Costa Rica vacation Diary
It's been a long time since I have blogged. Like nearly three years. What follows is a rundown on a flying vacation with the family in Costa Rica with some travel tips at the end.
I had over 13 hours of air time. There was only on day during the 16 days I was there that was not flyable. I just couldn't fly every day.
Thursday 12/17/09
Flight was cancelled. After standing in line for an hour and a half at PDX, Continental booked us out on the evening of the 18th with Delta. One nice thing. When Continental re-issued my tickets I had them add two days to my stay. Now returning on the 5th of January instead of the 3rd. Got back home and went to bed around 1:00AM.
Friday 12/18/09
Might as well work. Got up and went into the office. Why waste a vacation day at home. Back at the airport early Mary Beth and I had dinner and relaxed before our flight. I’ll never figure out airport security. When you are not in a hurry there is never a line. I think it only took us five minutes to get through.
Saturday 12/19/09
The seats on airplanes seem to get smaller and more uncomfortable every year. We had seats that would not recline on both the flights from Portland to Atlanta and then from Atlanta to San Jose. But we made it and that’s what counts
Getting through immigration and baggage claim on arrival was easy. Buying a sim chip for a phone at the ICE counter in baggage claim took an hour. There was a guy ahead of me that was buying a data plan or something and another guy trying to get a new chip to work in his I phone. I still don’t have a phone that is unlocked but hopefully I will get an unlock code soon. The moral of the story is if you want a phone that is unlocked you need to start working on it well before our trip starts—not two days before.
We had reserved an SUV and ended up with a brand new Kia Sorrento from Avis. It had 38 kilometers on the odometer. So much fore being inconspicuous. I don’t want to think about how much it is going to cost. It’s a diesel and a little bit of a slug on acceleration compared to my Grand Cherokee but it’s comfortable. The GPS map I bought on line works pretty well. It got me out of San Jose and on the way to Grandpa Ninjas place fairly easily. It is not perfect, though. I as not paying full attention to how it was trying to route me to Grandpa Ninjas and it cost me a half hour of driving. In the end we just navigated with the map for the last 10 kilometers or so.
Grandpa Ninjas is a nice B&B out in the country. Sitting on the deck you can see the bay in the distance. It’s very comfortable when there is a breeze but when the breeze stops the humidity and temperature can get to you. Kati, keeps the house and acts as host and guide. Marvin works as a gardener and security guard. It’s kind of nice that we have the whole house here pretty much to ourselves.
Reed Gleason met us and after unpacking we headed to the grocery store and then out for dinner in Puntarenas with Jose and Vanessa. Jose is a local tandem rated pilot and Vanessa is an American who seems to have adapted Costa Rica as her new residence. Mary Beth and I had Corvina. It’s the local, most popular fish. Mine was covered with shrimp and a special sauce so I probably didn’t get to sample the flavor. Reed ordered a steak what came out looked like it could have fed all of us.
The flying didn’t look so promising for the next day so Jose and Vanessa headed back to there home and we went back to Grandpa Ninjas and crashed. Mary Beth said I was sawing logs within a minute of turning the lights out.
Sunday 12/20/09
We had a breakfast of scrambled eggs, rice and beans, Mellon and banana along with Orange juice. That’s the normal “Tico” (Native Costa Rican) Breakfast. And of course, we had some very good Costa Rican Coffee.
Around 10:30 we headed for Caldera. Kati and Reed led the way in her SUV with Mary Beth and I following. I had not been expecting much since it seemed to be blowing offshore at Grandpa Ninjas. Caldera is owned by a Swiss pilot who has been living in Costa Rica for 11 years. His name is Jean Claude. He has a little bar behind launch that serves soft drinks, beer, and snacks. Mary Beth loved it. It is a lot like Torrey Pines in some respects but much less formal. No whistles to blow or site video and liability waivers. They also have T-shirts. Over Mary Beth’s objections I bought one.
The winds were a little north light and swirly but Reed and I got off. Not the best launch technique but safe. The first flight was about an hour. We only managed maybe 250 feet over launch. We landed in a cow pasture just off the beach. That or a soccer field is the preferred LZ according to Jean Claude but the cow pasture is more open. Yes, that’s cows next to the beach and not condos. Some of the locals drove us back to launch.
I had not taken my camera on the first flight so I decided I needed to fly again. The winds had clocked around a little but were still light. The second flight lasted an hour and forty-five minutes. I had not intended to fly so long but it was pretty comfortable. In shorts and T shirt I was still sometimes a little warm. I spent a lot of time trying to get a good picture of the buzzards that were soaring the ridge as well. Its hard because they always seem to come close to you when you do not have your camera ready. I did manage one picture of Reed flying in formation with one of the birds. Just slightly off frame but with a little photoshoping it should be fine. It was a lot of fun. Not very crowded. Maybe 10 gliders in the air at one point. Still we only got maybe 500 feet over launch on the second flights. The wind had continued to clock around and was coming straight in which improved the dynamic lift.
It’s a small world. Mary Beth struck up a conversation with some pilots from Norway and one of them had flown with Spider Monkey in Nepal. We may see here in Oregon next summer.
After flying we stopped at the Maxi Bodega and picked up a roasted chicken and some things for dinner. Mary Beth cooked plantons and made salads and we sat on the deck at Grandpa Ninjas eating dinner and looking at photos on the computers. Reed managed t get some pictures of Howler monkeys.
