Dear all,
Today I want to talk to you about one of my favourite destinations Costa Rica. When Columbus set sail to this country in 1642 and set food on this beautifull country he said those words for the very first time. For a reason. The Rich Coast country was so green and attractive that he thought it would be loaded with gold.
He dit not find the gold which was hidden by the native indians, assumed near El Arenal ( La Fortuna), but dit see the country as the first tourist ever. What he explored and found was breathtaking. White sandy beaches with palm trees on the Carribean coast, green mountain valleys, volcanoes, rainforrests, the pacific coast with yellow up to black beaches. A lot to see and to explore.
Today Costa Rica, Eco country has many nice place to visit from coast to coast. And it starts on Juan Santa Maria Airport near San Jose. Just the flight in is stunning. You feel surrounded by nature when the plane is landing, surprised by the huge compounts of the Capital San Jose, because what you see before are smaller cities and tiny villages. Overwhelmed you feel inmediate at home. First you see when you enter arrivals is the big pictures of canopy behind the imigration desk and you think i want to do that.
Most vacations start in San Jose, best adviced is to stay overnight and travel the next day to your destination. If you see the roads you will understand why. Costa Rica might be quit modern with 1 good road, the transatlantic, but that is it. It takes hours to get to your next destination, but the trip is worth it. Your eyes will have not enough time to absorb the beauty.
In 2002 i went to Tambor the next day and traveled for 6 hours on the road and boat to get there. It was somewhat rainy when we left San Jose from Hotel San Palacio (top hotel from Barcelo) but down the valley to Puntarenas it cleared and got sunny. San Jose lies in the Central Valley and to go to Puntarenas makes you cross it and then mountains to. Travelling on top of the mountains with a stop at La Gardena a restaurant with a huge garden you can overlook on a clear day the entire country! Tip to see.
In Puntarenas we took the Ferry to Paquita, for about 1 hour. Breathtaking to see the coast to coast lines from the Provence of Puntarenas to Guanacaste. But if you are afraid of old Ferries then you better close your eyes. Sometimes they do sink.......
From Paquita we came into a complete tranquility atmosphere of the Guanacaste area of Bahia Ballena (bay of the wales). Into Tambor, very small place, known from a famous movie. We stayed 3 weeks in Playa Tambor from the Barcelo Resorsts, with an own nature park and very close to Punta Blanco and close enough to explore Montezuma, and many other places.
In my next story i will take you to Tambor!
Explore Costa Rica, let me take you there through my eyes, or by showing you around!
Isabel Blanco
