Last month I didn’t participate in our 10 on 10 group because my family was traveling in Costa Rica. So for this month’s 10 on 10, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite photos (and our itinerary) from our trip. We spent two action packed weeks traveling throughout this wonderful country with dear friends. We were a group of eleven which made for a party wherever we went.
Our journey began in San Jose, Costa Rica (after a brief emergency overnight in Managua, Nicaragua due to poor visibility in San Jose and low fuel). From San Jose we went to Tortuguero which is a remote area on the Northeastern, Caribbean side. This is an area known for it’s rainforest and is a place where green turtles come to lay their eggs each year. We enjoyed exploring the jungle and canals with our guide and went on a late night turtle walk to see the turtles come out of the ocean to lay their eggs (no cameras allowed). This is a wonderful ecological area and the Mawamba Lodge was a fantastic place to call home for our stay.
We then moved on to Arenal. This area is home to one of the country’s largest volcanoes aptly named Arenal which is now inactive. (When I visited Costa Rica 21 years ago, it was active and we saw lava shooting out of the volcano). Here we enjoyed adrenaline filled activities including zip lining and white water rafting (class 3 & 4, eek!). To calm our nerves and soothe our sore bodies, we spent most of our late afternoons at the Tabacon Hot Springs Resort which was ahhhhmazing.
After spending 4 days in this fun-filled area, we moved on to Monte Verde to visit the cloud forest. Here we walked high above the trees to see the flora, fauna and animals that live in the tree canopy.
We then headed to the Pacific Coast and the popular surfing town of Tamarindo. After being in the very wet rainforest, cloud forest and jungle, we were ready to soak up the sun and surf and enjoy some gorgeous sunsets. Of course we couldn’t just sit still and had to do a little surfing and ATV tour through the jungle.
Because we wanted to explore the coast a little more, we spent our last three days on the Gulf of Papagayo. This is a gorgeous peninsula in the Guanacaste region. Here we enjoyed the beautiful Andaz resort and all it had to offer including snorkeling, kayaking, and even a barista class.
All and all our trip was fantastic and I hope we go back again (and not wait 20 years to do so). If you don’t already have Costa Rica on your bucket list, you should definitely add it! Please click on through our blog circle and check out the lovely photos from my friend Erica.
