The February trip to Costa Rica with G Adventures was fantastic and highly recommended. We had a crazy group of people and a guide who was very knowledgeable about his country as well as the flora and fauna. And there was a lot of it; Iguanas, monkeys, lizards, turtles, snakes, sloths, not to mention all the different types of birds and insects, all to be found in various forests and mangroves we visited. There is no point including my wildlife shots as Sharif’s are far superior (as is his blog), so I included some ‘fun’ pictures instead. Photos of some of the animals we saw can be found in the link below and I would urge you to take a look at a few.http://alphawhiskey.slickpic.com/photoblogThere are a couple of activities that warrant a mention. Firstly we participated in dolphin watching from a catamaran in Manuela Antonio. Well sort of. I should have guessed what was on the agenda when I saw that our $80 fee included free drinks. Always be aware of FREE DRINKS! In this case, 8 alcoholic drinks to be consumed on a boat in the heat by 100 lobster colored Americans/Canadians within 4 hours. The photos will speak for themselves and even though my brother gave up hope of seeing any wild life (apart from those ON the boat), once the loud music had started blaring, we did manage to spot some dolphins as the sun was setting.The other highlight of the trip for me was zip lining over the canopy in Monte Verde. Definitely one of the scariest yet memorable moments of my life and I did not enjoy the Tarzan swing at the end -which was more like a bungee jump. I was screaming like a baby. However I can’t wait to go again at our local place!As we were in the vicinity we did a couple of days in PanamaCity. It is an interesting sight having the old town against the backdrop of skyscrapers and Trump tower. The people I found weren’t as friendly as the Costa Ricans and we were constantly wary of being ripped off, specially by cabs. This meant walking everywhere in the 34C heat which was great for my tan and for burning off all that ice cream. Note that even though Panama is very Americanized , you will need some basic Spanish. For a small population, the city has an unbelievable number of malls. I am sure shopping is a national pastime or maybe people just need sanctuary from the heat. Panama City is somewhere that only requires 24 hours as there’s not much to do/see (unless you what to hide your cash!) and it is a little expensive (UK prices) but I am really glad that I learnt a lot about the famous Canal (the nerd that I am)and see it in action. This was a very different trip from my last G adventure tour (Brazil/Arg/Uruguay) -it's more about wildlife than natural beauty but it was just as good and again the people on our tour made the trip so much fun!
Apr 11, 2016Apr 11, 2016zanyzanThe February trip to Costa Rica with G Adventures was fantastic and highly recommended. We had a crazy group of people and a guide who was very knowledgeable about his country as well as the flora and fauna. And there was a lot of it; Iguanas, monkeys, lizards, turtles, snakes, sloths, not to mention all the different types of birds and insects, all to be found in various forests and mangroves we visited.
There is no point including my wildlife shots as Sharif’s are far superior (as is his blog), so I included some ‘fun’ pictures instead. Photos of some of the animals we saw can be found in the link below and I would urge you to take a look at a few.
http://alphawhiskey.slickpic.com/photoblog
There are a couple of activities that warrant a mention. Firstly we participated in dolphin watching from a catamaran in Manuela Antonio. Well sort of. I should have guessed what was on the agenda when I saw that our $80 fee included free drinks. Always be aware of FREE DRINKS! In this case, 8 alcoholic drinks to be consumed on a boat in the heat by 100 lobster colored Americans/Canadians within 4 hours. The photos will speak for themselves and even though my brother gave up hope of seeing any wild life (apart from those ON the boat), once the loud music had started blaring, we did manage to spot some dolphins as the sun was setting.
The other highlight of the trip for me was zip lining over the canopy in Monte Verde. Definitely one of the scariest yet memorable moments of my life and I did not enjoy the Tarzan swing at the end -which was more like a bungee jump. I was screaming like a baby. However I can’t wait to go again at our local place!
As we were in the vicinity we did a couple of days in PanamaCity. It is an interesting sight having the old town against the backdrop of skyscrapers and Trump tower. The people I found weren’t as friendly as the Costa Ricans and we were constantly wary of being ripped off, specially by cabs. This meant walking everywhere in the 34C heat which was great for my tan and for burning off all that ice cream. Note that even though Panama is very Americanized , you will need some basic Spanish. For a small population, the city has an unbelievable number of malls. I am sure shopping is a national pastime or maybe people just need sanctuary from the heat.
