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Four Seasons Papagayo Trip Report
An interestting trip report on a new resort.
Author: quantum Date: 06/16/2004, 10:57 am Message: My girlfriend and I just returned from a relaxing and adventurous journey to Costa Rica. We stayed at the Four Seasons Papagayo for 9 nights from May 30 ? June 8, and we ventured off on 4, one-day tours to Palo Verde, Monteverde, Rincon De Le Vieja, and Arenal. All of these tours were booked with and provided be Vargas Tours. Ricardo Vargas & Mike Mills http://www.costarica-realestate.com/...yo%20Tours.htm The following is about our daily life and daily excursions while vacationing in Costa Rica. Please draw whatever conclusions you like from our trip experiences, and I'll try to answer questions if I can. Sunday we flew from our hometown to Atlanta, and then we had a 3 hour and 20 minute flight to Liberia. We had arranged transportation from FS for $25 each, and they had a luggage greeter waiting to meet us. He grabbed our baggage and took us over to customs where the officer glanced at our stuff and motioned forward. The FS greeter handed our luggage off to another greeter who loaded us up in a Chevy SUV and we headed off to FS leaving the rain shelter airport behind us. The drive to FS was only about 35 minutes. The initial view approaching the brick road entrance looks from a cliff out towards Culebra Bay. I never grew tired off seeing that view. After our complimentary chilled towels and cold juice of the day at the reception, Alex gave us a tour of the grounds and tucked us into our room. The views and the room were wonderful. I'm thinking, I'll have no problem getting use to these surroundings for 9 days!? We decided to order room service for dinner and dine on our screened in porch. Dinner was adequate but expensive for what we got. The rest of our meals would come from restaurants other than our coffee, fruit, and pastries for breakfast. We were both tired from traveling and fell asleep around 8pm and 9pm Costa Rica time. 5:30 am the alarm is going off! Hey, wait a minute, we didn't set an alarm.?? It was just the birds singing outside. Every day they started at 05:30 and were done by 6:00. Just long enough to wake you up. I'm glad I fell asleep early last night. It started a good routine for rest of the week. We did the pool from 07:00 to 11:00 then had lunch at Congo?s. When we returned to our room, Mike Mills from Vargas Tours called and offered us his advice and services if we desired. I had some email correspondence with him prior to our departure. We were trying to plan a day of rest in between each day of adventuring, so we spent the rest of the afternoon comparing what FS (they use Swiss Travel) offered and what Vargas tours offered. We went with Vargas. This ended up being one of our best choices. Therefore, we booked a trip to Palo Verde for the next morning, and made tentative plans for Monteverde on Wednesday. We had rented 3 movies at the Atlanta airport, so we watched 1 then went to bed. Ricardo would pick us up at 09:00 am. Tuesday morning 05:30 am. The birds are singing their sounds of alarm. We meet Ricardo in the lobby at 09:00 and we are off to Palo Verde. Instantly we are both very comfortable with Ricardo and look forward to a great day. Our drive out was through small rural looking towns, down wooded dirt roads, and ended at a muddy dock next to a shallow creek. The tide was going out and there were small crocs along the shore. We saw an abundance of wildlife on the sides of the river and in the air. There were crocodiles, howler monkeys, scarlet macaws, bats, parakeets, giant grasshoppers and all the other wonders of a river environment. We even saw the largest bird in Costa Rica flying by and we got close enough to feed some whiteface monkeys. It was a great trip on a nice sunny day! After the river, Ricardo took us to Ortega and a small restaurant where we had a typical Tico lunch. It ended up ranking up with one of my top 5 meals for the week. On our way back to FS we stopped in Liberia at a gift shop and bought some coffee and souvenirs. Ricardo had us back around 05:00 pm, so we washed up and went to Papagayo?s at FS for dinner. I had some excellent sea bass. During the day we had enjoyed Ricardo's company and his strength of character, so we planned a trip to Monteverde for the following morning. He was taking 2 other couples and would pick us up at 05:45 am. 04:30 am Wednesday morning