We loved Costa Rica on our 2012 trip. We enjoyed its ocean, forest, animals, food and friendly people. We shared our spring break plan with the kids about two months ago and Jackson couldn't stop talking about it. Finally our travel day was here. (Leaving on a Tuesday and back on a Tuesday felt weird, but that's when I could get the mileage tickets) Just 3.5 hours of flight, we were in Liberia, Costa Rica!
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| Flights went smoothly with the help of iPad and snacks. |
Our flight arrived about 1:20pm. From what people warned on the forums about the driving condition at night, I chose to book a nearby hotel that night. The drive time from LIR to Arenal our first destination is about 3 hours. And sunset was at 5:45pm. We made out of Custom in record time because our plane arrived early and CR has a special line for family with little kids.
We picked up our car at Vamos and made it to Hacienda Guachipelin about 3:30. Hacienda Guachipelin
is a famous eco-tourism hotel. It locates in Ricon de la Viaja National park. Hotel manages a few
waterfall hikes, hot springs, horseback riding, zipline and tubing etc. It had an adrenaline day pass
that lets you do all those adventure things. This was not we are coming for. We came here to use the hot
springs and hike the waterfalls.
is a famous eco-tourism hotel. It locates in Ricon de la Viaja National park. Hotel manages a few
waterfall hikes, hot springs, horseback riding, zipline and tubing etc. It had an adrenaline day pass
that lets you do all those adventure things. This was not we are coming for. We came here to use the hot
springs and hike the waterfalls.
Both kids napped half an hour on the plane so as soon as we checked in, we headed to the hot spring.
HG’s hot spring is near Rio Negra and it also advertises mud bath. We were surprised that both kids
didn’t want to do the mud bath. We soaked in various hot spring spots and took in the jungle around us.
It’s hard to believe we were in Dallas just a few hours ago.
HG’s hot spring is near Rio Negra and it also advertises mud bath. We were surprised that both kids
didn’t want to do the mud bath. We soaked in various hot spring spots and took in the jungle around us.
It’s hard to believe we were in Dallas just a few hours ago.
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| Hot Spring in the jungle |
Right before the hot spring close time 6pm, we headed back to the hotel for dinner. I was a bit taken back when I saw the price of the food. We were also not prepared to eat out as it was our first meal in a restaurant on this trip. Later we took paper and markers with us to entertain the kids before the food came out. That made a big difference on our dining experience.
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| Happy kid |
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| Happy kids |
Our hotel room was basic with three beds and a shower. It worked well as our transitional hotel. The next day, Jackson and I woke up early and took a stroll around the property. On the way back we saw a group of people gathered under a tree and it was a baby owl sleeping on the branch. We hiked to a tiny waterfall and met with Norah and Will for breakfast. We liked the free breakfast buffet. After everyone was fed, we picked a waterfall and hiked there. It was a nice and easy hike without any crowds. Norah couldn’t walk anymore when we chose a second waterfall hike. So we packed up, ate lunch and started our drive to Arenal.
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| Hanging bridge to the waterfall |
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| Mommy, I am brave! |
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Arenal is probably the number one tourist destination for CR. In the nineties, it had lava flow from its perfect cone shape, glowing in the night. Flocks of tourists came to view this nature wonder while soaking in the world class hot spring. This was also the first time Will and I came to Arenal. The drive was easy except the section google took us to an unpaved rocky road. The roads took us away from the dry and hot Guanacaste region to wet and green rainforest. We stopped for monkeys and coatis on the way. It was a good start of our many animal sightings. Arenal Volcano was in our view once we reached Lake Arenal’s shore. It has the distinctive cone shape and was much taller than the mountains around. We enjoyed the majestic volcano view along the way. We didn’t realize how lucky we were to see the whole view as the next two days Arenal was covered by cloud.
We were thrilled when we checked in our cabin at Arenal Oasis about 4pm, Our individual cabin was
right next to the property restaurant and had two bedrooms, two bathrooms plus a living area and a big
kitchen. It was a big upgrade from the night before and we could have a bit of privacy after the kids go to
sleep.
right next to the property restaurant and had two bedrooms, two bathrooms plus a living area and a big
kitchen. It was a big upgrade from the night before and we could have a bit of privacy after the kids go to
sleep.
