Destination: Guanacaste, Costa Rica
The year 2022 was a whirlwind. That year, I worked as a Community Health Campaign/Events Manager for a not-for-profit organization, I managed social media for a few other non-profit organizations and graduated from college with a Bachelor’s of Science in Community Health. To celebrate these accomplishments, my family and I traveled to Costa Rica in the summer of May 2022.
The trip had a few ups and downs in the beginning, but overall was still a great experience. This was partially due to travel to Costa Rica during the rainy season. We spent 7 days and 6 nights in the Guanacaste area, at the RIU Hotel.
Alright, so let’s get straight to it! My family and I had to change our flights at the last minute which led to a lot of drama with the pre-booked shuttle transportation in Costa Rica. Instead of arriving in Guanacaste, we would be landing in San Jose. This was 5 hours away from our hotel. Eventually, we ended up using a different shuttle company after about a 3 hour wait at the airport. Our first night in Costa Rica was long, so once we got to the hotel, we all just went to sleep.
On day one of my trip, we decided to just chill at the hotel and see what it had to offer. After a nice morning, it began to rain. The rain continued into the evening, knocking out the power. To our surprise, we ended up eating dinner in the dark with a few candles to light the way. On the bright side, earlier that day, I did get to try one of the drinks at the bar called Dirty Monkey.
Day 2 we booked our excursions for the week and tried one of the gourmet restaurants located at our hotel.
By day 3, things really started to look up! We went on our first excursion which included a bus tour of Liberia City, visiting one of the waterfalls, and a guided walk through the rainforest.
During the bus tour, we learned that the name Guanacaste comes from the giant trees that the area is known for. In addition, some of the buildings in the neighborhoods of Liberia City are identified as historic sites and have to be maintained in their condition. These sites can be easily identified by their white color. More on this topic is available in my youtube video linked in this blog post.
Next, the bus turned on a street that had a large church and this area is known as the “White City.”
On the path towards the waterfall, there was a line up of locals selling jewelry, chocolate, and coffee. After this section, there was a layer of stairs taking you down hill towards the waterfall.
Catarata Waterfall
The area contains two waterfalls, giving tourists a great spot to take photos!
Rainforest
On the guided tour of the rainforest, we spotted several animals. This mainly consisted of birds, sloths and frogs. Though we did not spot too many of the insects, their presence was known through the sounds echoing in the rainforest.
*Some of the photos below were taken with a scope to provide a better view of the animals in tall trees.
Keel-billed Toucan
Red Eyed Tree Frog
Sloth
Broad-billed Motmot
Motmot
The last stop for this excursion was at a local restaurant close to the rain forest.
Local Restaurant
Check out this spider that I spotted in the restaurant that was just settling on this bird statue.
After a long day outside, we decided to relax on the beach for the next two days and enjoy the hotel before our next excursion.
Below are some pictures from the Italian restaurant at the hotel.
Italian Restaurant
On day 5, we got up early to catch the bus for our next excursion. This excursion would be taking us on a boat to a local island and allowing us to adore a sunset cruise. While on the island, I was able to spot three Howler monkeys, which was super exciting since we were unable to see any in the rainforest.
Boat Excursion
As we waited for the sunset, it began to rain on and off again. But the sunset was well worth the wait. I always love to see the sun stretch across the ocean, causing the water to shine.
After this photo was captured, the rain began to pour causing the water to become very choppy. By the time we left the big boat to catch the smaller boat back to shore, we were all soaked. With the arrival of nightfall, we were all freezing on the bus ride back to the hotel.
*The sunset was still worth it!
The hotel threw a neon party on our last night there. Sadly, by that time, my allergies were acting up, so the following photos were provided by my twin sister. The party consisted of the dancers from a previous show we had views on day 3, robots, and people on stilts.
Neon Party
In conclusion, if you are looking for a vacation where you can both appreciate a bit of nature and entertainment, I recommend going to Costa Rica. The tour guides are very attentive, for example, sharing their scope with the tourists to get better photos of the inhabitants. Moreover, try to avoid the rain season. It was a bit of a challenge to take photos and to plan the excursion dates due to the weather. Overall, I had a great time and hope to visit Central America again soon.
Remember to check out my Youtube Video of the trip and until next time!
XOXO,
BKD
