From swinging bridges on top of tropical forests to massages on the beach, it’s vacation time
It was named the ‘rich coast’ by Christopher Columbus who arrived there in 1502 looking for gold. However, today, Costa Rica is a small country most of whose four million inhabitants speak Spanish as their first language.
Our first destination during our December journey to the country, was Quepos, a beach town in the central Pacific region. But first, we had to weather a long cab drive from the airport. We drove past miles of African Palms. However, as we approached Quepos, the road became so bumpy that we felt like we were on an African safari.
Our hotel was perched atop a hill with breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean. But too tired to enjoy any of the sights on the first day, we retired after an early dinner.
The next day we took a bewitching boat trip through a mangrove swamp. During our trip, we were accompanied by tropical birds including the white ibis, egrets and herons. As we pulled into an estuary on Damas Island, our tour operator made some noises. I reckon they were monkey calls because soon we were surrounded by howler and spider monkeys. In fact, one of the more daring simian’s climbed into our boat, scaring the living daylights out of my daughters.
Later that evening, we had an out-fo-this-world dinner was at the tour operator’s home in the hills above Quepos. Our menu featured traditional Costa Rican seafood dishes, delicious Mahi Mahi in shrimp sauce served with Tamarind juice prepared in his small rustic, open-air kitchen.
It was delicious and would remain unrivalled by all the meals we would eat later at much fancier restaurants. At night we had some seafood appetizers at a local restaurant, where a local band serenaded us with Latin music.
The next day we toured the Manuel Antonio National Park, which is located right next to the Pacific. In the excitement to see the park, I forgot our digital camera in the cab. As we were debating what to do to retrieve the camera, which had all the images of our journey thus far, the cab-driver appeared and gave us the camera, proving that all the positive things we had heard about the locals were true.
During our hike in the Park, we spotted a variety of animals, including white-faced monkeys and two-toed sloths. In the afternoon, as I and my wife took a nap under the shade of the tall almond trees, we were joined by a two-foot long iguana and a coati. Thank God, our daughters were splashing away in the ocean or they would have shrieked away this time as well.
At the nearby Si Como No resort, we spoiled ourselves to soothing massages by heated lava rocks. This coupled by a spectacular sunset, which evoked the image of burning fire on blue waters, already had us wondering, what other great experiences could be in store for us?
The next day our daughters went on a canopy safari in a rainforest. It consisted of swinging through the forest by cables that were affixed to various trees, the highest of which reached almost 200ft. At the same time, the parents went on a more traditional rainforest tour. Nevertheless, it involved a strenuous climb and then a walk along narrow hanging bridges that spanned deep valleys. The views were incredible but my vertigo got in the way and two snakes in the dense foliage added to the excitement.
On our last day, which was Christmas Eve, we visited the shops in Manuel Antonio. It became dark very quickly, as it does in the tropics and then the power went out, turning the whole area into a forbidding zone. We had no choice but to have a candle-lit seafood dinner at a local restaurant named after a red bearded pirate. And to add to all the excitement, there was an earthquake in the neighbourhood, measuring 6+ on the Richter Scale. Thankfully, it caused no damage.
ARENAL: Our next destination was the site of an active mile-high volcano. Along the way, we crossed a river where five crocodiles were in clear view. Though it took us seven hours to reach our hotel, but it was definitely worth the time. We went through a cloud forest, passing waterfalls and meandered through fields of tropical trees and shrubs.
Our two adjacent cottages at the inn were on the shores of Lake Arenal. During the evening, we went to sit in the sulphur springs at a nearby resort. There were several thermal pools of different sizes, water temperatures, depth and water velocities. The four-foot high waterfall splashed on all sides with incredibly refreshing spring water.
The next morning we went horse-riding. After that we took a cab to San Jose, with the intention of touring the Hanging Bridges Park that was about 15 minutes away.
I was a bit apprehensive about going there, given my prior experience. But the broader and sturdier bridges at this location made crossing them easier. The views were nothing short of spectacular. And, as we were boarding our cab, we were lucky enough to catch Arenal out of the clouds.
SAN JOSE: Through driving rain and slippery roads, we safely reached San Ramon, on the outskirts of San Jose. There we took the famed Inter-American highway that connects North America with South America and goes through the Panama Canal.
The beds in our hotel had mosquito nettings on them, enduing the cabins with a safari air. There were no TVs or phones in the cabins.
When dawn broke, we got our first daytime view of the canyon that lay adjacent to our banana and coffee plantation. It was very deep, like a ravine, and was heavily forested. Now we understood why sloths and monkeys were known to have taken away food and other items from unlocked cabins.
We hiked along the creek that eventually went over a cliff and became a wonderful and scary waterfall. Thereon, it was the city of San Jose.
We could not see any of the downtown museums because a post-Christmas Carnival was going on there. Instead, we got to see a children’s museum. There is a little kid in all of us and we amused ourselves with the historical, geographical and scientific exhibits inside. In particular, we got to see a live boa constrictor and a live coral snake. Near the entrance there was a blooming flamboyant tree, whose sight transported my wife and I back to our teenage years in Karachi.
To close off the tour, we went to see a multi-level shopping mall in Escazu. The shops were very much like what one would find in an American mall, except that the prices for most American products were higher than in the US, not an uncommon occurrence. While looking for CDs with Latin American music, we were pleasantly surprised to discover CDs of Nusrat Fateh Ali.
After our long flight home to San Francisco, we were all hungry for real Pakistani food, having had nothing but seafood and vegetables during the past week. We stopped at Shalimar in San Francisco, a noted Pakistani eatery, and feasted on spicy seekh kababs, naans, chaney key daal, tandoori chicken and biryani. It was a nice way to round off the journey.
From swinging bridges on top of tropical forests to massages on the beach, it’s vacation time 
