This country has everything in Central America!
We flew to San Jose, the capital, on JetBlue from Ft Lauderdale (a great airline, by the way).
One night was spent at the Hotel Carriari Doubletree, and then in the state of Guanacaste on the Costa Rican coast on the northwest coast of the Pacific Ocean. The trip takes about 4 hours in anticipation of pit stops (not so much for us, the girls were in a hurry to get to the resort for some reason). In this journey there are many options for side trips. I am sorry now, looking back, that we will not take a few ... such as a volcano and / or Cloudy forest.
The road from San José to Liberia (the city where we hung the sharp left to reach the coast and the resort) is part of the Pan-American Highway. As you can see in the photograph, it is rapidly expanding to a four-lane highway by the Costa Rican government. Expected completion time is about two years. This improvement will easily reduce driving time between San José and Guanacaste by an hour or more. (The existing two-lane road is in good shape .. this is the traffic that slows you down.)
For the next five days and nights we drank in a small duplex bungalow in the Hilton Papagayo All-Inclusive complex on Papagayo Bay.
We shared the other side of our division with a daughter and a friend. The location on the hillside turned out to be ideal for access to the “adults-only” section of the resort, as well as for servicing the resort, pool, dining room and beach.
The grounds (and trees) surrounding our bungalow, we shared with some very large, but friendly iguanas and monkeys fighting. A quick remark about monkeys: while shy, they are also very curious. We were warned not to leave nothing without attention that might be of interest to them - either on our porch or on the beach. It seems that the little devils have a habit of taking objects — for example, towels, cameras, clothes, etc. — to return to the trees with them. Then, when their curiosity is satisfied, they will leave objects there. So, if you do not want to find your blessings on the treetops, when you return, it is better to leave them indoors or guard them.
All non-motorized water sports are included in the Hilton Papagayo. Jet-skiing and deep-sea fishing are optional, but at reasonable prices. Recently, a busy Joni & Cameron caught half a dozen GOP men during their morning walk, all of which were cleaned, cooked and served for lunch by the resort’s chef for an hour after landing. Talk about fresh!
Small trucks - in fact, golf carts on steroids - constantly roam the resort’s paths, offering trips to guests between bungalows and various attractions on the property. We felt that it was best to go the distance as a means to make great food! As you can see from my shadow on this way to the dining area, I became taller and slimmer.
We are faced with some not very shy monkeys-warring in the zoo, located at the base of the object zip line. One of them perfectly appeared at home on the shoulders of the Savior.
One afternoon, the resort’s resort staff put a pair of beach covers ... it was a mixture of honey, of course, ground coffee beans and a moisturizer. I and the iguanas gave up on this little event.
Did I mention food? Awesome! Plenty of fresh seafood and a few alternative restaurants to choose from .. at no extra charge.
Mail line was very different from expected. Instead of a single ride to the ground from a tower or cliff, we experienced a series of eleven trips through the tops of trees in the jungle. Once raised to the top of a tree, it was a thrill to travel from station to station without returning to Earth .. until the last line of lightning landed on us. in about an hour.
We enjoyed the audience of various creatures. while we invited them to an elevated area.
Monkeys are fast! When you take pictures, one of our parties came up a bit. In a block of eyes, one of the little buggers grabbed her sunglasses. The coach had to pick them up.
Costa Rica is really a paradise for nature lovers. And Hilton Papagayo is especially attractive, all-inclusive and at reasonable prices. To view prices, click here.
