Costa Rica trip, including active volcano

storl

storl

Joined
Apr 17, 2007
Messages
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I just got back from my honeymoon in Costa Rica, where I took way too many pics, and thought you guys might enjoy seeing a different part of the world. I pointed my camera in random directions and got lucky on a few. I have them divided up into sets from the three areas where we stayed: Arenal, Monte Verde, and Playa Flamingo. Arenal is the site of Arenal Volcano, one of the most active volcanoes in the world. It was apparently even more active than usual while we were there, and our hotel room directly faced the lava flow. I have a video of the action that I'll try to get up on youtube tonight, and I'm working on a bunch of trip reports that I hope to have up this week on my site.

Arenal

Monte Verde

Playa Flamingo

There are something like 150 in the sets, but here are a few for the lazy:

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Damn! That volcano pic is awesome!
 
Those are some amazing pics! What a beautiful place! Your a lucky dog.
 
Those are some unbelievable shots you got there man. Looks like the trip of a lifetime.
 
I would love to do something like that, how long did you go for? Did you book all that yourself or did you go through a travel agent?
 
Awesome pictures! I'm going to check out the rest of them tonight - but I really like the ones you posted. How did you ever spot that tarantula hole? Volcano was very cool - hand held?
 
tonym said:
I would love to do something like that, how long did you go for? Did you book all that yourself or did you go through a travel agent?
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8 days, 7 nights. I booked the air and hotel through capricorn.net since they have relationships with the nicer hotels in the areas we wanted to go to, which made it much easier to get the rooms we wanted when we wanted them. The package included a car rental, but I booked shuttle transfers myself instead. I am extremely happy I went that route instead of driving a compact car, since the roads are atrocious, 99% of streets are not marked, and my Spanish is weak and I would not have been able to ask for directions very well. Pay for shuttle transfers and hire a guide every time you go to a park or reserve and you will have a much better experience.
 
kgd said:
Awesome pictures! I'm going to check out the rest of them tonight - but I really like the ones you posted. How did you ever spot that tarantula hole? Volcano was very cool - hand held?
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I didn't, the guide spotted pretty much every neat thing we saw. I figured out after a while where to look for the tarantulas, but most everything else I would never have seen. Like I said in the post I just made, I highly recommend hiring a guide. They hike the trails every day, so not only are they familiar with everything, but when one of them sees something, they tell all the other guides. I wouldn't have seen probably 90% of the plants and animals if it weren't for them. We had one guide that could no lie pick out a green bird in a green tree in a forest at 100 yards while we were driving down the road at 45 mph. I asked him how he could do it and he said "I listen and then look."
 
very cool pics.

great subjects, great lighting, sounds like a great trip.

what camera did you use? tripod?
 
storl said:
8 days, 7 nights. I booked the air and hotel through capricorn.net since they have relationships with the nicer hotels in the areas we wanted to go to, which made it much easier to get the rooms we wanted when we wanted them. The package included a car rental, but I booked shuttle transfers myself instead. I am extremely happy I went that route instead of driving a compact car, since the roads are atrocious, 99% of streets are not marked, and my Spanish is weak and I would not have been able to ask for directions very well. Pay for shuttle transfers and hire a guide every time you go to a park or reserve and you will have a much better experience.
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Thanks for the advice, I will start looking into it:thumbup:
 
First, congratulations on the nuptials!

That waterfall picture is great, and the volcano shot isn't too shabby, either.
 
Nice pics storl. I pretty sure I stayed at the same resort next to the volcano as you on my trip to CR (I recognize the footbridge and volcano shots) but we didn't get lava flows as nice as yours. Was a little creepy waking up in the middle of the night with ground rumbling and the chuff-chuff-chuff out of the volcano... Did you manage a dip in the cold water pool?

Beautiful country, great people. I would like to go back someday.
 
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