December 19 to 31, 2005 Inland Travel to La Fortuna, Costa Rica

On December 19, Portia’s son, Mako, flew into San Jose International Airport. We took a bus to the airport, a 2-hour ride which cost only $2.30 each. The bus service here is very cheap and the buses are similar to greyhound buses, pretty comfortable. Since Mako was arriving late we checked into a hotel before meeting his plane. At check in we discovered that Steve’s wallet with all of our credit cards and $300 in cash were missing. We immediately concluded that he had lost it in the taxi from the airport. The hotel called the taxi company but no one had reported finding a wallet. Unfortunately, we had heard many stories about theft in Costa Rica. In just the last week, two outboard motors and a dinghy have been stolen from cruisers while at anchor and while the cruisers were on their boats. We doubted we would ever see the wallet. 1.5 hours after losing his wallet, we took a taxi to the airport to meet Mako, to the same taxi cab stand where we had gotten our previous taxi from the airport and found our previous taxi driver who showed us to his taxi. The wallet was amazingly still in the back seat with all of its contents! Steve kissed his wallet and Portia hugged the stunned taxi driver. Naturally, he shared in our joy by receiving a $20 tip, an outrageous sum but we were so relieved.

We have found in our travels that often chance meetings and unplanned circumstances lead to some pretty nice future events. While we waited at the San Jose Airport, we met Miguel who was waiting for some guests to arrive. Miguel owns a eco lodge in La Fortuna, near the Arenal Volcano. After conversing with him while we waited for Mako’s plane to arrive amid many fans who were waiting for the same flight because the Costa Rica soccer team was also aboard, we decided to travel to his eco lodge. Miguel picked us up the next morning at our hotel near the airport and drove us to his eco lodge, a 3-hour drive north of San Jose. We were going to stay one night but stayed 3 nights. It was wonderful! After arriving at Miguel’s eco lodge, Cerro Chato Eco Lodge, 9 basic but clean rooms, he drove us to Volcan Arenal, an active volcano where he left us to hike 2.5 hours through the volcanic rock area and jungle area to where he picked us up. At first when we heard the volcano rumble we thought it was going to erupt on us, but then realized that when it rumbled it spewed boulders which we saw bouncing down the side of the upper area with puffs of smoke where it bounced. It was mesmerizing. After dark, we stopped to watch the volcano at night and found that those bouncing boulders were bright red volcanic fireballs which magnificently colored the top and sides of the volcano. Miguel then took us to the Tabacon Hot Springs near the base of the volcano and we enjoyed 15 spectacular pools of naturally heated spring water. This gorgeous resort has water falls and pools of varying degrees of heat with cooling pools and water falls interspersed among beautifully landscaped gardens and pathways.

On December 21, we rode our horses 45 minutes to the zipline base where we then climbed many steps up the hill into a thick canopy of trees. We then ziplined across to a platform some 120’ up a very large tree. We completed 7 thrilling cables. At one time we were at least 150’ above the ground in the canopies zipling from tree platform to tree platform. To zipline, we wear harnesses which are clipped onto a steel cable. We used a thick leather “brake” which we held directly on the steel cable as we sped from tree to tree. It was both thrilling and visually beautiful zipping through the lush green canopies. Upon our return to the eco lodge we hiked 45 minutes to a huge waterfall. The path to the bottom was treacherous with steps at odd angles and some missing. The hike back up was more difficult as it was getting dark and the steps were very steep. Our hike back to the eco lodge was pretty much in the dark. It was a fun filled day to celebrate Portia’s birthday.

On December 22, we went white water rafting on the Sarapiqui River in Class III rapids. It turned out to be mostly mild rapids with a few Class III rapids but it was beautiful. We swam in the clear cold water and saw a leopard crane (it’s feathers looked like leopard skin). On the ride back to the eco lodge we saw a sloth high up in a tree and some huge iguanas up close.

On December 23, we took the public bus to Puntarenas and our boat. It was a 5 hour ride. On Christmas Eve we sailed Dream Caper to Islas Tortugas, a small group of islands some 2 hours from Puntarenas where we snorkeled and Mako kayaked around the islands. On Christmas morning we sailed back to Puntarenas where we met with 8 other cruisers for Christmas Dinner at the Costa Rica Yacht Club. On December 26, Mako flew back to California and we went on to San Jose for a dentist appointment and to meet some cruiser friends who are temporarily living in San Jose. It was truly a wonderful Christmas and we especially enjoyed having Mako with us.

On New Year’s Eve we enjoyed live music and dinner around the pool at the yacht club with another cruiser. We toasted the New Year. We now look forward to heading to Panama.