Travel Story «Costa Rica»

Costa Rica | 0 Comments 15 October 2005 - Last Update 07 October 2006

Costa Rica....

... a place that was already for a very long time on my places to visit list. I was awaited at the airport by a good friend my of mine with whom I travelled already extensively: Valerie Ruts. We went with her to visit her family who resides in Costa Rica, her mother is Costa Rican hence the connection.

There is never a better way to explore a country then to visit it with local people, they can show you the nicest places who are often not very well known to tourists. During our visit we would stay in the house of her grand mother in San Jose and make from there trips to other places, like Manuel Antonio, Tabacon, Volcan Poas, La Fortuna, Bocas del Toro in Panama, Monteverde, Puerto Limon, Rincon de la Vieja.

San Jose

The first month I stayed with Valerie and her mother at her grand mother's house and her aunt, they were very kind to us, let us use their house as it was our own. We also met some of their friends and relatives who showed us nice places in and around San Jose.

When Val left I accidentally stumbled upon the Green House Hostel, it was to be my base for the rest of my stay in Costa Rica. The people are very kind, run a nice, charming hostel, let you use all the facilities and basically do everything to make you feel at home, which you sometimes need as a traveller, always going from place to place with no fixed place you call your own.

I also met up with Karina with whom I stayed and had a lot of nice experiences during the rest of my stay at Costa Rica, she is an actress who studies theatre and communication, I met her family and friends, went to the theatre, their house and to her father's house in the middle of the nature. The whole of my stay in Costa Rica Jose was perfect... find out for yourself and you will agree! 

Manuel Antonio:
This is a beautiful national park located at the south coast of Costa Rica, the extraordinary thing about this site is the jungle that ends at te beach. Like most of the parks in Costa Rica you stay for one day, at the end of the afternoon you leave and if you want, like we did, you can come back the next day to explore some more areas. When we went, there were not many tourists around which was perfect to have an amzing view of this magnificent park.

Tabacon:
A spa resort located at the Volcan .... very nice spa with both hot and cold baths, surrounded in a beautiful environment with lush vegetation thanks to the fertile soil by the volcano. In the Sps you have a view of the volcano in the background which makes it even more spectacular. There are hot and cold baths so you can differ in temperature and cool down if you get a little too hot.There is also a hotel so if you want you can stay there for various days and totally relax, you must book upfront because it is the most popular and certainly one of the best in the area.

Volcan Poas:
A volcano not far from San Jose, easy access from San Jose by bus, when we arrived to the site it was very cloudy, we were lucky when we went back to the crater for the second time the clouds just revealed the crater and we had a beautiful view.
You can also make nice hikings in the park. The park is nice but half a day is sufficient for a visit.

La Fortuna:
A village located .....


Bocas del Toro:
We took the bus from San Jose and headed for Bocas del Toro in Panama. Crossing the border wasn't too difficult, you just walk across, get some stamps in your pasport and don't believe the lies the taxi drivers tell you.

Afterwards you get back on the bus and continue the journey, arriving in the town we looked for a hotel....

More coming soon