Part I
have been to many states and a few countries, but by far the most adventurous place I have been to is Costa Rica. I have been to the country twice and both have proven to be more of an adventure than planned. Costa Rica has many different types of landscape, such as rainforests, oak forests, mangrove swamps, and much of the area is cultivated for fruit and coffee beans. Thanks to my mother, who loves to keep me and whoever is on vacation with us busy the whole time, I have been able to see a large portion of the country. This country has long been considered a safe country to travel to and has had
few incidents with foreign tourists, although crime rates in the country have recently been increasing. It is always a good idea to check into the safety of places you plan to travel to in the near future.
few incidents with foreign tourists, although crime rates in the country have recently been increasing. It is always a good idea to check into the safety of places you plan to travel to in the near future.
Hotel Grano de Oro Restaurant
On my first vacation to Costa Rica in 2004, I was twelve years old. My mom, dad, and I flew into San Jose and decided to do a few things before the day was over. Just outside San Jose, down a few back roads, we took a gondola tour that took us on a short ride through the rain forest This was interesting because it was the first time any of us had seen the rain forest, but it began to rain heavily before the ride was over. This is where our first adventure began. When the ride was over we got in our car to drive back to our hotel, but the traffic on the dirt roads came to a standstill. We had to sit on the same road for a couple hours before we were able to move anywhere because there had been a mudslide farther up the road that had to be cleared away. When we finally got going, glad to finally see a paved road, our rental car windshield wipers suddenly went out on us while it was still pouring down rain. We got back to our hotel, Hotel Grano de Oro in San Jose, and it was a very nice place. It is a Tropical Victorian Mansion and is very well decorated with tropical plants, along with beautiful courtyards and a top notch restaurant. The only thing I thought was a downside to the hotel is that it is not air conditioned, although San Jose has a climate that usually gets cool at night so most places do not need air conditioning.
The next day we drove to Tabacon Hot Springs, where we stayed at a hotel in the Arenal Volcano National Park for two nights.This hotel was also very nice, although we did get an unexpected scorpion guest in our bathroom. The hotel was at the base of the Arenal Volcano, which was both exhilarating a terrifying at the same time. This was especially true when it would let out deep rumbles throughout the time we stayed there. The most recent major eruption was in 1968 and is said to have been “sleeping” since 2010, breaking the constant trend of minor explosions since 1968. We hiked in the park and also found a zip lining tour. There are many companies to take tours through and information for tours is provided on the hyperlinked website. The zip line is a definite must when it comes to visiting Costa Rica because it takes you through the trees of the rainforest, high up in the canopies. There is a good chance of seeing lots of wildlife on these tours and we heard many monkeys and saw lots of tropical birds. The zip line brought us right back down to the hot springs, so it was very close to the hotel and convenient. In our time at the national park, we also visited a Honey Bear Refuge and hiked to a couple beautiful waterfalls.
On day four, we traveled to Jaco and made a couple stops along the way. The first stop was in Puntarenas were we took a crocodile boat tour. This was probably my favorite part of the trip because I got to see “Jesus
Lizards”, the ones that run on water. I was amazed by this because I thought they were fake and only existed in the movie Jurassic Park. During the tour, the guide got out of the boat and hand fed a wild fourteen foot crocodile. It was astonishing. There are multiple crocodile tours out of Puntarenas to choose from. After this tour, we continued on and stopped at the Carara National Park and did some hiking. Carara was established in 1978 as a Biological Reserve and was upgraded to a National Park in 1998 because of its popularity. That night when we made it to Jaco, we could do nothing but rest the next day since my mom had succeeded in
completely wearing us out.
Lizards”, the ones that run on water. I was amazed by this because I thought they were fake and only existed in the movie Jurassic Park. During the tour, the guide got out of the boat and hand fed a wild fourteen foot crocodile. It was astonishing. There are multiple crocodile tours out of Puntarenas to choose from. After this tour, we continued on and stopped at the Carara National Park and did some hiking. Carara was established in 1978 as a Biological Reserve and was upgraded to a National Park in 1998 because of its popularity. That night when we made it to Jaco, we could do nothing but rest the next day since my mom had succeeded in
completely wearing us out.
On our last day, we headed back to San Jose and made our first unplanned stop at Lankester Botanical Gardens, located about thirty minutes southeast of San Jose. The garden dates back to the 1940’s and was donated to the University of Costa Rica to ensure its continued existence. The gardens were simply beautiful with all the tropical plants and the view of a huge rainforest valley. We saw wild macaws flying across the valley at sunset, and I got to feed a toucan. This is also a
stop that I would recommend during a trip to Costa Rica if you happen to be in the area. The last night before flying back home, we stayed in Hotel Grano de Oro again and said goodbye to this tropical and wild country.
stop that I would recommend during a trip to Costa Rica if you happen to be in the area. The last night before flying back home, we stayed in Hotel Grano de Oro again and said goodbye to this tropical and wild country.
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