Along our journey through central America we have so many favorite places, but Costa Rica is on the top of our repeat visit list.  We planned a whirlwind tour covering several areas that topped our destinations list, including volcano’s, rain forests and beaches.   After flying into San Jose we picked up our rental car, a 4 wheel drive, stick shift Suzuki Jimny!  We would depend on Garrett’s spanish now more than ever as we were truly on our own.  Leaving the city and heading to Monte Verde for our first night we knew we had a long and crazy road ahead of us…and 4 wheel drive might be needed.  Monte Verde is several long hours outside of San Jose and on what was for the most part dirt roads.  Along the way we stopped at a diner and had a traditional lunch of meat, rice, beans, veggies, plantains and of course Imperial.

Back on the road we headed towards Monte Verde, known for the cloud forest and the longest zip lines in Central America.  Eventually we ended up on dirt roads winding our way up to the rainforest, passing by local villages and farms.  Just when I thought we were definitely in the middle of nowhere we came upon the town, and it was filled with tourists and backpackers walking the streets of the quaint little mountain town.  There were billboards and signs everywhere for tourist attractions and tours…not quite the mountain secret we expected.  At our hotel we checked into a very cool room tucked into the trees with a view over the valley and forest.  We signed up for a night time guided nature walk through the forest.  I was hoping we would catch a glimpse of a sloth, but on this tour we did not.  We did however see toads, glowing insects, bats, birds and Coati…a funny looking raccoon/weasel looking creature with a long tail.

The tour was amazing and the trees in the forest were a sight to see.  The next morning we were up early for a zip lining adventure.  My first time zipping, we of course had to do a massive tour with 7 lines, starting with small easy lines and escalating up to major mountain crossing lines.  Once you reach a certain point in the tour there is no way to turn back, and I really wished I could when we got to the big zip lines!  It got scarier and scarier as we went and the last few lines crossed canyons from mountain peak to mountain peak.

Talk about an adrenaline rush!  Some of the zips towards the end I was going so fast my eyes were watering and my heart was beating like I just ran a marathon.  Below is me coming in on a long line “superman” style.

After all the excitement of the zip lines we headed into town to visit a snake a frog zoo…Garrett’s idea of course.  It was pretty cool and there were all kinds of deadly and poisonous animals.  After an amazing lunch in Monte Verde we headed out for our next adventure…the sandy shores of Flamingo Beach.  Driving customs in this country are much different than we were used to but after a long drive we finally made it to the coast.  We stayed at a resort on the beach, and the waterfront was impressive.  After a swim in the ocean and a walk around the resort we headed out for some sight seeing.  We had a couple of properties we wanted to check out in the area, after looking at several condos for sale we got a feel for the real estate market in this area.  We toured several condos with ocean views with a couple of local real estate agents and learned about the tourism in the area.

Back at our resort we relaxed and enjoyed the pool and beach.  The food was amazing and the views were better.  The next day we drove a few miles down to Conchal Beach, a white sandy beach where you can drive and ride horses on the sand.  We even got the Jimney a little stuck in the sand.

On the road again we headed for Arenal for a stay at the base of a volcano!  After another long and winding road from the beaches to the mountains we arrived at our destination.  Our room tonight was a cabin at a hot spring with volcano views.  Our cabin was adorable.

After settling into the cabin we went to dinner at a restaurant at the resort.  Each cabin has a path to the hot springs and to the restaurant on site.  After eating we changed into our swimsuits and headed to the springs for a late night dip.  The water and landscape was breathtaking.

In the morning we hit the hot springs again before breakfast, the hot water was amazing after all our travels.  Next stop was the volcano itself, we headed to a trail head and went for a hike down a scenic waterfall trail.  The way down was intense in the heat but the way back up was exhausting! Roughly 2 miles total but it felt like 10 in the heat.

Next up we went to an native animal rescue park, where we got to see all kinds of Monkeys, sloths, birds and wild boars.

Back on the road to our last stop, Atenas.  For our final night we stayed in a mansion on a hill overlooking a the city.  For dinner we met up with an old friend of Garrett’s, Edwin, who he had met when he visited Costa Rica as a student studying abroad.  We had an amazing dinner talking about real estate, politics and the local market changes.  The next day after a swim in the pool overlooking the city, we headed out for the airport and home.