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April 1-2, 2023 Epilogue (or SJO-MIA-CLT-IAD)

We hope that in short order, we’ll look back fondly on our trip and not think about the agonizing journey home. It was a full - seriously long, FULL – two days of travel starting with a pleasant, early drive from Monteverde to San Jose, with Olgar, from our drive to Monteverde, and Juan Carlos. We even had a stop on the side of the road to observe a howler monkey family.

We checked-in for our American Airlines flight from San Jose to Charlotte, where we’d connect to DC. Only once checked-in, we learned that the flight was delayed. It wound up being the first of four delays on day 1 of our return. Because most people had connections they would miss, every passenger on the plane wound up clambering to be rescheduled, at first individually at various AA desks, then all together at a gate assigned to the task. We had our turn at the desk – were minutes from being rescheduled (!) on a different airline – only to have the AA attendants shut down the process and direct us all to reenter Costa Rica through immigration/customs, pick up our bags (note to selves — only duffels with wheels next time), get in line to rebook our connecting flights for day 2, retrieve hotel/food vouchers from AA, and proceed to the Crowne Plaza on shuttle busses for the night. Turns out the incoming flight was arriving the next day, so our flight was going to be delayed until the next day. Good Grief!! We divided and conquered – Sebbie collecting luggage and Jillebob heading up to the ticketing desk to get in line for re-booking. By the time she got to the front of the line, Seb joined her. We successfully (we thought successfully - more on that to come) re-booked the Charlotte-DC connections for our morning flight on day 2. We sprung for a taxi – finding what turned out to be a decent “official” driver in the sea of aggressive sheisters we’d been warned about. We got to the hotel before yet another line formed for check-in by everyone on the flight who took a shuttle. Dinner – a buffet – was marginal — a real let down after 2 ½ weeks of food that ranged from quite good to excellent. Sometime in the evening, Seb realized from an AA email that the attendant had only re-booked Jillebob’s connecting flight for day 2, even though he looked us in the eye and told us that we were rebooked together. Seb spent ages in the hotel in an online chat with AA customer support. The rep was courteous enough, but a response of “sorry for the inconvenience” is more than inadequate for having been lied to!!!! In the end, there was nothing the rep could do: all flights/all airlines from Charlotte to DC were reportedly full at that point. At least the hotel managed the large, last-minute influx of patrons well, even giving us a wake-up call (not requested). We were already up, and again took a taxi back to the airport to beat the masses from our flight and get our situation resolved before the agents were worn down by what promised to be a long morning of dealing with irate people.

Back at SJO on day 2, the first rep was super nice, checked us in and managed to get Seb on a United flight that got in later than Jill, but at least before the midnight arrival she was slated for. Oops, then when flight delays started again and it wasn’t clear she’d make the sweet booking she’d landed the day before, Jill had to rebook to a later Charlotte to DC flight. Then, several delays later, Seb had to re-book because she’d miss her re-booked United flight. United couldn’t do it, so another on-line chat with AA resulted in us being back on the same Charlotte to DC flight. In the end, we lost track of how many delays there were: an hour here, 90 minutes there…. Finally, the plane for the flight out of San Jose arrived, with added chaos of two AA 1248 flights: one on-time for April 2 and another one delayed from April 1, also leaving on April 2 — both listed on the departure board within minutes of each other. There’s humor in here somewhere. We lined up – again - and once on-board, doors closed, they announced that our destination was Miami. It almost felt like being kidnapped. It wasn’t clear whether the same plane would continue to Charlotte or whether we’d go through immigration/customs in Miami and have to figure out getting to Charlotte. On touchdown, one flight attendant welcomed us to Miami and wished us well for our connecting flights. SERIOUSLY!?!?!? Finally sorted by the airline, while we were still on the plane, we all put our bags back in the overhead bins; they brought on a fresh crew (we had to land in Miami because the last crew had reached the FAA’s flying duration limit); and shortly after, we took off again. All things considered, as grumpy as many of us were, we and our fellow passengers were pretty calm about the outrageous situation. Well, all but the few who had gone ahead and rebooked to Miami connections only to not be let off the plane.

Passing through immigration/customs in Charlotte was remarkably quick and easy. We were both a little disappointed that we did not get to use our Global Entry, just a quick wave through by a border agent. A short wait to board in Charlotte and 55 minutes later, we landed at Dulles. The events of these two days will fade and we’ll be left with memories of tortoises, sea turtles, sloths, tarantulas, an array of birds, among others and great experiences across the equator and back.

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March 31, 2023 Monteverde, Costa Rica

It’s hard to believe that our trip has come to an end. We agree that it’s been like three vacations in one, each unique and wonderful: Glapagos, Equador/The Passion; Osa Penninsula, Costa Rica/Copa de Arbol; Monteverde, Costa Rica/Senda. How lucky are we?

