Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge

Upon awakening in La Fortuna, we walked over to the restaurant for an excellent buffet breakfast.

The combination of American standards like cereals, pastries, pancakes, scrambled eggs and toast are complemented by local entrees, including the always available beans and rice, plus on this particular morning carne asada, made with that delicious lean, grass-fed beef that Costa Rica should be famous for. 

The dining room's glass walls allow wildlife viewing.  Many tropical birds fluttered around while we ate.

I can't say I had paid particularly close attention to our itinerary for our two-night stay in La Fortuna in advance. 

During the river rafting trip on our first day in Costa Rica, one of the young ladies raved about their visit to La Fortuna, where they had seen so many animals.

Wild hogs grazed along our hotel's road.

Rather than spending our one full day in La Fortuna focusing on the immediate area, we would soon board the bus for a two-hour ride to Rio Frio in the Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge.  In retrospect, I can't help wondering why we went so far rather than just focusing on nearby Arenal National Park right from the outset.

In fact, if Julie and I would have been on our own rather than with a group, I believe we would have only had one stop on the road to La Fortuna, so that we could have begun exploring the park the prior afternoon.

However, as Wayne Dyer used to say, "you can't woulda-coulda-shoulda." We live in the present moment.

Our driver Luis often stopped to get a better look at wildlife.

Besides, we were scheduled to hike in Arenal National Park the next morning.

It is just a fact that to get the economies of group travel, we accept compromises, including making extra restroom stops or trying something we wouldn't have considered trying.

As an aside, I will add that in looking at Globus Journeys, which is a pricier tour company with more options included, they focus more on La Fortuna during their full day allotted on a similar trip.  My best guess is that Gate 1 found a cost advantage in taking a bus ride using a driver and bus already included, even if it did burn some gas.

So, rather than a 20-minute drive to Arenal National Park, we left at 7:45 AM for Los Chiles, which is on the border with Nicaragua.

Leo didn't mention this tidbit of history, but in the 1980's, what had been a sleepy fishing region became a major supply route for Contra rebels as they fought to overthrow the Sandinistas in Nicaragua.

Adapting to the times, the area now hosts Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge catering to tourists.

Arriving on schedule at 10:00 AM, I think the restroom break took a little longer than planned, but we used the time to stretch our legs and take photos of the sign for Los Chiles near the river where we would board our boat.

The boat safari on Rio Frio started out slowly.

Leo said there were nine mammals within sight and challenged us to find them.  We all noticed two humans in the distance, but it took a while for us to figure out that black spots on a tree were bats.

Bats are black on the bottom side of the main trunk.

We spotted some birds and worried this might be the extent of wildlife viewing.

Then some howler monkeys called out and appeared, if rather obscured by leaves, in trees.

It was spider monkeys swinging on vines from tree to tree that got our group excited.

By starting slowly, knowing we had to look carefully, we appreciated what we were able to discern fully.

Animals camouflage into their surroundings as natural protection from predators, so finding them was frequently a challenge, despite everyone else pointing at the hidden prey. 

While our photos aren't particularly vivid, they're pretty good for playing a variation of "Where's Waldo?"  Can you find the animals in our photos?

Now you're getting the hang of the game!

We don't have big zoom lenses like a couple of folks on our tour, and it was not a movie where a director could focus our sights on exactly what we should look at.

As such, our photos rarely did a good job capturing what we experienced, but Julie and I were both very much engaged in the moment, as were the others in our boat.

We finally came to a much-anticipated Jesus Christ Lizard, which gets his name because of large feet that allow him to scamper short distances across the river like he is walking on water.  We saw him perform the trick a few times.

Look close to see the green lizard in the brown twigs.

A large caiman/crocodile showed up around the same time nearby.

It's hard to spot the Crocodile unless you know it is there.

Playful white-faced monkeys were in the trees at the same time.

A drama played out where monkeys watched the Jesus Christ Lizard looking for the perfect time to strike, while the crocodile looked up hoping either the lizard or the monkey would fall in the water as a meal for him.

One of the monkeys became distracted by our boatload of people, jumping onto the boat and making a few attempts at grabbing smartphones.

That half hour of high drama and hijinks was the highlight of the trip for all of us.  Julie and I were so busy watching and laughing that we failed to get any good photos.

The 2-hour river boat safari had been a success.

