Mr. B and Me (Adventures in Saudi Arabia and beyond!)

A Visit to Costa Rica
(November 2005)

	Since my youngest daughter, Amanda, was doing a semester abroad in Costa Rica and I REALLY wanted to see her, I took a little "vacation within my vaction" and headed south. I was met at the San Jose airport by my bilingual tour guide (AKA Amanda) and escorted to my hotel. After Mr. B & I were settled in, we went out for dinner and a movie.
PHASE ONE - Central Valley We arose very early the next morning for an all-day tour of the central region of the country. Our first stop was at a coffee plantation where our guide explained how coffee is grown. After breakfast it was on to Volcano Poas - one of the 7 active volcanoes in the country. (There are around 200 total volcanoes)
Our next stop was the La Paz Botanical Gardens. Here was a butterfly house with all sorts of beautiful butterflies, and lots of beautiful tropical plants. After lunch, we hiked off into the cloud forest and got magnificent views of three of the five beautiful waterfalls along the Paz River.
WATERFALLS!	WATERFALLS!
	Our final stop of the day's tour was on another river where we took a river boat down the river is search of wildlife. We saw some caymans (relatives of the crocodile), some monkeys, and some interesting bird life.
PHASE TWO - The Pacific Coast The next morning we took a 2 hour bus ride to Amanda's home-away-from-home: Puntarenas. Mr. B made a new friend (Towel the Swan) in our hotel room there. There was also a cruise ship in town, so the town was busier than usual - at least for one day!
The next morning we got up early (again!) to take the ferry across the Gulf of Nicoya to the town of Paquera on the western peninsular of Costa Rica. The scenery along the way was beautiful, and this little home on the shore by the ferry landing looks like a tropical paradise!
After landing in Paquera, we didn't waste any time. Again we took a 2 hour bus trip, this time to the town of Montezuma. This is basically a tourist stop town, but the coast is beautiful (though rocky) and just inland we hiked along a nice stream. We had hoped to go Isla Tortuga, but the tour left before we could make it to Montezuma.