Pura Vida in Costa Rica Part One


THURSDAY

Left Harlem at 6 am. In a typical NYC moment, Carmel car service called at 6am and said there were no cars available. Really? Even when I booked days ago? So I had to walk outside in 9 degrees and hail a cab. Of course there were no taxis so I took a black cab and of course we got lost and of course he started screaming. But we made it. Even at the airport my ears were still frozen. I don't think I have ever been that cold. Ever. 

So how refreshing to land in San Jose in 90 degrees! I met mom, Happy and the rest of the group outside in the chaos one expects at a Central American airport. We loaded up and headed out on our two hour trip to Arenal where we were are to spend three nights at the Arenal Manoa Resort -looking up at the grand volcano. 

Mom was coming down with a cold, I was delirious ( stayed out a little too late at a new restaurant opening at The Standard East Village!) so we were not much fun at cocktail hour.  We had dinner with Happy and were in bed at 9. Excited to see what this magical country has to offer tomorrow!




FRIDAY

I'm glad we hit the hay so early since I had to be up at 6 to head to breakfast and then to the bus to go zip lining. I'm awful at reading ahead on these trips I take with mom. She books and I mark it in my calendar and that's that. So I assumed I would just be zizzing down one line and that would be that. Well once we arrived at Eco Glide the cute guides informed us that we would  be on 13 zip lines and on something riveting called The Tarzan Swing!



I also must confess I was a little eye rolly about zip lining. But wow was I wrong. After we got kitted out we jumped in a jeep and drove high into the mountains where we saw our first Toucan and poisonous yellow eyelash snake. We then hiked about five minutes to the first platform and took our first zip. How invigorating! Flying through the trees and gazing at the mountains, flora, fauna and clouds was rather ethereal. 
There were a couple of times when my heart was in my throat and it wasn't from zip lining. We  laned on several platforms that were about 400 feet off the ground and held up with wobbly wires. Not my favorite. The last line was 1290 feet long and taking that one was the closest to flying I've ever experienced. It just kept going! The Tarzan Swing was pretty exciting too. The boys walked us out to a platform where they secured us to a rope then opened a gate and we would jump off into a free fall that would then send us swinging into the trees. There was lots of screaming involved. 

All of that happened in a three hour period so we were back at the hotel around 10:30. Mama was just waking up and still feeling poorly but she rallied for some pool time. The heat felt good on all of us ( I was still in NYC 9 degree shock). At the pool we all just gazed at the volcano that seemed to anchor the entire area. Whether  people realized it or not we were all worshipping this grand and glorious mountain. Whenever the clouds parted to reveal the top of the mountain there would be hushed whispers around the pool. Cameras would come out, people would sigh in wonder and just go into a zone.  It's easy to see why ancient tribes held such high respect for these temperamental wonders of nature. 


At 3pm we all gathered for a leisurely trip to the thermal baths and then dinner. But when we all arrived in swimsuits and flip flops the guide wondered why we were so leisurely dressed since he was taking us on a two hour hike before the thermal baths. Ah translations and tour guides! That wasn't explained in our itinerary. So we regrouped and headed to the Arenal National Park. Mama was still exhausted so she stayed in the van while we zipped into rain jackets and headed up and out into the wet and foggy forest.  



Our guide Carlos took us up to a little hill where we could see the volcano and its’ surroundings.  As soon as we arrived the clouds parted and a rainbow appeared briefly. We all spent so much time digging for cameras that by the time we found them it had disappeared. Mother Nature's reminder to live in the moment. 




What captivated me the most was how I could turn 90 degrees and see a completely different landscape.  To the left the lush rolling hills covered in a thick mist reminded me of my deer stalk in the Scottish Highlands. Behind me the low lush vegetation reminded me of the landscape of a Lowcountry plantation. To the right the vast arid -looking field with canopy trees reminded me of the landscape we saw driving through Botswana. But in front of me, there was the mystical Arenal volcano that only Costa Rica can claim. 




About an hour in we arrived at a steep hike so half the group took a break and the rest of us headed up up up. We saw some beautiful orchids, but the most wondrous sites were the panoramic vistas across the park to the lake, shimmering in the distance. After some photos and a moment of meditation in the sun we headed back down, met the others and made our way back to the bus where mamacita was just waking up from a cozy nap. 



From there we drove to a resort built around the thermal springs. It didn't take long for all of us to strip down and dip into the warm waters. It did wonders for mother’s cold and sitting under the waterfall was just what my shoulders needed after all of that travel. The springs were amazing but it was verging on tacky tourist spot. We ate dinner there not looking our finest and then headed back to our hotel. Today was quite the journey so mama and I were in bed by 10. Tomorrow horse back riding!

SATURDAY

I slept in until about 8. Then hit breakfast and once again gazed at that great mountain while eating beans and rice and cafe con leche. I then woke up mama with a bowl of fruit and got right back in bed. My ride wasn't until 1pm and the rest of the group had headed out on a hanging bridge tour. I know some people really get manic when people work while on vacation but there are those if us who enjoy our jobs and it was a pleasure to check email, hear what's happening with my writers and finish up a post for next week. I also started my fashion week calendar since all that happens the week I return. 