We walked back to the restaurant where we had stopped to use the restrooms to eat lunch.  I don't recall it being a very impressive menu.  It seemed to take longer to hit the road than it should have, probably because Julie and I wanted to get back to La Fortuna in time to take a taxi to Arenal National Park to take the waterfall hike before closing time of 5 PM.

Most of our group had signed up for the optional evening at Eco Termales Hot Springs with much-touted buffet dinner.

Traffic on the way back slowed us more, but we arrived about on schedule.  However, we second guessed our plan and decided to just walk around the small town before riding with the group back to our hotel.

Julie and I enjoyed our free time on the property.  With most of our group gone, we had the hotel grounds to ourselves.  We hiked up to a little treehouse behind our cabana to take in the views.

Dinner at the hotel's restaurant was again excellent.

I had fresh fish and Julie selected chicken with rice. We split a nice bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.

We had enjoyed champagne and pizza on our actual anniversary back home, but this night out was a good time for a romantic meal.

Regardless of our hindsight second guessing, it had been a great day.

We looked forward to a "brisk hike" through Arenal National Park in the morning.

The Road to La Fortuna

We met Leonardo, our tour guide for the next ten days, as we exited the elevator upon returning to San Jose.  We recognized him not so much because he wore a Gate 1 name tag but because he carried the worried expression of a shepherd missing a few stray lambs.  He was happy to give us our name tags and a printed schedule for the next day.

Most of our group had arrived on flights arranged by the tour company to arrive and been met by Leo at the airport.  As tends to be the norm on this type of tour, our bags were to be outside our doors before breakfast the next morning at 6:15 AM.  As our guide for Machu Picchu said long ago, "More of the world for less...sleep."

 

The rest of the night was ours.

We ordered drinks as we had the prior evening at the lobby lounge and brought them out on the veranda with panoramic city views from our perch 12 floors above the ground.

After our "happy hour," we returned to the same fine cafe where we had dined the prior evening.  Julie ordered her own meal this time, with our appetites boosted by our long day river rafting.

We enjoyed another good night's sleep in our 18th floor room.  The room had firm mattresses.  

In the morning, we enjoyed the delicious buffet breakfast that included an omelet station with a skilled chef filling tasty dishes efficiently.

At the intro meeting, Leo pointed out a few rules, making note of the new Gate 1 policy where all tips except those for him and our driver Luis being now covered with the purchase price.

We had enough time for me to take the elevator down to the 14th floor to wander out to the rooftop pool that we could see from our room.  

At 8:30 AM, we boarded our blue bus that would be our chariot for the next ten days.  Unlike older buses that have been the norm on Gate 1, this was surprisingly a new bus, an unexpected treat for a discount tour company.  On the down side, this bus did not have WiFi.

Our driver Luis drove expertly through city traffic and out over highways and byways.

Leo provided commentary as we went along.  He said that most of the people in his tourism college had specialized in flora, but he had studied birds as his optional specialty.  He nonetheless had also learned all about plants during his decades as a guide.

He spoke about the major industries of Costa Rica, including tourism, high tech and agriculture as we rode along.  He attributed the lack of a military as one of the key reasons high tech companies from around the world including Intel set up shop in Costa Rica.  He said that meant they could specialize in non-military high tech, and especially medical devices.

Costa Rica is very proud of having no military since 1948, which of course is made possible because of the United States' Monroe Doctrine, which basically states that we will protect Latin America from encroachment by enemies.  Certainly, it is an advantage economically to not require a standing army.

Soon, we arrived at our first stop, Sarchi, where one of the first sites pointed out as we drove through town was a giant ox cart.  Perhaps my mind was elsewhere, but I don't recall being told why this was significant, other than being an interesting work of art Leo highly recommended.

Colorful ox carts, now built exclusively in Sarchi, are considered a vital part of Costa Rica's history. Used extensively for carrying coffee beans, the brightly colored geometric designs identify different regions.

In 2005, UNESCO labeled ox carts as "Intangible Cultural Heritage." I've always thought "intangible" as something without a physical presence, but whatever.

Most of our group stopped for coffee or shopped for souvenirs at the drop-off point, which was a well-stocked gift store with lovely wood handicrafts and had large, clean bathrooms.  Strolling along the road that Leo had pointed down, we found Sarchi to be a mid-20th Century town similar to many in Mexico and Central Ameria rather than a quaint artisan village.  Then again, Julie and I were not looking for hidden enclaves that might have been charming.

