The resort we stayed at was near Tamarindo Beach, so we had lots of opportunity to swim, surf and play in the waves, and we also took a few days for a spontaneous road trip: rented a car (a GIANT diesel Land Cruiser actually!) and drove through some neat little towns, and on some crazy bumpy dirt roads to the Monteverde Cloud Forest, and Lake Arenal and the Arenal Volcano (apparently the 2 biggest tourist "attractions" in Costa Rica).
It was so great to have a chance for some relaxing and down time, as well as seeing the local culture and the "adventure" of driving and exploring such a diverse country.
Costa Rica is becoming much more accessible it seems: we had a direct flight--6.5 hrs from Calgary--but with that comes the invasion of North American culture: lots of real estate development/construction, particularly in the beach areas we visited.
On the one hand, it is so sad to see this unique culture and ecosystem being taken over by vacation properties; on the other hand, I wish we could afford to buy one, so that we could visit Costa Rica all the time!!! A bit of a catch 22 I guess...
Anyway, I think a picture is worth a thousand words--here are a few from our trip...
The view from our balcony...
the extent of my surfing!
buying some traditional pottery
Sea kayaking in the estuary
Monteverde Cloud Forest
Lake Arenal
Crocodilos!
The most we saw of the Arenal Volcano
Playa Tamarindo
Surf and Turf--yum!!
No comments:
Post a Comment