TravelStream™ news feed for member jowhiting on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/jowhiting en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:57:17 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jowhiting/4/1250179010/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jowhiting/4/1250179010/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jowhiting/4/1250179010/tpod.html Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:57:17 -0400 Costa Rica Travels

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San Jose, Province of San Jose, Costa Rica

It was our last morning in Manuel Antonio and Andy and I decided to do an early morning walk in the hotel gardens. We were rewarded with a small troupe of White-faced Monkeys or Capuchin monkeys. Probably part of the troupe we had seen before. These monkeys look the most human like little old men and I always think of organ-grinder monkeys when I see them. That morning we decided to follow them down to a lower trail as they headed through the trees. At the bottom of the trail they suddenly decided to become quite aggressive almost hissing and opening their mouths showing those needle like canines. With all wild animals you need to acknowledge the signs and it was obvious they were not at all happy that two humans were photographing and videoing them so we made a quick exit. I don't think they would have leapt on us en-masse and I am sure I have never heard of any deaths by Capuchins – but you can’t be too careful!So off we went back to San Jose following the main highway past the Poas Volcano looming dark and menacing. We were staying at the Hotel Bougainvillia in Heredia just outside San Jose and although we thought it might be difficult to find we hadn’t prepared for such a problematic journey. I think we must have gone up and down every road in Heredia trying to find the way to the hotel but there were no signs at all to Santa Domingo and we were getting nowhere. We even toyed with the idea of paying a taxi and following him. We found ourselves in quite a poor area with corrugated shacks and began to feel a little uneasy. There did appear to be quite a lot of building work going on so it did look like they were trying to improve this area. A little later after asking an old lady who pointed around but spoke no English and getting nowhere, Sam got out of the car to ask a young man who looked like he might speak English. He didn’t but lots of gestures and hand movements later we were on our way with a little more idea. Then more by luck than judgement we finally got back on track and were able to follow the route that had been sent to us.The hotel had a lovely formal gardens landscaped with tropical plants, tall trees, flowers and ponds with great mountain views. There was a tennis court and pool and although it did have a very corporate feel it was nice hotel. And so our trip was over. We had seen a Quetzal and the Gaudy Leaf Frog, hundreds of beautiful birds and troupes of monkeys. Caimans and crocodiles. It had rained a lot but then we were in  rain forest and when its 34 degrees it's not so bad. The boys had bungee jumped, zip wired and snorkelled. We had seen verdant jungles and turquoise seas, it really had been a magical time.
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Manuel Antonio National Park, Province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica

Another fabulous sunny day and another boat trip. This time we wanted to try our hand at onshore fishing as we had heard that it was great fun. We sailed out of Quepos again from the old marina. They are currently building a brand new marina but we were told a lot of the boats aren't sure they will be able to afford the fees. Our boat was the called the ’Little Yanet’ and I was relieved when I managed to leap onto her without toppling into the sea. We sped out to around the islands as this was the best place to fish. Sam wasn’t the greatest of sailors and I could see he was looking a little green after a few minutes of bobbing about in the water.There was only the owner and one crew member aboard and he started to put some fish onto the end of the rods. We cast them out but immediately either got tangled with each other or caught onto the rocks. I kept feeling that something was nibbling at the line but I think I was just feeling the live bait wriggling around. We saw fish leaping out of the water but nothing wanted to be caught. Then all of a sudden everyone was shouting on the other side of the boat. By the time I had put my rod down it was all over. I had missed a huge Hump-backed Whale surfacing just metres from the boat – how disappointing. I hoped it might surface again but it didn’t in our sight. The fishing was not good and although we had different weights and fished in different areas we caught nothing. Other boats were just as unlucky. Then it came over the radio that there were a school of dolphins sighted close by so we put down the rods and sped over to see them. I think they were common dolphin and there was a group of 6-8 that were happily swimming about. It almost made up for missing the whale!We went back to do some more fishing but with still no luck then one of the other boats radioed in to say that three Columbian Drug Running boats were being pursued by Costa Rican and American coastguard. We could just see them; three high powered speed boats and we could just make them out being pulled over while a large American coastguard vessel was quickly speeding to the scene. We had earlier seen a plane come over incredibly low and believe this was coastguards also. It was quitte exciting and far enough away not to be dangerous as the Columbian drug runners often carry weapons – Ross Kemp eat your heart out!Late afternoon we took another walk in the hotel gardens and saw a troupe of Howler Monkeys with their babies. They were incredibly close and it seemed ironic that we had seen more sloths and monkeys here than in any of the parks.
