We saved the best for last

Golfo Dulce

The 40 minute ride down the west coast on Nature Air brought us in at Puerto Jimenez and staff from Lapa Rios were on hand for the 10 mile journey to the lodge.
This place is a proper Eco Lodge and receives 5 leaf ratings every year for sustainability. The food is locally sourced where possible and is far more imaginative than what we have eaten elsewhere, which proves that it is possible. Thatched bungalows sit up on a ridge with primary forest in the valley to the west while the Pacific waves roll onto the beach below and from the deck there are far reaching views south to the bottom of the country and Panama beyond.
There will be more on the various animals at the end but Toucans sit on the branches nearby while pairs of Scarlet Macaws regularly fly overhead. It is a short walk to the waterfalls on a clear spring fed river. Just offshore at the entrance to the ocean fjord is the meeting point of 2 tectonic plates, the water is warm but deep and humpbacked whales come here to give birth. Deep sea fishing is excellent and dolphins are plentiful, it really is an Eden.

Howler monkeys make a hell of a din starting early so coffee is delivered outside at 6 am.
There are numerous walks, zip lining, horse riding, surfing and more but much of the time we were content just sitting on deck reading, listening and watching for the next creature to appear.

There is much to admire in Costa Rica: it is Democratic (with strong links to China), there is no military (Army abolished 1948), there are 9 active volcanoes of which we saw 5. Most importantly it is considered to be the most biodiverse country on the planet. Unfortunately the very climate that creates that diversity; heat, humidity and heavy rain make it a place where we would not want to live but visit you must.
As previously mentioned it is a popular tourist destination, more flights are being added from Europe and therein lies the problem. Mass tourism in some areas has probably already started a decline. Our advice is to check any accommodation's certification to see if it is really Eco, try to find smaller lodges which will have guided tours in small groups (6 maximum). It is not necessary to go all over the country as most of the wildlife can be found in most locations. The south is far less populated than the north and is worth the extra cost (flying) or effort (driving) to avoid the busloads of package holiday makers.
The following list of what we saw in 17 days does NOT include all the frogs, toads, lizards or insects:

Cattle & Great Egret, Barethroated Heron, Neotropic Cormorant, Ringed Kingfisher, Common Black Hawk, White Hawk, Black & Turkey Vulture, Mealy Parrot, Scarlet Macaw, Black Throated Trogon, Black Mandibled Toucan, Rufous Tailed Hummingbird, Jacamar, Blue Crowned MotMot, Short Billed Pigeon, Blue Grey Tanager, Cherrie's Tanager, Scarlet Rumped Tanager, Boat Billed Flycatcher, Grey Capped Flycatcher, Kiskadee, Mangrove Hummingbird, Bronzy Hermit Hummingbird, Boat Billed & Bare Throated Heron, Grey Chested Dove, Purple Crowned Fairy, Tropical Kingbird, Yellow Headed Caracara, Crowned Wood Nymph, White Collared Seedeater, Fiery Billed Aracari, Orange Chinned Parakeets, Red Crowned Woodpecker and many others unidentified.

Spider, White Throated Capuchin, Howler, Squirrel Monkeys, Two Toed Sloth, Tamandua, Possum, Agouti, Pygmy Squirrel, Vine Snake, Iguanas,

There is not a great deal to see in San Jose, it appears to be just a transit point for many, so on our last day in Central America we played some golf at The Cariari Club.

Are we expecting too much?

Lomas del Volcan is a collection of individual bungalows with westerly views of the Arenal Volcano, a good location and correctly advertised as 3 star. As previously mentioned there is a wide array of activities here: Kayak Safaris, Canoe & Rafting, Hikes, Night Walks, Eco Safaris: (they have certainly done Eco and Bio to death). As we already had similar things in our itinerary we opted for the Hanging Bridges Hike " a gentle 2 mile hike where we will be able to see howler, spider and capuchin monkeys, snakes, armadillos, coatis and lots of birds." The brochure's words not mine.

When we saw the size of the parking lot we became concerned. The bridges (highest at 45 meters)and trails were very well done, the guide tried his best to make it interesting but for the most part there was almost nothing there. It's not surprising, when you see the size of some of the people getting off those busses I would think any wild life would head deep into the jungle, as far away as possible and stay there. At the end the guide asked what we thought and we said we were disappointed in the lack of wildlife. His response was classic:" If you want to see more animals you need to come at 6 in the morning." To which our not unreasonable reply was " then why did you arrange to pick us up at 8?"  