and we are awake before the birds start singing. I tell my girlfriend that I wish I could go shake the tress and wake the birds for a change. Just a little payback. Ricardo has hired Alfredo and his mini bus for the drive today, so we head over to Allegro resort to pick-up the other 2 couples. While waiting at the entrance to Allegro there is a group of howlers in the trees and we watched them play. I could watch them for hours. After 4 hours of driving and a pit stop in Canas we arrived at Selvatura in Monteverde. The last 2 hours of our drive was a bone jarring, shaking, experience, so we were all ready to leave the minibus. Ricardo arranged the day for us, as usual. It would be butterfly garden, canopy tour, lunch, hiking, and the hummingbird garden. This was my most favorite day of the week. It was filled with exhilarating zip lines, good food, and flora and fauna (we saw a male and female quetzal), with clouds, rain, and sunshine. The microclimates seemed to change continually and it was so beautiful. Also, the hummingbird garden was awesome. After our day of activities the group decided to drive down to Liberia for dinner. After another shaky, zigzagging, bumpy, 4 hour, drive we arrived in downtown Liberia. The area and restaurant was very eclectic and interesting. Drank a few Imperials and everyone was ready to call it a long day. Thursday morning we slept right through the birds singing. A day of rest and relaxation at the FS. The FS property didn't seem to have many guests while we there. Therefore, it made for a peaceful, relaxing environment. Plus, the staff was very accommodating and helpful, and the grounds were tranquil. Friday morning, I hardly even notice the birds any more. I'm feeling very much into the ?Pura Vida? spirit. Ricardo picks us up at 09:00am to go ride ATV?s at Borrinquen, which is at the base of Rincon De Le Vieja. Borrinquen is a huge spa resort that had only 1 couple staying there. The property had quaint little houses for guest and a full staff and restaurant. I couldn't believe we had the whole place to ourselves. The beef tenderloin I had for lunch there was the best meal I had the entire week. Also, the ATV rides was fun and exhilarating especially after I flipped my ATV going up a hill. Not the smartest decision of the trip. All in all it was another great day. Saturday was another day of rest and relaxation at the FS. Sunday morning Ricardo picked us up with another couple at 06:00 and we all headed to Arenal. Another 4 hour drive one way with lots of bumps and curves. There my girlfriend and I rode horses to a waterfall while the other couple did a canopy tour. The waterfalls were nice but the hike up was about 500 steps and humid. After our tours we had lunch at the bottom of the volcano. It was a clear day and we just sat there starring at the entire volcano with awe. Then we headed to Tabacon to soak in the pools and eat dinner. Tabacon was beautiful, but I wasn?t much for getting in hot water while being in such a hot and humid climate. We left around 07:30pm and got back to our rooms close to midnight. It was a long day and our last trip with Ricardo. We were going to miss seeing him after just spending 4 days with him. I never thought we would develop such a strong friendship with him. He was like family. Monday we relaxed at the FS and prepared for our departure on Tuesday. Our flight out was at 02:00pm, so we left the hotel around 11:30. We paid our $26 exit tax then stood in the customs line. Every other person was having their suitcases completely emptied and gone through. Luckily we were not one of them. Costa Rica is a beautiful country, with friendly people and a lot of bad roads. Plus, we had a great time immersing ourselves in their culture and landscape. There are 3 things that have stuck with me from our trip, which I hadn't expected. One was the amount of exotic wildlife we saw. Secondly, was the quality of their beef. And, finally was the friendship of Ricardo. What a great vacation! |
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Four Seasons Papagayo Trip Report
Spammer wrote:
An interestting trip report on a new resort. Author: quantum Date: 06/16/2004, 10:57 am Message: My girlfriend and I just returned from a relaxing and adventurous journey to Costa Rica. If you just returned, then why are you posting from Costa Rica? miguel -- Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu |
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