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| Our cabin for the next three(two) nights |
Arenal Oasis has its own hiking trail and about 15 cabins dotted in the hillside. At the open space, we
could see Arenal Volcano. Its restaurant was open air and surrounded by the forest. They nailed different
fruits at the outer edge of restaurant to attract birds. We saw many kinds of birds, coatis, squirrels and
roosters. I saw a monkey family eating on the top of canopy the next day during nap time. We loved this
lodging at this point. Arenal Oasis offered a night frog tour on its trail system at 5:45pm. I immediately signed up for that walk.
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| Watching for wild life at the path outside of restaurant |
We hastily finished dinner and met up with our group for the frog tour. When the guide told us this walk would be two hours, Will and I almost jumped and wanted to quit. We knew it won’t work for Norah at that length. But we decided to give it a try. It got pretty dark at around 6pm and Norah was spooked by the darkness around her and refused to walk. Will and I took turn to carry her through the walk. Jackson was very excited about the walk. He followed the guide closely and asked lots of questions. We saw many frogs, toads, lighting bugs, tarantulas. The walk was very short but the guide took his time to look for the night creatures. I’ve got bitten so many times at my ankle. The biting bugs were so ferocious here that it costed me several nights of sleep, so definitely prepare long pants or deet next time.
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| Magnificent creature - red-eyed tree frog |
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| Banana trees everywhere! |
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| Mamma Caiman took its baby for a morning stroll |
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| Jackson was impressed by a poisonous blue-jean frog |
We settled the kids back to hotel for a nap. In the afternoon, I had booked Tabacon Hot Springs nine
months ago. It would come with a nice dinner so we could celebrate Will’s birthday there. After the kids
woke up, we were getting ready to leave. I went to our room to get some cash from the safe. And I came
out puzzled and asked Will to come in and help look for it. Will was surprised that I couldn’t even find a
safe in a small bedroom. While we were looking, both of our faces changed. Somebody yanked the safe
out of the wall and took the whole safe. And it had our passports and some cash in it.
months ago. It would come with a nice dinner so we could celebrate Will’s birthday there. After the kids
woke up, we were getting ready to leave. I went to our room to get some cash from the safe. And I came
out puzzled and asked Will to come in and help look for it. Will was surprised that I couldn’t even find a
safe in a small bedroom. While we were looking, both of our faces changed. Somebody yanked the safe
out of the wall and took the whole safe. And it had our passports and some cash in it.
I ran to the reception and told them about it. The lady at the reception thought we couldn’t open the safe
and said someone would come take a look. I was hoping they knew something about it but from the look
on their face, our safe was really gone. I felt hard to breath and raised my voice: Our safe is gone! Gone!
She realized how serious it was and came with me to the room. There were no signs of break in. She
asked me back to the office to write down our time line. When I wrote down the times, I realized the safe
was gone yesterday during our frog tour. When I took Norah home about 7:40pm ahead of the boys, I
noticed the porch light was on. It wasn’t on when I dropped the leftover food at the room at 5:40pm. I
brushed off that thought at the time, thinking I must have turned it on accidentally when I left or it’s
motion sensored only at very dark conditions. In the morning, I also noticed the empty shelf space and
started to put other luggage there without realizing the safe was gone.
and said someone would come take a look. I was hoping they knew something about it but from the look
on their face, our safe was really gone. I felt hard to breath and raised my voice: Our safe is gone! Gone!
She realized how serious it was and came with me to the room. There were no signs of break in. She
asked me back to the office to write down our time line. When I wrote down the times, I realized the safe
was gone yesterday during our frog tour. When I took Norah home about 7:40pm ahead of the boys, I
noticed the porch light was on. It wasn’t on when I dropped the leftover food at the room at 5:40pm. I
brushed off that thought at the time, thinking I must have turned it on accidentally when I left or it’s
motion sensored only at very dark conditions. In the morning, I also noticed the empty shelf space and
started to put other luggage there without realizing the safe was gone.
The lady said she could check the surveillance camera and see what happened during 5:40 to 7:40. She
also thought since the safe was so heavy, there must be more than one person and hard to disguise.
