings went a little like this: First we spotted the “Jesus Christ” lizard, so named because it can walk on water (though we only saw it hanging out on the river bank, eating flowers). Next we spotted a tiger heron, a purple-throated fruit crow, followed by an anhinga – a huge bird sunning itself in the middle of the river on a dead branch – it must completely dry its wings to fly again. Then we turned off of the main river and into the canals and were very fortunate to come upon some white-faced capuchin monkeys. They were quite busy swinging around and while we could only see three, we could hear sounds of many more in the trees. Then, we spied a few more birds: squirrel cuckoo, a green backed heron tucked in trees and then a common black hawk circled overhead.

Along the way, we spied the bright neon-blue butterflies so common to this region. Deeper into the canals, we came upon a group of spider and howler monkeys. The howler monkeys let us know they weren’t happy with us by giving us many loud threatening vocalizations. It was amazing. Our boat driver made sure to position us so that were weren’t directly underneath the monkeys – which we greatly appreciated.

Then we had the good fortune to spot a family of river otters scampering around the riverbank. Right after, we spotted an odd looking bird, the boat bill heron. It was a funny bird that just sat and watched as we navigated the boat to within 10 feet of his perch. He finally had enough and hopped away to another branch and then we moved on to our next sighting – a couple of black river turtles on a log.

Our last thrilling sighting was a baby sloth. We only know it was a baby sloth because our guide told us so. Natalie and Chris spotted it quickly and then spent about 10 minutes trying to help me find a patch of fur in the tangle of leaves. Finally, the sloth cooperated and moved it’s head ever so slightly and I realized I was actually looking at an animal and not at a tree branch! Phew! As expected, the sloth did nothing and we decided to not hang around to observe it’s next move.

A fast boat trip back to the lodge, a dip in the fabulous infinity pool, another “fruity” drink and then it was time for a sumptuous lunch: super fresh salad with cucumber, avocado, tomato and pico de gallo, followed by stuffed chicken smothered in crawfish sauce (yummy) accompanied by very sweet carrots and spinach. Dessert – a delicious brownie thingy followed by coffee con leche.

Then back to our spacious room for a nice relaxing siesta. The rooms were fabulous, spacious with a screening all around. The bathrooms were also enormous, with a huge powerful shower and lots of space to maneuver. Ahhhh. Vacationing is great!

We still had an hour or so of sunlight so to take a short trek into the jungle along one of the lodge trails before the 5:30 appetizers. As we departed, Ricardo the receptionist stopped us. “You might want to wear boots. It can be muddy”. So we picked some rubber boots off the rack and headed out. We quickly realized that this time of day is also popular with the insects. This was going to be a short hike indeed. We dodged buzzing mosquitoes and enormous webs presided over by gigantic spiders. But our efforts were rewarded, because two spider monkeys decided to put on a show, swinging by their tails and flying from tree to tree right over our heads. We were probably less than 200 yards from the lodge! On our way back Natalie spied two tiny red frogs. Later we found it they were “blue-jeans” poison-dart frogs.

See more Tortuguero Photos Here!

The Next Day: Costa Rica: The Green Sea Turtles by Night
The Whole Trip: Costa Rica: The Summary

The greatest vacation ever got off to an ominous start… The day before leaving was spent packing and re-packing and then assessing the packing yet again. Everything was perfectly packed. Standing in front of the SFO security checkpoint was when we realized we had somehow managed to put all of our huge bottles of sunscreen and bug repellent in our carry-on bag. This is something we knew not to do but somehow did it anyway. We next watched as “The Man” dumped it all in the trash. Our stopover in Houston was extended first 30 minutes, then one hour, then two hours as the airline worked on “a mechanical issue”. Just when we became convinced that we’d never get out of the country, they cleared the plane for flight and we were off.

Upon arrival in San Jose (not the home of the Sharks, but the capital of Costa Rica), we found an enormous line to immigration. We noticed one of the customs officers picking families and escorting them to the front of the line. This is probably the only upside to traveling with kids. Everyone else will do whatever it takes to get them out off their hair as fast as possible. Natalie flashed her puppy-dog eyes to the customs agent, and boom, we were in the VIP line, saving what looked like several hours of standing around.

Passing through customs, having survived a minor brow-beating for filling out our forms in pencil, it was now 10:30 PM Costa Rica time, and had come to the moment of truth. Would there be a driver waiting for us, holding a sign with our name on it? Did Costa Rican Trails, the travel company we sent all that money a week earlier to arrange our transportation and accommodations, actually exist? Thankfully, there he was, with the sign and everything. He grabbed our bags and led us to the van. In the short ride to El Rodeo, the Eco-lodge we’d spend about 8 hours, our driver gave us what he said was the most important lesson about getting along in that country. “Pura Vida”. It’s how you say hello, goodbye, thank you, what have you. When in doubt say “Pura Vida”. Like “Aloha” in Hawaii said.

Costa Rica. We had made it and now it was time for sleep.
…

Getting there was nowhere near half the fun. Standby, as over the next couple weeks, as We’ll be posting the travelog of our amazing trip, dutifully recorded on a daily basis by Edie, along with photos. Of course, lots of photos.

Pura Vida!

The Next Day: Costa Rica: Tortuguero
The Whole Trip: Costa Rica: The Summary