Chocolate is the Secret Ingredient

8th to 10th March 2018 - Puerto Viejo

Cacao trees among the lush forest in the Caribeans Chocolate Company

So we started in the centre of Costa Rica and from there we went Northeast. We then crossed the country finishing in the Northwest and popping into Nicaragua. Then we headed down to the bottom Southwest corner. So it was only logical to completely cross the country to the Southeast. That consisted of a long day trip in several vehicles to the town of  Puerto Viejo. This lovely little town has a real Caribbean vibe and a Rastafarian culture with stunning beaches, lush jungles and abundant wildlife. 

Even though the first day was raining, we decided to go and do the chocolate tour at the Caribeans Coffee and Chocolate Company. When you are on holiday and only in each place a few days you cannot let the weather slow you down. During a break in the rain we walked the 2.5km to the chocolate plantation. The Costa Rica chocolate industry had been destroyed by a fungus due to settlers wanting to grow bananas. So as to avoid that fate the cacao trees are grown in synergy with the rainforest itself amongst the other flora to give it protection and a unique flavor. 

We learned and experienced a lot on the tour that over time became increasingly wet. We picked, cracked open and tasted the cacao directly from the fruit itself. Back at the main factory we followed the bean through the whole process of drying, roasting and tempering. We also had a chocolate tasting where we helped ourselves to flakes of chocolate and added it to a large variety of spices and herbs such as garlic, pepper, coffee, ginger, cayenne, salt and many more and finished with a chocolate and spices drink. The rain only added to the atmosphere while we enjoyed the explosions of unique flavors and combinations.

Cacao Fruit, Owner, Chocolate Tasting, Making Chocolate

The next day was slightly drier so we took the 5km walk to the Jaguar Rescue Centre. No jaguars in attendance, but it did have a ton of sloths, lots of active baby ones. We learned tons about them including that they can be noisy and fast when fighting and are pretty much grumpy hermits that can be dangerous if you do not leave them alone. That they only go to the toilet once a week, at the base of their own home tree, digestion takes ages, and that a whole ecosystem of other inhabitants live on their fur. Reminded me of a book I used to read to my son called Murgatroyds Garden, about a kid who refused to wash his hair, culminating in his hair becoming a jungle full of creatures.

Sloths

We also saw many mischievous monkeys, some interacting with a very hungry wandering deer and a sprightly small squirrel & a pig. Many other marvelous but damaged animals were seen, looked after by very dedicated and knowledgeable volunteers. 

Dinner, like the night before, was eaten at Madre Tierra, which stands for Mother Earth. With many unique vegetarian gluten free options it was the perfect fit for another slice of Costa Rica fabulousness.

Floating Over Paradise

 4th to 7th March 2018

It was time to have a rest from volcanoes and head to the beach, the beach at Manuel Antonio National Park that is. Listed by Forbes as one of the most beautiful in the world and located at the lower west corner, it was the natural progression of our travels around Costa Rica. 

Hotel Coco Beach was just across the road and a short walk from a long line of beaches and was at the top of a hill surrounded by palm trees. After a day of doing chores and picking up supplies from the nearby town of Quepos we went down to Espadilla Beach. Just before Manuel Antonio Beach, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, they were offering parasailing tours. We had never parasailed before and being such an idyllic location the decision was made that if we were ever going to do it then this was a good place to do it in. 

Late in the afternoon with the sunset soon approaching we prepared for this new experience. As the tide was coming in we had less run area to get into the air so we needed to get moving fast. As the boat accelerated we parted with the ground but Elizabeth did not quite land her bum in the seat properly. The guy in the boat was waving frantically while Elizabeth kept trying to lift herself into the seat properly as she was half hanging out of the harness. As the guy indicated that he was about to abandon the attempt I reached over and heaved Elizabeth into the seat. Disaster averted we continued on to an amazing ride over the ocean and rocky outcrops as the sun started to set. Coming down was a lot easier as the boat just slows down and you gently parachute into the water. Can I say now that I have parachuted? 

The next day we went to explore the Manuel Antonio National Park. It was a wonderful day in one of the best national parks in the world. It has everything. Abundant wildlife including Capuchin, Howler and Squirrel monkeys and the elusive sloth. In fact along one path you had to watch where you stepped otherwise you might trip over a raccoon. It has wonderful beaches, well marked and numerous trails through dense forest and many high lookouts for amazing sweeping views. We spent all day there, past closing time, attempting to follow every trail, take pictures at every lookout and visit every beach.

That night we had a very satisfying dinner at Las Gemalas Restaurant at a sidewalk table watching fire throwing busking jugglers in the middle of the street. 