After catching up on some reading, mama and I headed to lunch and solved all the world’s problems until it was time to head out to Don Tobias stables. Even though I have been riding for a long time I still get a little nervous before heading out on a riding adventure. First off they are usually fairly boring just loping around a field in the heat without much excitement. Secondly you never know the history of the horse and I've had some pretty ornery ones. You can also get stuck with a real bunch of turd tourists. 

As soon as the handsome Don Tobias (silver fox!)  picked me up I knew this was going to be fun. In the back seat of his truck was a very cute British couple who were all smiles as soon as we met. Then when we arrived at the stables this little spitfire of a girl bounded up and introduced herself as our guide. Andreas is Don's niece and works on the farm as a guide and waitress at the restaurant whenever she is out of school. We all saddled up and she threw herself on her horse with no helmet and slapped the hind of that horse and we were off! No this was not going to be our typical tourist mosey. 



Right out of the gate we headed for the hills and broke into an energetic lope. The Brits had never ridden (wha?!) but we're having a blast. PTL we were on Western saddles for a little grip but our thighs were doing to most work and boy howdy we joked early on how we would feel this tomorrow. We headed down a hill, through a creek and up up up a mountain until we reached a peak where the volcano was holding court in the background. Here we stopped and gazed, laughed, chatted and just had a moment. Andreas decided to try an old trick on her horses that she has been riding since she was eight. She got up on her saddle and slowly balanced herself into a standing position with arms outstretched as if she was ready to be the next sacrifice to our  Arenal. 




We then galloped down and around the mountain until we reached her uncle's house which is also a well known restaurant in the area. There we dismounted and headed in all wobbly legged for some fresh juice and a spectacular view of the villages and resorts below us.  Before arriving Andreas had called ahead to let them know we were arriving and what juice we wanted. Oh yes, she called mid gallop while holding the phone in one hand and the reigns in the other. That's some enviable thigh work muchacha. 




While we rested and imbibed we heard about her time in England and how she hates France. So much in common! Then we washed up and headed back out teetering down a steep hill and passed a glittering waterfall before we were back at the stables. The horses were total troopers as were my companions. This really was the best vacation ride I've ever had. Maybe even better than the one around the pyramids in Egypt! 

I arrived back at the hotel rather high on my horse (har har) and met up with everyone else to hear how their adventures were. Happy and Stacy had a great bridge walk and repelling expedition down waterfalls and mama had a leisurely boat ride down a nearby river where they avoided the monkeys hurling poop at them. Ah if I only had that on video.  

I convinced Mom, Haps and Stacy that we should go back to Benedictus ( Senior Tobias' restaurant) for dinner so the concierge booked us for 7:15 and arranged a cab. The wooden A-frame home was just as charming at night and it was a great pleasure to surprise not just Andreas but my British friends too when we arrived for dinner. We ordered some full bodied organic Chilean red wine and exquisite ceviche. For dinner I had a steak and the girls had lamb, all bred and slaughtered right on the farm. We finished with baked pineapple and plantain with vanilla flambé. Our neighbors had the same thing and sweet Andreas spilled a bit of the flambé onto Dan's hand and  lap and he did a quick little jig to extinguish it. The restaurant only had about eight tables so it was very charming and Don's chocolate Lab added to the ambiance. 




We returned to the hotel around 10pm in a cab that was so low to the ground we could  feel the gravel on our feet. We think it was a friend of a friend who was in college because it smelled just like every car I entered in 1995- socks and cigarettes. 

SUNDAY






Left Arenal around 8am and began our drive to the coast. We stopped at a coffee plantation called Espiritu Santo where we learned every. Single. Thing. About coffee. Our guide, as they all have been, was cute and amusing and really took care to make the tour as fun as possible. 



I had no idea regular coffee is made with two bean seeds and espresso is made with one bean. How riveting! We bought the perfunctory bags of Costa Rican coffee and then continued our drive towards Puerto Caldera.



Boarding a cruise is never fun. We waited for an hour in a dingy hall and then were herded through a line of forms, picture ID's and then buses to tenders to the boat. 

I have been very excited about experiencing this tall ship from the Star Clipper line but when the Wind Star was docked right in front of us it reminded me of the luxury that boat and company offers and what fun I've had on their boats. I took a Wind Star cruise from Nice to Rome with Mom, Dad and Rick weeks before I moved to New York in 1999 ! 



Windstar also got the good seat. Out boat had to drop anchor and we had to tender out to her to board. 

But the Star Flyer is quite grand all in her own right. Built in 1992 as a dream project by a Swedish man, it was the first tall ship built in 130 years but all for luxury and not for hard working sailors. 



Well luxury to a point. This is definitely more of an adventure ship at least on this journey. We only dock once for an easy disembarkment. The rest of the ports are wet landings where we have to tender to the beach and jump off into knee deep water and wade up to our neat and dry tour guides. It reminds me of shipwrecked bedraggled passengers waddling to shore since everyone is dressed for a day in town carrying bags above their heads and holding each other like they are on a tight rope. 




Regardless, that night we had our safety check, then cocktails, a lovely dinner and then the crew raised the sails with that song from the 1492 movie that is played on every boat in every part of the world when it is time to set sail. A little much for me but after bountiful vodka sodas I was swaying and caught up in the moment as Happy and Stacy helped pull the ropes to hoist the sails. Then I realized I was exhausted and pulled an Irish goodnight, excited about our first day at sea.