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Manuel Antonio National Park, Province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica

We had breakfast as usual but hadn't reckoned on a thief in our midst, a female Grackle bird was flying into the restaurant and very carefully siding up to a table then stealing sachets of sugar that it was flying off with and eating.Today we had booked a sailing trip through the hotel. It was one of the hottest and sunniest days so a trip on a boat was just what we needed. We cruised around the headland and had a chance to view the Parador hotel from the sea and look at its amazing location high up on the headland. There was a chance to do some snorkelling where we saw small sharks. We had armed ourselves with a bag of bread we had taken from breakfast and the fish came in huge shoals to feed from us. For lunch the crew had prepared mahi mahi fried in breadcrumbs it really was delicious.We saw lots of large sea birds - Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, Brown Pelicans and Brown Boobys. The islands off the coast are a very important refuge for sea birds in the area. Olocuita and Mogote Islands are mating and nesting sites for brown pelicans, frigate birds and ahingas. The beaches around here are very beautiful and from a boat you have the opportunity to see them fully with their volcanic cliffs rising steeply from the shoreline. The Pacific here is turquoise and in direct contrast to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica where the sea seemed a lot rougher and not so blue.Another walk around the hotel gardens late afternoon again yielded a variety of wildlife – there were no fewer than four sloths in close proximity. One was unusually active, scratching and feeding and showing off those incredibly long claws. There were also a lot of birds around including the beautiful Blue Crowned Motmot.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jowhiting/4/1250159194/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jowhiting/4/1250159194/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jowhiting/4/1250159194/tpod.html Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:56:48 -0400 Costa Rica Travels

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Manuel Antonio National Park, Province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica

Manuel Antonio is one of Costa Rica's smallest parks. The park was only established in 1972 and is only 683 hectares in area. It was just a ten minute journey in the car from our hotel. We found a parking space outside a hotel and paid the 2000 colonas and hoped it was OK to leave it there. The park was just a short walk down a small track. We had decided not to go with a guide here but do some exploring on our own. The day was very humid and I wished I had brought one of the hotel towels to mop me down. We were early so it was nice as there were not too many people about and we had been warned that the park can get incredibly busy.  The first things we spotted were a pair of deer just inside the park entrance. A little further on we spotted a raccoon hurrying across the trail in front of us. The main trail takes you through the centre of the park but there are many side trails to take. We took one up to the viewpoint where there was beautiful views across the Pacific and over to the islands. There was a fair incline and although not that demanding we were feeling the humidity.  We then took the trail to one of the beaches in the park and found ourselves sharing it with a rather large iguana.There were quite a few birds including a couple of colourful Fiery Billed Aracaris high up in the trees but we were a little disappointed that we didn’t see more although it was nice just walking through the park. We made our way back to the car but on the way stopped in a sushi bar (not what we would have expected) that was on the road out of the park and had a small snack and a well earned drink.  Back in the town we bought two cheap T-shirts to change into. The exertions of the walk had taken their toll and we did look a mess.  We caught up with the boys who had taken the complimentary bus from the hotel in to town, on the beach. The palm trees on the beachfront were filled with the squawking of parrots as they bickered and flew about.After lunch we took ourselves back to the hotel and decided to do the trail. This turned out to be much more productive than the park and we ended up seeing a large troupe of white-faced monkeys in the trees in the hotel gardens. The boys ended up doing tennis again and then we all played on the crazy golf course in the hotel, a family tradition. That night the meal was a surf and turf BBQ and it was superb. There was lobster, tuna, steaks, kebabs and mahi mahi.
