Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

Good-bye Monteverde. I so loved this place, but it's off to the beach! Yippee.

Finally! Sun, warm weather. When I was decided on a trip months ago, I wanted to go somewhere tropical, somewhere warm. I thought Costa Rica fit that description.

NOT!

Until now. It's Sunny, warm and humid. I stayed in The Falls resort. Very tropical, very romantic!




Too bad I was alone. The resort is owned by an American couple. They bought the resort a year ago and moved from Colorado. Many Americans in Manuel Antonio. Property is quite cheap so if you are looking to relocate to another Country, this is definitely the place.

Decide to walk to the beach. Nice walk, down hill to the beach. Up hill back.





Downside of traveling alone: can't leave your belongings unattended so no swimming in the ocean. F!

The walk back prove to be a little more challenging then expected. Me + Humidity = lightheaded. Yep. had to sit on the side of the road for a short time before I felt well enough to continue. Took these pictures as I sat.





Got back to the hotel and saw a white face monkey eating bananas off the tree.



So awesome.
Hit the bed early. I have a hike in the morning.

Monteverde,Costa Rica Days 5&6

Woke up early to catch my shuttle bus to Monteverde. This was, by far, the most interesting transportation and most uncomfortable.

Shuttle bus took us to a boat that transported us across Arenal lake so we could catch another shuttle bus. OMG, the road to Monteverde was wet, muddy and ROUGH. To make matters worse, I was sitting on a fold out seat and I was hurting. We were bouncing all over as the road has many holes. On the way, we saw some parts of the road that had just collapsed. Needless to say, it fucking freaked me out.

Stopped at a coffee plantation for a rest. Oh, did I mention that the total time to get to Monteverde is 6 hours?!?





The coffee bean is inside the red fruit. It's white until roasted.

Finally arrive at the hotel. One word....AWESOME!!!!







My room overlooked the gulf of the Pacific ocean. I'll post a picture later in this blog as on the day I arrived, there was hurricane force winds and rain. Awful combo but I made the best of it. The room more than made up for any wacky weather!!

Decided to take a taxi to town to eat dinner. Took the front desk recommendation and end up at Morphos.



I was the only customer for my entire meal. I was just about ready to pay my bill when a gentleman walked in. He struck up some conversation about the weather and than asked if I was dining alone. I told him I was about ready to leave and he asked if he could join me until I did.

I stayed through his whole meal!

Murray is a retired Psychiatrist who bought a one way ticket to Costa Rica so he would have no time constraints. He is 72 years old and looks like he is in his mid fifties. he has a partner at home but, from our conversations, not the best of a partnership. As we ended the night, he asked if we could have dinner the next night. I agreed. The picture is actually from the next night, but I'll post now.



Nice man. I felt he wanted me to stay the night with him but that wasn't going to happen!

Day 6:

Woke up early (again) to hike the cloud forrest. Such a beautiful forrest.









We had a rare experience to see the Quesal bird. this bird is endangered, only 2000 left. Originally from Guatemala, they migrated to Costa Rica because Guatemala no longer has any wild avocado trees for them to eat.



This picture does not do this bird justice. It's a big bird with a very long tail. The colors are so vivid, green and red!

After the hike, I grab a cup of coffee in a cafe. They have hummingbird feeders and I caught some great pics.



Went back to the hotel and decided to walk back down towards the forrest to alittle coffee shop I saw on the way back to the hotel.







Spent 2 hours here, drinking coffee, eating and reading. I loved it!

Walked back to the hotel with theses amazing views to keep me smiling.





Ended the night having dinner with Murray.

Leaving tomorrow for my final destination: The Beach! Warm weather at last!!

Costa Rica Continue...And Mr. J update

Cano refuge continue.











I was asked if I swam in the water. That would be a negative:)

Cano refuge was an all day event so I pretty much went back to the hotel and chilled out. I didn't have to get up early the next morning so I decided I would go into town before my afternoon hike.

Day 4:
Still pouring down rain. Considered building an ark but hey, I'm on vacation.

Saw a Toucan on the hotel premises.





Took a taxi into town. Walked around the small town, La Fortuna until I was soaked (didn't take long) and decided to grab a cup of coffee (or two) in this cute shop.



met three brothers traveling together and chatted with them for 2 hours. They had just come from the coast, volunteering their time in a Marine center to help the in dangered leather back turtles. Great time with them.



