Rainforest Getaway

On a recent trip to Costa Rica, Joan Whitaker discovered volcanoes, baby turtles, and jungle thrills. And did she mention it was raining?

By Joan Whitaker

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Arenal is Costa Rica's only active volcano.

My husband, Gary, and I enjoy traveling over Thanksgiving when rates drop and temps cool. In the past we’ve typically chosen a European city to visit. But as we sat down to plan, the weak dollar against the euro backed us off. As we were discussing possibilities, I recalled a conversation I had with Dr. Carl Price a couple of years ago. Carl and his family had just returned from an eco-adventure trip to Costa Rica, and he raved about what a great time they had. I mentioned this to Gary, and he said Costa Rica and eco-adventure sounded like a good change of pace. Plus, Central America is still affordable, and since I’m notoriously cheap, it was a good option.

We signed up for a group tour with Caravan Tours. We’ve always preferred to go it alone, but since we’d never been to Central America, we copped out and decided to do the group thing. Traveling for 10 days with 39 strangers was an adventure in itself. We went with Caravan Tours for two reasons. One: the itinerary. Two: the price. The itinerary was to take us from coast to coast. Our reasoning was we’d get to see the majority of the country in a short amount of time, which is the primary convenience of group travel. Caravan fulfilled our expectations. The price was amazingly affordable, as it included all hotels, transportation, meals and a 24/7 guide: the ever-fabulous Anita.

Our first night is in San Jose, the capital and only major city, located in the central plateau. The next morning under gray, rainy skies, we board the motor coach to go see the Poás Volcano. Since we had arrived very late the night before, this is our first look at the terrain. As we leave San Jose behind, we drive through acre after acre of coffee plantations dotted with villages. Arriving at Poás Volcano’s visitor center gets us all excited as we gear up for our first outing. We don hats, rain ponchos, bug repellent, cameras and binoculars. It is raining so hard, and the wind is blowing so strong that not everyone in the group wants to make the mile hike to the rim of Poás. I tell Gary I didn’t come all this way to wimp out, so off we go. Of course, with the wind and rain, we can’t see a thing since the whole volcanic lake and rim are covered in clouds. No problem. There are postcards in the visitors center, and at least we can say we made the effort.

We stop for lunch at a little road-side café with a beautiful view of the central valley and San Jose. This is our second meal of the day with rice and black beans. Little do we know that rice and beans will be served three times a day, every day for the next week. Not that there aren’t other things to eat. Food is plentiful and very good, but rice and beans are the staple. Luckily, we both like rice and beans and we discover a Costa Rican hot sauce that spices them up nicely.

Returning to our hotel, we set out to explore the city a bit. We don’t get far because we discover the Nashville Bar right around the corner. Nashville is owned by expat Chris Wood, and as you might imagine with a name like Nashville, it draws a lot of Americans. We chat with Chris and others, swapping stories and getting tips on what to see and do. After dinner, we hit the hay early because tomorrow is a “bags out at 5:30 a.m., breakfast at 6” call.

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