So, after a long time we finally found time to give some first impressions from the first week of our trip through Costa Rica which was quite exciting so far since we got so many different things to see. We started our journey right after we arrived at San Jose, capital of Costa Rica. Firstly our 4WD took us to the Orosi Valley south of San Jose but still in the Meseta Central, an area which looks like the highlands of Costa Rica since it is up to 1500m elevation above sea level and the temparature here is quite standable, 25C. All the coffeplant fields around and the laid-back character of the landscape is quite typical for Orosi valley. So, it was a good start to get relaxed into our holiday and to overcome the jetlag that was quite heavy. After Orosi valley our tour lead us via the Panamericana over the Cerro de la Muerta (3500m), the highest mountain of Central America to Quepos where we wanted to visit the Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio. On the way to Quepos we got introduced to the quite bumpy roads of Costa Rica & yes, we got a flat tyre in the middle of nowhere so that we had to help ourselves. In the Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio we got to see all the different kind of animals that Costa Rica has to offer. Howler Monkeys, White Face Monkeys, Slooths, Iguana... and we realized that it is quite difficult to spot all the animals in the rainforest. You have to be very quiet and patient. From Quepos we continued to River Tarcoles to see the crocodiles. Very impressive view to see those animals up to 3m long lying there quite motionless. But that impression might be illusory... However, we went further north to the area of Volcano Arenal where we had some exhausting days on the hand since we did a lot of hiking through the rainforest. But on the other hand we got the right recovery by visiting the Tabacon Resort. Here you can chill out in the different hot springs heated by the Volcano. And as day was dawning we could clearly see how the bright shining lava was oozing out of the Volcano; something which is quite normal here and is happening almost daily. Finally we went to the Pacific Coast where we are staying right now in our hotel resort. For the time being you can enjoy some of our pictures already. Might be that we are updating once more before we are leaving the country by the end of the week.
|  | 
|