During this commotion, a staff came in and handed her our passports. I jumped up! What?! He explained
in Spanish to the lady. And she told me he found them on the garden floor. He also found my wallet with
my credit cards. The 400$ cash was gone. I texted Will that we found the passports! And asked the
hotel to take a photocopy for all 4 passports. Had we not got back the passports, we had no idea how to
proof our identity to the embassy. We were so trusting our luck these days that we didn’t bring any
photocopies or digital copies. Will was calling the embassy when he got my message. We dodged a
bullet this time.
also thought since the safe was so heavy, there must be more than one person and hard to disguise.
During this commotion, a staff came in and handed her our passports. I jumped up! What?! He explained
in Spanish to the lady. And she told me he found them on the garden floor. He also found my wallet with
my credit cards. The 400$ cash was gone. I texted Will that we found the passports! And asked the
hotel to take a photocopy for all 4 passports. Had we not got back the passports, we had no idea how to
proof our identity to the embassy. We were so trusting our luck these days that we didn’t bring any
photocopies or digital copies. Will was calling the embassy when he got my message. We dodged a
bullet this time.
We were a bit shaken by this time. Both kids were oblivious of what a crisis we were in. We headed to
Tabacon after the scare was over. It was a really nice attraction. Hot spring water flows down the
volcanic rock lined creek, creates waterfalls and many different size pools. It also has water-slide to a
regular swimming pool with a swim up bar. We waded our way up the hot spring creek and showered
under the big and small waterfalls. The dinner buffet was very well planned. It’s a must do activity in
Arenal in our opinion.
Tabacon after the scare was over. It was a really nice attraction. Hot spring water flows down the
volcanic rock lined creek, creates waterfalls and many different size pools. It also has water-slide to a
regular swimming pool with a swim up bar. We waded our way up the hot spring creek and showered
under the big and small waterfalls. The dinner buffet was very well planned. It’s a must do activity in
Arenal in our opinion.
When we came back to the hotel, the lock was changed. I ran to the reception again. They suspected
their own employee as well. Our room had no signs of break-in and the safe seemed to be out of the
wall already. We didn’t find any drywall pieces near the bolt on the wall. I had paid the hotel cash since it
was exactly at $300 for our three night stay. Our suspicion was that people knew we had cash and
planned this robbery. Hotel was very apologetic and gave back our $400 stolen cash. And she said it’s
okay if we chose to stay somewhere else.
their own employee as well. Our room had no signs of break-in and the safe seemed to be out of the
wall already. We didn’t find any drywall pieces near the bolt on the wall. I had paid the hotel cash since it
was exactly at $300 for our three night stay. Our suspicion was that people knew we had cash and
planned this robbery. Hotel was very apologetic and gave back our $400 stolen cash. And she said it’s
okay if we chose to stay somewhere else.
We weren’t thinking about a different hotel. But what she said started me wondering. We no longer felt
safe here and we still had the cash that people targeted. I looked up booking one more night at Andaz
and it was available on awards travel. So we got our one night refunded from Arenal Oasis and changed
our plan the next day.
safe here and we still had the cash that people targeted. I looked up booking one more night at Andaz
and it was available on awards travel. So we got our one night refunded from Arenal Oasis and changed
our plan the next day.
Friday we drove to Arenal National Park to hike their peninsula trail. It is a flat trail to the lake shore that
fits Norah’s age. Arenal Volcano was covered in cloud again and there was scattered showers. We went
down the steps to see the monkeys the park ranger told us about. Monkeys make tree branches snap
and it was easy to spot once we knew the patterns. There were two spider monkeys foraging at the
treetop. It’s easy to identify them since they had orange fur. We also saw a toucan on one of the trees.
After the hiked, we had our picnic lunch at the park entrance and headed towards our beach portion of
our vacation.
fits Norah’s age. Arenal Volcano was covered in cloud again and there was scattered showers. We went
down the steps to see the monkeys the park ranger told us about. Monkeys make tree branches snap
and it was easy to spot once we knew the patterns. There were two spider monkeys foraging at the
treetop. It’s easy to identify them since they had orange fur. We also saw a toucan on one of the trees.
After the hiked, we had our picnic lunch at the park entrance and headed towards our beach portion of
our vacation.
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| Our family photo at the end of Peninsula trail |
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| Monkeying around |
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