Open Thread

great Slopey, thanks.
Leaning toward just Arenal and Monteverde area. Don’t want to be running around the whole time. We can live without beach and prefer less busy areas. Have seen Arenal Lodge mentioned and will have to check website out for that place.
Arrive later on a thursday night. So figure spend night near airport -then get car and drive up on Friday morn.
Need to be back following thursday night to SanJose for early friday morn flight (mid january I see r/t for less than $500. non-stop flights)

I love ostrich meat, rob. Also, it’s about the healthiest meat that you can eat.

mmmmmmmm, peacocks…

i was just in a fauxdega getting iced coffee and on the counter they had those ostrim beef jerkies and they have OSTRICH in them. ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww ostriches are the ugly step cousins of peacocks!!

*rob*

Yes, Pete. Depends what you like to do.

Arenal area is great. You want to be west of the volcano. Arenal Lodge is nice and there are some places not too far from where you can hike on the dried lava. Do the hot springs, there’s a great hanging bridges walk, some volcano gazing at night, etc. Some resorts are too close to the volcano for you to see the volcano and there’s a big tourist trap of a town on the east side that everyone goes to but the volcano blew a piece of its west side off so now you can’t see the flows from the east.

Monteverde/Santa Elena is great, kind of cool and damp weather up there. Good for hiking, amazing birding. Not so easy to spot monkeys and such. Aventuras zipline is one of the best, if you are up for that. Roads are extremely rough up there. Also, you may appreciate that the area was settled by Quakers from the southern US in the 1950s fed up with McCarthyism and the like and the local ethos in that area is shaped partly by that community.

Nicoya peninsula coast was great for surfing, beach hang out, driest weather, other outdoor stuff. Getting a bit overrun with moneyed tourists trying to soak up the hippie/surfer vibe. Lots of yoga tourism in that area now, too.

Manuel Antonio — everyone goes there, lots of monkeys, overrun with tourists during high season and the monkeys are accustomed to tourists and beg for food mercilessly. If you don’t mind roughing it, take a puddle jumper to Osa Peninsula instead. Much less touristed. Southern tip has resorts, and the coast north of Corcovado park does, too.

Best way to do CR is to settle in for a few days in each spot you pick and do a bunch of stuff. Book activities locally. You need a fair amount of travel time from one location to another, whether you are driving, puddle jumping, tour busing, etc.