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pura vida: the hanging bridges of arenal
After the whirlwind that has been these past few weeks, I think it’s about time for some Pura Vida. Let’s catch up on our Costa Rica adventures and head back to Arenal, shall we? Though we wished we had stayed elsewhere, I stand by my advice to still include the Arenal area in your itinerary. You just really don’t need to spend more than two days exploring the area. After our first day lounging at the spa and sweating it out in the hot springs, we signed up for a hanging bridge tour. We couldn’t wait to explore the rainforest…
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pura vida: luxury shmuxury
If Finca Rosa Blanca was the best surprise of our trip, Tabacon Grand Spa Thermal Resort was the biggest. Prior to the trip, this was our “luxury” stop. Based on everything we read, I was positive I’d be disappointed that we were leaving Arenal and Tabacon after just two short nights. The biggest draw of Tabacon is very clearly the hot springs and the adjoining world-class spa. Our last hot springs experience was in Santorini and it didn’t result in the lux relaxation we had hoped for… we had literally jumped off a pirate ship into lukewarm muddy water that…
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pura vida: one night in bedrock
As you may have noticed, the hubs and I don’t really stay in one place when we travel. I blame it on New York. If we can live in four different apartments in five years, then why can’t we stay in five different hotels over the course of ten days? The first hotel of our Costa Rican getaway was Finca Rosa Blanca. Having just googled a literal translation, I’m pretty confused as to why it’s telling me this means “white rose farm” in Spanish. In reality, Finca Rosa Blanca is a coffee plantation. Also, there is a very real chance…
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making a case for driving in costa rica
Having successfully driven us through Florence and around the Tuscan countryside, shared the road with wild horses in Vieques, and navigated the streets of Manhattan in a bright yellow Mini Cooper, I fully trust the hubs’s driving skills. But when we told people that we would be driving ourselves from San Jose to Arenal to Quepos and back, I’ll admit– their “Wait, WHAT? You’re DRIVING?” reactions made me question my faith, just a little bit. Worse than the reactions were the first-person horror stories, including one about a scam involving popped tires and literal highway robbery. I think it’s fair to…
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pura vida yes, panama no // 10 days in costa rica
Why, hello! The rumors are true. I am officially back from ten days in Costa Rica. After an action packed week of adventure travel, it’s official: I lived to tell the tale. As you may recall, originally, our plan was seven days in Costa Rica and three days in Bocas del Toro, Panama. Alas, this was not our reality. Things turned out more than ok, but first, a warning: Nature Air is a cockamamie airline with cockamamie rules. On the day of our flight, we woke up at 4 AM and dragged ourselves to the Tobias Bolaños International Airport. Once there,…