After dinner I tried to fix helmet headset while Reed and Mary Beth watched the SciFi channel. I had problems with the microphone working before the trip but I had been repaired and seemed to work when I tried before leaving Portland. So much for high tech blue tooth push to talk headsets.
Monday 12/21
Pancakes for breakfast. We told the cook that the rice and beans were much better so now every morning from now on it will be rice and beans. It seems there other guests got tired of rice and beans every morning so they usually alternate.
Weather was overcast and rainy. We drove to Caldera just to have a look. Winds were cross and there was a squall off shore that seemed to be coming our way so we decided to visit the national park Carrara, just north of Jaco. This park was a transitional rain forest. Not fully canopied.
We paid for a guided tour and it’s a good thing we did. The guide could spot the birds and other animals that we just would have never seen otherwise. We saw monkeys, a sloth, and a number of different birds who’s names I can not remember. The guides use a tripod and monocular to get close-up views of the animals. With Mary Beth’s didgital camera you could take a picture through the monocular. Most of them came out quite well
Along the way we stopped at the Tarcones bridge to see the crocodiles. Lots of them just lounging around just waiting for something to eat.
After the tour we headed into Jaco and had dinner at Clarita’s. It’s right on the beach and more of a night life place. But it was fun to see all the NFL highlights and other things on the big screen TV. After dinner we headed back to Grandpa Ninja’s. Reed went to bed at 9 and Mary Beth and I stayed up till 10 watching “Dirty Dancing” with Spanish subtitles on the satellite TV.
Tuesday 12/22/09
It was great sleeping-- Not nearly as hot. The rain from yesterday cooled things off. The weather forecast for today is a high of 27C. So I’m guessing we will be back to difficult sleeping tomorrow. This morning we got HUGE portions of rice and beans for breakfast. I phoned and made arrangements for lodging the night before leaving in San Jose. There seems to be a great difference in rates here. We found an apartment near the airport with two rooms for $75 a night. Quite a difference from the Hampton inn at the airport which is $140 a night for a single.
More flying at Caldera. I managed to get some great pictures of reed flying with the birds.
Wednesday12/23/09
After searching and finally finding a cash machine on the way to Caldera we now had cash to pay Kati. While Mary Beth figured out he exchange rate Reed and I flew for two hours. Conditions were a little on the light side. The winds were south enough that you if you could fly to the north point if you got 300 or so feet over launch. I managed out and back twice. You lose around 175 to 200 feet going over. But once over there you can see the waves crashing against a rock wall. No beach to land on over there.
After flying we drove down to Jaco to find Doscelunas. There we just enough signs to help out. You drive down a road with small houses on either side and then you come to a big gate. Inside is the hotel with a beautiful swimming pool and lush gardens all around. We ended up moving to a different room because of a problem with a noisy ceiling fan. Mary Beth enjoyed the pool while I schlepped the bags from one room to another. Meanwhile Emily and Sarah arrived.
The hotel was not serving dinner but recommended a nice restaurant for us. The Estuary. Dinner and bed followed. At dinner we decide to do a secret Santa for Christmas with at 10,000 Colones limit
Thursday 12/24/09
Thursday AM we headed into town to do our Secret Santa Christmas shopping. I bought Reed a Birdhouse wind chime with Costa Rica on it. Hope he likes it.
In the afternoon we headed up to find the Jaco Launch. We found it but the winds and thermals were too light to launch. We would have to do it another day.
Some pool time followed.
The hotel seems to be without a chef at the moment. The owner, Brian cooked a special meal with fish, rice, shrimp and some other Costa Rican dishes. Very good.
Friday 12/25/09
We got up on Christmas morning and exchanged our secret Santa gifts. My gift was a Hard Rock Café T-shirt from Costa Rica. Of course there is no Hard Rock Café in Costa Rica.
Then we headed for Manuel Antonio National park. No breakfast at the hotel today but we found a place on the highway. The guide at the partk was very good walking us through the rain forest and pointing out the different monkeys birds and sloths. After the tour we had an hour of beach time before the park closed at 4:00.
We stopped in Quepos at El Avion on the way back. It has a C123 airplane that once belonged to the CIA before one of its sister planes was shot down by the contras. The Iran Contra affair ensued and the airplane sat idle in San Jose for a few years before it was sold to some people who dismantled it and trucked to Quepos and turned it into a restaurant/bar. It was a nice meal looking out over the ocean. I recommend the blueberry Margaritas and the blackened Mahi-mahi.
Saturday 12/26/09
Today managed a zip line tour in the morning and then to fly at Caldera during sunset.
The zip line tours are billed as nature tours though the canopy and you do see a few things but it is mostly just fun gliding on wires from tree platform to tree platform. Mary Beth was a little nervous but managed to conquer her fear. Her voice was a couple octaves higher for the rest of the day when she talked about it. For her it was similar to a paraglider pilot’s first high flight. For Reed and the girls it was just plan fun.
After zip lines Reed and I headed to Caldera. The winds were a little strong so we waited a while. They finally backed off slightly and we enjoyed an hour of flying. I kept busy trying to get a shot with the sunset and a paraglider in silhouette.
Dinner in Jaco and the day was complete.