We walked directly to the large ox cart. We were more impressed by Templo Católico de Sarchí Norte.

Gorgeous wooden ceiling.

Always interesting to note how Biblical figures are presented
in different cultures.

This travel day for us could have been called "Churches on the Road to La Fortuna," because we went to cathedrals at every stop.

Back on the bus, our next stop was Zarcero, a town of 5,000 renowned for its topiary garden in front of another lovely church.

We were blessed with bright sunshine for walking around the garden where bushes have been shaped to be arches and animal figures.

The rides through the countryside of Costa Rica allowed us to enjoy viewing the farms and ranchlands between towns, though trying to get photos can be frustrating at high speeds.

Best to just take in the views.

Our third stop was Ciudad Quesada, which is also known as San Carlos.  It is a small city best known for being in the heart of fertile farmlands.

It had the least impressive church of the three stops.  Most interesting were representations of Jesus as a strong man with solid legs.

When we arrived at Ciudad Quesada, our bus had taken a lap around the city park, with Leo pointing out restaurants that he said would be safe choices for our two-hour lunch stop.

Julie and I had big breakfasts and weren't all that hungry.  We decided to get chips and a soda, then go to the lovely park on what was again a sunny day.  This being Costa Rica, there were scattered showers throughout the day, but it happened to be sunny every time we stopped this day.  

It bordered on being hot, so we sought a bench in the shade, which took a while to track down during what for Costa Rica is summer vacation from school.  Lots of families were enjoying this sunny day in the park.

We may best remember Ciudad Quesada as the place where we went to the bank to break a 5,000 Colones note we received in change when buying a bag of tortilla chips and Diet Coke with a $20 bill and receiving Colones in change.  We simply wanted 1,000 Colones notes (about $2 each).

Two guards stopped everyone entering the building before granting admission through the inner bank doors.  I was told to remove my hat and sunglasses, then sent to a chair next to a local lady, in one of three lines for tellers.  The person at my window was having some kind of problem that dragged on maybe five minutes.  The lady next to me went to the window to take her turn.

As to exactly what her problem was, I have no clue, but it took fifteen minutes to sort out.  Julie had initially waited in the lobby rather than submitting to a full search to enter, but curiosity got the better of her, so she entered.  A couple of minutes later, I was called to the window.  I received change in a few seconds, which is how long I expected the entire bank visit to take.

Cervantes long ago wrote that "The road is always better than the inn."  We had a pleasant enough bus trip that day and enjoyed the churches, but would say in this case, Cervantes was wrong.

We went to Costa Rica not to see towns but to appreciate nature.

Arenal Volcano Inn where we would spend the next two evenings was awesome.  This little eco-lodge in La Fortuna was excellent for quietly appreciating nature.

We loved our little cabana with a wooden ceiling with lots of exotic birds in the trees and occasional wild animals, including an anteater, strolling through our yard.

 I wish I was quicker with my camera.

An odd rule at this eco-lodge is that guests are not supposed to flush any paper in the toilet.  We've experienced this rule at other eco-lodges.  It certainly is not ideal for average American travelers accustomed to first world plumbing, and I dare say many ignore it at least sometimes.

We enjoyed our afternoon coffee on chairs in front of our door.

After appreciating our lodgings for a couple of hours, our group attended the welcome meeting, where we all introduced ourselves.

About a fourth of our group was from Pennsylvania.  Another quarter came from New York.  More surprising was not so much that a fourth of the group came from California, but that the California contingent had all been born in China and moved there over the last few years.  However, they were not connected other than to their own spouses, it seemed.  They usually sat together as a group and spoke Chinese among themselves.

Gate 1 hosted dinner that night at the inn's restaurant. I had their featured seafood dish, while Julie went with steak.  Both were fantastic.  It was so good, we decided to come back for dinner the next evening.

A family from Buck's County, Pennsylvania, sat next to Julie and me at a long table that was better acoustically suited to speaking with the person next to you rather than a table conversation.  I was sitting next to a retired college administrator, Maureen, who turned out to have a lot in common with us.  We would see her and her husband Steve several other times, including sharing a table later in the trip.  They were traveling with two kids and two grandchildren.  

After dinner, we walked over to the hot tub for a soak before bed.  A half dozen folks from our group had already gathered, so we engaged in more pleasant conversation as we luxuriated in the warm bubbles.  We become quickly accustomed to the people with whom we travel, but after a few days, we will likely never see them again.