Hotel de Magri Alajuela

... really don't do the scenery justice, looks like you're just going to have to get on a plane yourself and check it out! Thursday morning we decided to go for a hike to a giant waterfall just outside of town...nothing too difficult though, a hike for all ages if you will. It was amazing...the fact that it was pouring down rain pretty much the entire time until we got back to the trail head didn't dampen our mood either- it kept us cool if anything! And the waterfall was worth ...

... While they were gone Parker and I went to the spa. I had the deep tissue massage with a mud wrap and parker had the swedish massage with the teen facial.<br><br>The spa was world class. The waiting area was so relaxing with a koi pond and waterfall. The therapist were very professional. I had Isabella. She was a big lady and was very strong. I am not sure I was ready for the deep tissue message, but on the otherhand it was very relaxing and I ...

... said we would need to go back to Liberia 90 K back north. I exclaimed that it was a long way. He agreed and started to walk to his bike with our papers. I asked him if there was a way that we could pay him and he could pay the fine for us. "No Problemo!" I handed him 2 20's and he told us that we could go no faster than 75 kph without getting stopped. We saddled up and took off. I was really laughing in my helmet as I got up to our cruising speed of ...

... much quicker than it took me to run the same distance last year, stopping for chats along the way. The landscape is surprsisingly similar to Ireland and the climate too. Damp, windy and miserable. Is this really Costa Rica or have I been magically teleported to Cavan??? Monteverde is famous for action adventure activities in the cloudforest and the rare, some of it unique to this part of the world, wildlife ...

... next day and spent the rest of the day mooching round the town and planning further logistics for getting to Panama and onwards. We spent the evening at the Tabacon Hot Springs, an amazing thermal pool complex set amongst natural tropical surroundings at the foot of Volcano Arenal. There are rivers, waterfalls, infinity pools and a pool complete with waterslide and bar, a complete paradise perfect for relaxing. The ...

... was nice to see some of the really unusual butterflies and my favourites, the Morpho butterfly which are huge. We have seen then a few times in the wild now, but this was a chance to get a really good photo. We decided to come back later to see the frogs as we were told that most of them are nocturnal - but one hint if you do go - you can return at night with the same ticket and get a guided tour at no ...

We set off from the Flamingo area around noon yesterday and made great time to the bottom of the mountains. But getting up the mountain was a whole different ball game. We have never seen roads so rough. If you can imagine steep (we're talking 15%+ incline) with dips as deep as the tires and rocks dispersed across! It took us about 2 hours to drive ...

... out lava - they didn't! Back in town we found a bakery (we love you Costa Rica) and had a variation on a meat pie for lunch. Yum! Still no service station pie we reckon, but close enough. Had a bit of a snooze, and then went for a short walk around the town - unfortunately Monteverde's hilly terrain meant a short walk is all we could be bothered with today! The next morning, we surprised ourselves by being brave enough to go on a 'canopy tour'. The theory is that by ...

... central valley. As we got to Alajuela we decided to stop at the airport to check on the status of our flight the next day. We learned that our flight had been canceled but they had no more information available for us and said we had to call American airline customer service from a phone to see when we would be able to leave. We headed back to Orquideas and my wife made the calls and learned that the soonest they would be able to fly us home would be on Friday morning. This worried us as ...

We have discovered a great little restaurant in the middle of town with really cheap Eats! We love the food in Costa Rica! Fish, rice and beans, very simple! We have walked thru town, does not take long, found the main points of our interest! The bank, art galleries, internet house and tour guides! The bank was a very interesting experience, guards everywhere on watch! Now we have our money! The shops in town were excellent! We found incredible local ...