Island Getaway in Costa Rica

 

Bus transportation from San Jose to the port.

Hot typical breakfast served on a private dock before cruising on the Calypso catamaran Manta Raya.

Cruise includes snorkeling and banana boat ride once arriving at Tortuga Island and after cruising through the Gulf of Nicoya past Cedros and Jesusita.

Fresh fruits and fruit drinks provided all day.

Gourmet lunch prepared on site.

Live music.

Perfect sandy beach.

Wild pigs.

Did I mentioned this island is undeveloped and environmentally protected?

YES!  Yes! Yes! We were in!

Our bus picked us up not long after 6:00 AM on our last free day in San Jose. It took more than an hour to arrive at the port. Our breakfast there was good; the background music of this trio was the kickoff for island excitement.

And then it was time to board. Good thing Wes was wearing his party shirt!

There were about 55 passengers from all over the world as fellow cruisers. We were probably the least tanned in the group.

The crew was busy. The fresh fruits/drinks were plentiful and delicious!

We enjoyed sitting by Captain Milton in a shaded area on the top of the ship.

We cruised close to two hours; perfect day out.

Our island came into view. Wow. Just wow.

And it was time to discover more about this tropical paradise.

We said hello to the white sand, perfect water, shelter area...and wild pigs! (Too fast to snap a pic for me, sadly!)

Just a short time to settle in before our snorkel adventure. Small red boats picked us up to take us out to a docking/diving area to check out the underwater life by rocky little islands.

The above and below pictures are from Calypso's web page - my camera stayed behind here.

The fish were right there; water a bit cloudy.

Then back for the delicious lunch back on the island.

The flowers served on the platter became our "Island Girls" look.

Love these ladies! Front row: Pier, Zofia. Second row: Fran, me, Rhiannon.

The lunch was served on tables covered with white linens, beach umbrellas and billowing parachute circles overhead.! We enjoyed beach time after that and soon got the call to come for our banana boat ride. It was something we'd never done before and we managed to get thoroughly soaked but not capsized.

Again, their photo.  There was a crew photographer the whole time...so this is how the glitterati live?!?!!

Time passed quickly - and this was one of the loveliest travel experiences I'd ever had.  Time to board and take the sunset cruise back to the port.

Perfect end to a perfect day.  I hope someday to go back!

(Apologies for the use of the word perfect multiple times. No other word would do.)

Our La Fortuna (CR) Lodging Reminds Me Of...

....you know, that somewhat questionable-yet-embarrassingly-addictive summer TV show, Bachelor in Paradise?

In which singles mingle and look for "love" in tropical locations with pavilllioned patios, pools, thatched roofs, lush landscaping, communal lodging, and exotic backdrops of palm trees and mountains.

Here's our sheltered pavillion at the Arenal Country Inn.

On the show, their resort is gorgeous with lots of palm trees:

Here's our more impressive fan palm tree.

Okay, their pool might have more bodies:

But our pool had more swimmers! (Look on the right for confirmation.)

For their comfort, they win in the interior lounging category.

Our accommodations were a lot more basic.

However our "hut" exteriors were quite charming. 

Gathering places on their show were cushioned.

Ours were not. But look at that scenery!

They have a lot of flowers to pick from on their resort.

But look at all the variations in ours!!

Finally, let's address their rose ceremony:

It's exclusive.  Our wrap-up awards ceremony later in the week found all of us recipients of a very special room deodorizer product with the name of Terror!

There you have it: them vs. us. It's pretty clear who the true winners are!

Volcano Numero Dos - Costa Rica

On our hike in Arenal Volcano National Park, (the day after Poas) it felt like we were entering the terrain from the movie, 

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids! The path led us through grasses that were towerring over our heads, the vegetation looked as though it could consume us, and some of the trees were huge!

Our guide told us a fun fact about determining the age of trees: it can't be done based upon looking for rings in the cut stump because there are no seasons in the rain forest by which to guage age.

The hike was pretty easy until we reached the last stretch before the stopping point to pose for this picture with our group.

That's the Arenal Volcano behind us. Not erupting, but not dormant either. Reportedly, it smolders incessantly and at night one can see the red glow of spewing red hot lava.

Later this day was a highlight of going in a Sky Tram (some chose to zip line as an option) to get a closer look at the volcano and rain forest canopy below.

I made a new friend on the Sky Tram!

He turned out to be the zip line launcher.

The views from the top were awesome.

And the views looking down over the tops of the trees weren't too shabby either.

Believe it or not there was more adventure to come later this day: the hot springs! Perfect for easing the bones and joints back to pre-hike condition.

Those are concrete beds right in the water. The hot water is provided by underground lava connections... How cool, er hot, is that?

Coming: our lodging in this area and how it reminded me of Bachelor in Paradise.