Panama City is somewhere that only requires 24 hours as there’s not much to do/see (unless you what to hide your cash!) and it is a little expensive (UK prices) but I am really glad that I learnt a lot about the famous Canal (the nerd that I am)and see it in action.
Iguanas in a tree
Apr 11, 2016Apr 11, 2016zanyzan
iguanas
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These things are everywhere - these two were photographed near one of our coach stops
Apr 11, 2016Apr 11, 2016zanyzan
more iguanas
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Alligators -a view from the bridge. It was so windy, Sharif managed to lose his sunglasses to the gators. Luckily there was a stall nearby selling more...how convenient.
Apr 11, 2016Apr 11, 2016zanyzan
crocs under the bridge
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Alligators -a view from the bridge. It was so windy, Sharif managed to lose his sunglasses to the gators. Luckily there was a stall nearby selling more...how convenient.
Drinks on the boat - I could only manage ONE free boozy drink although CR measures are clearly a lot larger than ours!
Apr 11, 2016Apr 11, 2016zanyzan
drinks on the boat
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Sunset from the boat
Apr 11, 2016Apr 11, 2016zanyzan
costa rican sunset from the boat
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The habour at dusk, near Quepos, CR
Apr 11, 2016Apr 11, 2016zanyzan
evening at the harbour CR
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Gail, Joe and Anne Marie on the boat at dusk
Apr 11, 2016Apr 11, 2016zanyzan
canadians on the boat
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'Ladies' on the boat..what more can I say?! And these were the beautiful ones
Apr 11, 2016Apr 11, 2016zanyzan
boat party
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Les Petasses- These lovely ladies were from Quebec -I think the mother is on the left and daughter in the middle. They spent a lot of time striking a lot of poses!
Apr 11, 2016Apr 11, 2016zanyzan
ladies from Quebec
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Monkeys on the beach (Manuel Antonio National Park)
Apr 11, 2016Apr 11, 2016zanyzan
monkeys at the beach Antonio Manuel CR
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National dish of Casado -rice, beans, meat, veg. Food is excellent in CR but not much variety.
Apr 11, 2016Apr 11, 2016zanyzan
casado
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Tortilla lesson at this woman's house. The food was amazing.
Apr 11, 2016Apr 11, 2016zanyzan
making tortilla
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The old town of Panama City -Casco Viejo. Very colonial looking.
Apr 11, 2016Apr 11, 2016zanyzan
The_old_town_Panama_City
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The old town of Panama City -Casco Viejo. Very colonial looking.
Me and my dirty monkey cocktail in Quepos, CR - they have some strange flavours over there
Apr 11, 2016Apr 11, 2016zanyzan
Drinks
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The Jade Museum in San Jose, CR. Old specimens....There is not much to do in San Jose but I did enjoy the museum -it's really about the history of Costa Rica.
Apr 11, 2016Apr 11, 2016zanyzan
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The Jade Museum in San Jose, CR. Old specimens....
There is not much to do in San Jose but I did enjoy the museum -it's really about the history of Costa Rica.
Zanna with Daniel (left) our Guide and Matt at our end of tour dinner at a Peruvian restaurant- it was the worst service I've ever experienced. Poor Sharif got his starter as he was tucking into his main....
Apr 11, 2016Apr 11, 2016zanyzan
last meal at peruvian resto San Jose with Guide Daniel and Matt
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Zanna with Daniel (left) our Guide and Matt at our end of tour dinner at a Peruvian restaurant- it was the worst service I've ever experienced. Poor Sharif got his starter as he was tucking into his main....
The G adventures group: Daniel, Matt, Marj, Jay, Mark, Rita, Anne Marie, Joe,Gail,Linda, Zanna, Marilyn, Arlan, Owen, Nyssa (my memory is very good!)
Apr 11, 2016Apr 11, 2016zanyzan
G Adventures Group
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The G adventures group: Daniel, Matt, Marj, Jay, Mark, Rita, Anne Marie, Joe,Gail,Linda, Zanna, Marilyn, Arlan, Owen, Nyssa (my memory is very good!)
Boat passing through the Panama Canal.
Apr 11, 2016Apr 11, 2016zanyzan
Panama canal in use
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Sharif crushing sugar cane on the coffee plantation, CR, with Nyssa watching
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A strange looking tower in Panama City
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A strange looking tower in Panama City
Panama City- view from the old town onto the new town
Apr 11, 2016Apr 11, 2016zanyzan
View_of_Panama_City_from_the_old_town
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