The newest lodge in the Tortuguero National Park is the Hotel Manatus, located about 4½-5 hrs on bus then boat from San Jose.The lodge has only been operating for 3 months. The construction was finished back in June 2006, after about 1½ years of constructing and building, but is now fully operational.
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Recently I had the opportunity to visit a new hotel called Corteza Amarilla, Located just 15 minutes from Juan Santamaria International Airport and 12 minutes from San Jose Downtown, built in a 4500 square meter property, and with a unique type of architecture mixing Art Noveau, Deco, Barroque and some oriental influence.
I drove three and a half hours from San Jose down to Dominical, though San Isidro. Dominical is located in the South of Costa Rica, in a highly well paved recommended scenic mountain roads. This scenic drive makes the trip very pleasant. San Isidro is a popular town, with all kind of stores for your necessities.
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Today, the second day of my trip, I drove down to Dominical, en route stopping off at Matapalo to see the Bahari Beach Bungalows (www.baharibeach.com). This is a joint venture between the Boshoffs and a European couple, and many guests at Rafiki finish off their trip with a 2-3 night stay at Bahari. I could see why. There are 4 walk-in tents, similar in style to those at Rafiki with their own spacious bathroom, that cluster round a pool and look right on to the long Matapalo beach. Unlike Manuel Antonio, where beaches can be pretty crowded at weekends and the high season, you are likely to have most of the Matapalo beach to yourself. So you can relax at heart’s content. And you can also do any of the available activities, such as horse riding along the beach or into the hills, taking a trip to Manuel Antonio, going on the canopy tour at Hacienda Baru, or visiting the Nayauca waterfalls. Read the rest of this entry »
If you avoid rain and traffic, which I somehow managed to, the trip down to Quepos is really very attractive and very changeable. 3 hours to Quepos was pretty good going considering I was going at sightseeing pace.
Neither Quepos nor Manuel Antonio was the destination. I was heading on towards Dominical, first checking out Rafiki Safari Lodge. Well before Quepos, though, I saw an intriguing sign for Xandari Lodge. Read the rest of this entry »
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What could we see in just 3 1/2 full days, arriving around 10 on a Tuesday morning and leaving same time Saturday? Bocas del Toro is an archipelago with 9 islands, 52 cayes and over 200 islets, so we expected distances would be too great to see much. Surprisingly my wife and I ended up with quite a good idea of the place - and the desire to head back and see the balance! Read the rest of this entry »
Our trip continues…..
RETAIL THERAPY
Fuelled up by a fantastic al fresco breakfast at Casas Brancas we decided it was time to bend some plastic. The shopping in Buzios is classy and eclectic - a far better option than Ipanema and even more scenic - centred around the cobbled main drag Rua das Pedras with views straight out to sea and pathways down to the golden sand beach. Read the rest of this entry »
During this Easter week (April 2006), our family had the pleasure of staying at some friend’s house in Guacima (Carribean plains of Costa Rica). We had a great time, while we enjoyed, fishing, bike riding in small rural roads, bathing in fresh water streams, and more…. Read the rest of this entry »
Hope you’re all well wherever you may be, from the South Pacific to the US and India to Costa Rica…!
Well, a fair amount has happened since my last mail 2 weeks ago so be prepared for a long mail… From Chiloe we travelled South down the Carretera Austral, hitchhiking. That in itself was quite interesting as only about 3 cars per day travel down that road so you have to be prepared to wait in the middle of nowhere for a long time. We ended up getting a lift in a police car first (never thought i’d end up in the back seat of a CHilean police car that quickly) which took us all of 20 km (our target for that day was 300km) and left us stranded in the smallest village i’ve ever seen. We ended up talking to the kids from the school (who had a lunch break from 11 to 3 (!)) and they told us they have dancing lessons and there are 14 children of different ages all being taught by the one and only teacher in the valley. Sounded chaotic! Read the rest of this entry »
The saga continues….
BRAZIL´S SAN TROPEZ
A 3 hour drive from Rio brought us to Buzios - a fishing village made world famous in the 60´s when Brigitte Bardot paid a visit. Now it attracts the smart set from all over the world and the only place to lay your hat and bikini is where we´re staying: Pousada Casas Brancas.