The next day was our last day and we spent it lounging on the beach and swimming. It was one of those beaches that stayed shallow for a long time and you had to go quite far to catch a wave, but a very good paddling beach. Hiring a couple of umbrella covered lounge chairs cost $10 and allowed us to enjoy the sunshine safely and comfortably. That night we ate at Las Gemalas again but decided to cross the road and eat at one of their tables that they place on the beach itself. Quite a unique experience dining while under the stars and with sand between your toes and the sounds of waves crashing. Magic.

Howling Monkeys and an Anniversary of Waterfalls

 March 2018

Getting out of Nicaragua was a lot easier than getting in. Going through customs was nearly optional, quite a few people seemed to be bypassing it. Caught a bus on the border to Liberia and from there the only way to the Buena Vista Resort at the base of the Rincon de la Vieja (old woman’s corner) volcano was by taxi. Tucked away in dense bush this place was an eco paradise. With a vast number of criss crossing hanging bridges there was a surprise awaiting around every corner.

One day we were wandering across the bridges when we heard a loud overpowering howling. Cripes we thought, there is something big and nasty in here. As we got closer, it got louder and I expected to come across a large gorilla. To our surprise the noise was coming out of a fairly small monkey with a really big voice. A howling baby comes to mind. We stood for a while watching these howling monkeys swinging from branch to branch. 

Another day we went to step on a bridge and saw up ahead a python stretched across the bridge. Oh oh we thought, looks like we are not getting any further. We stood taking pictures while the snake slithered to one side of the bridge and then kept going, seemingly suspended in mid air, until it reached a branch and then pulled the rest of its body over. We hastily went across the bridge. On turning back we saw the python returning to its original spot, apparently only moving to get out of the way for us.

 

Another highlight of the resort was the natural hot springs and volcanic mud baths. The process goes like this: You take a tractor ride from the resort up to the springs. First step is to spend 10 minutes in the sauna to ‘open the pores’. This is a big room crammed with about 20 people on long benches. Once your pores are sufficiently opened you go around the corner where they have clay pots filled with hot volcanic mud that you slather all over yourself and each other. You let that dry until you are as stiff as a statue and look like one before taking an outside shower or letting yourself be hosed down by a staff member. Finally you leisurely take your pick from a number of pools fed by hot springs of varying temperatures. This was so luxurious and relaxing we did it every day, 3 times 👌🙂

The hotel also had a lookout reserved as the ‘sunset spot’. If you were around at the right time then that was the place to go with sweeping views all the way to the ocean and glorious sunsets.

Day 2 at the resort was the day of our 21st Anniversary. Of course the best way to make it special is to visit a volcano, right? We got up early for the hour long drive to the volcano national park on the Las Pailas side. Having a choice of multiple trails we selected the one to the Cangreja waterfall, which was supposed to flow into a swimmable brilliant blue pool. After an interesting 2 hour trek that seamlessly flowed from forest to desert and then to forest again and took us past streams of ants, iguanas and birds, we came to a waterfall that had a 'no swimming' sign on it. Beautiful anyway and flowed into a pool not of brilliant blue but the more cloudy glacier type blue. Some people swam in it anyway but we decided to just drink in the serenity. 

 After that trek we took the hour and a half trail around the geologically active region of bubbling mud pots and smoking fumaroles. With very tired legs (well me anyway) we got back and went on the last ride to the hot springs again. Just 5 of us there by that time & almost dark on our tractor ride back.

By day 3 at the resort we were way too relaxed, wandering the hanging bridges again, visiting the hot springs and letting the final sunset wash over us. As had become our pattern here we went and had our final buffet dinner, saying goodbye to our waiter Eloy, and went back to our room to prepare for the next leg of our journey the following day.

Pura Vida - the adventure begins...

Tortuguero

Waking up early in the morning on Valentine's Day our host kindly greeted us with an early breakfast before we were picked up by our bus to our next destination. Having only organised this section of our trip two days ago, after seeing a leaflet on the counter of our accommodation, we were full of apprehension and excitement for the real start of our Costa Rican adventure. After several hours we stopped for breakfast (our lunch) at a stop which brought in people from all directions. Pura Vida was the greeting of the day and we were to find out that this is the national greeting in Costa Rica, meaning Pure Life. After everybody was fed we were all sorted onto different coaches depending on our next destination. After about another hour, change to a boat, another stop and then another boat, we finally arrived at our destination Tortuguero.

