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here. Ten years ago I visited
Costa Rica. It was my first trip outside of the United States (besides
the spring-break trip to Mexico and a quick trip to Vancouver, Canada), and
I foolishly did no preplanning, but relied on my travel companion who had
been there many times to do my planning for me. Never do this!
Turns out we had totally different ideas of what a vacation should be (he
liked to rough it in youth hostels, go where the spirit moved him, and eat
where-ever food was cheap, while I prefer a more orderly well-planned trip).
My first visit to the country, therefore, consisted of too much time
driving, me longing for hot water and a clean bathroom, and not enough time
enjoying all the wonders Costa Rica has to offer.
As the years went by, my memories of the deplorable conditions faded but
the memory of the beauty there remained. I convinced Mark (well,
basically twisted his arm) that we should go, booked the tickets, research
the hotels and planned the itinerary. This time I am happy to report
the trip was amazing! Costa Rica has changed but not as much as I had
feared given the rate of construction ten years ago. I guess when you
have to build everything by hand one brick at a time it takes a while!
Also the tourist infrastructure is much more well developed. For one
thing, there is a wide variety of food choices that just didn't exist
before. Many hotels and restaurants quote prices in dollars for the
currency-exchange impaired, and of course English is a common second
language. I urge everyone who is considering it to just go!
And on to the details of the trip:
June 27th: Getting to Alajuela
June 28th: Butterfly Farm
June 29th: Arial Tram
June 30th: Carrara Biological
Reserve
July 1st: Tulemar Bungalows
July 2nd: Manuel Antonio
July 3rd: Damas Island Mangrove boat
tour
July 4th: Getting to Tambor
July 5th: Montezuma & Cabo Blanco
Reserve
July 6th: Curu Wildlife Refuge
July 7th: Back to Alajuela
July 8th: Volcan Poas & Zoo Ave
July 9th: Going home
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