Taxi back to the hotel for my afternoon hike.





The hike was disappointing and very, very wet.
After freezing my ass off, we went to the hot springs to soak our cold, wet bodies in some warm water. Felt very nice but I sure missed my Mister!

Made it back to the hotel to find this:



I leave in the morning for Monteverde, the cloud Forrest.

A little update on Mr. J. Things are going well between us. I'm learning to relax a little and not trying to figure it all out. While gone in Costa Rica I missed him so very much so I know my feelings are deeper then I thought.

The issues he has, are not with me. He is the Director of Pharmacy where I work and has been for almost 6 years. The last year has been tough for him there. Going through a divorce and keeping up with work has been a challenge. He has been telling me that he feels it's time to move on but with this economy he thought maybe he should stay put.

However, some things have happened over the last few weeks that made him change his mind. First, we were spotted hugging on hospital premises and he was warned about this. Funny thing is, I wasn't.

The other things, I will not mention since that is his private business. After consideration over the weekend and another job offer (with much less money) he decided to resign.

It's so sad to see him leave there. His whole team was sobbing (and it's not a small team). How lucky his is too be loved so much. The hospital will have a difficult time to find a qualified replacement. His shoes are hard to fill.

Thank you all for the positive thoughts. He had a tough weekend but today, he looks relieved. He will take a little time off and start his new job next month.

As for us...I'm all smiles:)

Day's 3 & 4 Arenal Costa Rica

Sorry for being a blogger slacker. Many, many things going on with Mr. J. Most very good, but a few things pretty awful. Please keep him in your thoughts friends.

I don't have much time as I need to get to work so I will let the pictures do the talking.

Day 3:
Another early morning and off to Cano wildlife refuge. Tourism is way down. Good for me, not so good for a Country who relies heavily on tourism.





Took a boat ride down the river towards Nicaragua and saw many birds, howler monkeys and crocodiles. We were able to get pretty close to the wildlife as the river is empty!!









I'm out of time friends. I will finish tonight and catch up on all the blogs!

Arenal Costa Rica Day's 1& 2

I'm so sorry for my slacking off on my trip. Things were a little crazy when I got home. Turns out when you spend 10 days away from home, there is a lot of shit to do when you get back:(

I arrived later then expected in Arenal due to my 3 hour delay in Miami. I basically checked into my hotel, which are actually cute Villas, and collapsed for the night since I was to do my Zipline tour in the AM:)

February 4:

Woke up early so I could eat breakfast and check out the grounds.

Villa de Travel Girl



Hotel grounds.







I ate breakfast and my transportation arrive to take me on the Canopy tour (Zipline).
Saw an entire family of raccoons crossing the road. My driver pulled over so I could take a shot.





This was the only time I saw the volcano. Did I mention it rained the ENTIRE 4 days I was in Arenal? And I'm not talking a little rain. Nope. I'm talking Monsoon rain.



Arrived for my Zipline and was quickly befriended by a couple, Joe and Mary, and later would join them for dinner.

Gearing up:



There was about 13 in our group. They load us in a tram and took us to the top of the canopy. It was really raining so I only took a few shots.



They explain the lines and position you should hold while zipping 250 feet above the Forrest. We got to practice on 2 small lines. I felt good and was pumped to go.





Once you go across this line, there is no turning back. The group leader asked if anyone wanted a taxi. This means, did anyone want one of the guides to ride with them?



One woman quickly shouted "Yes!"

I was thinking to myself, what a wimp. That is, until I watched her zip across.

She looked soooo tiny going across that line. Panic struck, and I suddenly, I NEEDED a taxi.

Turned out to be the best move. It was raining so hard and the wind had started to pick up. Position is so important so you do not spin out of control or stop in the middle of the line. Going across on your own, the rain pounded your face and you had to keep your eyes closed. The only experience the was thrill of the ride, no scenery.

But, with my taxi, I saw everything! He tuned me to the side so I could view the Forrest. AWESOME!!!!





Great fun.
After the canopy, Joe and Mary offer to pick me up at my hotel for dinner. I went back to my hotel and had a disappointing mud massage and read a book until dinner time.

I met more people this trip then any other trip. Joe and Mary are from Maine. Great food with great conversation. People that you have only just met but feel you known for years.



Perfect close to this most fabulous day!