Costa Rica - January 2009
After landing at the San Jose airport, we hopped in a private taxi for the long ride out to Playa Carillo. We didn't get much to eat on the plane so we asked the driver to stop some where for food.
Imperial is one of the local Costa Rican beers.
The restaurant had an open kitchen in the front.
Amy, our excellent trip coordinator. :)
We thought we were going to just get a quick bite to eat and eat dinner when we arrived in Playa Carillo. It turned out that we struggled too much with the Spanish menu, even with a Spanish-English dictionary, so we ended up getting full entrees.
Black beans, tortillas, and plantains seem to be very common in the local cuisine.
We stayed at the Hotel Esperanza for the first night. This hotel currently only has seven rooms; all of which are at ground level. All the rooms look out onto the courtyard with the pool.
The hotel manager, Erwin, was extremely helpful. On the first night, he arranged a snorkeling trip for us in the morning and pedicures at the pool for Yan and Amy. The next day, after finding out how expensive the cab fare was to and from the wedding hotel, we decided to rent a car. Erwin set everything up for us.
They recommended that we get an SUV. You'll see why later! We ended up with a Suzuki Grand Vitara.
This photo was actually taken the next day while Amy and Yan got their pedicures.
Some of the tropical flowers growing by the pool.
There was also a star fruit tree near the pool.
Unfortunately, we didn't get to Punta Islita, the wedding hotel (rated as the best hotel according to many travel publications), until around 3pm. With the wedding scheduled to start at 4, we did not have much free time to see the resort's attractions such as the infinite pool. This is the king size bed. From this photo, it looks like the bed dominates the room, but there is actually quite a lot of space.
The room's hammock and jacuzzi outside the room as well as the view of the Pacific Ocean. Just past the jacuzzi, there is a steep drop off down to the ocean. This area offers complete privacy for the room's occupants.
In fact, the entire resort is located on a hill above the Pacific.
A view of the room's patio. Looks like a great place to relax, doesn't it?
Vivian's sister was her flower girl. She took her job very seriously.
Vivian and her father making their entrance.
The newlyweds. They make such a happy couple.
The wedding invitation stated that guests should dress "Tommy Bahama" style.
This shot was actually taken shortly before the ceremony. We had just taken our seats.
Amy and Yan showing off their $6 pedicures.
The reception was held in an outdoor area just off the beach. Dave promised that the flower vases would be used for tequila later.
After the reception, Ronald, one of the family members of the resort and also one of the resort architects, invited everyone over to his home. His house had a gigantic outdoor entertaining area.
This house was featured in Architectural Digest which was on the coffee table.
A closer look at the found trees used to support the roof. Maria, Ronald's wife and an architect as well, told us that the trees were found in the area. It took them less than a year to find enough dead trees to support the roof.
The outdoor dining table was made out of two pieces of teak.
Imagine the whole outdoor living area is facing the ocean. WOW!
The kitchen.
A wider view of the home's outdoor living area.
The entry hallway to the indoor portion of the home.
Even the powder room had a unique look!
I tried the hammock out before we left to pick up a GPS for the rental car back at the Hotel Esperanza.
On the way back from Hotel Punta Islita, we took some video of the road conditions. This is a big water filled ditch. It's actually deeper than the river that we crossed a little later.
This is the river that you have to cross between Hotel Punta Islita and Playa Carillo. It wasn't very deep, but during the wet season, it's probably a bit more difficult to cross.
Taking a quick walk in the Pacific at Playa Carillo.
Amy got her feet wet.
The beach (Playa Carillo) before leaving for the Arenal volcano area (photo taken by someone with wet feet).
Our hotel room at the Mountain Paradise Hotel in La Fortuna.
We were lucky to find the hotel. We relied on GPS to get us from Playa Castillo to La Fortuna. It worked fine for the long trip, but it was totally wrong about the hotel. When we were minutes away from the hotel, the GPS was telling us it was over 30 minutes away.
Luckily, we decided to go to the Tabacon hot springs before going to the hotel to save time. When we made a u-turn to go back to Tabacon, we saw a sign for the hotel.
We stayed in room 108.
Some of the tropical vegetation growing on the hotel grounds. The roofs all supported their own eco-systems!
Unfortunately, the clouds you see in the sky did not go away during our stay, so we didn't get to see the lava on the volcano.
First time I had a bed with drapes.
The bathroom actually had two showers. The one on the left is a waterfall shower and the one on the right simulates falling rain. Notice the ivy growing in the waterfall shower area. There was also a small plot of earth underneath the sink with more ivy growing there.
The hotel white rabbit.
The rabbit was quite tame. I'm maybe four feet away when I took this photo.
Our guide, Rudolpho, at the butterfly conservatory in La Castillo.
Butterfly eggs placed on the underside of a leaf.
A look at the inside of one of the butterfly exhibits.
The glasswing butterfly. Its wings are transparent.
A closer look at the glasswing butterfly. It is called "mirror" butterfly in Spanish.
I was surprised that Rudolpho held this glasswing butterfly. At the butterfly gardens around DC, they don't want any one to touch the butterflies to protect their wings.