Sunday 12/27/09
Met Paul at the entrance to Nativa where he was staying with his wife. We loaded his gear and drove up to Turruba. Plan was to meet some of the locals in a village nearby and then drive to launch. After a 35 minute drive to the launch we saw clouds rolling in and the wind started coming over the back. We drove back down Somewhere on the way I managed to pick up a stone between brake rotor and dust shield. Lots of noise. We couldn’t get it out even pulling the tire. Finally it fell out after “screeching and squealing most of the way down the mountain.
We then drove to San Miguel. San Miguel is a sight just north of Caldera that is usually flown when the winds are too strong at Caldera. I flew for a half an hour in nice gentle thermals. I top landed and drove dove down. The road up to launch was very rough and Mary Beth was grateful she didn’t have to make the drive. After dropping off Paul we headed to I heart Sushi for dinner. Emily and Sarah loved it. Mary Beth and I had Thai chicken. The restaurant manager called us outside after dinner were had spotted a sloth at the base of a palm tree. We watched as he slowly climbed back up into the tree.
Monday 12/28/09
Another breakfast and mission planning for the day. We easily made arrangements for an afternoon sea kayaking tour with Jaco Kayak. The morning was spent running errands around town. Sarah bought her bus tickets for the trip to San Jose and then on to Nicaragua.
The kayaking was a lot of fun. We spent about a half hour paddling south to a spot where we did some swimming and then another 15 minutes over to a good area for snorkeling. Mary Beth got to try out her underwater camera. The guides were very helpful in finding the different fish and holding them for us to photograph.
After dinner in Jaco we adjourned to the hotel restaurant where Emily set up a projector and we started watching a movie. I found the Monday night football game a little more interesting and watched the Vikings lose to the Bears in overtime.
Tuesday 12/29/09
This is Sarah’s last day with us before she heads to San Jose tomorrow. We dropped off laundry this am. We got a ton of clothes washed for $16. Mary Beth was still recovering from Kayaking and wanted to relax so Sarah agreed to be the paradriver. I drove up to launch and explained the route back down.
Sarah described her duties as “wing bitch” up on launch. Winds were a little light and the launch is on what at one time was a planned homesite. It is terraced and you have to set up back away from the edge so you can not see the thermal coming up and the wind lays on the ground in a shadow. Finally I got the wing laid out the way I wanted and launched. I just missed some bushes growing up from the next terrace down.
Winds at altitude were a little stronger south than I had bargained for. But staying in front of the ridge seemed to be no problem. As I gained altitude I headed west towards the coast. At one point I wondered if I could find lift over the town and fly to the beach. It didn’t seem possible as I started to loose altitude. Then coming back as I got lower I had to use speed bar to go forward away from the bottom of the ridge. I ended up landing just in front of the turn to go to the launch.
Meanwhile Sarah went for a short walk and managed to photograph a Toucan. I called her on the radio as she was driving down. Reaching down to grab the radio she took her eyes off the road and ended up nearly going down a ravine. Luckily she stopped with the front axle resting on the edge of the road with one wheel hanging in space and the car tilted at a 30 degree angle with the left rear wheel up in the air three feet.
I packed up as she hiked down to meet me. As we were hiking up a car with two men who had spotted the car from the highway stopped and offered assistance. We are very grateful to find such helpful people. They called the tow truck and stayed with us until we had the car back on the road. An hour and a half and $100 later we had the car back on the road. A dented and scraped bumper and torn mud flap seem to be most of the damage.
Sarah was very cool through the ordeal and only sobbed a little as we were driving back to the hotel. I think she was just realizing how close to serious injury she had been.
A dip in the pool and some chips with Guacamole along with a few rum and cokes and we were one big happy family again.
After dinner we were ready to download the pictures from Sarah’s camera. When I asked why there were only pictures from today pandemonium broke out as we tried to figure out what happened to the pictures. Meanwhile Mary Beth went on the computer and found a program to recover data off SD cards. $40 later we had the pictures recovered and everyone was happy.
Probably with the damage to the rental car and the SD card this will end up being the most expensive day of the vacation.
Wednesday 12/30/09
After breakfast we took Sarah to the bus station. She not off to San Jose and then on to Nicaragua.
Paul arrived around 10:30 and we headed for Dominical. It only takes about an hour and a half to get there from Jaco. The roads are now paved for all but about 5-10 kilometers. We arrived just around noon and had lunch at one of the restaurants along the highway while we waited for some local pilots to arrive.
We met Roberto and Marvin at the restaurant and headed for launch. The drive up to launch is fairly easy but long. The view however is spectacular. It’s on par with Cape Lookout on the Oregon coast or Wilderness in South Africa. Emily and Mary Beth spent some time taking photos and serving as “wing wenches”. The prefer that to the term Sarah used the day before.
Winds were a little on the light side but launchable. None of us managed to stay up long .At this site the glide out to the bail out LZ is fairly long so you only can scratch for a couple hundred feet below launch before you need to head for the LZ.
I got maybe 50 feet over launch and made a couple of passes in front of launch before I headed for the house thermal which is supposed to be in front of a radio tower south of launch. It wasn’t there. A few more plaintive attempts at benching up before it was time to head to the LZ. I arrived over the soccer field with plenty of altitude so I ended up continuing on and landing at the beach. Paul was right behind me and Roberto had landed there earlier.