Up and at ‘em, coffee in the room, and just as we were about to head to breakfast, a full rainbow across the sky. Somehow, it felt like a good sign. There was a touch of mist in the air. With a mostly blue sky, it must be some sort of slight cloudiness we were walking through.

Off we went for our last day, hopeful that it would be a good one. It was the best, best, best way to wrap up our trip. Off down a bumpy dirt road we headed, across the Continental Divide, headed toward the Atlantic and up, up, up into the clouds. Our destination was something higher than 5000ft. Our first activity was a hanging bridge nature walk. It was only drizzling when we started off into the mist, and the duration of the walk alternated between mist, drizzle, and bona fide rain. It did not deter. No stinkin’ raincoats for us; we’re tough. (In reality, when we remembered raincoats walking from our room to reception, we had been too lazy to walk back up the hill to the room!) There were ten suspension bridges at varying heights and various lengths with long sections of a paved path in between them. The first one or two bridges were a little scary to traverse, then the heights and slight swinging of the bridges became old hat. The views were amazing, even if visibility was often limited due to the rain and clouds. At times, we were at a level that put us within the trees. In other places, we meandered above the canopy. It’s such a different perspective. This truly felt like a rainforest. The foliage was dense, lush, and glistening from the wetness. So many of the leaves seemed oversized; the ferns gigantic. As is typical, Oscar pointed out plants (even one small orchid that still had its flowers after all the wind since we’ve been here) and kept his eyes peeled for creatures and birds. There were plenty of cool birds, even if seeing them was a little challenging between fog, rain and swinging. We even saw two more quetzals, but not nearly as clear of viewing as yesterday. There were two highlights of the walk: a tarantula hiding in a hole (she, likely) dug in the side of the mountain; and a hummingbird nest. WOW. We waited by the hummingbird nest for mama to return, allowing a bunch of loud people to pass by. Our patience was rewarded when mama came back, fed her babies, perched to warm them, and then when more loud people came by, stretched her neck high in the air to check out the goings on. Such amazing behavior to observe! Oscar’s sense of humor was with us the entire walk, as was his sensitivity to showing US the coolest things and not going out of his way to share with passers-by who had not hired a guide and who were often busy chatting loudly and not even paying attention to the nature around them. Hiring a guide – so, so, so worth it.

Our next activity was zip-lining: an add-on to the original plan. We were both a bit nervous about it but it was something we had each thought about doing over the years. This was the time. We really didn’t know what to expect until we were in the middle of it. It was a series of 13 zip lines, two of which were tandem. Oscar had recommended that we get ponchos lest we get our clothes covered in oil and rust, so we each bought one – good call, as our faces were covered with muck when we were done. We were outfitted – a pretty efficient operation, given the volume of people going through – and then loaded into a minivan to get to our first launch site. Who knew we had to hike up to the first site? Huffing and puffing we reached it and then had to wait for a large group of folks to amass for the safety/instruction briefing. As with the suspension bridges, the first one or two zips were a bit nerve-wracking, but then it was sheer fun! Through and over the tree canopy, tucking our legs so as not to hit trees. – a major rush! In between some of the zip lines were more mini-hikes on concrete paths. Naturally, having just zipped, these paths were all uphill to again get to an elevated starting point. Ugh. (It’s true what learned day one, that everything is uphill in Monteverde.) The tandems were really the most fun, not only because we were together, but they were the longest stretches. No need to execute any of the emergency procedures we learned in the briefing; we wrapped up, totally satisfied with the afternoon.

Roy drove us back to town, famished at this point, and Oscar took us to a local bar for lunch. We had a beer and chifrijo: a super-tasty bowl of rice, beans, pork and tomatoes with delicious broth, served with tortilla chips.

We had expected time to chill in the afternoon, but we only had an hour or so (!) until it was again time to take off for our final excursion: another night walk. Oscar was as excited as we were to go to a site that he’d not been to before (Irene booked it for us). It was good. Our guide, Daniella, was quite knowledgeable, was attentive and did some good spotting. We wandered for about 90 minutes through a maze of paths, losing any semblance of sense of direction. We intersected with other groups, with the various guides letting each other know when they saw an interesting creature. We saw a two-toed sloth pulling himself around in the trees, an owl, a beautiful butterfly, a few fun frogs, a few venomous snakes — an eyelash pit viper and another pit viper (thankfully, in the trees at a good distance), a few sleeping birds (heads not visible because they were tucked under their wings, another taranchula, and a bunch of bugs with quite amazing camouflage. It’s a very different view of the creatures of the forest. Well done, Daniella!