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Manuel Antonio National Park, Province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica

We left Monteverde and made our way through the mountains to the Mid Pacific coast to spend four nights at Manuel Antonio. The first part of the trip was quite slow going on gravel roads but much better once we reached the Pan American Highway part of a network of roads nearly 48,000 km in length which travels through the mainland nations of the Americas. We were gaily going along when all of a sudden out of the side of the road a policeman beckoned us over. The speed limit is quite low in Costa Rica and we immediately knew we were going to be done for speeding. We wound down the window and were relieved that the policeman spoke good English. We exchanged pleasantries and he asked us if we knew we had been driving too fast. He acknowledged that the speed limit was a lot less than in other places and showed us his book of tickets that were all for Americans and Europeans. Then he changed tack – did we want a ticket'?  Of course we replied 'not particularly’ and he said we could pay him $20 now or pay $40 dollars at the airport. We went for the former realising that of course the money would go directly into his pocket.On we drove keeping to the speed limit and stopped off at a small town called Jaco. This town seemed very unlike anywhere else we had visited in Costa Rica, more Spanish Costa Brava with its bars, restaurants and shops. We had a very mediocre smoothie and then travelled on to Manuel Antonio. The trip took us through acres of Palm Oil plantations, I recognised them from a previous trip to Borneo adn wnadered what had been felled to make way for this hideous crop. We also had to cross over a very rickety and rusty bridge. Next to it a brand new bridge was being constructed but it was not finished and for the moment this single lane bridge was all that would take us over the river below. There was no traffic light system so you just had to wait for a break in the traffic going the other way.The Parador Hotel is actually located in Punta Quepos up a very rough  and potholed road. The state of the road was a surprise because most of the better hotels were along it but it appeared that no one wanted to spend money improving it. The hotel is modelled after the traditional Spanish Paradores and has great views over the ocean to the small islands off the coast. By the main entrance there is a beautiful Roman water feature and the hotel is filled with Spanish artefacts. We were not too impressed by our first room as it didn’t have a view so we asked to change and they promised we could move the next day to one of the nicer rooms on the next floor. That evening there was an incredible storm. We had watched as the lightening flickered far out to sea sometimes there were amazing fork strikes.  Then all of a sudden the wind started to get up and there was a crash and breaking glass. Staff started scurrying around bringing in parasols and anything that could blow over safely inside. Then the power went and we were in darkness, the sky seemed almost yellow in colour and the lightning flashed  continuously as there was huge deafening thunder claps. Then the rain came like stair rods, I had never seen rain like it, it poured off the roof in heavy streams. It really was quite frightening. Then the power returned and the lights came back on and as if by magic the storm abated.
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Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica

A Cloud Forest is a type of rain forest but is characterised not unsurprisingly by a lot of low-level cloud cover at canopy level. They have lots of moss covering the trees and for this reason they are also called mossy forests. We had booked a guided trip around the park and were lucky enough to get Oscar who was absolutely brilliant. Almost immediately we came across some White-faced monkeys who annoyed at our presence started to lob branches down at us and also urinate. Apparently monkey urine smells dreadfully so I was pleased his aim wasn't too good although a large branch did end up dangerously close. A large bird in the trees with distinctive red legs and blue beak heralded a Black Guan, this turkey like bird is often called the tree turkey as it was caught and eaten by the Quakers when they first arrived in this area in the 1950s. The Quakers came here after they had objected to the draft and they founded a cheese factory and Friends School.There were lots of hummingbirds in the forest and although we were to see the Violet Sabrewing at the feeders it was a thrill to see one of these birds singing its heart out in the trees of the forest. Oscar was incredible at positioning his spotting scope so we were able to view this beautiful bird in its natural surroundings.We were just following Oscar through the trail when we saw a White–nosed Coati climbing around one of the outhouses. A strange animal with a shovel nosed snout and often found during the day foraging for food. He came quite close to us and appeared to be completely at ease with humans so near. The coati is a member of the racoon family and this was