Costa Rica - San Jose, Jaco, and La Isla Tortuga

As mentioned in my previous post, Costa Rica is WILD--not wild as in crazy but wild because of its rich biodiversity.  It's estimated that Costa Rica is home to nearly 500,000 plant and animal species, which means although this tiny country is only 0.03 percent of our planet's landmass, it sustains about 5% of our planet's total wildlife.  

When looking at a map, we can see that Costa Rica, part of Central America, sits at the center of an isthmus, which joins the continents of North and South America.  This part of the world is super diverse because the isthmus has served as a natural migration route for thousands of species between these two continents.  The country boasts 10,000+ types of plants, 900+ types of birds, 9.000+ types of butterflies, 500+ mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, and 300,000+ insects!

After landing in Costa Rica's capital, San Jose, and going through customs, we took a shuttle to the Eurocar rental office.  Immediately, we felt like we flew into a different universe. The roads, cars, streets, traffic, and street signs looked vaguely familiar but with a strange twist. The roads were narrower and bumpier, the drivers were more aggressive, and the stores, particularly the supermarkets, were tiny. At the rental car place, I almost got stuck in the bathroom because the handle was loose and the door sealed itself shut with all the dampness and humidity.  (Oh no! Am I really going to begin this trip by needing someone to break down the door? I thought. My anxiety was already running high because we were in another country where everyone spoke broken English, and I hadn't practiced Spanish in years.)

Without hesitation, I let Lew take over the driving. While the rules of the road were basically the same, driving in the city required a certain confidence--one that I lacked. It was clear that the only way we were going to pull out of the parking lot was if we cut someone off, and that's exactly what Lew did, swerving unapologetically between lanes to first get to a market and then to the highway.  Lewie's first impression of Costa Rica was the market. He followed me into the stuffy building only to discover that the entire store consisted of four narrow aisles, mostly filled with canned goods.  "Do they have chocolate milk?" he asked. There was water, juice, soda, and more soda--no chocolate milk. We left with a few water bottles, a bag of chips, and a generic package of cookies.

After the market stop, our destination was our hotel, Docelunas, in the city of Jaco.  We had to load Waze onto our phones and hope for the best. We were told that while its directions were pretty reliable, the timing was another story.  What "should" take an hour and a half, for example, could easily take two or more hours because of traffic conditions, disabled cars, or accidents. Since most roads and highways were two-lane roads (often without shoulders or breakdown lanes), traffic could easily come to a stop and did.  (In fact, one time we encountered an accident that took up the entire highway. The police officer directed everyone to drive down into a field and follow a little cow path before connecting to the main road again. I cringed at the thought that our rental vehicle might suffer a flat or get damaged while driving into a ditch. At the same time, the large tour bus in front of us looked like it might tip over sideways as it drove down the embankment. I said a silent prayer to myself and closed my eyes. Thankfully, we emerged from the rocky farm field unscathed.)

Hubby took the entire drive to Jaco while I tried to avoid being a backseat driver. I kept looking at my old-school map for reference because I wanted to make sure Waze was directing us to the right location.  What if there was another Docelunas, and it took us to the wrong one?  All travel sites forewarned us that we would want to avoid driving anywhere in Costa Rica after dusk, so getting to the hotel during the day was essential.

As predicted, the hour-forty-minute drive took about an hour longer. Still, we arrived at Hotel Docelunas in plenty of time to get checked in.  The hotel was gated with a tall fence surrounding the entire property.  Once we presented our hotel reservations, we were warmly welcomed and given the keys to our room.  I LOVED this hotel.  It had several long, two-story, motel-like buildings with a beautiful garden-like courtyard.  It also boasted a beautiful pool next to our room, which never got busy. In fact, during our three-night stay, I only saw about five people use it the entire time. My husband and I went out there several times. During the day, we were enchanted by all the beautiful birds, plants (like banana trees), and squirrel monkeys (who, I think, were throwing coconuts down at us).  At night, we had a big frog that came to greet us by the pool waterfall.  He somehow knew not to jump into the pool, but he nonetheless, rested by the poolside as if he were on vacation, too. It truly felt like it was our own hidden oasis.

The hotel's restaurant served delicious American cuisine while we sat on their outdoor patio. There, we were charmed by one of the owner's dogs, Coqui, who pranced over to us each day with her sweet brown eyes. She was such a well-mannered dog, knowing not to beg, jump, or bother any of the guests unless called.  Seeing her run around the courtyard and play all day helped fill the void in my heart, for I was starting to miss our own pup, Bruce, who we left at home.

While staying at Docelunas, we drove to Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio one day and then took a boat trip to La Isla Tortuga the next.  When traveling to Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio, we drove through a darling beach town called Quepos, which had quaint restaurants, art galleries, and souvenier shops in a village-like setting. I marveled at its cuteness, and while we only had time to explore the National Park, I'm glad we did get a chance to have lunch at one of its restaurants. (If I ever go back to Costa Rica, Quepos would be on my list!)

At Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio, our guide provided a 1.5 hour tour, stopping along the way to show us any interesting wildlife. It seemed like each time we took a step, there was something new for him to show us. We saw two different types of sloths, three different monkeys (white faced monkeys, howler monkeys, and squirrel monkeys), a Toucan, a Jesus Christ Lizard, several bats, a snake, and a spider. We even saw some white-tailed deer like the ones from home--proof that Costa Rica is a place where animals of North America and South America merge so that animals like deer and iguanas coexist. I LOVED this park and could have easily spent the whole day meandering on its main trail and many side trails.

Can you see the snake eye?

This is a spiny fruit that's called a "monkey comb." Monkeys
actually use it to groom one another.

A sloth...The picture is taken from a telescope.

Fun fact: The cafeteria in the park is surrounded by a fence to keep the white-faced monkeys out. 
They are aggressive and will take food right out of your hand or backpack.

The following day, a tour company picked us up at our hotel, so we could go to la Isla Tortuga (Turtle Island). They dropped us off at a swanky beach club and then had us board a boat for a full day of sightseeing, snorkeling, lunch, and swimming. Since Costa Rica is hot and steamy, the boat ride provided a cool reprieve. We sat under a canopy and let the wind hit our faces, all while getting a chance to see dolphins, birds, and cool rock formations. Our guide knew a lot about wildlife, but he also shared interesting historical facts about Costa Rica. For example, the country used to be the number one exporter of coffee in Central America. Now, their economy relies on three main industries: 1) Toursism, 2) Cosmetic Surgery, and 3) Coffee. 

The guide fed us watermelon and pineapple and then helped us get into our masks and flippers for an hour of snorkeling (before arriving to Turtle Island). It was Lewie's first snorkeling experience, and although he wasn't crazy about the flippers, he did enjoy seeing all the beautifully colored fish.  We all swam around a rock formation while the guide spread breadcrumbs to lure the fish up close. I had trouble with my mask continually fogging up and filling up with water until the last ten minutes--UGH! Still, I did enjoy seeing the fish and was secretly hoping to see turtles--there weren't any in that location.

When we arrived on the island, the boat driver and tour guide brought us to a rustic pavilion to eat lunch.  There were beautiful views from every angle--beach, forest, trees, and rocky outcrops.  Rummaging in the forest behind us were deer, wild boars, and iguanas--what a mix!  After lunch, the two Lews relaxed on the beach a bit. Meanwhile, I explored the cute gift shop, which also held the pass to the island bathrooms.  

By the time we were done on the beach, we were tired and grateful we didn't have to drive back that day. We watched the views from the boat and then the van, mostly in silence until we were dropped off again at Docelunas. It was the perfect excursion offering just enough adventure, education, and relaxation rolled up into one.