Greetings from Costa Rica !!

[moonpie23]

on a spectacular adventure in this beautiful country ! first stop - Peace Lodge , right outside of San Jose. amazing lodge / waterfall gardens with animal preserve (illegal animals confiscated by authorities, but cannot be returned to the wild). aviary, butterfly room, monkeys, big cats, humming birds.

second day, up to Areanal volcano. more pics later 🙂04B247E5-E466-4461-BAE1-3B169A51EF6E.jpg12BCAA3F-C21F-471A-963C-3944522E445D.jpgC0E89DCA-2F5B-4DF0-ABF8-40E702C6A15A.jpg96D6EDB3-293F-497C-B67C-F663B90C4A03.jpgB92DD544-7643-45AD-A75C-B99D0D005B5E.jpg

[moonpie23]

amazing stuff every day 8B18A1B0-BD00-4397-8B36-D34F076C9E0E.jpgF229630C-2B71-4D71-8E4F-542888EC1063.jpg

[moonpie23]

3rd day drive from La Fortuna to Monte Verde. 4 hours. the 11 miles of unpaved road into Monte Verde was littered with rock slide items as big as cars. almost all rental cars here are 4 wheel drive and for good reason.

the countryside is spectacular. food and residents as wonderful as all the tales we had heard. it’s living up to the hype.

today, hiking in the monte verde biological reserve. The hotel that we are staying at recommends that you close your windows and veranda doors at night because the monkeys will come in and steal your stuff . we see monkey scampering in the trees outside the hotel.

[YmoBeThere]

So, does it make sense that more Americans are retiring there?

[HereBeforeCoachK]

So, does it make sense that more Americans are retiring there?

Yes, it does, although it's getting more and more expensive. In many areas, almost all the locals speak English, and very few of the ex Pats learn Spanish. That's very different from, say, Nicaragua (borders CR).

I owned a hotel in Nica about 15 km from Costa Rica border for a couple of years. It is beautiful area.

[BD80]

Haven't mentioned the diving ...

[moonpie23]

i think that's coming up... MRS moonpie has it all planned out...

[HereBeforeCoachK]

i think that's coming up... MRS moonpie has it all planned out...

Costa Rica has great diving on the Caribbean of course, but also a few spots on the Pacific that are awesome too. And heck, it's a tiny country....can get to both coasts easily.

[duketaylor]

for a week at Dreams Resort in the very nw of the country, close to Nic. It was amazing. All-inclusive on the Pacific. Wasn't happy the sit-in bar didn't open til 4 every day, so had to embibe at the pool or restaurants (not the worst alternatives). Met several Brits and had fun talking with them, especially about politics, both theirs and ours and perspectives about both.
I didn't venture off-property, but the wife and kids went to Nic one day to visit volcanoes, zipline and go to a rain-forest. I fished that day, catching 5 roosterfish. I think my forearms still hurt.
Fun week, for sure.

Shark week starts in 40 minutes, can"t wait!!

Keep your eyes open Moon!!! And enjoy!!

[moonpie23]

70C4698E-358E-4A40-9541-ECD0B5B77EE2.jpg


already had a duke grad and duke fan comment on my 2015 championship T.

nice to be known around the globe.


8 hr drive today from Monteverde to Golfito. the last 14 nike stretch was one of the most difficult roads i’ve ever encountered. it was taking us about 20 mins + per mile, until someone passed us and i realized it was taking so long because i was driving the car �� like it was mine. once i remembered it wasn’t, we made much better time. i had to use the 4 WD to forge 3 different large streams. it was exciting, but kind of scary thinking that i was going to have to deal with the rental car �� company about THEIR car that washed away!!

we finally arrived at bosque del cabo, which ONLY had wifi at the bar, (brilliant on their part) however, when i sit on the porch of our cabina, i’ve got 1 1/2 bars of 3g phone service

more photos later

[Reisen]

You're basically retracing our Honeymoon, which we took back in 2006. We hit the Peace Lodge in Monteverde, Bosque del Cabo, and added 5 nights at the Four Seasons in Peninsula Papagayo, and 4 nights at Morgan's Rock in Nicaragua. Every place was different from the last, and we loved all of them.

Enjoy Bosque! We took surfing lessons and did a ton of hiking there.

[OldPhiKap]

Looks like a great trip, have fun!