probably a lone male as females tend to travel in larger groupsWe walked down to the waterfall where Oscar was able to find for us a hummingbird that we wouldn't see at the feeders. This particular hummingbird has an incredibly long beak for its size and the longest beak of any bird when taken into relation to its body length. It is called the Sword-Billed Hummingbird and has evolved so that it can get the nectar of the funnel shaped flowers of the passion flower. Having such a long beak has its limitations and this hummingbird has to preen itself with its feet.Oscar took us back to the beginning of the trail and asked whether we had time to see a snake he had spotted a few days before. Snakes often remain in the same place for days particularly after eating and he was confident that it would still be there. Positioning his spotting scope perfectly as always, Oscar picked up the yellow striped snake far up in the tree. It turned out that it was another kind of pit viper, the Side Striped Pit Viper with emerald colouring and a distinctive yellow stripe down its side.We then stopped at the aptly named Hummingbird Gallery an area at the entrance to the forest where a number of sugar feeders have been put up and where there is an incredible amount of hummingbirds buzzing to and fro. The feeders attract quite a few different kinds including the previously mentioned Violet Sabrewing the biggest of them all. We also saw the Green Violetear, Copper Headed Emerald Elvira, Green-crowned Brilliant as well as other beautiful species of this tiny bird.Then Oscar heard that they might be a Quetzal in the area and did we have any more time to follow him. Did we have any more time? I think so. Now the Resplendent Quetzal is known as one of the most beautiful birds in the world. We were not going to miss this opportunity particularly as it was rare to see one at this time of year. So we followed Oscar as he sped away on his motorcycle, struggling to keep up with him on the rough road and he took us to an area about two minutes from our hotel. First he showed us an Emerald Toucanet nest where we were able to see this beautiful bird up close feeding on berries and insects. Then he spotted it, a juvenile Quetzal high up in an avocado tree a few yards down the road. The plumage of this amazing bird has made it considered the most beautiful in the world.  It has  a green body that shows iridescence from green-gold to blue-violet and a red breast. Breeding males have long twin tail feathers that can form a train over three feet long. The Quetzal that we saw was a juvenile male so he didn’t have the tail feathers and as per usual with birds he was rather a long way away and the wrong way of the light. However, seeing one of these endangered birds however far away was thrill enough for me. By now quite a large crowd had gathered at the site along with guides with spotting scopes and binoculars.  Oscar then called us over saying that one of the Quaker women had an orphaned sloth and would we like to have a look at it? Of course we would and so we crossed the road to find this incredible little creature eating flowers, wrapped in a knitted blanket. I must admit it was a lot sweeter than the adult varieties that are a little creepy looking. This was like a little furry bear. If that wasn’t enough excitement there was even a hairy porcupine up a tree! Not that you could see it that well but it was still exciting to see these animals and all in such close proximity.Lunch was nachos once again in the Tree House in Santa Elena and then we decided to visit the Frog Pond a frog centre in the town for a guided tour around the frog enclosures that exhibited all the main frog varieties of Costa Rica.  Everything from the Cane Toad that was bought to Australia from Costa Rica to the beautiful glass frog whose body is so opaque you can its organs. Our young female guide was very good and extremely knowledgeable about the frogs, she told us that it was beeter to come in the evening as then the whole place comes alive as these little creatures really get going.That night we did a night tour at the Monteverde Ecology Centre. The most amazing thing was the noise of the crickets, it was almost deafening.  Our guide was Henry and after the wonders of Oscar in the morning he really couldn’t compete. It was interesting and we were lucky enough to see an owl hiding in the trees and a hairy porcupine running through the branches. Unfortunately (or fortunately for me) the large tarantula wasn’t home and I was a little disappointed not to see more things, but we did see a couple of other spiders that were quite big. There were lots of bats swooping through the canopy in the gloom but it was difficult to see. Strange insects kept landing on us as we walked the trail and some had the most amazing iridescence and we did see a large stick insect. One of the weirdest insects we saw were the glow worms whose green LED lighting caused by a chemical reaction in their bodies flickered around the forest.  Another strange sights was a  salamander peeping out of its hole and I was surprised to learn that Costa Rica has forty three species of this animal and contains nine percent of the world's population!