The canopy over the bridges was exceptional:

The other feature of this area is the numerous baths (Ecothermales of course) which we enjoyed one evening before the short drive to Selva Verde, another collection of bungalows on stilts.
Arriving in the early afternoon we collected the keys to our river room, which was nowhere near a river. Back to reception where they explained that river means it's on the river side of the road!" Not good enough" we said so we were given the 'last room near the river'.

The Sarapiqui River

 

We spent the afternoon on the veranda waiting for the birds. After a week of going looking for them we thought that maybe we should let them come to us. Eventually some toucans arrived and the odd
wader along the riverbank. I took the night tour across the river which was mostly to see frogs, spiders, ants and small creatures, By the way the famous blue jeans frog, which is red with blue legs and is usually about 6 feet long on the side of a bus is actually about an inch, head to tail. Best sighting was the black throated trogon, which is mostly yellow.

Costa Rica will be in the top 3 global destinations this year, they have done a good marketing job but by now you may be getting the idea that we are somewhat disappointed. We certainly have not come close to seeing the 420 species of birds or many of the other animals advertised and when we have it is usually in ones and twos, except the monkeys.
The Ticos (locals) are not overly friendly (guides and front desk managers being the exception) and the food is exactly the same everywhere. The bananas, papaya and pineapple are excellent but after that it is pinto (black beans & rice) plantain, eggs and chicken and carrots, lots of carrots.
One expects to eat what is locally grown and fresh but there is no imagination at all in the cuisine
and not much enthusiasm in serving it either.
But our next location will be different we say.
Sometimes the journey to a destination can be more interesting than the final stop and the ride to Tortuguero National Park was like that. The bus journey in through vast pineapple and banana plantations was revealing, particularly the airstrip and the crop dusting planes, I hope they don't put the bio label on these bananas.
Hanging metal tracks stretch deep into the patches where the green bananas are covered in blue plastic, hooked on and pulled by hand, 25 bunches at a time back to the sorting/shipping area.

The transportation has been well organised and the transfer from coach to boat was efficient, no empty seats and little waiting time. From the dock it is almost 90 minutes along the lagoons and canals to the lodge and this was a beautiful ride, calm water, a wonderful variety of trees in every shade of green shone in the sunlight and the cooling breeze was most welcome.
In the afternoon we went in a smaller boat into some of the narrow canals again seeing a number of individual birds, most of which we have seen before. Parrots are proving to be elusive, they stay well overhead.
By now we have come to realise that our trusty little camera which has recorded everything on this blog to date, is not up to the task. We are seriously outclassed by the equipment on display by fellow travellers. One Japanese chap had a lens so big I would bet he could put his head inside it!
But even then it's not easy, many birds seem to have a way of getting a branch in front of their head or turning their tail feathers in your direction just when you think you've got them.
So most of what we saw will stay in our heads to save any embarrassment!

The lodge has a sustainability plan and all the places we stayed in urged us to: conserve water, recycle, help mother earth by turning off the lights etc. So we were pretty shocked to take the excursion across the river to Tortuguero town where we were conveniently left at the souvenir shop.
Most of these residents work in the Eco Lodges so you would think they would be somewhat 'on message' with the conservation ideal. Sadly not, the town is filthy and the people disinterested. The beach on the Caribbean side is just 100 metres from town, this is the largest nesting area for green turtles in the world. Why the turtles always return here even after many years is still a mystery but the theory is that the volcanic dust which comes out in the rivers is washed back onto the beach thereby creating a magnetic field which acts as a kind of GPS.
We have now completed the same journey in reverse, spent a night in San Jose (lots of green parrots here) and this morning we will fly south to the Osa Peninsula and the Lapa Rios rain forest reserve.

