We returned from our mini-vacation Thursday night, perhaps even more exhausted than when we left…why is it when travelling with small children, one must ask themselves, is it really worth it? The change in routine, 8 hours in a tour van, different food, new people, different bed (I loved the firm mattress)?? We had a lovely time at La Carolina Lodge; yet are glad to be back home. And, oh the packing for two three year-olds, will the weather be hot or chilly? hiking clothes, bathing suits, hiking boots, sandals, multiple pairs of underwear for those accidents that do happen during the night, the bed pads (see aforementioned) and a stash of food to keep their tummy’s happy in between stops. I have resigned myself to the fact that packing for a month or for a long weekend, when it comes to little ones, there is not much of a difference…and of course the make-shift fishing poles had to come along as well (bamboo, twine and their favorite plastic animal tied on) also found a spot in Katya’s van.
Katya (who is the mother of one of Mike’s students) was our transportation up and back. On the way up, Naomi, her 14 year old daughter accompanied her – Mike and I had a chance to practice our Spanish and they graciously corrected us whenever needed. It was so nice having them drive us as we left the negotiating of directions and the twists and turns up and down the various mountains to them. We enjoyed hearing about their farm and what they like about being Tico. Very nice people and it made our journey so enjoyable.
We headed out at 8:30 Tuesday morning and arrived at the lodge just in time for lunch. We stopped for a snack in Limonal where we got this wonderful shot of the scarlet macaws. The owners of the restaurant have some animals out back so we greeted the white tailed deer (which I think is the national animal of Costa Rica) and some rather funny looking chickens.
Katya was so knowledgeable of each town we passed and seemed to know everyone (even when we were out of the Monteverde area by several hours). As we approached Las Juntas the weather grew very warm and sights of the volcan (Tenorio and Miravalles) loomed ahead. As we passed Bijagua, the last town until we turned off onto another dirt road yet again, I knew we were in ranch territory. The lodge was about 10 km off from the main road and very rustic. Our travel day was sunny and beautiful which provided a lovely backdrop for the lodge. The lodge is very rustic, clean and lindisimo! It is surrounded by gardens and paths which are lit up in the evening by candles/hurricane lamps. The river was breathtaking (and raging) and the hot tub made out of stone was nestled up right beside the river which made for a relaxing time. We were greeted by a very friendly Tico staff (the women, busy preparing lunch and cleaning the exterior). The place was simply ‘spotless’ in a word. We were their only guests the first night (and the other nights, the guests opted for the cabins) so we had the entire main lodge to ourselves. It was cozy, a little reading sala which was flanked by four rooms and a bathroom with a delightfully warm shower. Our room had four beds, shutters/screen windows and a door which led you right onto the path towards the river/hot tub. Everything was ‘outside’, the kitchen, the eating area (under a covered patio), a cozy corner with another stone fireplace surrounded by rocking chairs, yet another kitchen area and stone oven/fire pit for cooking meat. Hammocks and other seating on the other end of the building as well. Relaxing in a word. The hot tub was awesome (just the right size for the boys), it was heated by firewood, which they kept burning throughout the day/night and a coiled water pipe that spewed out hot water. ..very unique. Katya’s daughter took many a photo as she wanted to convince her dad to build their family one…good luck Naomi!
All the food was included in the per night rate (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and was very typical and simple. Breakfast consisted of eggs (either scrambled or fried), home-made cheese, compliments of the farm, bread, gallo pinto, a fruit, fresh orange juice from their fruit trees and a fruit. Coffee for the adults and the boys were spoiled with hot chocolate.
Lunch was chicken or fish, with rice and beans, salad of carrots, cabbage, tomatoes and onion, and a vegetable. Dinner was the same but with a different meat (beef, chicken or pork). Everything was very simple but good and cooked on a wood burning stove. If you are looking for a place with fancy feast, this is not it!
The river was very refreshing, shortly after we arrived, on went our bathing suits, we grabbed the fishing poles and headed down the path to the river for a quick dip. An all rocky bottom, but the rope that was securely fastened to a large tree gave me some sense of balance as the boys and I ventured in. The raging river was a constant throughout the night but was very soothing. Next, we warmed up in the hot-tub and the boys loved it.
