Saturday, July 28, 2012 Arrive San José, Costa Rica /Santo Tomas
At Juan Santamaría International Airport, you will be met by a representative of Andrew Harper travel partner, Costa Rica Expeditions, who will guide your family through customs and to the Hotel Bougainvillea in the quiet mountain town of Santo Tomas. The tranquil hotel is surrounded by 10 acres of gardens, where you may catch your first glimpse of the yigüirro, the national bird of Costa Rica, or the photogenic blue-crowned motmot. Within its 10 acres of landscaped tropical gardens, the hotel maintains a labyrinth hedge maze that is fun for children to explore.
Early arrivals may join a naturalist guide for a garden walking tour; the green oasis features dozens of species of bromeliads, native trees and orchids, as well as herb and cactus gardens. Viewing points make it easy to watch and identify colorful hummingbirds and butterflies that are typical of Costa Rica’s Central Valley. Picturesque ponds offer a protective haven for endangered “coffee frogs."
The welcome dinner is at your hotel.
Hotel Bougainvillea (City View rooms) D
Sunday, July 29, 2012 San Jose/Tortuguero
After a continental breakfast, you will be driven to Pavas Airport for a 35-minute flight to Tortuguero. Then at Tortuga Lodge and Gardens, enjoy a full breakfast and a welcome orientation session before boarding a boat to explore the rainforest of Tortuguero National Park.
The park was set aside to protect a major nesting beach of the Atlantic green sea turtle, and it now encompasses 51,870 acres laced with natural inland waterways and canals, one of the last large areas of tropical rain forest in Central America. It’s a wildlife haven, home to three-toed sloths, river otters, iguanas, river turtles, basilisk lizards, poison dart frogs, three species of monkeys and more than 320 species of birds, including toucans, parrots, the slaty-tailed trogon, the white-collared manakin, the purple-throated fruitcrow and the white-fronted nunbird. Your naturalist guide will help you identify an array of fascinating wildlife as you wind through the creeks of of the park.
After lunch at the lodge, there’ll be time to relax or swim in the pool. Then, following a brief lecture, you’ll leave for a private excursion to see nesting Atlantic green sea turtles.
Your evening starts with drinks and hors d’oeuvres on the bank of the Tortuguero River in an elegant living room on the grass. Then follow a torchlit path to your table for a specially prepared barbecue and dessert and the digestif of your choice while you listen to the sounds of the forest at night.
After dinner, your private guide will take you on a 10-minute boat ride to the mouth of the Parismina River for an adventurous beach walk, lighted only by myriad stars. We’ll wait on the sand for a female turtle to find just the right spot in which to lay her eggs. When she enters a trance-like state, you will be able to approach without disturbing her and watch the process as she lays her eggs, then makes her way back to the sea, guided by the luminescent waves.
Tortuga Lodge and Gardens (Deluxe rooms) B,L,D
Monday, July 30, 2012 Tortuguero
This morning, you’ll take a three-hour guided expedition through the back creeks of Tortuguero National Park, by power boat or by kayak—your choice. Kayaks are able to reach more remote areas of the park where wildlife is most abundant, regions that are inaccessible to motorboats.
Later, in the afternoon, we’ll have the opportunity to help local school children with their English lessons by visiting a classroom in San Francisco de Tortuguero and engaging in conversation. And we’ll join the schoolchildren in a special soccer scrimmage, known as megenga, which has been organized for our visit.
Tortuga Lodge and Gardens (Deluxe rooms) B,L,D
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 Tortuguero/Arenal
Join your naturalist guide after breakfast and board a Costa Rica Expeditions chartered flight to La Fortuna in Arenal, where you’ll be driven to the Arenal Nayara Hotel, on the outskirts of the Arenal Volcano Area.