A typical Tortuguero bungalow

Pura Vida

Our entry into Costa Rica overland was reminiscent of our travels to South America in 1975. Arriving at the Nicaraguan border we exited the bus for a full security check of person and luggage. The bus then drove off, one regular traveler on the route said it was for arms and drug checks or maybe the driver went for lunch, but we stood on the tarmac for an hour. Upon return a lot more passengers got on than had originally come with us, we reloaded and drove 300 meters to Costa Rica where we got off again, took our luggage through security and immigration and got back on.
Initially there wasn't much difference as trash and plastic lined the road but as we approached Liberia one could start to see that Costa Rica has a better infrastructure and is generally more modern.

Customs Chaos

Our rental car was waiting at the first stop and we proceeded on to Playa Junquillal to visit a very old Bermuda friend who has been there for 26 years. He's well known, even has a street named after him:
Calle Perro Loco (Mad Dog Road). We stayed in a very nice condo development Villas Las Ventanas which was beautifully planted and amazingly green because the rest of Guanacaste Province has been in drought for 3 years, even major hotels have water shortages as can be seen on the golf course of Hacienda Pinilla.

This area still has dirt roads and is undeveloped, it is a beach bum, surfer hangout. Some people go there for its simplicity but it's not a place we would stay too long. It will be much better when the rains come.
From here we started the drive east to the town of Bijagua between the Miravalles and Tenorio volcanoes, all part of the Agua y Paz Biosphere Reserve. The countryside was very green, agricultural with cattle and horses.
Bird watching is a feature of Tenorio Lodge and they boast having photographed over 150 varieties on the property. Tanagers, Flycatchers and Hummingbirds were the predominant species, it was also our first sighting of Howler Monkeys.
The following day we drove 10 kilometres up the most appalling road to hike to the Celeste Waterfall  and the confluence of two clear rivers which when they meet, due to the mixing and enlarging of particles and the prism effect of the light, turns the water of the Rio Celeste blue.

We took a 'shortcut' over to Lake Arenal, as the crow flies it is the most direct but most of it is a dirt and gravel track. We're never in a hurry and this drive felt like we were really out in the country. Eventually we came to the north side of the lake, a very pleasant drive. The Arenal Volcano appears in the distance and as it gets closer you can see that it is probably the most perfect shape, or at least it conforms to the images one has of what it should be:

  
However, it is also the signal that we are approaching a very touristic area, the hand painted signs for activities, real estate brokers, cafes "voted best burger on the planet" and accommodation are too numerous to take in and there is a distinct California vibe; Love Shack 2km: Rock River Rocks:
and most bizarre of all, some Swiss chalets and a church!

Nicaragua

You are correct, this cannot be Nicaragua! In the crazy world of airline connections it is far cheaper to get to Managua from Cancun going via Houston, so that's what we did. Our original plan had been to stop in Mexico to see the Mayan city of Chichen Itza, but the logistics involved and the thought of trekking around a huge site in the severe heat convinced us that a stop in Texas in a proper hotel with a grade A steak dinner was preferable, what a good decision. We arrived the day after the worst flooding in 15 years and lots of water was visible from the air on approach but the Galleria, where we stayed was dry.

We arrived in Managua after dark (probably a good idea) and after a taxi ride and short boat journey reached our destination, Jicaro Island Eco Lodge.
This tranquil setting among the birds and the frogs, with views across Lake Nicaragua to the volcano has been our retreat for the last 4 days, with the exception of a trip into nearby Granada, the former capital.

It has been a great place to relax, enjoy excellent food, sit by the pool and update this blog.
Mission accomplished and we leave for Costa Rica by bus in the morning.

Fidel and Che

We are not fond of bus tours and finding a car to rent is not always easy so we hired a car and driver to take us west to Pinar Del Rio, the Jurassic area. Our first stop was at the Robaina tobacco plantation, one of 27 producers all of whom must sell at least 90% of their crop to the government, the rest they can keep but not sell. Then it was on to the caves and gigantic mogotes (boulders) of the beautiful Vinales Valley. Apparently Steven Spielberg wanted to film some Jurassic scenes here and we could see why but it never happened.

We had the best (and cheapest) fish dinner of our entire time in Cuba in Vinales and capped it off with a night of salsa music at the local dance hall. In Cuba when they say that music starts at 9:30 that means the band start arriving then to set up, but it was worth the wait as we saw some great dancers.

