March 18, 2008
Hola!!! (spanish for hello) Welcome and enjoy our pictures from the Costa Rica trip. We did some really cool adventurous stuff. ~PURA VIDA ~
Pura Vida in spanish means "Pure Life". Costa Ricans or Ticos (men)/ Ticas (women) as they are called, often use this term to greet each other.The staple diet of Costa Ricans is meat with a serving of Rice and Beans. Rice and Beans is pretty much what veggies get, I ate so much of it in 10 days that I would not eat even in a month. On the brighter side if you are a fruit lover, its paradise. I tried the Guanabana fruit milk shake,loved it. Its a dark green fruit the inside is like that of custard apple but it tastes different,has a nice tangy taste.
We landed in San Jose on Mar 7th mid-night and met our tour guide and group the following morning just before heading out to see Arenal in the city of La~Fortuna.The drive from San Jose to Arenal was about 3 hours. Arenal is the famous active volcano. Arenal in spanish is no sand. The mountain was so named because the lava flow is all hard rock and no sand. We were able to see the red glowing lava flow after sunset and it was an amazing sight.The weather here was perfect. At Arenal we rapelled (climbing down waterfalls using ropes) in the rain forests followed by a perfect relaxation at the Baldi Hot springs.
From Arenal we headed to Monteverde which was roughly a 4 hour drive. Monteverde is famous for its rain and cloud forests. Being a mountainous region the evenings are chilly and we needed a light jacket.The cloud forests,so called because all year through they are covered by clouds. These forests are home to some exotic bird species and the near extinct Quetzal. We were lucky to see an adult Male Quetzal in full splendor. At Monteverde we did the zip lines and the tarzan jump.
From here we drove to Manuel Antonio beach near the town of Quepos (pronounced as kpos). This is a beautiful beach town and what we liked most about it was that it was still pristine, unlike the usual touristy beaches. The Manuel Antonio forest reserve houses several different species of lizards,iguanas,monkeys,racoons and snakes. We sighted some of these creepy looking creatures. Most Iguanas are non poisonous and the local savor the meat (we were told it tastes a lot better than chicken;-) .. any takers?
One of the most thrilling experiences of this trip was Jet Skiing. We jet skied out in the Oceano Pacifico(pacific ocean) for 2 hours and spotted dolphins. Hats off to Sujit for being brave enough to try it despite not knowing how to swim. In Manuel Antonio Sujit had his first swimming lessons from me in the hotel's swimming pool.
From Manuel Antonio we returned to San Jose and spent 2 days exploring the capital. On Mar 17th we bid farewell to Costa Rica ! PURA VIDA INDEED!!!!
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