02/04/2026 – And the journey begins…….
The journey began early on an 11 degree day by bundling up in our warm fleece, shivering as we raced to the car to drive to the airport, teeth chattering until the car warmed up, and of course navigating the airport to get to our gate. All of this was complicated by the fact that Kathy is a gimp having sprained her MCL one week ago and so Dave had to work overtime as an EMT, Sherpa, and, of course, travel agent. Finally at the gate we sat down and began the long journey to the land of eyelash vipers, larger-than-life spiders, enormous varieties of birds, and, of course, sloths. Kathy is hoping to miss the snakes and spiders, but Dave is hoping to catch each and everything there is to see. After one layover in DC, then the next layover in Houston, we finally arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica, only to have to sit and wait for the other guests to join us for our transfer to the hotel. Even though we arrived on the same flight, they arrived at the pickup spot about 30 minutes after we did! They decided to dawdle – stopping in the restroom to get “cleaned” up and look refreshed – for the relatively short drive to their hotel. Of course, it was a grand hotel located in the heart of downtown. After dropping the other two passengers off, our driver meandered on toward our hotel, through the back alleys and inner streets until we reached the hotel on the outskirts of town. It was a hotel looking something like an industrial building with bars. Upon entering the door to the hotel, we were greeted by a receptionist in a cubicle right inside the door. Walking up to our room we were pleasantly surprised to see an oasis in the middle of the hotel, complete with palm trees, a pool, and lots of places to just relax. The room was clean but small – and we bet our price was considerably less than the other guests we had just dropped off. Welcome to Costa Rica – where the temperature is going to be in the 80’s, the sky is blue, and the sun is shining as always during their dry season! We are just hoping that the snow has melted by the time we get home!
02/05/2026 – We Spoke Too Soon
Sometimes the thought is better than the reality. In this case the bed in the room dipped in the middle, squeaked like a mouse just captured by our cat Tipsy, and the water ran hot and cold. Additionally the weather was not in the 80’s but hovering somewhere around the high sixties or low seventies. No worries, we are on vacation. Settling in for the night we hunkered down and anticipated our first full day in Costa Rica.
Morning dawned bright and early, earlier than either of us were enthused about, but – hey! – again we are on vacation. Awaking to an early morning message, we met up with a fellow traveler, Lorraine, for breakfast and arranged to meet to go on a tour with a biologist to learn about the biodiversity in San Jose. Soon we were booked when we received another message for one of our early arrival travelers, Ariel. She agreed to tag along and we added her to the reservation. Soon we were off – first to find an ATM for Lorraine, some food for Ariel (who had yet to eat but had managed to run two miles before 10 am!), and then find our Uber. The tour was not scheduled until 2 pm, but that did not deter us from heading to the meeting point several hours early. We decided to eat lunch at the meeting point, and then take a stroll through the University of Costa Rica’s campus. With full curiosity, we took in everything there was to see, the gorgeous blooming bushes and flowers, the trees that had airplants attached to them, the cacti (dragon fruit), and the orchids growing on their outstretched limbs. The birds that were brightly plumaged soared among the blooming trees. Soon it was time to head back to start our tour, “A Nature Walking Tour of San Jose” with a biologist (student) who was enthusiastic, passionate about preservation of the plants and animals, and… French? Yes. Melissa came here to study biology; it must be that France just doesn’t cut the mustard when it comes to biodiversity. Soon we were off where we discovered the bird, Montezuma Oropendola, who builds hanging nests from the top of trees. The birds, both male and female, are similar in coloring but the male is slightly larger. They have bright yellow tail feathers that, when they fly, create a beautiful yellow path through the sky. The males have a harem, approximately 15 females nest with one male just dancing and gesturing on the higher branches to keep the females amused. Along the way we learned about leaf-cutter ants (not Kathy’s favorite). We learned about the different uses for termite nests, which are not on the ground but situated high in the trees, and once abandoned by the termites, make great habitats for the bees. Along our journey, we discussed everything and anything that piqued our interest as we walked. Melissa was very happy to answer even the most mundane of questions. The ultimate goal – the “cherry on the cake” as Melissa described it – was to find a sloth! We set off on our quest, not quite the Holy Grail of quests, but a vacation-worthy one indeed. Soon we found our first sloth – or in this case what looked like a furry coconut hanging out in a tree – which was in this case a two-toed sloth. Next we saw a three-toed sloth…a baby one! Ahhh… He was just chilling in the tree curled up in a ball. The only recognizable thing was an arm hanging by his side. Then, just for more icing on the cake, a third sloth was spotted hanging high up in a tree in the middle of the school commons. Just to make it even more fun, we saw a squirrel cuckoo flitting around. Soon the tour was over and we rushed back to the hotel for our 6 pm meeting with the group and tour leader. Arriving back at the hotel a half hour early, we decided to dash to the local McDonald’s (yes – we know what you are thinking, but it was the only place close enough where we could scarf down dinner and still get to our meeting on time.) Our CEO – or Chief Experience Officer – Ingrid is a rapid talking, long winded, enthusiastic guide who amazingly remembers everybody’s name, where they come from, and tiny tidbits. We found out about what to expect our next few days. Next we were off to bed where Kathy iced her knee after walking four miles during the day (shhhh, don’t tell her orthopedist!) and settled into the room to prepare for the next day.
02/06/2026 – And then there was day three. Not one, not two, but three!
Today, it was all about being a member of a tribe. The G Adventures tribe. The group consists of sixteen intrepid travelers, all but one who are visiting Costa Rica for the first time. Piling onto the bus, we headed off for our first stop – breakfast! – where we feasted on homemade French toast that had lots of strawberries and bananas on top. Of course no French toast like this would be complete without homemade strawberry preserves/syrup (?) and whipped cream. We gained 10 pounds just looking at it on the platter they presented to us. Piling back onto the bus we headed to a coffee plantation where we learned the art and history of making coffee and, of course, had a few tastes of their work (well, only Kathy). We also got to taste a coffee liqueur (okay, only Kathy again) that gave you a rush of alcohol followed swiftly by a jolt of caffeine. What a way to start your afternoon. Along with learning how to make coffee we also learned the art of making cane sugar juice. They enlisted several “volunteers” and, of course, Dave put on quite a show cranking the squeezer, along with two others. He helped squeeze the cane stalks to make cane sugar juice which we all got to taste. It was an acquired taste – sweet, but not too much, and just kind of bland. Next on the agenda was how they turned the bland cane sugar juice into moonshine. A few daring individuals tried the local moonshine, we opted out – Dave because he doesn’t drink, and Kathy because she was still wobbly after the coffee liqueur. Or was she wobbly because of the knee?? She is not confessing to anything! We then sat down for a traditional lunch which included the obligatory rice and beans -again not Kathy’s favorite, but not too bad. She just feels it is kind of bland. Soon we piled on to the bus again – yes, for the third time – to finally get to our hotel. The whole day it has rained, poured, and just drizzled. The gray clouds followed us all the way from San Jose to La Fortuna. So much for the dry season! While we decided to chill at the hotel, twelve of our tribe elected to hike along some volcanic rocks, then through the forest, and then top it off with a soak in the hot springs at the base of the volcano, along with visits to the bar. We opted for a nice easy dinner – a traditional local dish for each of us – and an early night in the room. Tomorrow is another day. We fell asleep to the sounds of the rain dripping off our roof.
Three is the number thou shalt count to! 😆