The next day we had to drive back near Havana to get to the Peninsula de Zapata and there were 2 unexpected events: the first was that we picked up the driver's girlfriend (not his wife) who was to accompany us for the next 2 days and then we pulled off the road down a bumpy track for the first of 3 clandestine refuelling stops. On each occasion a man would appear out of a barn or trees with a jerrycan of gasoline to fill up the tank. The girlfriend (never did get her name) advised us that this was highly illegal and it sure felt like it!

The national highway is actually a pretty good road most of the time but you can't go far without a reminder of the 'success' of the Revolution and the benefits of working together for Socialism. These billboards are  'autographed' more or less equally by Fidel or Che Guevara:

There is not much to see on this flat, uninteresting stretch but it does lead to Playa Giron on The Bay of Pigs, scene of the defeat of the CIA led American invasion in April 1961 which forever immortalised Castro and of which you cannot spend one day in Cuba without seeing a reminder. In typical Cuban fashion the museum was closed, no explanation given. On to the industrial city of Cienfuegos where we spent the night and struggled to find a decent meal, give it a miss.

At the other end of the spectrum is the charming city of Trinidad de Cuba.

This World Heritage site benefits hugely from being a pedestrian only zone where all the cobblestone streets are protected. Unlike all the other cities where it can be hard to enjoy the surroundings and the colonial architecture without breathing in fumes or dodging the traffic Trinidad can be explored at leisure, the streets are lined with pastel painted houses and the central square is delightful and clean.
A climb up the church tower is essential for a view over the town, the sea and the mountains to the north. That night we joined a large crowd primarily made up of tourists for a salsa session on the central steps.

In the morning we queued for tickets on the tourist train to Manaca - Iznaga. It is advertised as a steam train but sadly it was diesel, and it trundled and squeaked along for an hour before depositing us in a small town which was a former sugar cane estate. The main objective of this exercise appears to be to leave you trapped in the clutches of the souvenir sellers who, to be fair, usually leave you alone when you say 'No, thank you.' We thought these cigar smoking, bongo playing chaps were rather splendid but we didn't buy one.

The last town on this leg was Canta Clara which we reached after a pretty drive through the central mountains. El 'Che' is one of the most iconic figures of the last century, not only in Cuba but globally, his image can be found everywhere on all types of merchandise. He was a man of principle, a doctor and a rebel leader of Battalion 8, whose defeat of Batista's troops by derailing a train in Santa Clara cemented his place in Cuban history. There is a large monument dedicated to his memory just outside the city. A close ally of Castro he died fighting in Bolivia at the height of his popularity and one can only imagine what he would think of the country today, because from what we saw you could hardly say that communism has been a success. While in Havana we met a young family (in a bar of course), the father was a well known actor/musician and the 14 year old daughter spoke quite good English. When we asked her what she wanted to do (career wise) her response was immediate: " I just want to get out of here."

    

Havana

"Timeworn but magnificent, dilapidated but dignified, fun yet maddeningly frustrating", quote from a travel writer.

Many people seem to have a fascination for Cuba and I suppose we were no different. In the early 50's Havana certainly had a reputation as a swinging city where you could find and do just about anything. Inside the Art Deco Hotel Nacional, Havana's most illustrious, is a bar/museum with murals of the glory days when stars of stage, screen, sports and politics flocked there to gamble, party and dance the night away. It's not quite like that anymore!
The reality of Havana today is one of past reputation, pollution and decay. Even the aforementioned Hotel Nacional has no water in the swimming pool but still advertises itself as 6 star. Thousands of once beautiful buildings are crumbling, many streets have no tarmac, manhole covers lay open where people have dipped their buckets to get water and everyone, everyone is doing their best to take your money. We stayed in modest accommodation, some more comfortable than others but it did give us the opportunity to meet and talk to people more directly than if we were at major hotels.

                                                Hotel Nacional is still magnificent at night.

A number of people have said that Cuba is changing and you need to go there soon before it does. We do not understand that logic because it is going to take so long to change that it will not be much different in our lifetime, there are already lots of tourists. On the day we left, Castro officially stepped down after addressing parliament but his brother Raul will continue, the old guard is not making way for any younger blood and the political columnist Perez said this: " Anyone who thought there would be change now was dreaming". That is very sad because many people we talked to believe that it is going to change, perhaps the visit of President Obama and The Rolling Stones led them to believe that it was imminent. The state still owns and controls every major business, there is little incentive which is probably why everyone sees the tourist as the best source of income.