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Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica

Today we were off to Monteverde a trip we were slightly worried about as it didn't seem that straightforward and we weren't disappointed. We got lost in Tilaran a small town on the southwest side of Lake Arenal. In fact Monteverde is actually only across the lake from Arenal but as per usual with any car journey in Costa Rica it was slow and windy. I am certain a Cost Rican kilometre is much longer than an English one! We stopped for a coffee in the town and then headed off in the direction we thought was right but as the road became narrower and rougher we realised that we were not right at all. So we slowly backed down and began to retrace our steps. It was then as if by magic that a young man carrying a map appeared from nowhere – a very surreal holiday moment. We wound down the window and he explained that the map he had was paid for by hotels and businesses and that it was 2000 colones for him to tell us the way. Cheap at twice the cost as it was very confusing finding the route out of town. Back on track we noticed the broken sign pointing to Monteverde and we smiled to ourselves thinking why would you get it fixed when you can create a job showing lost tourists where to go? I am sure that there are many tourists like ourselves who get lost here and it was funny to think that someone was enterprising enough to make money out of it.We travelled on finally confident that we knew where we were going and stopped just outside Monteverde in a small cafe. It was a lovely place with seats at the back on a small balcony where there were sugar feeders and loads of hummingbirds feeding. We polished down a big hunk of banana cake and a coffee and went on our way. The stop was mainly for a toilet&nbsp;break as we soon discovered there are not too many opportunities on the journey. We stopped in Santa Elena, the small town just outside the cloud forest reserve and had a quick look around and had lunch in the <i>Tree House a two storey restaurant built around a 60 year old fig tree.We ended up missing the entrance to the hotel as they were obviously replacing the sign and there was nothing to tell us where it was. Fonda Vela was a strange hotel that did grow on us throughout our stay. The rooms were bright and large overlooking the garden and all filled with heavy wooden furniture that gave them quite a dated look. On the walls were paintings by Paul Warren Smith, the owner’s father and he must have been a very prolific artist as there were hundreds of them. The owners were one of the first American arrivals in this area in the 1950s. We did the trail around the hotel but didn’t see anything except for a few birds. In fact the weather was quite cold and you almost felt you could have been back home in the UK not in the tropics!We went down before dinner to the bar for a drink and were lucky enough to see three raccoons rummaging in the bins outside. These are the same species as you find in North America and they always remind me of bandits with their black face markings. Getting into the bins was easy as these animals are masters of ransacking and they ran off with various bits of food. Dinner was in the cosy Fireside Room which was much nicer than the bigger and more informal Galleria.
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Arenal Volcano National Park, Province of Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Today we were off to the Sky Tram, I had wimped out and decided not to do the zip wire back down, something I later regretted as it looked such fun. The road to it was rough and potholed so you need to give yourself plenty of time to get there. The tram slowly takes you up 1,250 metres in 20 minutes through the rainforest with views back to the volcano and Arenal &nbsp;Lake. Those who were doing the zip wire were already kitted out in harness and hard hat. One person had already been worried enough not to even take the tram ride so at that point I was quite relieved that I had opted for trams both way. The ride is quite steep and I noticed how the vegetation changed as we got further up. At the observation deck we were met with a guide and a lovely cold fruit juice. For those who were not zip wiring we were to go on a short trail but not before enjoying the test runs that you had to do before you were able to go on the zip wires properly. &nbsp;Andy my husband being quite a large guy was slightly worried as we all know - &nbsp;more mass more speed. There were also a couple of large Americans who were quite interested to see how Andy would do on the test run and he was affectionately called '<i>chico grande' an expression we would use throughout the holiday. There are eight cables two of which are the practice cables at the beginning one of 92ft and one of 105ft. Cable 3 is the highest at 656 ft with cable 6 the fastest where you reach speeds of 50m/h. The longest was cable 7 at 2440ft. It’s much safer than you might think and the guides made sure everyone knew what they were doing and most importantly how to slow down when you are reaching the end of a cable. Another useful tip was how to manually pull yourself in if for some reason you didn’t get to the end of the cable. Children and those of a more nervous disposition went with a guide, this also helped with the weight and made sure you zipped all the way to the end and weren’t left stranded in the middle of the cable. Andy and the boys absolutely loved it and I regretted not having the gumption to do it. For lunch we went up to a steak house nearby with great views of the lake. There were windows al l around and soaring vultures riding the thermals outside. You could even go outside onto &nbsp;a small parapet to enjoy the vista.That afternoon the boys decided that they fancied doing the bungee jump we had seen advertised in La Fortuna - Arenal Bungee. When we got there the large crane structure you jumped off looked incredibly high and I was beginning to have my reservations. In fact you jump 40 metres into the air and finish off by immersing yourself in the swimming pool at the bottom. Sam was first and by now a small group of people had started to congregate. &nbsp;How you have enough guts to jump from it I don’t know but I imagine the adrenaline rush must be amazing. George was not quite as keen as Sam and he looked nervous as he waited his turn high up on the crane, the waiting must have been interminable. By now cars had&nbsp;pulled in and an even bigger crowd had gathered. ‘Uno, Dos, Tres’ the guy shouted and with arms above his head George dived off to cheers and shouts.
