Costa Rica - Part 1
Pura Vida! Pura Vida means Pure Life. It is the Costa Rican way. The phrase is often exchanged, even with strangers. The locals are called Ticos, they seem very happy and content. The country is very much into conservation and eco tourism. My initial observations so far is that the country is clean, beautiful and happy. They have a relatively high standard of living compared to the other central american countries. The population is approximately 4.5 million. The country values education, Costa Rica ranks #32 in the world on education spending, the US ranks #60! Impressive!
We spent our initial entry into the country in a large bay called Bahia Santa Elena. We were the only ones anchored in this bay, except for a panga fishing boat or two. It was very peaceful with the only sounds of birds and other creatures in the trees of the estuary. We ventured out the next day to Peninsula Papagayo, where our marina was located. The peninsula is beautiful, with three resorts and a golf course. The marina is located on the bottom of the peninsula, more inland. The moorage fee included access to the peninsula which is very lush as it is a rainforest. Darryn and I took advantage of the access and ran, biked and dined on the peninsula (ate at two of the resorts). One of the resorts, Andaz Costa Rican Resort, was walkable from our boat. We used their pool, which overlooked the ocean and was basically surrounded by rainforest. The day we used the pool, the howler monkeys came out at 3:30 p.m, and draped over the side of the infinity pool, swang from the trees, and basically put on a show! There were about 10 of them, and we heard they do this every day! It was so fun to see! A few other Panama Posse boaters were at our marina, as well as a few other Nordhavn boaters, Rainbows End and Sea Trial. This made the stop that much more fun to be able to dine with friends and converse on the dock. There was also a huge yacht called Pacific arrived to our marina a few days after us, owned by the richest man in Russia. Felt a little weird to have a prominent Russian, evidently great friends with Putin, a dock away from us! (see pic)
Andaz Resort - a short walk from our marina
A few of the monkeys liked to hang off the side of the pool!
The richest man in Russia cruised into our marina. Weird in these times.
We did go inland for two nights as there is a national park and a giant lake, called Lake Arenal that is a popular tourist destination. It was a 1-1/2 hour drive to this beautiful jungle. With 100% humidity it was sticky, but the temperature was a bit cooler. We took 500 steps down to a beautiful waterfall, did a night hike in the jungle to spot creatures (see pic of tarantula and snake), hiked through a national park with suspension bridges (saw a sloth), and stayed at a bed and breakfast with beautiful grounds and gracious hosts. What strikes me when I walk through the jungle is how high the canopy is, and how lush and compact the vegetation is. The stillness and quiet is overwhelming.
Our B & B did not disappoint! Up in the hills of Costa Rica
Our patio view at the B & B, the grounds were beautiful
Night hike creature #1 - tarantula!
Night hike creature #2 - Glass frog
Night hike - creature #3
We hiked 500 steps down to this beautiful waterfall!
Suspension bridge hike through the jungle
We departed the marina on Easter Sunday, anchored in a bay called Bahia Potrero, or Flamingo Bay. We celebrated the day with a great brunch and dinner, and enjoyed our time on the water. We were sad that we had to do do our fourth annual Easter egg hunt without the kids, but we still managed it! (ask us for more info if you are curious how we pulled it off!) We love to anchor, there is a such a relaxing feel to it. Marinas have their advantages to (stores, restaurants, more people) but anchoring is peaceful. So I guess it was a peaceful Easter. It is striking a balance between the two that is the secret! So far we are loving Costa Rica!
Easter sunset