Bali Bound

Orange groves along the way to the Rio Frio View of Arenal volcano from my hotel room Now that we are in lower land in La Fortuna, at the base of the Arenal volcano we've moved into a new crop growing region.  Rather than coffee up in the higher elevations its a vast variety of fruit.  We've passed pineapple fields, papaya fields, sugar cane, oranges, mangoes and mangas (mangas are the supersized version of mangoes).  The the three biggest crops they grow with the best bang for the export dollar are pineapple, bananas and coffee.  We didn't see too many banana fields, but there were banana plants tucked around a lot of properties we visited.  Coffee plantations tend to grow a lot because the banana and coffee plants complement each other in the soil I believe.  They had huge papaya tree farms, and we learned that you have to pick the papaya while they're green otherwise the birds will feast and you have no crop to export.  I was also amused that of all the frui

So today was supposed to be our hanging bridges and aerial tram day.  I have noticed since I've arrived home, and from Internet research, discovered that they've been substituting the aerial trams with the wildlife refuge for about a month.  I do wish they had been a little more clear on the new itinerary but it all worked out in the end. The whole story is that the aerial tram has been having some safety issues.  You're suspended way above the ground in a little 6 person tram with a guide.  I suppose when they've had to rappel people off in 2 different incidents you really need to give it thought.  Especially after seeing my tour group.  Many of these older people struggled to get on the tram, let alone getting off of it suspended in the air, only to get down to the rainforest floor and then what.  The first time they had an electrical short and the whole system froze.  Couldn't get it operating again fast enough to get it moving again.  Had to evacuate people o

I think I'm being called Canada now.  I was on the bus a few minutes after most everyone and as I made my way to the back I heard a few people say Canada is here.  This should be interesting. It's our first actual touring day.  We've all become acquainted with the bus now.  The one thing I find amusing is that they enforce seat rotation.  For those of you who haven't done a bus tour the idea is that you move seats in an orderly fashion so that everyone gets a turn at the popular seats.  Which are either the front seats and you get a view out front and to the side.  Or if you have the back exit, then you can get off the bus quickly.  We didn't have a back exit so it was a slow process getting off the bus most days.  But every morning there was a chart with seat numbers telling you where you sat that day.  The other tours I've been on have mentioned it but never enforced it.  Aside from the first trip when our tour guide told the one gentleman that he could sit

First class travel is swanky.  Okay, so it's really business class but the seats are nice and big, and its such a nice change.  Such a shame it's 2 short flights.  I understand now why a long haul to Europe with a sleeping berth is in the extra $2000 range.  I did take advantage of the airport lounges.  They aren't entirely as fancy as I expected, but they have snacks for me and a general calm that much of the regular concourse just doesn't have. Right now it's awesome sitting here in my oversized seat with my pre-takeoff beverage watching everyone go by.  There have been a few who have commented on how they "could have" been up here if they wanted.  But they didn't. The one undelightful thing, which wasn't really even that big of a deal, was that I was once again pre-selected for extra security screening.  Which is strange because I was selected the last trip to Vegas last month.  It's not really that big of a deal and they were far less

Wow, I can't believe I'll be home in less than 24 hours.  This trip has flown by yet it feels like I just arrived...  I had a few issues with the WiFi so that's why I've done nothing the last few days.  Also, typing on the tablet is getting tiring. I've had a really good couple days since I last wrote.  I was an idiot in Guanacaste and didn't apply nearly enough sunscreen and I'm paying for it now.  Burnt both sides of my legs.  In my defense the pool was amazing.  It took a good 20 minutes to swim from one end to the other and back.  And a little chitchat with people along the way.  And we had a free bar in the afternoon.  But I'll recover and not remember this for the next sunny destination because I just never learn. Since then I've gone on a river cruise and saw crocodiles.  Or cocodrillos, crocodile in Spanish has more flair somehow.  We headed south to Manuel Antonio national park and our hotel was literally touching the entrance.  A few p

