Tag Archives: beaches

Spotting Wildlife at Manual Antonio National Park

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One of our prime reasons for choosing Costa Rica is because it’s one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world and spotting wildlife at Manual Antonio National Park was high on our to-do list.

iguana

We’d already hit the Caribbean at Tortuguero, and the highlands of Orosi, but we had high hopes for spotting even more species as we headed to Manual Antonio National Park on the Pacific side, one of the country’s premier parks. Camera in hand, we drove an hour or so south of our AirBnB to reach the park right as it opened in a mostly failed attempt to avoid the crowds.

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The Pacific Ocean Was Calling

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Costa Rica’s highlands were magical but after a few days, the Pacific Ocean was Calling.

We headed south from Orosi along the Pan-American Highway. This section of the highway reaches over 10,000′ in elevation before winding its way down to San Isidro de el General as Jim & I dreamed of continuing south to complete our journey started several years ago. Instead, we took a hard right and headed towards the Pacific Ocean.

Wine glasses at sunset
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Casa Pelican in Tortuguero, Costa Rica ~ Guesthouse Review

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If a stop in Tortuguero is on your Costa Rica itinerary, and it should be, one of the first questions will be where to stay. Our choice was the delightful Casa Pelican.

Although there are dozens of lodging options both in and around town, we think your best bet to truly immerse yourself in the culture is to choose one of the centrally located guest houses available. You can stay in a standard bland hotel anywhere…on a tropical holiday why not venture on the local side?

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How to Get to Tortuguero Village Costa Rica

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An intriguing stop on our trip around Costa Rica was Tortuguero Village and during the planning stages, the main question was how the heck do we get there? We gained some excellent tips from sites such as TwoWeeksinCostaRica and MyTanFeet, but a few details have changed recently so here we offer all of the updated information to get you to this magical destination.

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Costa Rica’s Capital in Photos

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We have to be honest, San Jose, Costa Rica’s capital, didn’t win our hearts but did lend itself to some intriguing photos. We did appreciate the pleasant climate combined with the color and vitality that is so evident in Latin American cultures. It’s easy enough to make a list of things to see and do in San Jose but we’re going to simply share our favorite moments in photos to inspire you to head to this stunning country and find your own magic.

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Costa Rica ~ First the Facts

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So, you’re looking to plan a trip to Costa Rica? Here are some fun facts to help you plan your itinerary.

Costa Rica sits comfortably between Nicaragua and Panama in Central America and is home to a little over 5 million people, with over 50,000 of those being American ex-pats. It has long been touted as one of the most biologically diverse and beautiful countries in the region and is home to an astonishing array of wildlife.

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A Costa Rica Preview

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Costa Rica was a country we, quite frankly, hadn’t been that excited to visit. Oh yes, we’d heard all about the lush jungles filled with exotic wildlife, but it seemed too clean, too touristy, too “ex-pat”. Well, having just returned, here is a quick photo Costa Rica preview depicting a snapshot of our two weeks roaming from the capital city to the jungles of the Caribbean coast, an untouristed small town high in the central hills, and finally the ultra-touristy Pacific.

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Don’t Get off the Bus

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Recently we’ve been feeling in a bit of a funk. With a long and busy high season behind us life had slowed down at work but we were finding ourselves spending every weekend with errands, doctor’s appointments, and the like and began to fully realize how errant we were in not planning a fall vacation. With Costa Rica still two months away…an eternity when in a funk, and fall weather turning to winter my mood was grim.

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Food, Food, and More Food ~ Highlights from a Culinary Holiday in Puerto Vallarta

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We recently headed to Puerto Vallarta for a variety of reasons, but food, food, and more food certainly became the theme of the vacation.

As regular visitors to this scenic city by the sea, we had many old favorites to return to but also discovered new haunts that were all spectacular. Truly, in 10 days we didn’t eat badly a single meal. A normal trip south finds me cooking the occasional breakfast or dinner but not this time; burned out from an extremely busy summer I declared my time as head chef in the family on hiatus. I advised Jim we were simply going to be “forced” to eat out every meal. He announced himself up for the task.

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Landing in Lincoln City

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Let’s face it. 2020 has been HARD. So very hard. It’s no secret to anyone and we have also not been totally spared experiencing a couple of months of unemployment, myself being very sick for several weeks, and worst of all the loss of Aspen.

“Lean into curiosity” ~ Pena Choldren

In spite of it all, we consider ourselves beyond blessed in a year that has adversely affected so many people around the world. 

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