The Recycling Plant

The awesome little one street town contains no cars (you can only come here by boat) and mainly contains eating places and accommodation except for a recycling plant which takes recyclables, especially plastics, and creates useable items out of them such as furniture. We were taken to the tourist office running our tour and given a rundown of what was going to happen for the couple of days we were here. A sign on their desk said “Cuanto mas amamos el mundo, mas hermoso nos parece”, which roughly translates to “The more we love the world, the more beautiful it seems to us.” I am certainly loving Costa Rica and it is getting more beautiful every day :-)

Tortuguero means land of turtles and is a turtle breeding site, but it was the wrong time of year for observing breeding. It is also a rainforest and despite several years of drought, was in catch up mode the next day. We got up bright and early for our canoe trip on the river and with four other people and a guide we explored the Tortuguero River using arm power. We had some dry moments and many wet moments as we traversed a totally clean and crisp river system surrounded by lovely lush jungle and saw a large range of wildlife including numerous birds (herons, ibis, hummingbirds etc), monkeys, crocodiles and turtles.

The river trip was followed by a hike in the jungle. We took up the offer of the included knee high rubber wellies and large waterproof coats as we began trekking looking for wildlife. This was in contrast to the fairly stubborn Polish couple who hit the jungle in shorts and sandals, despite numerous requests from our guide for them to dress more appropriately. We were comfortable in our decision as we trudged along paths with large, deep, muddy puddles and withstood numerous showers. Our wildlife experience included howler & white faced Capucin monkeys, more birds, lizards and Costa Rica's national bird the clay coloured robin. Thanks to our keen eyed guide we even came across the elusive sloth, which to us just looked like a termite mound. Though considering that sloths live their whole lives in the one tree and only come down once every ten days to do their business at the base of the same tree, s/he and the guide probably see each other every day. The only time we came across rubbish was plastic on the beach, but the guide explained this was not the town's rubbish but gets washed in from the oceans. Another reminder how we need to stop plastic ASAP!

Glorious Nature

The brown mound is a sloth

 

When we reached the beach the weather took a turn for the worse

We spent a very wet night enjoying dinner at our very cheap resort and the next morning enjoying its facilities including swimming in the pool in the rain. By lunch time it was back on the boat to continue on to the next leg of our eco adventure.

The meal area of our wonderful accommodation
located in the middle of the rainforest

and wide verandahs

Eco Bliss, Welcome to Costa Rica

National Museum

I was needing an environmental recharge with the lack of global action on climate change and the problems with pollution in our air and oceans. So with such good news over its renewable credentials and reputation as an eco tourist spot we decided to test out the hype over Costa Rica. Costa Rica hosts more than 5 percent of the world's biodiversity on its 25% of protected areas and 52% of forest cover. With a mix of hydro, wind, geothermal, biomass and solar power, it generates around 100% of the energy it needs using renewables.

We arrived in the city of San Jose and first impression was that it was clean but still a fairly standard South/Central American capital city. Long way to go yet though and will spend the next month exploring the four corners of this eco powerhouse. We didn't intend to spend a lot of time in cities so after checking out our options we found there was a volcano close enough for an easy day trip.

Pre-Columbian Stone Sphere

Music Festival

The scene when we first arrived

Volcano Irazu was an easy public bus ride that only left twice a day and came back twice a day. We caught the morning bus which took two hours on a fairly miserable wet foggy day. We arrived at the ticket booth in cloudy rainy weather and were given the option of staying there for two hours and save the $15 entrance fee. We were told it would be unlikely we would see anything. That option was very unappealing as the area didn't even have cover and we would be sitting out in the cold for two hours doing nothing, so we paid our money and went in.

Next choice was whether to go to the lookout at the volcano's highest point or have a close up look at the caldera. We decided on the caldera and started walking. Covered in cloud we were unable to make out anything significant but consoled ourselves that at least we were out and stretching our legs after the 36 hours on planes getting here. We continued following the track when over the course of about 15 minutes the fog almost completely lifted, the sun came out and we were delighted to find there was an actual volcano just below us, complete with lake in the caldera. It was an amazing view. We were gobsmacked at our good luck. 

Inside the crater once the fog lifted

The Lookout

We then took the lookout track to the high point at around 3,500m. It was a hard uphill slog, especially as my altitude issues started to kick in. Well worth the headache I had for the rest of the day with wide sweeping views over the volcano and the surrounding countryside. We also made it down and caught the public bus on time to make it back to San Jose. Well done Costa Rica, this is a good start. Well organised cheap public transport, clean air with amazing views, accessible volcano and virtually no rubbish. I am feeling pretty confident about the next month...