Alejandro, one of the lodge’s employees gave us a tour of the grounds that afternoon and took us on a short hike through some of their property. We came within feet of horses, oxen, not to mention the poisonous blue-jean frog – tiny little creatures, but venom that could seriously hurt you if one digests it or gets it in their mouth. We spied a lizard (I think it is called the Jesus Christ Lizard). The farm is 80 hectares so lots to see. The lodge is owned by a 46 year old South Carolinian who purchased it when he was 28 – not bad huh? I understand from Alejandro that they have 3 other farm/hotels as well. Returning from the hike, John took a fall (imagine that) and the young horse in the pasture came to check out the cry. The horse then proceeded to follow us closely behind…Alejandro said that the horse was likely very curious about John and Michael as it had never seen young children before. We took some cool pics of the horse and oxen, almost toe to toe! A quick shower by candlelight and then dinner. As we returned about 5 p.m., the women were out in the garden lighting all the candles and the hurricane lamps in the lodge which burned throughout the night. We opted to use our flashlights in the room instead of them illuminating it with candles (for obvious reasons) as we could only imagine what damage could be done with three or four candles and two pre-schoolers.
The boys were riled up so after many swings on the hammock and an after dinner visit to the hot-tub, we finally all turned in only to be awakened by John’s request for food about 2 a.m. He truly is a bottomless pit. Katya was simply amazed at how much they ate during our journey...what is that saying about growing boys!
Wednesday we joined Juan (another lodge employee) for the 6:30 a.m. milking. We headed up through the pasture to the cow barn. The boys were very curious as they watched as Juan tied up the cows hind legs and secured it’s head for the milking process. I am convinced I got my mom’s farm genes as I felt quite at home on the small wooden stool with a full utter staring me in the face. I thought to myself "bring it on Betsy"! John enjoyed the experience and tried to eek out a squirt of milk; Michael, on the otherhand, decided to keep his distance. Mike is a tride and true South Sider as his first attempt at milking was hillarious – like a good sport he returned to the stool to redeem himself, and that he did. J
A quick breakfast and then the four of us piled into the back of Alejandro’s truck and rode up to the National Park. A rough ride, rocky road, Alejandro having the petal to the metal and Mike and I in back holding on for dear life and the boys. We headed out and made it to the Waterfall (Rio Celeste) – quite a spectacular site, a blue you can’t even imagine. As Alejandro and I stopped to wait for John and Mike on the trail, he turned his head and right there was a green parrot snake (luckily not poisonous, just hanging out in the trees). We saw Tapir footprints, red millipedes and ground terminates, luckily no buschmaster snakes, although Alejandro recounted the story of his father stepping on one 40 years ago and living to tell about it. The waterfall was breath-taking – when I asked if folks could swim there, Alejandro replied “No” as an 11 year old had lost his life to an undercurrent years ago, so we admired from afar. Many more trails to experience (up to the volcan, Hotsprings) but we cut it short as the kids were growing tired. We tossed our weary bodies into the back of the truck and we were off heaed back toward the lodge. The rain started mid-way on our return trip – we were a little water-logged and dirty when we arrived back at the ranch. Some of the workers were busy repairing the main entrance (all by hand, using huge rocks and breaking them into smaller pieces using some sort of ‘mallet’ type tool). The rocks were transported via the oxen. The rain continued throughout the afternoon so we relaxed in the hot-tub once again and enjoyed playing dominos fire side while chatting with the ladies as they prepared dinner. We were all exhausted and ready to hit the hay.
Thursday found us awake at the crack of dawn (at least John, up at 4:30 am, and that meant me as well). Juan was to give us a tour of the grounds that morning on horseback and a great ride it was. The boys were super excited, John rode with Juan, Michael with Mike and mom went it alone. The expansiveness of the property and the views of the volcanoes were fabulous. It was a beautiful sunny day and clear as the eye could see. We enjoyed eating mandarinas from the trees and admiring a yellow viper ‘poisoness’ snake, snoozing and all curled up around a fence post. I made sure Tigre (my horse) kept its distance.
Katya arrived back at the lodge at noon as our mini-vacation was coming quickly to a close. Talk about trusting employees, we had come to discover that they do not accept credit cards (we should have known better) so after they provided their account number we shook hands and said “we will transfer the money into the hotel’s account tomorrw”…and that we did. Now how often would that happen in Chicago?
We arrived back home about 6 p.m. after stopping for an early dinner in San Rafael about 45 minutes outside of home. We were all glad to see our own beds and had no trouble falling asleep Thusday evening.
We are thankful that we had the opportunity to see some more of this beautiful country and meet more of its very special people.
Signed: S
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