We took our boots off and waded across the mouth of a small estuary and hiked a couple hundred meters to the bar. Still not used to the humidity I was sweating heavily at this point. The cold beer at the bar never tasted so good. As we were sitting at the bar the bartender pointed out a Cayman cruising around in the estuary. Hmm…
Driving back to Jaco we saw a beautiful orange sky with scattered gray clouds at sunset.
Finally we found a bar that had the mint to make Mohitos. Drinks, dinner and the day was complete.
Thursday 12/31/09
Today Emily went surfing. She had a two hour lesson and Jaco beach. We were surprised when she returned with pictures of her standing up on the board and riding a wave. Of course Emily was certain she could do it.
I flew Jaco. Mary Beth served as my driver and “launch wench”. We got there just before two and the cycles seemed better until I got my wing out and clipped in. After moving my wing into position several times and just when Mary Beth was about to die from heat stroke I managed to get the wing up and I launched. I could not find any lift to turn in and was very quickly down in the LZ.
Just as we got back from flying Emily called and I picked her up downtown. I stopped to have the car washed on the way back. I needed to check how much damage had been done to the front bumper from Sarah’s accident. Some deep scratches in the fascia but otherwise the shape as the designers intended.
Might as well work. Got up and went into the office. Why waste a vacation day at home. Back at the airport early Mary Beth and I had dinner and relaxed before our flight. I’ll never figure out airport security. When you are not in a hurry there is never a line. I think it only took us five minutes to get through.
Saturday 12/19/09
The seats on airplanes seem to get smaller and more uncomfortable every year. We had seats that would not recline on both the flights from Portland to Atlanta and then from Atlanta to San Jose. But we made it and that’s what counts
Getting through immigration and baggage claim on arrival was easy. Buying a sim chip for a phone at the ICE counter in baggage claim took an hour. There was a guy ahead of me that was buying a data plan or something and another guy trying to get a new chip to work in his I phone. I still don’t have a phone that is unlocked but hopefully I will get an unlock code soon. The moral of the story is if you want a phone that is unlocked you need to start working on it well before our trip starts—not two days before.
We had reserved an SUV and ended up with a brand new Kia Sorrento from Avis. It had 38 kilometers on the odometer. So much fore being inconspicuous. I don’t want to think about how much it is going to cost. It’s a diesel and a little bit of a slug on acceleration compared to my Grand Cherokee but it’s comfortable. The GPS map I bought on line works pretty well. It got me out of San Jose and on the way to Grandpa Ninjas place fairly easily. It is not perfect, though. I as not paying full attention to how it was trying to route me to Grandpa Ninjas and it cost me a half hour of driving. In the end we just navigated with the map for the last 10 kilometers or so.
Grandpa Ninjas is a nice B&B out in the country. Sitting on the deck you can see the bay in the distance. It’s very comfortable when there is a breeze but when the breeze stops the humidity and temperature can get to you. Kati, keeps the house and acts as host and guide. Marvin works as a gardener and security guard. It’s kind of nice that we have the whole house here pretty much to ourselves.
Reed Gleason met us and after unpacking we headed to the grocery store and then out for dinner in Puntarenas with Jose and Vanessa. Jose is a local tandem rated pilot and Vanessa is an American who seems to have adapted Costa Rica as her new residence. Mary Beth and I had Corvina. It’s the local, most popular fish. Mine was covered with shrimp and a special sauce so I probably didn’t get to sample the flavor. Reed ordered a steak what came out looked like it could have fed all of us.
The flying didn’t look so promising for the next day so Jose and Vanessa headed back to there home and we went back to Grandpa Ninjas and crashed. Mary Beth said I was sawing logs within a minute of turning the lights out.
Sunday 12/20/09
We had a breakfast of scrambled eggs, rice and beans, Mellon and banana along with Orange juice. That’s the normal “Tico” (Native Costa Rican) Breakfast. And of course, we had some very good Costa Rican Coffee.
Around 10:30 we headed for Caldera. Kati and Reed led the way in her SUV with Mary Beth and I following. I had not been expecting much since it seemed to be blowing offshore at Grandpa Ninjas. Caldera is owned by a Swiss pilot who has been living in Costa Rica for 11 years. His name is Jean Claude. He has a little bar behind launch that serves soft drinks, beer, and snacks. Mary Beth loved it. It is a lot like Torrey Pines in some respects but much less formal. No whistles to blow or site video and liability waivers. They also have T-shirts. Over Mary Beth’s objections I bought one.
The winds were a little north light and swirly but Reed and I got off. Not the best launch technique but safe. The first flight was about an hour. We only managed maybe 250 feet over launch. We landed in a cow pasture just off the beach. That or a soccer field is the preferred LZ according to Jean Claude but the cow pasture is more open. Yes, that’s cows next to the beach and not condos. Some of the locals drove us back to launch.
I had not taken my camera on the first flight so I decided I needed to fly again. The winds had clocked around a little but were still light. The second flight lasted an hour and forty-five minutes. I had not intended to fly so long but it was pretty comfortable. In shorts and T shirt I was still sometimes a little warm. I spent a lot of time trying to get a good picture of the buzzards that were soaring the ridge as well. Its hard because they always seem to come close to you when you do not have your camera ready. I did manage one picture of Reed flying in formation with one of the birds. Just slightly off frame but with a little photoshoping it should be fine. It was a lot of fun. Not very crowded. Maybe 10 gliders in the air at one point. Still we only got maybe 500 feet over launch on the second flights. The wind had continued to clock around and was coming straight in which improved the dynamic lift.