Got too distracted yesterday to blog!  And won't again until tomorrow night as my free WiFi runs out around 5 and I'm not paying 10 dollars for 12 hours of Wifi, mostly while I'm sleeping! Had a busy day yesterday, we started out at the hanging bridges.  Which were really cool only we saw nothing out there except for a few ants.  Which were interesting but a little bit of a let down.  But the bridges themselves were really cool to see and we had some really great views. The roads really made up for the rainforest walk.  We saw coatis, which are similar to raccoons only active during the day.  A ton of monkeys, many we didn't even stop for pictures and a giant snake that our tour guide wrangled for better pictures.  But he does that sort of stuff and gets paid for it so I wasn't concerned for him. Tonight we are in Guanacaste for our day at the beach. This place is really swanky.  We have the biggest infinity pool in central america, beach access and palatial

I really enjoyed this story from our guide and wanted to share it because what a great idea he accidentally came up with. It's all about a tree that grows iguanas.  It doesn't actually grow iguanas but years ago there was a fruit seller who would feed the iguanas his leftover and overripe fruit he couldn't otherwise sell.  This started from a few iguanas to a few hundred iguanas.  He realized that the tourists would stop and take pictures of the iguanas and buy more fruit from him instead of someone else.  This ingenuity has led him from having a humble fruit stand to a large restaurant and souvenir store because so many people are excited about the iguanas.  Now you can eat there and you get a plate of fruit and the iguanas eat with you.  I'm not going to lie, if dinner with iguanas was an option at home I would do it.  Sadly, we had no time to have lunch or even pictures with the iguanas, only from the bus while driving by.  But they estimate there are about 200

So all of today's plans were scrapped.  I'm very disappointed the hanging bridges are a no go so I'm planning on going by myself tomorrow.  Sounds better than hot springs to me. Instead of trams today we started off at a wildlife refuge.  Man, some of those stories were  sad.  But if they can't rehab the animals they stay at the refuge and those are the ones we got to see.  They had tons of birds, monkeys, tapirs, which had all escaped their pens and just ran wild startling people and some peacocks.  It was a really nice setup and I enjoyed wandering around to see all the animals. The rest of the day was filled with  lot of travelling, it may be a small country but the roads are twisty through the mountains so it's slow going.  And the farmers are out slowing the traffic even more. We also visited a traditional ox cart factory and a church with very fancy grounds.  And had delicious ice cream while I was there.  It's no Italian gelato but it was good. T

Today was a fun adventure day.  We went to the Poaz  volcano.  Usually there is a 30% chance of seeing anything and we had perfect conditions.  It was really interesting to hear about the acid lake and see the sulphur coming off. After that we hit a coffee plantation, for a non coffee drinker I know a lot now!  They also had a butterfly garden filled with blue monarchs. Tomorrow plans have changed up.  I was excited to ride the aerial  tram.  Until I found out that they've had to rappel people off of it twice.  I don't like heights, would be terrified.  Not sure how the seniors in the group would make it.  But they do have a bunch of other stuff  for us to do instead.  That doesn't include rappelling.

Day 1 I have successfully  made it to San Jose, Costa Rica.  The weather is lovely.  I am inside because the WiFi doesn't work too well outside and it is a little windy.  But aside from that I am enjoying the palm trees, bougainvillea and general tropical delights. This trip I flew with united.  I've never traveled  with them before but they  had a really stellar deal where  it was cheaper to fly business class with united than a one way ticket on the same flight with air canada. Oh air Canada, I still hate you a little.  But business class is something I could get used to.  Actual meals with silverware, free movies and drinks in real glasses.  I also took advantage of the lounges.  They aren't as exciting as I would have expected but it's nice to have a quieter spot to go to with free drinks and snacks. But they did have good service and I enjoy how much info the pilots share with the passengers.  I like being in the loop. today was really just a travel day so I