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Costa Rica: “The Whole Country is a Botanical Garden”

After an overnight at the delightful boutique Grano de Oro in San Jose, my daughter Alana and I set out with our driver on a two-hour drive on a winding road to reach Casa Turire near Turrialba. In fact, in our experience in Costa Rica, all roads are winding, and distances between points always seem to be two hours. One of most interesting sights along the way was the sugar cane with plumes, which I’ve never seen before. We passed many coffee plantations along the way. (The pickers shake the berries from the low trees when the berries are red and then collect them.) In some cases, the “pickers have to be acrobats,” for the hills are so steep.

En route to the Casa we stopped in Cartago to see the immense and impressive Cathedral, which is set in a large square. One of its outstanding features is the painted pillars. Later we traversed the town several times.

After about a mile on a dirt road we reached the drive to the Casa--an allee, just like in France. Off to the side was a pasture with horses, which are available for the guests to ride. The beautifully groomed grounds were extensive. Impatience were everywhere as they were throughout the country. But there were also hibiscus, poinsettias, ginger, rain trees. Everything was lush as this was the end of the wet season.

We had been advised to get a junior suite but it was not necessary as ordinary doubles were very pleasant. The junior suite was extremely comfortable with a lovely, wide porch. There were fresh flowers and fruit in the room (and flowers in the bathroom).

The Swiss-owned hotel is very well run. Obviously the owner and/or managers know about hotels as every detail is attended to. The staff was attentive although the only person who was really proficient in English was the woman at the front desk.

The beauty of the native flowers was evident throughout the hotel. Everywhere there were flower arrangements with birds of paradise, several different varieties, being the dominant flower.

We enjoyed evening drinks on the verandah with frogs and crickets providing background music. Meals could be inside or outside around the pool. The food was excellent and well-priced. Especially the Sunday brunch. When it came time to pay for the Sunday brunch, which was a buffet, I asked for the check. “Nothing.”

There are a number of sightseeing activities available from the hotel. One day we hired a driver to take us to Volcano Irazu, Costa Rica’s tallest active volcano at 11, 259 feet. We were advised to leave no later than 8:00am in order to get to the volcano when the visibility was apt to be best. Once again, our drive was two hours so our arrival wasn’t actually that early. However, we were almost the only people there and the visibility was indeed excellent. Others started arriving a bit later and as predicted, the visibility worsened.

The two craters are filled with still water, which was an intense emerald green. All seemed so quiet. There was no sign that Irazu is an active volcano. Actually the last time Irazu erupted was on the day of John F. Kennedy’s visit in 1963.

On the return to the hotel we stopped at Lancaster Gardens, which are operated by the University. It was cool and pleasant walking through the gardens but they were not spectacular. We were disappointed in variety of orchids—or lack of variety.

We didn’t really need to see the Gardens for as Alana observed, “The whole country is a botanical garden.”

Later-Carara National Park (south of Puerto Caldera)

Not having taken the rain forest walk from the Casa Turire, Alana and I later went on what our guide called “humid forest walk.” Our troop of six was lucky with our knowledgeable guide (a must). With his help and his “scope” (telescope) we were able to spot the two kinds of monkeys that reside there. Actually Alana was the person who first saw the white-faced monkey with two babies clutched to her. The other monkey, the howler, we also spotted. After hearing the howlers, we understood how they got their name.

We also saw iguana and a number of birds. After leaving the park, we stopped at the nearby bridge to see the fish-eating crocodiles.

Costa Rica has one third of the world’s eco systems and ten percent of the world’s birds. We only just scrapped the surface.