It’s a small world. Mary Beth struck up a conversation with some pilots from Norway and one of them had flown with Spider Monkey in Nepal. We may see here in Oregon next summer.
After flying we stopped at the Maxi Bodega and picked up a roasted chicken and some things for dinner. Mary Beth cooked plantons and made salads and we sat on the deck at Grandpa Ninjas eating dinner and looking at photos on the computers. Reed managed t get some pictures of Howler monkeys.
After dinner I tried to fix helmet headset while Reed and Mary Beth watched the SciFi channel. I had problems with the microphone working before the trip but I had been repaired and seemed to work when I tried before leaving Portland. So much for high tech blue tooth push to talk headsets.
Monday 12/21
Pancakes for breakfast. We told the cook that the rice and beans were much better so now every morning from now on it will be rice and beans. It seems there other guests got tired of rice and beans every morning so they usually alternate.
Weather was overcast and rainy. We drove to Caldera just to have a look. Winds were cross and there was a squall off shore that seemed to be coming our way so we decided to visit the national park Carrara, just north of Jaco. This park was a transitional rain forest. Not fully canopied.
We paid for a guided tour and it’s a good thing we did. The guide could spot the birds and other animals that we just would have never seen otherwise. We saw monkeys, a sloth, and a number of different birds who’s names I can not remember. The guides use a tripod and monocular to get close-up views of the animals. With Mary Beth’s didgital camera you could take a picture through the monocular. Most of them came out quite well
Along the way we stopped at the Tarcones bridge to see the crocodiles. Lots of them just lounging around just waiting for something to eat.
After the tour we headed into Jaco and had dinner at Clarita’s. It’s right on the beach and more of a night life place. But it was fun to see all the NFL highlights and other things on the big screen TV. After dinner we headed back to Grandpa Ninja’s. Reed went to bed at 9 and Mary Beth and I stayed up till 10 watching “Dirty Dancing” with Spanish subtitles on the satellite TV.
Tuesday 12/22/09
It was great sleeping-- Not nearly as hot. The rain from yesterday cooled things off. The weather forecast for today is a high of 27C. So I’m guessing we will be back to difficult sleeping tomorrow. This morning we got HUGE portions of rice and beans for breakfast. I phoned and made arrangements for lodging the night before leaving in San Jose. There seems to be a great difference in rates here. We found an apartment near the airport with two rooms for $75 a night. Quite a difference from the Hampton inn at the airport which is $140 a night for a single.
More flying at Caldera. I managed to get some great pictures of reed flying with the birds.
Wednesday12/23/09
After searching and finally finding a cash machine on the way to Caldera we now had cash to pay Kati. While Mary Beth figured out he exchange rate Reed and I flew for two hours. Conditions were a little on the light side. The winds were south enough that you if you could fly to the north point if you got 300 or so feet over launch. I managed out and back twice. You lose around 175 to 200 feet going over. But once over there you can see the waves crashing against a rock wall. No beach to land on over there.
After flying we drove down to Jaco to find Doscelunas. There we just enough signs to help out. You drive down a road with small houses on either side and then you come to a big gate. Inside is the hotel with a beautiful swimming pool and lush gardens all around. We ended up moving to a different room because of a problem with a noisy ceiling fan. Mary Beth enjoyed the pool while I schlepped the bags from one room to another. Meanwhile Emily and Sarah arrived.
The hotel was not serving dinner but recommended a nice restaurant for us. The Estuary. Dinner and bed followed. At dinner we decide to do a secret Santa for Christmas with at 10,000 Colones limit
Thursday 12/24/09
Thursday AM we headed into town to do our Secret Santa Christmas shopping. I bought Reed a Birdhouse wind chime with Costa Rica on it. Hope he likes it.
In the afternoon we headed up to find the Jaco Launch. We found it but the winds and thermals were too light to launch. We would have to do it another day.
Some pool time followed.
The hotel seems to be without a chef at the moment. The owner, Brian cooked a special meal with fish, rice, shrimp and some other Costa Rican dishes. Very good.
Friday 12/25/09
We got up on Christmas morning and exchanged our secret Santa gifts. My gift was a Hard Rock Café T-shirt from Costa Rica. Of course there is no Hard Rock Café in Costa Rica.
Then we headed for Manuel Antonio National park. No breakfast at the hotel today but we found a place on the highway. The guide at the partk was very good walking us through the rain forest and pointing out the different monkeys birds and sloths. After the tour we had an hour of beach time before the park closed at 4:00.
We stopped in Quepos at El Avion on the way back. It has a C123 airplane that once belonged to the CIA before one of its sister planes was shot down by the contras. The Iran Contra affair ensued and the airplane sat idle in San Jose for a few years before it was sold to some people who dismantled it and trucked to Quepos and turned it into a restaurant/bar. It was a nice meal looking out over the ocean. I recommend the blueberry Margaritas and the blackened Mahi-mahi.
Saturday 12/26/09
Today managed a zip line tour in the morning and then to fly at Caldera during sunset.
The zip line tours are billed as nature tours though the canopy and you do see a few things but it is mostly just fun gliding on wires from tree platform to tree platform. Mary Beth was a little nervous but managed to conquer her fear. Her voice was a couple octaves higher for the rest of the day when she talked about it. For her it was similar to a paraglider pilot’s first high flight. For Reed and the girls it was just plan fun.