With Unesco's help some restoration is taking place particularly in the centre along the Zulueta and Avenida Monserrate.
Not surprisingly one of the first buildings to get a makeover is the Museum of the Revolution.

But there's no money to save this magnificent but dilapidated wreck and others like it:

The city is famous for it's vintage cars, all American pre 1956. Most of them are real bangers but some have been restored and repainted and are used as taxis. There are various points in the city where they line up to be admired. A definite highlight for us.

Havana Vieja (Old Havana) is very lively and probably the area where tourists spend the most time.
A walk down Mercaderes will take you past a number of interesting plazas, restaurants and bars. Hotel Ambos Mundos was a Hemingway favourite and it's a place where you can get internet and a cold beer but on both of our visits there was no water in the toilets. Live music emanates from many restaurants and it is fun to sit and people watch, someone will usually start dancing day or night.
Art is plentiful and street art is a good way to dress up the decaying facades, although much of the painting for sale we found to be gaudy and not to our taste.

There is definitely a vibrancy to this city and for a short time one can just about handle the noise, the diesel fumes and the smell of the rubbish, but after 3 busy days it was time to get into the countryside.


  

Portugal

Our last blog in November promised something new but at that time we didn't know exactly what it would look like, only that we had bought a restaurant which was under renovation. You can see it on www.leboissauvage.ch
Opening day was December 20th, 2105 the beginning of peak season and to say that our daughter Ashley and her partner Darren went in at the deep end is an understatement. It was busy from day one, which necessitated us to go back to work in a number of capacities: dishwashing, waiter, laundry lady, chauffeur and handyman. Astra was also in Switzerland for a while and she too was drafted in to serve tables and help in the bar. It was great fun to lend a hand and be involved but by the end of February a break was needed.
After a few days of golf in the Algarve with some English mates I met Clare in Lisbon and we stayed in Oitavos, Cascais on the Atlantic coast, visiting the palaces of Sintra before driving north for some wine tasting in the Upper Douro. The Douro River flows through some very steep valleys which over the centuries have been terraced to create a dramatic landscape of vineyards not dissimilar to those of the Valais in Switzerland. Summer temperatures can exceed 40 degrees producing rich grapes which have traditionally been used to make Port Wine but more recently the winemakers have started to produce excellent wines in the traditional way. The Sandeman Quinta (estate):

For centuries the port barrels were loaded onto sailboats to be transported to the warehouses at Gaia opposite Porto. The complete history of this trade is beautifully illustrated in tile on the walls of the train station at Pinhoa, the major town for the shipment of the barrels.

We had lunch and toured the estate of Dirk Niepoort, one of the world's most recognised winemakers.  Next we drove down river to Porto where we took a river tour, visited the port caves and walked the central area. The colourful medieval Ribeira district of Porto:

The next stage of this venture took us into Northwest Spain where we spent one night in the sprawling city of Vigo before heading for Santiago de Compostela. This ancient city has been the final destination for pilgrims for centuries and in modern times approximately 200,000 people a year make the journey and if they complete at least the final 100 kilometres on foot or horseback they receive the Compostela Certificate at the cathedral. Unfortunately the magnificent cathedral facade was partially covered in scaffolding but we were fortunate to have booked in to the Parador Hotel Reyes immediately next door. Originally a hospital for pilgrims since 1499 it considers itself to be the world's oldest hotel. It is a truly beautiful building inside and out with a stunning vaulted ceiling dining room and this beautifully carved entrance.

We thought we were finished as we headed back to Lisbon but the baroque city of Braga was not far off our route so we stopped there for a few hours. Described by some travel writers as "one of the best cities in Europe that you've never heard of" is an accurate assessment. There is much interesting architecture on either side of wide boulevards with beautiful gardens and just outside the city the cathedral complex of Bom Jesus do Monte with its extraordinary staircase provides magnificent views over the city, which is a gem not to be missed.

Our final day was in Lisbon where we took a tram tour and did a lot of walking before the flight to Geneva. I should mention that Clare's route was from Geneva to London Gatwick to Lisbon and back to Geneva, 3 flights for a grand total of $110.00, thank God for low cost airlines!