Our last place to visit in Costa Rica was the ocean. We went to Manual Antonio National Park. It is here we hoped to see many different animals and so it was. We saw monkeys, sloths, toucans, rainbow bugs and so much more. We had a fabulous guide who could spot a green tree frog as he walked by sunning itself on one of thousands of leaves. His ability to site things was truly incredible. Besides this he took Jess' camera to his telescope and captured wonderful pictures for all of us to enjoy. It is here that we are reminded again how important a guide is to see the many wonders of the rain forest.
After our hike we spent the afternoon in the ocean jumping waves. And jumping waves. Playing in the sand, and jumping the waves. We had to keep an eye on our stuff as racoons are even more adept to eat your snacks in Costa Rica as they are in the States. Also high tide was coming and the need to rush and save the cameras happened more than once.
We stayed at Mono Azul which is American owned and was started by a 9 year old's desire to help save the rain forest. We were not around to partake in the activities that they had but we did purchase many gifts here as all the profits go to supporting the rain forest.
That night we ate a restaurant that was made out of an old cargo plane that was shot down during the Iran Contra affairs. It provided a nice little history lesson as we ate. It is set in a cliff overlooking the ocean. We spent most of the sun light at the ocean so it was too dark to see. It has been so nice to be outside so much of the time. Most eating areas are open to the outside with little outer walls.
Our last full day in Costa Rica we set sail. We went out on a catamaran searching for dolphins, snorkeling and lunch. The ocean was a bit wavy and there was a storm coming so we headed into a bay to go snorkeling. There were brief showers, then snorkeling and the sun came out. As we sailed back it was an impressive combination with a black sky miles off inland and sunny skies as we sailed back in. We did not see any dolphins but we all had a great time seeing Costa Rica from a different vantage point. What an amazing trip this has been. ~Marcy
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
Monteverde
After LaFortuna we went to Monteverde to spend a couple of days. Here we spent two nights at Terre Viva. This is a family owned dairy farm that has added a small “bunk house”, a few small cabins and one larger cabin to host travelers. We learned from Frederico, who runs the farm, that Costa Rica’s economy is now based on tourism. Before this for a hundred years it was coffee, and a hundred year before that it was bananas. It is in this area that the largest Chiquita plantation was located. Coffee and bananas are now second and third for economic revenue. As tourism increased, with attention to preserving the nature many farmers added lodging for travelers to their business but stay farmers at heart. Frederico and is wife run a dairy farm with 80 cows and now 13 calves.
The farm may be the favorite stop of the trip. The first night Frederico took us for a walk through the rain forest. He had an incredible ability to find frogs, snakes and insects within the first few hundreds yards of our hike. His favorite creatures are snakes and insects because they are less popular and less cared for. They way he talked about this expressed a sensitivity to the things that are often outcasts. His warmth through our stay shows his generous hospitality for people and all.
His wife Goudy was also very gracious. Often checking in, arranging tours and transportation as needed. They opened their farm to use and invited us into a piece of their daily life.
I think the girls enjoyed the feeding of the baby calves. Two were born while we were there and they were able to feed them in their first day of life. Pretty cool. It was also neat to see them working side by side with a 6 year old boy whose family lives and works on the farm. He would fill the milk jugs for the girls to feed the calves. Cleary he participates in the feeding daily and knew exactly what to do.
On our last day there we went to the Monteverde cheese factory. This is where the milk from the Terre Viva farm is taken every other day. The factory began in 1948 by a few Quaker families that left the US in a stance against the draft and because they did not believe in war. Costa Rica was a perfect place as around this same time they disbanded their army. To this day they continue to be a country without a military branch.
Anyway, back to the cheese factory. It was great to see from beginning to end how cheese is made. To see how Frederico moves his cows to 30 different pastures feeding them only grass, watching the cows get milked, seeing the truck pick up the milk, and then how this is processed into our daily food. We were able to sample a variety of cheeses and I think we all liked the smoked provolone the best. It was smoked using wood from the coffee plant.
The day in between the milking and the factory was filled with adventure….the hanging bridges and the zip line canopy tour. I have to admit, this was AMAZING!! WOW! To zip along the canopy was quite a thrill. The views were beautiful. I even got to see a howler monkey lying at the top of the tree. The guides were marvelous. Clearly they love their jobs, people and kids. The girls had a blast. The last zip line Jess and I went together for 1km and it took over a minute to cross the canopy! Now that was incredible.
~Marcy
The farm may be the favorite stop of the trip. The first night Frederico took us for a walk through the rain forest. He had an incredible ability to find frogs, snakes and insects within the first few hundreds yards of our hike. His favorite creatures are snakes and insects because they are less popular and less cared for. They way he talked about this expressed a sensitivity to the things that are often outcasts. His warmth through our stay shows his generous hospitality for people and all.
His wife Goudy was also very gracious. Often checking in, arranging tours and transportation as needed. They opened their farm to use and invited us into a piece of their daily life.
I think the girls enjoyed the feeding of the baby calves. Two were born while we were there and they were able to feed them in their first day of life. Pretty cool. It was also neat to see them working side by side with a 6 year old boy whose family lives and works on the farm. He would fill the milk jugs for the girls to feed the calves. Cleary he participates in the feeding daily and knew exactly what to do.
On our last day there we went to the Monteverde cheese factory. This is where the milk from the Terre Viva farm is taken every other day. The factory began in 1948 by a few Quaker families that left the US in a stance against the draft and because they did not believe in war. Costa Rica was a perfect place as around this same time they disbanded their army. To this day they continue to be a country without a military branch.
