Affordable Costa Rica Day 8
Affordable Costa Rica
DAY 8 - March 21, 2005
Into the Cordillera de Guanacaste
Gennie woke up early this morning, and just happened to look out at the Arenal Volcano which was out of the clouds and actively shooting up steam and other gases. It had been veiled in clouds all night so this was a special treat! We could hear the rumble and see the white plumes escaping in the rising sun. It was covered with clouds again in about ten minutes so we were so lucky to see the whole cone!
After breakfast, we drove over the man made dam that has covered the two small villages which were buried by the 1968 eruption. Now Lake Arenal covers this whole area and is famous for its sports fishing, water sports, and outdoor recreation. Our road to Guanacaste Province in northwestern Costa Rica follows the lake and this part of the forest is so green. We were able to see a coati mundi crossing the roads as well as many birds in this area. While we were driving, Eddie took the opportunity to tell us about the lottery system of CR. The money from the proceeds goes to the Red Cross and to help poor people and families.
The road to Guanacaste Province is very bad, not even paved, washed out, and with many pot holes. Eddie told us of the scandal of the past two presidents and their skimming of billions of dollars from the road funds. They are now waiting trial to go to jail for their selfishness! We stopped at 9:15 for a "technical stop" as our guide calls them where we had an opportunity to use the restrooms, take photos of the lake and visit a little gift shop. We saw many prosperous farms, fields, herds of dairy and beef cattle all owned and operated by Italian immigrants who came here long ago after WW2.
Our first discovery of the morning was a stop at a macadamia nut plantation where we learned the process of growing, harvesting, and processing the nuts. The plant is quiet now, but in April and May it will be harvest time and it will be very busy in a few weeks. We did have an opportunity to see two ladies who were working in the factory and making sweet candy for Easter - they even gave us a taste and then a chance to buy some nuts and some of the brittle they had made. We resisted the temptation, but it really was good!
We crossed the Continental Divide and then began our descent to the Savannas, or the distinctive dry tropical climate and saw several small dormant volcanoes. This area was very desolate and poor until 1972 when the new dam and hydroelectric plant brought water to the area in the form of irrigation. Now it is very prosperous and thriving. We stopped at the little village of Tilaran to get stamps and had a chance to see how well these people are living now. We drove through Cañas, a large community with the largest sugar production area and processing plant in the country. They are also known for their famous bull fights.
We drove high into the hills near Parque Nacional Rincón de la Vieja. We stopped for lunch at a local restaurant at 12:15 - a very nice area by the river but it was very hot - drier than the rain forest, but still very hot! Leaving the restaurant at 12:30 we continued on our dusty and bumpy road up the hills. We saw two turquoise browed motmots, a very beautiful bird with long tail and a ctenosaur lizard crossed the road in front of us.
We finally arrived at Buena Vista Lodge at 3:30 where we were given our keys and got our luggage. We had about 45 minutes to get ready for our walk into this 10,000 acre former cattle ranch, 60 % dedicated to the preservation of the National Tropical Dry Forests. Eddied took us on a nature walk into this wild expanse of dry tropical forest where birds and wildlife are abundant and so noisy! We heard howler monkeys, white fronted parakeets; as big as a parrot, a 450 year old CR mahogany tree, and a strangler fig that took over at least 5 other trees.
As we walked out of the forest we were greeted to a bright red sunset. Gennie and I tried to compose the sun through the trees and got some good shots before it set into the Pacific. We went to the Mirador, overlook, but there were no trees to frame the setting sun. We were given instructions for this evening's meal and tomorrow's schedule. We then hurried back to our room, took a shower and went to a buffet dinner. I checked the internet and they are only open till 8 PM so I will get on early tomorrow to post this journal.
Accommodations: Buena Vista Lodge
Meals: B, L, D
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