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Costa Rica - Great Vacation Destination
By Sherri Smith
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| Costa Rica has become a popular travel destination for people the world over. It is no wonder with the variety of exciting terrain, exotic animals, adventurous activities, welcoming people, and investment opportunities. |
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When my husband told me that he wanted to go to Costa Rica for our honeymoon back in 2000 I was not very excited to be honest. I had heard about Costa Rica at the time but it was with very general and not very exciting detail. I had already been to places like Alaska, Tahiti, and Australia at the time so I was expecting something a little more exotic, or so I thought.
Since it was so important to him I said nothing about it and began doing research. As I started checking things out I realized that it sounded very exciting! There are so many things that you can do in this small country so I quickly got on board with the idea and boy am I glad I did.
We got married in October of 2000, which is apparently their "green season". We really didn't realize, as sad as that may sound, what "green season" meant but it didn't matter as by the time the honeymoon came around, we were totally looking forward to going. We found out shortly prior to our departure that this referred to their rainy season, which as Florida residents we are totally familiar with.
While I was planning the itinerary with our travel agent, actually an agent who lived in Costa Rica (we planned via the Internet, email, and phone), it was hard to decide what to do. Unfortunately we were only going for a week and her initial suggestion was an itinerary packed with cities that seemed to us would leave little time for relaxation. We finally decided that we did not want to rush around all over the place just trying to fit everything under the sun into a measly 7 day trip. I stuck to my guns and asked her to help me pick out 1 location that would be "honeymoon friendly". What we decided on was Manuel Antonio Park.
Manuel Antonio is a national park in Quepos, located in the Central West area of Costa Rica . It has lots to offer including beautiful beaches, a gorgeous ocean, and adventurous rainforest. It is a popular place for tourists but is not over run by commercialism. We stayed at Makanda by the Sea, which was outstanding! I would highly recommend it to anyone going because of the seclusion, assuming it is the same as it was in 2000. The villas are built on the side of the mountain with a gorgeous, open view of the ocean. In the mornings we woke up to monkeys playing in the trees. We slept most nights with the series of French doors open so we could get fresh air. It was amazing! There were a couple of days that we just stayed on the property because it was so nice. Our only disappointment was that they were working on remodeling their bar so we could not order mai tais by the pool.
While we did lots of relaxing, we also wanted some adventure. Perhaps our favorite thing was the white water rafting we did with Amigos del Rio, or Friends of the River. They took us on a day long trip on the Savegre River, which offers class III rapids for beginners like us. What an adrenaline rush! It was so exciting and the only time I ever saw my husband eat tuna fish out of a can with black beans, rice, and onions! Since it was a full day trip, the tour guides had packed us a simple but surprisingly good lunch that also included fresh pineapple and star fruit juice. Had we known how much fun rafting would be and had we had time I'm certain we would have booked a second trip.
We also took a walking tour of the rainforest. Although its natural beauty was refreshing, it was a bit drier and hotter than we had expected, especially given that we were there during the rainy season. But it was really interesting because of the number of interesting animals we saw. It was really funny when the group of us came upon a group of capuchin monkeys. They are the small, white faced monkeys that just look so cute you THINK you might want to take one home with you. One of them was very protective and really put on a show for us. He seemed to be trying to scare us off so we decided it might be best to leave them alone to go about their business.
There were a couple of things that we really wanted to get in on the trip but could not due to the time of year: snorkling and doing the canopy tour. Apparently the water gets kicked up quite a bit at that time of year and the result is that you get cloudy water that makes it difficult to appreciate the beauty so we decided to save that adventure for our next trip out. And sadly, we arrived about 2 days after the canopy tours were closed for the season. I guess they don't want to take a chance on tourists getting hurt while swinging through the trees in pouring rain. Well, although it did not pour too badly the entire time we were there we understood that they couldn't plan to leave it open only to have to close on short notice at the sight of inclement weather at any given moment. So again, that was an adventure we decided to save for our second trip out.
My husband and I like to eat good food. I must say that the food that we had in Costa Rica was muy delicioso! We had two favorite places, which we consequently visited on multiple occasions. Cafe Milagro was our breakfast place of choice. It was a wonderful little coffee shop that had great specialty drinks and tasty breakfasts. I have since frequented their web site and purchased their whole beans for shipment to my home. Our dinner place of choice was Karola's. As a matter of fact, although we ate at other places this is the one that sticks out in my head! It was not too far from the resort, certainly within walking distance, as was Cafe Milagro. The restaurant is an open air restaurant that served wonderful seafood and a really great assortment of chips and salsa. Yummy! I can't wait to go back there and yes, I have confiirmed that it seems to still be open.
Finally, as is a necessity when you travel to and from Costa Rica at least from our area, we had to stay in San Jose the night we arrived and the night we left. Based on a very good recommendation of a former co-worker, we decided to stay at the Marriot in town. It was actually originally a coffee plantation that was turned into a resort with what looked like a fairly nice golf course. Well, I LOVE coffee so it was a perfect suggestion for me and we were not disappointed!
The trip was amazing and has prompted me to do research on investment properties. Man, I cannot say enough about this place. I cannot wait to go back and look forward to introducing it to my parents, sisters, and their families. My husband has even mentioned wanting to retire there and I don't think that is such a bad idea. Oh yeah, I want to mention that the people are WONDERFUL! They are so friendly and seem to genuinely appreciate the business that we Americans (and others) bring in. The one thing I would advise is that you pay attention to the season in relation to what all you really want to accomplish. In other words, if you want to do the canopy tour you should not go in October. And remember, all of this was only while staying in one small area of the country. There are, so I hear and have read, millions of other things to see and do there that we didn't even touch on. |
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| Article Discussion: Costa Rica - Great Vacation Destination |
| Sherri Smith posted at 04-Jan-07 07:20 |
| Original Article |
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