After zip lines Reed and I headed to Caldera. The winds were a little strong so we waited a while. They finally backed off slightly and we enjoyed an hour of flying. I kept busy trying to get a shot with the sunset and a paraglider in silhouette.
Dinner in Jaco and the day was complete.
Sunday 12/27/09
Met Paul at the entrance to Nativa where he was staying with his wife. We loaded his gear and drove up to Turruba. Plan was to meet some of the locals in a village nearby and then drive to launch. After a 35 minute drive to the launch we saw clouds rolling in and the wind started coming over the back. We drove back down Somewhere on the way I managed to pick up a stone between brake rotor and dust shield. Lots of noise. We couldn’t get it out even pulling the tire. Finally it fell out after “screeching and squealing most of the way down the mountain.
We then drove to San Miguel. San Miguel is a sight just north of Caldera that is usually flown when the winds are too strong at Caldera. I flew for a half an hour in nice gentle thermals. I top landed and drove dove down. The road up to launch was very rough and Mary Beth was grateful she didn’t have to make the drive. After dropping off Paul we headed to I heart Sushi for dinner. Emily and Sarah loved it. Mary Beth and I had Thai chicken. The restaurant manager called us outside after dinner were had spotted a sloth at the base of a palm tree. We watched as he slowly climbed back up into the tree.
Monday 12/28/09
Another breakfast and mission planning for the day. We easily made arrangements for an afternoon sea kayaking tour with Jaco Kayak. The morning was spent running errands around town. Sarah bought her bus tickets for the trip to San Jose and then on to Nicaragua.
The kayaking was a lot of fun. We spent about a half hour paddling south to a spot where we did some swimming and then another 15 minutes over to a good area for snorkeling. Mary Beth got to try out her underwater camera. The guides were very helpful in finding the different fish and holding them for us to photograph.
After dinner in Jaco we adjourned to the hotel restaurant where Emily set up a projector and we started watching a movie. I found the Monday night football game a little more interesting and watched the Vikings lose to the Bears in overtime.
Tuesday 12/29/09
This is Sarah’s last day with us before she heads to San Jose tomorrow. We dropped off laundry this am. We got a ton of clothes washed for $16. Mary Beth was still recovering from Kayaking and wanted to relax so Sarah agreed to be the paradriver. I drove up to launch and explained the route back down.
Sarah described her duties as “wing bitch” up on launch. Winds were a little light and the launch is on what at one time was a planned homesite. It is terraced and you have to set up back away from the edge so you can not see the thermal coming up and the wind lays on the ground in a shadow. Finally I got the wing laid out the way I wanted and launched. I just missed some bushes growing up from the next terrace down.
Winds at altitude were a little stronger south than I had bargained for. But staying in front of the ridge seemed to be no problem. As I gained altitude I headed west towards the coast. At one point I wondered if I could find lift over the town and fly to the beach. It didn’t seem possible as I started to loose altitude. Then coming back as I got lower I had to use speed bar to go forward away from the bottom of the ridge. I ended up landing just in front of the turn to go to the launch.
Meanwhile Sarah went for a short walk and managed to photograph a Toucan. I called her on the radio as she was driving down. Reaching down to grab the radio she took her eyes off the road and ended up nearly going down a ravine. Luckily she stopped with the front axle resting on the edge of the road with one wheel hanging in space and the car tilted at a 30 degree angle with the left rear wheel up in the air three feet.
I packed up as she hiked down to meet me. As we were hiking up a car with two men who had spotted the car from the highway stopped and offered assistance. We are very grateful to find such helpful people. They called the tow truck and stayed with us until we had the car back on the road. An hour and a half and $100 later we had the car back on the road. A dented and scraped bumper and torn mud flap seem to be most of the damage.
Sarah was very cool through the ordeal and only sobbed a little as we were driving back to the hotel. I think she was just realizing how close to serious injury she had been.
A dip in the pool and some chips with Guacamole along with a few rum and cokes and we were one big happy family again.
After dinner we were ready to download the pictures from Sarah’s camera. When I asked why there were only pictures from today pandemonium broke out as we tried to figure out what happened to the pictures. Meanwhile Mary Beth went on the computer and found a program to recover data off SD cards. $40 later we had the pictures recovered and everyone was happy.
Probably with the damage to the rental car and the SD card this will end up being the most expensive day of the vacation.
Wednesday 12/30/09
After breakfast we took Sarah to the bus station. She not off to San Jose and then on to Nicaragua.
Paul arrived around 10:30 and we headed for Dominical. It only takes about an hour and a half to get there from Jaco. The roads are now paved for all but about 5-10 kilometers. We arrived just around noon and had lunch at one of the restaurants along the highway while we waited for some local pilots to arrive.
We met Roberto and Marvin at the restaurant and headed for launch. The drive up to launch is fairly easy but long. The view however is spectacular. It’s on par with Cape Lookout on the Oregon coast or Wilderness in South Africa. Emily and Mary Beth spent some time taking photos and serving as “wing wenches”. The prefer that to the term Sarah used the day before.
Winds were a little on the light side but launchable. None of us managed to stay up long .At this site the glide out to the bail out LZ is fairly long so you only can scratch for a couple hundred feet below launch before you need to head for the LZ.
