Pura Vida!

We leave for Costa Rica in less than 3 weeks now. It's definitely a much needed vacation to escape the nastiness of Chicago's ugly, cold, and grey winters. We've been trying to get on a winter schedule for our yearly vacation for a couple years. The last 3 years we've taken a vacation in the fall which I think is the best time of year around here.

Costa Rica is a small country but there is so many different areas to visit that we had a hard time narrowing down the choices. We decided to rent a car for the week and drive so that we wouldn't be stranded at our hotels and could see a little more of the country.

We start with a rafting trip down the Pacuare River. That night we stay at the Pacuare Jungle Lodge. The only way to get there is by rafting in. They have no electricity and everything is brought in by the whitewater rafts. It's a luxury eco-lodge and we're very excited about it.

Then we head up to the volcano at Arenal for a few nights. We are staying at the Arenal Nayara. While staying there we plan to hike to the La Fortuna waterfall the first day, then go canyoning the second day, and finally the third day we're doing the Sky Tram/Skytrek tour. We're also going to try out the new hot springs at The Springs Resort. We're hoping it won't be incredibly packed since it's new.

Our last stop is down in Manuel Antonio. We stay for 2 nights at Hotel Parador. We are going ATVing since we absolutely loved it while in Mexico. We're also going to spend a day hiking and giong to the beaches in the national park. And of course we're hoping to spot some monkeys.