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Family time in Costa Rica
Hello. This is my first post here, but I thought I’d jump right in with a long entry … might as well hit the ground hard!
Our family visited Costa Rica about this time last year. My wife Jen and I had this desitnation on our “to do” list for a long time, but we wanted our sons to be old enough to really enjoy themselves as well. At 8 and 10, they were both old enough to be adventurous but still young enough to have that childhood wonder and enthusiasm that my wife and I feed off of!
Our first few days we stayed near LaFortuna. From our bungalow at the Arenal Paraiso, we had a chance for a spectacular view of the Arenal volcano.
The view from our hotel room on a good day:
But the climate in this part of interior CR is very humid, creating a lot of cloud cover. So this was also a common view:
We strolled through the town of LaFortuna. The boys were amazed that the volcano was always looming in the background:
Aparently Arenal Volcano had its last significant event in 1998. We hike over the area that had been scorch by the lava flows. The vegetation is regenerating, but (at best) its many generations away from returning to the lush rainforest environment that once covered the area. I wouldn’t want to slip on the ground here, the volcanic rock is sharp:
We visited the rainforest on a rainy day (naturally) to try zip-lining through the trees. We didn’t get too many good pictures. With the rain and humidity, our small camera took a beating … water behind the lcd screen. I didn’t dry out til Tamarindo.
We were told the longest line was about 400 metres long. The zip-line is a lot of fun, but it’s the view of the lush forest and surrounding landscape that captivated me.
The next day we paddled down the Penas Blancas river. Honestly, there was very little wildlife sightings during our excursion. We saw more during the stay at our hotel. One exception though … at one point an alligator was basking on the riverbank about 20 feet from our boat. It was closest to our 9-year old son … he wouldn’t have been more than a light snack.
After 5 days at La Fortuna, we headed for Tamarindo, a touristy beach town on the northern Pacific coast.
In the trees at our hotel:
On the slate room in front of your patio:
Tamarindo is definitely a surf town … a lot of the town’s promotional literature notes that one of their claims to fame is that “Endless Summer II” was filmed here (not really a cinematic masterpiece – I expect the reference is more “tounge in cheek” than serious). We rented our own surf boards and booked some lessons with Charlo, one of the local surf dudes. Surfing was quite a workout … aside from balance once you’re up, it requires a lot of flexibility and agility to get upright. Of course, at their age, our young sons could quickly spring from the bellys to their feet in one smooth motion (… ok, my wife could too!). I had to stick with the slower, two-step leg sweep motion (for those that aren’t so flexible and agile). As you can see, we all got up … so we call all officially say that we “surfed”:
Of course, 10 days wasn't enough to see all the diversity that CR has to offer. I'm sure well be back again.
Chris
Our family visited Costa Rica about this time last year. My wife Jen and I had this desitnation on our “to do” list for a long time, but we wanted our sons to be old enough to really enjoy themselves as well. At 8 and 10, they were both old enough to be adventurous but still young enough to have that childhood wonder and enthusiasm that my wife and I feed off of!
Our first few days we stayed near LaFortuna. From our bungalow at the Arenal Paraiso, we had a chance for a spectacular view of the Arenal volcano.
The view from our hotel room on a good day:
But the climate in this part of interior CR is very humid, creating a lot of cloud cover. So this was also a common view:
We strolled through the town of LaFortuna. The boys were amazed that the volcano was always looming in the background:
Aparently Arenal Volcano had its last significant event in 1998. We hike over the area that had been scorch by the lava flows. The vegetation is regenerating, but (at best) its many generations away from returning to the lush rainforest environment that once covered the area. I wouldn’t want to slip on the ground here, the volcanic rock is sharp:
We visited the rainforest on a rainy day (naturally) to try zip-lining through the trees. We didn’t get too many good pictures. With the rain and humidity, our small camera took a beating … water behind the lcd screen. I didn’t dry out til Tamarindo.
We were told the longest line was about 400 metres long. The zip-line is a lot of fun, but it’s the view of the lush forest and surrounding landscape that captivated me.
The next day we paddled down the Penas Blancas river. Honestly, there was very little wildlife sightings during our excursion. We saw more during the stay at our hotel. One exception though … at one point an alligator was basking on the riverbank about 20 feet from our boat. It was closest to our 9-year old son … he wouldn’t have been more than a light snack.
After 5 days at La Fortuna, we headed for Tamarindo, a touristy beach town on the northern Pacific coast.
In the trees at our hotel:
On the slate room in front of your patio:
Tamarindo is definitely a surf town … a lot of the town’s promotional literature notes that one of their claims to fame is that “Endless Summer II” was filmed here (not really a cinematic masterpiece – I expect the reference is more “tounge in cheek” than serious). We rented our own surf boards and booked some lessons with Charlo, one of the local surf dudes. Surfing was quite a workout … aside from balance once you’re up, it requires a lot of flexibility and agility to get upright. Of course, at their age, our young sons could quickly spring from the bellys to their feet in one smooth motion (… ok, my wife could too!). I had to stick with the slower, two-step leg sweep motion (for those that aren’t so flexible and agile). As you can see, we all got up … so we call all officially say that we “surfed”:
Of course, 10 days wasn't enough to see all the diversity that CR has to offer. I'm sure well be back again.
Chris
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Comments
Looks like you had a wonderful time and saw a lot. I had 9 days in Costa Rica back in high school, but that wasn't nearly enough. I'm hoping to get back there someday. But these pictures really bring back memories for me.
Thanks for sharing.
"The camera doesn't make a bit of difference. All of them can record what you are seeing. But, you have to SEE." - Ernst Haas