I got maybe 50 feet over launch and made a couple of passes in front of launch before I headed for the house thermal which is supposed to be in front of a radio tower south of launch. It wasn’t there. A few more plaintive attempts at benching up before it was time to head to the LZ. I arrived over the soccer field with plenty of altitude so I ended up continuing on and landing at the beach. Paul was right behind me and Roberto had landed there earlier.
We took our boots off and waded across the mouth of a small estuary and hiked a couple hundred meters to the bar. Still not used to the humidity I was sweating heavily at this point. The cold beer at the bar never tasted so good. As we were sitting at the bar the bartender pointed out a Cayman cruising around in the estuary. Hmm…
Driving back to Jaco we saw a beautiful orange sky with scattered gray clouds at sunset.
Finally we found a bar that had the mint to make Mohitos. Drinks, dinner and the day was complete.
Thursday 12/31/09
Today Emily went surfing. She had a two hour lesson and Jaco beach. We were surprised when she returned with pictures of her standing up on the board and riding a wave. Of course Emily was certain she could do it.
I flew Jaco. Mary Beth served as my driver and “launch wench”. We got there just before two and the cycles seemed better until I got my wing out and clipped in. After moving my wing into position several times and just when Mary Beth was about to die from heat stroke I managed to get the wing up and I launched. I could not find any lift to turn in and was very quickly down in the LZ.
Just as we got back from flying Emily called and I picked her up downtown. I stopped to have the car washed on the way back. I needed to check how much damage had been done to the front bumper from Sarah’s accident. Some deep scratches in the fascia but otherwise the shape as the designers intended.
After a short swim we headed for Villa Caletas to watch the sunset and have dinner. The villa is on a bluff overlooking the sea and the islands off shore. It’s the perfect place to watch the sunset. Dinner was a little pricy but the sunset and atmosphere was worth it.
Back from dinner Mary Beth and I spent the evening watching TV and bringing in the new decade with a bottle of sparkling wine. Emily took a taxi into town and spent new years eve with some friends she had made earlier in the week.
Friday 1/1/10
After a late breakfast I borrowed a machete and headed up to the Jaco launch. 35 minutes of whacking and slashing and the tall grass was gone. Cycles seemed better than the day before so I hooked in. The cycles were not that strong and it took me 6 tries to get the wing over my had and pressurized to the point I was comfortable launching.
I don’t think I am ever going to launch here again unless I see birds soaring. I only found a few bubbles of lift and was very quickly down on the ground. I landed in a smooth sea of chest high grass. Mary Beth picked me up and I drank a soda and debated if I wanted to sweat off another 5 lbs. In the end I decided I really need a better flight so we went back up to launch.
On launch the sun was out and the cycles were coming in about the same as earlier. I laid the wing out and decided to see if conditions would bet better. They didn’t. The clouds behind launch were slowly moving over head and killing thermals.. Paul called to let me know there were some other pilots coming our way. They arrived just as I was putting my wing in the stuff sack. We waited a while but things didn’t get any better. We drove back and headed to the pool to cool off before the rose bowl started.
The Rose Bowl was a good game but too many penalties and turnovers for Oregon. Since the rest of the extended family are Buckeye fans I’ll have to keep a low profile on football for the next year.
Saturday 1/2/2010
We headed an hour and a half south to Dominical today. Emily stayed in Jaco to surf and hang out with some friends.
I was hoping for an epic flight well above launch. Arriving at launch around 12 there was a very light base wind and no birds soaring. I had a lot of trouble getting the wing up and stable. Since the launch has an abrupt edge with light winds our in a shadow and I set up well back to give myself room to run backwards about 20 feet in order to get the wing over my head stable and pressurized before launching. I aborted a launch right at the edge and ended up about 3 feed in front of launch in the ferns. Mary Beth and I spent the next 20 minutes pulling the glider out of the ferns and clearing lines.
Funny thing happened. The launch because of the vista is right on the path of a horseback riding trail. While I was trying to launch we met the owner of a horseback riding tour and his friend. The owner was originally from Portland and the other guy owns the hobby shop in Hood River. They gave us a number of reasons why they were in Costa Rica. Many of them were weather related.
Finally I got the wing where wanted it and I was off.
I made one pass left of launch and back and I was about 50 feet over. Then I tried a little further down the ridge and lost my altitude. I headed out towards the soccer field and found light thermals coming up from some cleared areas for future home sights. I circled in these for 10 minutes or so before giving up. The glide to the LZ was interesting. Using the glide ratio readout on my GPS I made it OK but I did have that “sinking feeling” as flew towards the LZ and occasionally hit some sink. There is no good place to land except trees short of that soccer field.
I made the soccer field clearing the power lines and upon landing was greeted by 3 little Amigos anxious to help me fold my wing. I don’t think they were happy that I had a stuff sack. Mary Beth met me a few minutes later and we headed back up for another try.
On the second attempt the winds were even lighter and Mary Beth got a workout laying out my wing. She would hold the wing up for me and I would run back and the wing would hang at a 30 degree angle and not go up. I will stretch my lines when I get back to Portland to see if that has anything to do with the problem. There is a lot of humidity down here and I think that may be what was causing the glider to hang part way up.
