Around Costa Rica in 20 days

David: Our December expeditions have continued and the goal of reaching every corner of Costa Rica in one month is not far off. That really is not our goal and even if it was we wouldn’t be close, but, it sure seems like we have been traversing back and forth across the country and enjoying almost every minute of it.

On December 15^th we set out with Dad Hille, Mom Hille, and little sis Jenna to breathe in the fresh air of the Orosi Valley and pickup up some national history along the way. We visited “las ruinas” (the ruins) and Our Lady of Angels Basilica in Cartago, as well as the ruins of the first church in Costa Rica in Ujarras. The end of the driving tour left us with miles of driving through sugar cane fields to get to our night destination, Turrialba. From Turrialba we enjoyed great views of Irazu and Turrialba Volcanoes.

The volcanoes were not what lured us to Turrialba, it was the world class white water rafting that did. On the morning of the 16^th we embarked upon a world-class challenge led by our friends at Tico River Adventures. Our destination was the town of Siquirres down on the Caribbean slope and the only thing between us were the breathtaking and gut dropping class III and IV rapids of the Pacuare River. The Pacuare River is ranked in the top five for the most beautiful rivers in the world. It lived up to its hype. It was about 5 hours of virgin rainforest. When we weren’t loving the scenery we were holding on for dear life and getting drenched by pleasantly warm rapids. It was awesome and a huge thrill.

After a few mishaps and “advice” from the locals we ended up staying in a small little community called Parismina down on the Caribbean ocean. We thought we were just going to stay at a hotel at the river port city of Cano Blanco, but when we got there they said the only place to stay was about 5 minutes down the river by boat. So, in complete darkness we cruised down this river only to be dropped off in a quaint little town with no cars and all of their streets were sand. Lodging, dinner, and even where we were was all a little bit unknown, but when we left the next morning to head back to Cano Blanco, Parismina had won us over.

We met up with the Evergreen Lodge in Cano Blanco and we boarded another boat that took us 1 ½ hours into Tortuguero National Park for 3 days and 2 nights of a sweet and raw jungle experience. Tortuguero is an area that most tourists don’t get to experience and it is fantastic. Our time at Evergreen Lodge, where our cabins were situated back in the tropical jungle, included three official tours on the boat and much more time just in transit as well. We spent a lot of time on the river with our guide Willis. We saw a ton of wildlife including hundreds of water birds, a Three-toed Sloth, Howler Monkeys, White-faced Capuchins, Spider Monkeys (which are the most endangered monkey species in Costa Rica due to habitat loss), an American Crocodile, and Speckled Caimans. The mosquitoes were plentiful and viscous as well. And at the end of the day we were serenaded to sleep by the sounds of a very active jungle.

Our time in Tortuguero was definitely a highlight but it had to end for a very good reason. We needed to get back into San Jose to pickup Jordan (big sis), Rusty, and the two little whipper snappers, Gracelyn and Gabriel. We had one more little adventure in the city before we picked up the rest of the Hille fam the next morning. The five of us caught a taxi out to Tibas and had dinner with my host family from when I was a student. It turned out to be a wonderful evening and very special for me to have two different worlds collide.

The 20^th brought new destinations and new life with the Roth foursome gracing Costa Rica with their presence. We picked them up and headed straight to Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve. The roads were in hecka bad condition but the drive was “Sound of Music” worthy. The Monteverde cloud forest is one of the better-known cloud forests in the country, but it is very different from where we are at QERC. We had a good hike the next morning and after lunch set off for the second highlight of the expedition, Arenal Volcano. We enjoyed 2 nights at hotel Montana de Fuego and had an up close and personal view of the most picturesque volcano in Costa Rica. Arenal is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. We were treated to a beautiful showing of lava flowing on the volcano early in the morning of the 22^nd and the rest of the day we had spectacular views as we hiked in the national park.

On the 23^rd we returned to QERC to celebrate my mom’s birthday. It was good to be home and to share our home with the whole family. For my mom’s birthday we asked Liseth to fix a traditional Costa Rican meal along with the scrumptious Tres Leches cake. It was a surprise to my mom, and Liseth, Rigo, and Jeanette joined us for dinner.