Back at the Senda, exhausted, Oscar endeavored to airdrop all of the photos he’d taken with and of us, while we ordered a drink and churros at the bar (dinner). After much effort, he managed to get them sent. Alas, with compatibility issues, we have yet to make them accessible to both of us but we’ll persevere.

A little packing wrapped up our day and indeed our trip. It’s been another amazing adventure. Tomorrow will be a long travel day. Sunday will be unpacking laundry, thanking friends who looked out for things for us (Jillebob: thanks Liz and Shirin), seeing Fergie (Seb: yay), and most importantly starting to digest the memories that we have made.

Finally, a shoutout to Irene and GreenSpot Travel. She planned a perfect visit to Costa Rica that whetted our appetites for exploring more of this beautiful country.

Pura Vida!

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March 31, 2023

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March 30, 2023 Monteverde, Costa Rica

Awoke to a view of clouds in the distance – though not the genesis of the Cloud Forest name. With a 9:00 AM start, we took our time rousing and headed down for a made-to-order breakfast: nice to be in a hotel without a breakfast buffet. Afterwards, we got ready back in the room and met Oscar and Roy, our driver, to head to the Curi Cancha Reserve (one of multiple private reserves in the area). We checked-in and even before we headed into the reserve, Oscar, calling us over with his normal affectionate “chicas,” gave us fantastic context about the Quaker influences in Costa Rica, and Monteverde specifically, and the genesis of the conservation movement here – fascinating. That while looking out at the hill across and the multitude of colorful humming birds on the bushes right in front of us. Despite the fact that they’re elusive, speedy little creatures, Jillebob managed to get a good pic!

As we started in on the trails, Oscar quickly heard from another guide about something ahead. We asked what, and he said something to the effect of “oh, some birds – two kinds” so as not to disappoint us if they were gone by the time we got there. He did not disappoint. There was a gathering of 25 people or so, huddled in small groups, gazing up at an avocado tree, pointing cameras, binoculars and large scopes like the one Oscar carried. There were hushed moments, interspersed with ohhs and ahhs, interspersed with talk about the birds in rather hushed tones, followed by everyone repositioning for new views. Everyone seemed respectful, giving each other space to see the quetzals. OMG! Neither of us came into this being bird people, but it’s impossible not to be awe’d by their beauty. Vibrant blues and greens with dark red and white on the breast, long flowing feathers in back and a mohawk on top. Simply stunning! The wind was, as usual, wild and when they were well within the tree leaves it was a matter of finding a glint of the bright emerald green to spot them among the green of the leaves. We alternated simply looking into the tree, using binoculars for close-ups, trying for a good photo, and looking though Oscar’s scope. The coolest thing is that Oscar had a gizmo to attach his phone to his scope. From that, we could see close ups through the phone’s camera and he was able to use it to take photos. It was still fun to try to get “the shot,” but so nice knowing that we’d have his photos regardless. Oscar was clearly enjoying himself as much as we were, and encouraged us to stay as long as we wanted. Another apparently good sighting was a crested guan whose speckled body was quite interesting but whose beauty paled in comparison to the quetzals. It was great to have the time to really observe the magnificent birds, and even see them fly a few times; it is, after all, mating season and they have to show off!

Finally, on we went and saw two more beautifully colored birds: a Lesson’s motmot posing on a “Don’t Feed the Wildlife” sign, also lovely blues and greens, and a collared trogon, whose orange was something new. Other creatures we saw (“friends” as Oscar called the wildlife of Monteverde) as we meandered up and down the trails: a large millipede; coati’s, racoon-like creatures with the strangest shape pointy nose with a flat end to sniff the ground; and an agouti (well-spotted Jillebob), the same creature we saw yesterday at the hotel. Oscar was a font of knowledge about both flora and fauna, clearly passionate about it all. His hope is that he will plant the seed of conservation with each tourist he guides. And he’ll be happy, if sometime in the future when they assume conservation practices, they think it’s something they thought of on their own! What a wonderful morning!

On the way back, we stopped at a women’s co-op with a mix of sort of kitchy things and quite lovely ones, most hand-made. Lunch was at a little local café at the back, with fresh fruit juices (blackberry for Jillebob; guava for Seb) and a tasty, thick corn tortilla topped with beans , shredded lettuce and tomato. Roy and Oscar dropped us at another craft place and we walked back to the hotel from there (a very short walk to the long steep driveway). Back at the room, we chilled before heading off again.