Finally, a local started helping lay out the wing and eventually I got a cycle that worked and I was off on the second flight. I had essentially the same flight plan except the thermals from the house pads had pretty well shut down. The air was much more buoyant on this trip out and I arrived with plenty of altitude to make the beach but the tide still coming in and there was no beach to land on. Meanwhile an impromptu soccer game had started in the LZ. I landed and was greeted like a rock star for a minute or two while I gathered my wing and headed to the edge of the field. I had ten minutes or so to try and cool down before Mary Beth arrived at the LZ.
Another beautiful sunset as we drove back to Jaco.
This was our last night in Jaco. We had dinner with Emily and one of her friends she met down here. Her friend is spending the summer vacation surfing until she starts her job teaching second grade at a private school outside Jaco. Not a bad life.
We spent an hour doing some packing and the day was complete.
Sunday 1/3/10
Breakfast and a little finish packing and we were ready to check out from Doscelunas.
Emily heads back to the U.S. today. We arranged transportation directly to the airport for her. $90. Not cheap but no risk of missing her plane this way.
We arrived an Nemaclys (Caldera launch) around 11:30. Winds were blowing strong offshore. There was a nice breeze on the patio so we relaxed and drank sodas while we waited for the winds to clock around.
It was launchable by 1 and I was in the air from 1:15 till 4:20. Reed joined me later and we had the ridge pretty much to ourselves and the birds. I took tons of pictures of birds. I got some really great pictures of pelicans, vultures, and a frigate bird.
After flying we had dinner near the launch and then headed for Grandpa Ninja’s. I spent the evening packing up the wing and getting ready for tomorrow. It was tough sleeping in a non AC place after spending 11 nights with AC in Docelunas.
Monday 1/4/10
I woke up early showered and enjoyed the last morning in the country with breakfast on the Deck at Grandpa Ninja’s. The drive to San Jose was relatively easy. Not so many trucks on the road and we averaged 70 KPH.
Finding the Melrost bed and breakfast was a bit of a challenge. We found the major landmarks on the back of the card we had been given but we drove past the place twice before an old man standing outside saw us and pointed out the place. It would have been much easier to just go to the car rental and have them pick us up there. Reed was supposed to join us but he did not have a cell phone and gave up trying to get directions from the front desk. He spent the night at the Holiday Inn express.
The people at Melrost were very friendly and helpful. They took us to a nice steakhouse for dinner and picked us up when we had finished. The rooms there are pretty basic but clean. There is a small kitchen and the place is within walking distance from a mall with a MasXMenos grocery store. It could serve as a good base of operations if you wanted to tour San Jose. The best thing going for it is the price. One down side was our shower. They had an electric heater connected that only put out lukewarm water. It keeps water usage to a minimum I guess. The rooms are not air conditioned, But San Jose cools off more in the night and sleeping conditions were marginally tolerable.
Tuesday 1/5/10
We got up at 4:30, showered and were headed to the airport by 5:00AM with a small breakfast provided by the B&B. The flight didn’t depart until 7:50 but we wanted to make sure that we had time for the “extra” security. It cost us a total of 28,000 Colones to leave which had to be paid before we checked in for the flight. Checking in online and paying for baggage charge saved us a lot of time. We were sitting at the gate 50 minutes after we arrived at the airport. Better to be safe than miss a flight, I guess. When Emily went through the airport for an afternoon flight it took her three hours.
A six hour layover in Houston. About an hour to get through customs and re-checked through security. The next 5 hours was spent catching up on work E-mail and trying to pick the best vacation pictures and video out of the hundreds taken.
Finally the flight from Houston to Portland boarded and we were happy to see Reed arrive at the gate just in time to make the flight. Flight from Houston to Portland was just long and boring. Nice to get home and sleep in my own bed. Back to work on Wednesday. Time to start planning the next trip.
Things to keep in mind when traveling to Costa Rica
If you have allergies take medication with you. There is a lot of pollen in the air that will get to you. However if you forget you can get something at the drugstore. They were selling Allegra over the counter which worked wonders for me.
Get a GSM cell phone unlocked before you leave and you can buy a SIM chip and get lots of minutes for about $20 at the I.C.E. booth in the baggage claim area. Give yourself a couple of weeks before leaving to get a phone unlocked. It took me 3-4 days to get an old phone unlocked.
It’s really hot and humid at the coast. Don’t bother with any clothes other than T shirts and shorts if you are going to the Pacific coast. San Jose and the inland areas are cooler but you probably won’t need much more than a sweatshirt.
Take plenty of sweat-proof sunscreen.
Go with a tour (Nick Crane) or be sure to make contact with one of the locals when you go. Grandpa Ninga’s (Fred Grotenhouse) has a nice bed and Breakfast but it’s not air conditioned so sleeping can be rough till you acclimate. Finding roads up to site and getting access to some of the sites will be difficult otherwise.
Learn a little Spanish. Numbers and adjectives help. In Jaco and at most of the fancy hotels you will have no problems. But at the gas station or some of the remote areas there is not a lot of English spoken.
Save some money for the exit fee. It’s $26 dollars to leave the country. You need to have this done BEFORE you can check in for your flight.
Check in on line when you can It can cut your waiting time significantly at the airport
Time from arrival to being at the gate for your flight can vary significantly. 50 minutes to 2.5 hours depending on the time of day.
You can buy GPS maps on line to save you having to rent a car GPS. We bought one that claimed to have routing but the routing did not work very well. Still there it helped a lot.