Anyway, back to the cheese factory. It was great to see from beginning to end how cheese is made. To see how Frederico moves his cows to 30 different pastures feeding them only grass, watching the cows get milked, seeing the truck pick up the milk, and then how this is processed into our daily food. We were able to sample a variety of cheeses and I think we all liked the smoked provolone the best. It was smoked using wood from the coffee plant.
The day in between the milking and the factory was filled with adventure….the hanging bridges and the zip line canopy tour. I have to admit, this was AMAZING!! WOW! To zip along the canopy was quite a thrill. The views were beautiful. I even got to see a howler monkey lying at the top of the tree. The guides were marvelous. Clearly they love their jobs, people and kids. The girls had a blast. The last zip line Jess and I went together for 1km and it took over a minute to cross the canopy! Now that was incredible.
~Marcy
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Wow!
So there have been a lot of amazing experiences and not a lot of internet access...
We spent time up in the tree tops around Monteverde and enjoyed the amazing views and some of the very interesting animals that live in this area. We also had a wonderful horse back ride through the jungle, and lived at a dairy farm and then went to the cheese factory for a tour. Then we made our way to Manuel Antonio yesterday we had a wonderful (national Geographic-esque) tour of Manuel Antonio National Park - some of the animals we saw:3-toed Sloths, 2-toed Sloths, Tucans, bats, rainbow crickets, white faced monkeys, howler monkeys, tree frog, spiders, turtle, camen, Iguanas, lizards, crabs, and probably more! It was amazing and our guide absolutely incredible! He would stop set-up his telescope and get a smirk on his face waiting for our response as we looked in the view finder to exclaim - how did you see that!? We then spent the rest of the day bobbing in the ocean, and the girls thought that it was fabulous!
Today we went dolphin watching and snorkling, unfortunately the weather turned a bit and the waves came up so we had to go to a small coral reef and were not able to see any dolphins, we did however, see a sea turtle! It was a great day to essentially end our trip. In a couple of hours we will be back in San Jose and will fly out tomorrow morning :(
It has been an amazing adventure!
-Beth
We spent time up in the tree tops around Monteverde and enjoyed the amazing views and some of the very interesting animals that live in this area. We also had a wonderful horse back ride through the jungle, and lived at a dairy farm and then went to the cheese factory for a tour. Then we made our way to Manuel Antonio yesterday we had a wonderful (national Geographic-esque) tour of Manuel Antonio National Park - some of the animals we saw:3-toed Sloths, 2-toed Sloths, Tucans, bats, rainbow crickets, white faced monkeys, howler monkeys, tree frog, spiders, turtle, camen, Iguanas, lizards, crabs, and probably more! It was amazing and our guide absolutely incredible! He would stop set-up his telescope and get a smirk on his face waiting for our response as we looked in the view finder to exclaim - how did you see that!? We then spent the rest of the day bobbing in the ocean, and the girls thought that it was fabulous!
Today we went dolphin watching and snorkling, unfortunately the weather turned a bit and the waves came up so we had to go to a small coral reef and were not able to see any dolphins, we did however, see a sea turtle! It was a great day to essentially end our trip. In a couple of hours we will be back in San Jose and will fly out tomorrow morning :(
It has been an amazing adventure!
-Beth
Tarzan!
Monday we went on the zip line. The most amazing time I've had. There was only 2 zip lines that I had to go with somebody. The first one I with a really nice guide who spun me around I liked that. The second one I went with Beth that one took about a minute. After that a different guide told us that he had a surprise. . . it was the Tarzan swing. That is a thing that they strap you to a rope and then you jump of a ledge and ssssswwwwwing.
Emma
Emma
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Farm and More
Sunday night was when we came to Terra Viva that is a farm in Monteverde. That night we went with the owner of the farm on a night hike we found a snake, lizard and a few frogs. We also filled our borrowed galoshes with stream water. It was fun ~ Emma
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Sunday
Today we left early from La Fortuna to head to Monteverde. We took a taxi “shuttle” to the lake and then a boat across Lake Arenal to the other side where we then took another shuttle to our hotel. It ended up being longer and bumpier than expected and all the Yarger ladies weren’t feeling well in the afternoon, so we took some rest time this afternoon. The view from the lake to the volcano was beautiful! And it was a very calm and relaxing boat ride across.
I went into town – Santa Elena – to get food for dinner as everyone was still feeling a bit whooped. It is quite a bustling town and still pretty touristy but this region is much quieter and more relaxed than La Fortuna. It is fun to get a feel for city life a bit as well as a bit outside of everything.
Tonight we had some good adventures – we are staying at Terra Viva which is a dairy farm and its own natural reserve – they own 300 acres of land, much of which they have restored to natural rainforest. They invited us to watch them milk the cows and feed the calves – the girls had a kick feeding them and unfortunately we missed the milking. We then went with our esteemed nature guide on a night hike of the forest. We saw many different frogs, grasshoppers, and even a snake (which everyone held). I think all of us soaked our galoshes in the rivers, but I think we would all say that it was a highlight so far!
Tomorrow – zipline and canopy walkway tours! :)
I went into town – Santa Elena – to get food for dinner as everyone was still feeling a bit whooped. It is quite a bustling town and still pretty touristy but this region is much quieter and more relaxed than La Fortuna. It is fun to get a feel for city life a bit as well as a bit outside of everything.
Tonight we had some good adventures – we are staying at Terra Viva which is a dairy farm and its own natural reserve – they own 300 acres of land, much of which they have restored to natural rainforest. They invited us to watch them milk the cows and feed the calves – the girls had a kick feeding them and unfortunately we missed the milking. We then went with our esteemed nature guide on a night hike of the forest. We saw many different frogs, grasshoppers, and even a snake (which everyone held). I think all of us soaked our galoshes in the rivers, but I think we would all say that it was a highlight so far!
Tomorrow – zipline and canopy walkway tours! :)
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