With its near-perfect cone and a crater 459 feet deep, awe-inspiring Arenal Volcano soars 5,357 feet above sea level. From time to time, loud explosions rumble, and clouds of gray, brown, orange or blue smoke billow out the top. At night, you may see bursts of fire and red-hot rocks shoot hundreds of feet into the sky, or glowing material cascade down the mountainside. The volcano can be intimidating, but the resident volcanologist says it is going through a quiet cycle, and the people of Fortuna and San Carlos seem to have accepted living nearby with relative peace of mind.
Later in the morning, visit Burio Farm, where owner Don Juan will show us around his plantation, where you’ll see fruits you may never have seen in the supermarket. A model of sustainable farming, Burio Farm is also a paradise for birds. Try your hand at processing sugar cane using a trapiche—a sugar mill. And enjoy a healthy organic lunch that the children on a recent Andrew Harper Family Tour voted “best meal”.
Arenal Nayara Hotel, Spa and Gardens (Casita deluxe rooms) B,L,D
Wednesday, August 01, 2012 Arenal
Take a full day to enjoy the Arenal Volcano area. This morning, choose either a canyoning trek or a visit to the Arenal Hanging Bridges.
Pure Trek Canyoning
A 30-minute 4×4 drive will bring you to a ranch house in the mountains. After a safety talk, put your gear on for a short trek to the top of the first waterfall, from which we start our descent. Experience five rappels—four waterfalls and one canyon rock wall—from 45 to 170 feet high. All are guaranteed to get your blood moving! Easy-to-follow trails lead from waterfall to waterfall.
Arenal Hanging Bridges
With your guide, visit the Arenal hanging bridges: eight fixed bridges 26-72 feet long, and six hanging bridges 157-321 feet long. Made of galvanized steel and high-strength aluminum, they blend with the natural environment, and as you walk, you’ll appreciate the rain forest’s diversity of flowers and wildlife. Weather permitting, you’ll also see some impressive views of the volcano.
Late this afternoon, visit the Hidalgo Family Hot Springs, a necklace of five free-flowing pools set in a natural river gorge. Water temperature ranges from 100ºF (38ºC) to 109ºF (43ºC) depending on the pool. An assortment of blended beverages helps you stay cool between soaks. Later, dig into a Costa Rican home-style meal.
Arenal Nayara Hotel, Spa and Gardens (Casita Deluxe rooms) B,L,D
Thursday, August 02, 2012 Arenal/Punta Islita
After breakfast, board a Costa Rica Expeditions chartered flight to the Andrew Harper-recommended Punta Islita resort and your accommodations in the colonial-style Hotel Punta Islita, tucked into a secluded tract of tropical dry forest. This fascinating, but endangered, ecosystem is home to about 155 species of mammals, 253 species of birds, 100 species of amphibians and reptiles, as well as unique tree species and brilliant tropical flowers. Punta Islita pioneered conservation initiatives to secure the effective protection and long-term survival of this precious and delicate habitat.
This afternoon, you may enjoy a relaxing bird-watching walk, or soar through the forest canopy by way of a steel-cable zip line that provides safe thrills and spectacular views of the jungle.
Hotel Punta Islita (Two or Three-bedroom Villas) B
Friday, August 03, 2012 Islita Beach
Enjoy a day of relaxing at the beach in Carillo, with a delicious picnic lunch beneath the palm trees. Experienced instructors will offer surfing lessons—fun for novices as well as experienced surfers.
Hotel Punta Islita (Two or Three-bedroom Villas) B,L
Saturday, August 04, 2012 Islita Beach
Morning: Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island
This morning we visit the Charles Darwin Research Station and its resident animal celebrities, such as the tortoise, Lonesome George. The station is headquarters for scientific investigation, conservation and the National Park administration in the islands. [Difficulty level: easy.]
Hotel Punta Islita (Two or Three-bedroom Villas) B
Sunday, August 05, 2012 Punta Islita/San Jose/Departure
A 50-minute charter flight takes you to San Jose, where you will be met and escorted to the terminal for your departure.
B
