Travel Articles: Costa Rica

Leaving Dominical for the airport was bitter/ sweet. I knew my family and I had to get home for school and work, hower, our 24 year old son fell in love with Costa Rica and invited and friend to join him for 2 more weeks to surf and enjoy the beauty. So he changed his flights and is still having the time of his life. I've taught my sons to be …

After a beautiful visit at Savegre and another great story from the owner, siting the quetzel, watching the hummingbirds, and fabulous food - loved the fresh pineapple, papaya and watermelon - we are traveling to Hacienda Baru for some ziplining. Again, we have an amazing transport. Being avid cyclist, my husband and I race road bikes every year …

After a relaxing morning, we were transport to Savegre Mountain Reserve & Lodge. Okay, this was no ordinary road...the drive was of beautiful mountain countryside along the Pan-American Highway. As we got closer to our turn off, we summited at 10,000 ft. elevation. Our turn off at San Gerardo de Dota, was again on an amazing dirt road. What I …

This morning, after a wonderful breakfast and beautiful view from the lodge, we started with a mountain bike tour of CATIE in Turrialba. This was an intimate hands on tour. The guide was very patient to answer all of our questions. This was very insightful to the practices of a sustainable dairy farm unique to Costa Rica. We experienced the …

Rafting the Paquare - WOW - what an amazing adventure! Our guide was so much fun. As a family of 6 it took a little cooperation to row together and stay upright. The clas III & IV rapids came often, about every 15 minutes so we had time to rest in between and view the gorgeous landscape and saw the beautiful blue butterfly. Lunch was prepared …

Day 1: Arrive in San Jose 11:30 pm, catch a taxi to the Rincon de Valle. The taxi driver greeted us inside the airport and was very eager to give us a ride. Once we saw the orange van, we knew this was the right ride, watch out for the imposters. We are a family of six and our four boys are all well over 6' tall, but the transporattion was …

Buenos días from Tamarindo!

If you haven't already figured it out, we made it to the hostel safe and sound. We are in the beautiful city of Tamarinado, which is unfortunately full of tourism but fortunately still full of culture and beauty. This small town boasts a mix of paved and unpaved roads, locals (Ticos) and tourists, mom and …

Buenos Dias, San Jose! Greeting our first morning in Costa Rica.

Wake up call on the Pacuare!

After an initial night in San Jose, due to a late flight arrival, we started our journey with a bang! We got up EARLY that first morning in Costa Rica to begin our rafting adventure on the Pacuare River.

The Pacuare is one of the top FIVE commercial …

Adventurous spirits!

I already wrote about our Pacaure River rafting trip in another blog post. However, it was so awesome, that I think it deserves to be mentioned again. You should not go to Costa Rica without taking on the Pacuare...you will NOT regret your decision.

But besides the rafting trip, Jordan and I participated in some other …

As a self-proclaimed "foodie", I thought I would designate a post as a culinary tour of our trip. Jordan and I REALLY enjoyed the "comida tipica", or common dishes, in Costa Rica. When one thinks of rice and beans it probably seems a bit lackluster. However, when done WELL, they are delicious. There is also much to be said …

Why Nicoya Peninsula?

Like I mentioned in another post, one of Jordan's dreams has been to SURF in COSTA RICA. So, when we were planning this trip, one goal was to make this dream come true. We were told that the Pacific side of the country is THE PLACE to surf. Nicoya Peninsula, here we come!

From our resort in La Fortuna, we bid …

You know how there are just those people who are "automatic friends"? Caro is one of those people in my life.

What is unique about our friendship is that it started through our jobs over Skype and email. Day in and day out we were in contact - problem solving, figuring out itineraries, and discussing our fun weekends. We also bonded …

Turtle monitoring begins!

The camp buzzed with energy. The turtle monitoring was a much anticipated highlight of our Baja camping adventure and the Conway family was anxious to get up-close with the region's black sea turtles. This monitoring program is part of Grupo Tortuguero's community and sea turtle conservation project -- the information …