Costa Rica

12/31/2016 -- 1/8/2017

[Costa Rica Gallery] [Back to Photo Page]  


With over 500,000 plant and animal species, Costa Rica is one of the world's most biologically diverse countries.  The country has an intense array environmental attractions - majestic volcanoes, misty cloud forests, stunning river valleys and jungles, and hundreds of beaches along the Pacific and Caribbean coasts.  Because Costa Rica is located between eight and 12 degrees north of the Equator, the climate is Tropical year round.  The year can be split into two periods: the dry season goes from December to April, and rainy season goes from May to November.

Getting there ...

I planned this Costa Rica trip with the great help from Elena at Costa Rica Expeditions. She suggested our itinerary and planned most activities for us.  We decided to choose less touristy regions (San Gerardo de Dota and Osa Peninsula) to avoid the crowds, but still experience the beauty and diversity of Costa Rica.
We had an red-eye flight on New Year's Eve, and we had the first sunrise of 2017 in the air above somewhere in Central America.  With a short stop in the Panama City, we arrived in San Jose (not the one in California :-) ) in the early morning on the New Year Day, and met with our guide William and driver Danny, who had already been waiting for us at the airport.

 

Day 1 (Jan 1) ...

 

 

 

 

 

We had a traditional Costa Rica lunch just outside Cartago.  After lunch, we headed toward our first destination: San Gerardo de Dota.  (We stopped at a countryside house on the way to take a few pictures.  However, I was not really able to take some decent photos...)

 

 

 

 

Day 2 (Jan 2) ...

 

 

 

 

Day 3 (Jan 3) ...

   


When we went back to Savegre River Valley, there was a road construction about 4 km from our hotel.  Since the road would not be open for another 45 minutes, we decided to walk for the last 4 km instead of waiting in the car.   During the walk, Linus and I had a good conversation with William about the history and background of Costa Rica.

 

           


Day 4 (Jan 4) ...

 

 

 

Day 5 (Jan 5) ...

 

 

 

Day 6 (Jan 6) ...

 

 
 

 

 

Day 7 (Jan 7) ...

 

 

Going Home (Jan 8) ...

We had a very early flight (5:30AM) from San Jose to Panama City that we were picked up from the hotel at 2:30AM (so Linus claimed he did not sleep at all).  When we were ready to depart from Panama City to San Francisco, the captain announced that they needed to stop by Cancun, Mexico to refuel because we won't have enough fuel for the direct flight to California due to the strong head wind condition.  San Francisco was having one of the biggest storms in this winter, so we had to stay on the runway when we landed at SFO because all the delayed flights were jammed at the gates and terminals.  When we were finally clear to get off the plane, it was already 4 hours later than the original schedule.
Costa Rica is indeed a beautiful place with nature around everywhere.  However, we will need to have the patience to fully enjoy and appreciate the nature and understand how human can keep the least footprints on this lands.

 


[Costa Rica Gallery] [Back to Photo Page]