Our afternoon excursion was a three-part demonstration at a coffee plantation. Well, it used to be mostly a coffee plantation; now it does some of that, but does a good business of coffee/chocolate/sugar cane tours. Our guide, Ross was entertaining and the tour was fun and educational. There were a few kids in our group who Ross had participate in some of the demonstrations. It included chocolate making/tasting demonstrations (yum) and sugar cane juice tasting (sweet, but not at all exciting). And in the margins of the tour, Oscar entertained us further with everything from silly faces to playing with a bug who was walking around the demo of drying coffee beans. Fun facts we didn’t know: moisture is added to the coffee roasting process and coffee bean drying on raised racks copied from chocolate bean drying practices have accelerated the production process (slightly) without compromising quality. Of course, the overall pitch was that Costa Rican chocolate and coffee production using traditional methods are superior to volume-produced products every else in the world. At the end, we had a taste of honey coffee (yum); “moonshine” which was reminiscent of mouthwash; and hot chocolate that was to die for. Love all the nature we’ve been immersed in for two weeks, but this was a nice change.

Back at the room again, we had a short break over a glass of grape juice, and then off to Jillebob’s birthday dinner. Having a driver at our beck and call to get us to the restaurant – oh so nice. Allison’s was such a nice experience. Allison and a waiter were there. Not a lot of business; they’re only five months open and a bit out of town, presumably still unknown. The service was wonderful, chicken delish and we’re hopeful they get more well-known in the coming days/weeks/months.

The end of our penultimate day in paradise.

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March 30, 2023

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March 29, 2023 Monteverde, Costa Rica

Little airports are the best. Our departure was, of course, by boat with six other people checking out. On landing to transfer to a van to the airport, the staff had water and towels at the ready to wipe off our sandy feet. Yay. The same bumpy ride to the tiny airport, check-in with weighing (bags, plus each of us), a short wait and we were off in another 12-seater. The flight was great – more viewing of the terrain, even if the wind made for a white knuckle landing. The plane was early – why wait if everyone is there already and the plane is ready to go. Thankfully, our Greenspot transport-guide was there already and off we went with him and a driver. The road headed out of town was not particularly scenic, but the fruit and veggie stands were fascinating. Further out of town it got more scenic. Olgar, the guide, was a bit difficult to understand, but quite knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the trees and other foliage! The drive – about three hours in total – was most interesting as we started uphill. The air started to change and the wind picked up. After being moist for over 1 ½ weeks (read moist as the range of slight perspiration to rivers of sweat!!), this is ever so refreshing! The higher we got, the cooler. No humidity. Ahhhhhhh. The views too, toward the Colorado Gulf out to the Pacific are lovely. But nothing beats the view from our room (more on that shortly). The hotel greeting was warm and friendly, with a refreshing sugar cane drink. Our room wasn’t ready so we headed downtown, a bit confused by the info we had received from Irene (our Costa Rica tour organizer from GreenSpot) and what Olgar had told us (minimal) about the coming days. We stopped for a delish lunch at a chocolate café (ok, yes, we had to have desert) where we reached out to Irene via WhatsApp (the world outside the US, it seems, is all WhatsApp all the time). And finally we connected with Oscar, who will be our guide for the next two days. OMG – he’s great, and made any angst over what was going on dissipate within minutes. We coordinated on our schedule, added a few things of interest, got a bunch of info, and he drove us back uphill (“everything in Montaverde is uphill”) to the Hotel Senda.

This resort hotel is a wonderful surprise. It’s really a quite extensive compound with duplex cottages tucked into the landscape – a mountainous version of the Copa. Some look out onto lovely foliage; our room and balcony thankfully have a panoramic view to the Colorado Gulf, wonderful space inside and a beautiful bathroom. Spoiled again. We wandered around a bit exploring the grounds and spotted a few strange unidentified rodent/squirrel kind of creatures, running around and then munching on something dropped from a bush. The landscaping is beautiful, with nature paths and a coffee plantation on the property. Love this place!

We stayed at the hotel for dinner. First a glass of wine on our balcony while FaceTime-ing with Janet and blogging. The sun went down over an adjacent hill rather than directly in front of us, and the red/orange glow on the horizon after it went down was stunning. This, to the sound of the wild wind in lieu of the crashing surf. Dinner was really good, the most amazing part being the vegetarian ceviche appetizer. OMG – must try this at home! Ever since Olgar had told us that his son is a bartender at our hotel, Jill has asked several staff at the Senda bar/restaurant area if they’re Olgar’s son. They all looked at her as if she had three heads. Sebbie discouraged her from continuing this quest and then, as fate would have it, Gabriel, our server at dinner, asked if we were the ones who arrived with his father! Victory! The funniest part was Jillebob then finding at least one of the folks who had given her a blank stare to convince him that she wasn’t nuts. Back to the toasty warm room (it got cold out there!) and to bed….

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March 29, 2023

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March 29, 2023