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Arenal Volcano National Park, Province of Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Today we decided to do the Hanging Bridges Trail just a short but steep walk from the hotel so we decided to make the most of the offer of a free lift up there. It is an easy trail of about 2 miles with a number of impressive hanging bridges ranging from 16 to 330 feet long. Not great if you have vertigo as they do swing especially when you have others walking on them. The bridges allow you to walk right up and close to the rainforest with great views overlooking the forest and rivers below.At the entrance there were a couple of Great Green Macaws one of which perched on our car as we arrived. They were obviously used to being fed by visitors to the park. They are huge parrots and have a lovely bright plumage but unfortunately they are now endangered in the wild having been hunted for the pet trade. It would have been lovely to see them on the walk but it was still a thrill to see them in their native habitat.We started the trail and it turned out to be easier than we thought, about half way the heavens opened and for a time the dense vegetation kept us quite&nbsp;dry but on the final couple of bridges there was no shelter and we got absolutely soaked – something we were getting used to in Costa Rica. The trail took us past a lovely waterfall and as the bridges criss- crossed it was amazing to see the hanging bridges above and below us.That afternoon we took ourselves into La Fortuna and as we were parking the car I looked out of the window to see the clouds clear and the volcano revealed for the first (and last) time since we had been there. La Fortuna sits at the foot of the volcano and&nbsp;is an&nbsp;impressive presence when the clouds clear enough to catch sight of its cone. After the 1968 eruption La Fortuna changed from a dusty town and is now a thriving mass of hotels, restaurants and tour operators. We had lunch in the town at a pizza place and bought souvenirs in the many shops. Just outside town there was an incredible shop with huge wooden sculptures and furniture all made from the local wood. If only the suitcases were bigger.That afternoon as we sat at the pool bar drinking Amaretto Sours there was an amazing lightening storm.
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Arenal Volcano National Park, Province of Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Today we travelled from Sarapequi to Arenal Volcano Park home to the most active volcano in Costa Rica. Unfortunately during most of our stay the volcano was engulfed in cloud so we never saw lava rolling down its sides or rocks being spewed into the sky. Apparently we would have been much more likely to see it in the dry season during February to April, when it is much less cloudy. The Arenal volcano is 5,328 feet high&nbsp;it looms large and black over the small town of La Fortuna at its base. It is estimated that it is 4,000 years old and lay dormant until 1968 when there was an earthquake before the volcano blew killing 100 people with poisonous gases and falling rocks. Since then the volcano has been in a constant state of activity until of course we visit! However even in January this year at the Poas Volcano park just north of San Jose there was a powerful earthquake with a 6.1 magnitude that killed ten people so you never know when this country might show its seismic side.We were staying at the Lost Iguana a beautiful hotel set in 120 acres of rain forest high on a hillside up a rough road from the Arenal Dam. Each room has a great view of the volcano – even when it is engulfed in cloud and because you are up so high the view seems to fall away. Lost Iguana is not a hotel if you are slightly infirm although a Club Kart (golf kart) is only a telephone call away. As we weren't too infirm it felt really lazy to phone for one so we did quite a bit of climbing the three days we were there. Woe betides anyone who had left their sunglasses behind in the room as you wouldn't be inclined to get them.We attempted one of the trails from the hotel &nbsp;which apparently led to the' Hanging Bridges’ but the rain meant it was really slippery and we felt we were not prepared for such a hike so we gave up and just walked around the hotel grounds. &nbsp;There was a nice walk down to the stream past the exclusive spa and the gardens were filled with flowers particularly the Blue Hibiscus which was flowering and gave the restaurant its name.Our room was beautifully furnished with Costa Rican artefacts and pictures, but the best part was the balcony with its two creaky rocking chairs and great views.&nbsp; From our balcony we saw lots of different birds including the Montezuma Oropendola and the Laughing Falcon with its distinctive black face mask. There were also a couple of Chestnut Mandible Toucans that flew around the trees about the hotel. Butterflies and Hummingbirds were frequent visitors to the flowers just outside the balcony. Every now and again the clouds looked to clear from the volcano and give us a tantalising view but then they rolled back in once again and shrouded its peak so that sometimes there didn’t appear to be a volcano there at all.
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