I’m not much of a luxury traveler – I like it rough. But a glimpse of La Mansion Inn in Costa Rica convinced me of the benefits of some occasional swankiness.
Costa Rica
5 Places That Will Make You Happy to Be Alive
A friend of mine recently got back from Hawaii. I commented in his blog that Hawaii has a vibe that makes you feel lighter. It’s like the drag of gravity abates. You breathe easier. Your shoulders relax, moving away from your ears. The air smells better, and food tastes better.
“It makes you happy to be alive,” he replied to my message. Yes, it sure does.
That inspired me to make a list of some places that will make you happy to be alive. Feel free to add yours in the comments
Cairns, Australia – I was shocked when I arrived in Cairns. It’s far smaller than I expected, with a laid-back attitude (even the airport rental car agents are friendly). It seemed to be all beaches flanked by mountains jutting out of the coastline. It’s also a great starting point to visit a lot of cool areas, like Port Douglas and the Atherton Tablelands. Like coffee? This is the gateway to Australia’s coffee plantations. Also, there’s lots of good hiking. And some thing called the Great Barrier Reef – you may have heard of it.
Waitomo, New Zealand – This is just hours from Auckland. It’s very small and very rural – and so relaxing that you can slip into a coma. Which is what you’ll be ready for if you choose to hit the multitude of limestone caves in the area, where you can scope out the famous glow worms. When you can hear sheep and pigs outside your hotel, you know [...]
Creature Feature – Coatis in Costa Rica
If you like things furry and four-legged, there’s a good chance you’ll run into a coati during your visit to Costa Rica. I didn’t know this until I arrived in Monteverde, a laid-back town in the mountains north of San Jose.
We showed up in Monteverde after the bruising ride from La Fortuna – the boat portion of the trip across Lake Arenal was fun, but after that? Forget about it. An exercise in brutality, it was – but that’s for another post.
After stashing our bags at La Colina, I was eager to walk around and get my equilibrium back. I filled up some water bottles and we began meandering about. Off in the distance near a trailhead, I saw a bunch of small creatures with their tails proudly thrust into the air. We were far away, and I assumed this was just some massive collection of house cats.
Being the cat-friendly guy that I am, I wanted to pet them. So I made the universal “kittykittykitty” noise. And the group turned to face me as one.
These were no cats! They had longer snouts and huge claws. But they trotted gamely up to us – clearly, visitors had not been heeding the signs that we began reading: DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS. They quickly surrounded us, hoping for food. When they realized we were going to obey the signs, they wandered off.
Interestingly enough, coatis live far north, all the way into Arizona. They’ve been known to hang out east of Phoenix. I [...]
Monkeys on the Prowl in Costa Rica
So picture sitting down to breakfast. You’re having a nice plate of eggs and some fresh fruit when a monkey comes bursting in through a window.
The sharp-eyed little guy, who might weigh about 10 pounds, surveys the situation. His finely tuned senses spot a bunch of bananas hanging from some sort of rack. Before you can even think to reach for your digital camera -and before anyone else can- he seizes a banana and slips back out the window.
Meanwhile, everyone else in the room, all 20 of you, abandons breakfast to see more of this brash little primate. He shimmies up a telephone pole, banana in hand, and crosses over the street via a telephone wire. There, he shares his banana bounty with the rest of his troupe while everyone snaps photos.
That’s Manuel San Antonio, Costa Rica, in a nutshell. Monkeys add even more flavor to a vacation than a bottle of Salsa Lizano.
Something Tasty I Found in Central America
Here in the states, I’ve become hooked on a mighty sauce. It’s available just about everywhere despite its Asian heritage. That would be Sriracha, AKA Rooster Sauce. It goes on everything short of ice cream and oatmeal, and I’ve even seen a yogurt shop offer it as a topping. Crazy, right?
But there’s one sauce I’ve encountered in my travels that needs to catch Americans’ tastebuds.
And that would Salsa Lizano, a Costa Rican staple. It’s an essential in gallo pinto, the national dish, and a splash or two improves just about everything else it touches.
This isn’t a spicy sauce, nor is it what Americans typically define as salsa (tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, etc.). This is more like a tangy Central American version of A-1 steak sauce, but way, way better.
Here in Arizona, I’ve only found one store that has it. That’s absolutely criminal. We must do better!
Viva el Monstruo – Capturing Costa Rican Character
When I landed in Costa Rica back in 2003, I was pretty underprepared. This was my wife’s trip. She planned it and sweated the details. I packed my backpack (and actually remembered my underwear, for once), got on the plane and went along for the ride.
Unfortunately, this means I had little concept of the awesome soccer culture of Costa Rica. We woke up the day after our flight to a soccer mania that, we learned, would literally sweep the nation. We had little idea of this until we boarded a shuttle from San Jose to La Fortuna. As I got on the bus, I noticed that the driver, one of three employees on the bus, was decked out in purple: some sort of purple jersey, purplish jeans and even purple mirrored sunglasses.
As we drove off, I asked the older employee, who seemed to be the boss, what the deal was.
“Is for Saprissa, the football team. We are playing today against Alajuela, our rival. It is very big game,” he explained.
And wouldn’t you know it! Our route would take us straight through the heart of Alajuela, where fans of La Liga Alajuelense were parading up and down the streets in their striped jerseys. Our driver, apparently not one to let a sleeping dog lie, leered at, wagged his tongue at, gesticulated at and honked his horn at roving mobs of Alajuelense supporters. Everywhere we went, La Liga fans were boring holes in our bus with our eyes. And mind you, the [...]
Inside El Avion
You might remember my earlier post that mentioned El Avion. Well, I found a site where you can see some great photos of the interior. Give it a look! It’s definitely worth a trip to Manuel San Antonio, especially when you factor in that there are monkeys all over the place … and tasty ceviche for the taking! Oh, and the awesome La Mansion!
