Page 41 - issue
P. 41
Costa Rica 33
passed through some tall bulrushes, which gave me the feel
of being in a jungle. The whole hike took about two hours.
On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the Rio Fortuna
River, and sat by the rapids to chill out.
◆◆◆
The next day, we said goodbye to our little paradise,
picked up the Igloo filled with our food from the hotel’s
fridge (it was already beginning to spoil), and were ready for
the five-hour trip to the southwestern part of the country.
The Manuel Antonio area had a national park and the
Pacific coastline. Our destination was the Karahe Hotel
near the town of Quepos, and I was grateful that the GPS
was behaving itself and doing its job. (I just entered
“Karahe Hotel.”) The drive took us through winding moun-
tain roads and through sleepy little towns and villages. It
seemed to be siesta-time everywhere.
The view was great. We passed over one bridge with a
lot of cars parked on the roadside, and I thought they were
just there to do some fishing. I just zoomed through and
blew an opportunity to see some of the country’s largest
crocodiles sunning themselves by the riverbanks!
After passing Quepos, we found the hotel. The room
looked decrepit, and you had to climb about 30 steps to
get there. With all the luggage, the toaster oven, and food,
I was not interested. It turned out the room was in the old
part of the hotel. Fortunately, there was a room available
on the other side of the road, adjoining the beach, which
was new and had a ramp.
After we parked our stuff in the room, on the third floor,
we went out onto the balcony, and lo and behold, there
were crowd of white-headed capuchin monkeys swinging
from the branches of the trees just a few feet from the bal-
cony! One of them climbed onto the balcony next to ours
and threw down a towel that was drying in the sun. My
companion, who just loved monkeys, was in seventh heav-
en. Behind the grounds of the hotel was a fence with a gate
that opened onto the public beach. We waited until close
to sunset, when the bathers had already packed up and
watched the glorious sunset over the Pacific. There were
large rock protrusions, like tiny islands off the coast, that
gave the beach a mystique and charm. (Another beautiful
place to view sunsets is from the beach in Netanya.)
I went back to reception to sign up for a tour of Manuel
Antonio National Park. We were told to be at the front gate
at 7:45 the next morning to be picked up by a van. We took
out the dinners, which were spoiled (no more need for the
toaster oven!), so we dined on canned fish and noodles
with lots of MSG from Israel. In the evening, we went to
Quepos, where we did some shopping in the supermarket,
and a man started talking to us in Hebrew at the checkout
because he saw we were wearing tzitzis. Small world. We
came across Israelis a few times in Costa Rica.
The next day found us with a group and a nature guide in
u 410 358 8509 u
passed through some tall bulrushes, which gave me the feel
of being in a jungle. The whole hike took about two hours.
On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the Rio Fortuna
River, and sat by the rapids to chill out.
◆◆◆
The next day, we said goodbye to our little paradise,
picked up the Igloo filled with our food from the hotel’s
fridge (it was already beginning to spoil), and were ready for
the five-hour trip to the southwestern part of the country.
The Manuel Antonio area had a national park and the
Pacific coastline. Our destination was the Karahe Hotel
near the town of Quepos, and I was grateful that the GPS
was behaving itself and doing its job. (I just entered
“Karahe Hotel.”) The drive took us through winding moun-
tain roads and through sleepy little towns and villages. It
seemed to be siesta-time everywhere.
The view was great. We passed over one bridge with a
lot of cars parked on the roadside, and I thought they were
just there to do some fishing. I just zoomed through and
blew an opportunity to see some of the country’s largest
crocodiles sunning themselves by the riverbanks!
After passing Quepos, we found the hotel. The room
looked decrepit, and you had to climb about 30 steps to
get there. With all the luggage, the toaster oven, and food,
I was not interested. It turned out the room was in the old
part of the hotel. Fortunately, there was a room available
on the other side of the road, adjoining the beach, which
was new and had a ramp.
After we parked our stuff in the room, on the third floor,
we went out onto the balcony, and lo and behold, there
were crowd of white-headed capuchin monkeys swinging
from the branches of the trees just a few feet from the bal-
cony! One of them climbed onto the balcony next to ours
and threw down a towel that was drying in the sun. My
companion, who just loved monkeys, was in seventh heav-
en. Behind the grounds of the hotel was a fence with a gate
that opened onto the public beach. We waited until close
to sunset, when the bathers had already packed up and
watched the glorious sunset over the Pacific. There were
large rock protrusions, like tiny islands off the coast, that
gave the beach a mystique and charm. (Another beautiful
place to view sunsets is from the beach in Netanya.)
I went back to reception to sign up for a tour of Manuel
Antonio National Park. We were told to be at the front gate
at 7:45 the next morning to be picked up by a van. We took
out the dinners, which were spoiled (no more need for the
toaster oven!), so we dined on canned fish and noodles
with lots of MSG from Israel. In the evening, we went to
Quepos, where we did some shopping in the supermarket,
and a man started talking to us in Hebrew at the checkout
because he saw we were wearing tzitzis. Small world. We
came across Israelis a few times in Costa Rica.
The next day found us with a group and a nature guide in
u 410 358 8509 u
