BeckyM
05-19-2001, 09:01 AM
Hi All!
My husband and I just returned from a vacation to Costa Rica, and I just have to share it with you all. I know there are some on this board who are into active, exotic vacations, and I think you'd love this trip we just took to Costa Rica.
We were wanting to take a big, exciting vacation this year, since we're thinking of having kids soon, and we want to take advantage of our relative freedom and available funds while we can! Our criteria were that it be somewhere out of the country, somewhere we could go in May, and a trip in which we could mostly stay in one place, rather than being at a different hotel (or campground) each night.
After lots of research, we decided to go to a place called Lapa Rios in Costa Rica. We found it on the internet (www.laparios.com), and we now can tell you that it is even better than the pictures on the website, which are gorgeous. Lapa Rios is an ecotourism lodge which was created by a couple from Minnesota, who liquidated all their assets and bought a big tract of land on the Osa Peninsula, which is on the southern Pacific shore of Costa Rica. They wanted to promote sustainable conservation of the rainforest, so they employ mostly local people to help them realize how much better they can do by preserving the forest than by cutting it down for farming.
Our accomodations were remarkable! Lapa Rios has 14 separate bungalos, each with two queen-sized beds. They are all very private, with screen walls on three sides looking down from the ridge over the rainforest to the beach. The bungalos all have thatched roofs, ceiling fans, beautiful wood floors, two sinks in the bathroom area, and a huge shower with one screen wall, so you feel like you're showering right out in the rain forest. They also have private balconies, which are a great place to see beautiful birds and watch monkeys playing in the trees right by you.
The food was also remarkable (another reason why I thought people here might enjoy it) -- gourmet at every meal. It was also relatively healthy, with lots of emphasis on fresh, local fruits & vegetables. They also said they try to use organic ingredients whenever possible. The menu varied day by day, and the dishes were wonderful mixes of traditional Costa Rican fare with influences from other cuisines. They also had vegetarian choices at every meal, and though I'm not vegetarian, I appreciated being able to skip meat when I wanted. They're supposed to be coming out with a cookbook soon, and I'm definitely going to get it!
Lapa Rios offers a wide variety of guided hikes & tours through their own preserve and to other areas. We took almost every hike they offered on their land, and the guides were very knowledgeable. They were Costa Rican -- one was college-educated with great English and a huge array of knowledge about the flora & fauna. He could spot birds, monkeys, lizards, etc., that we had no idea were nearby. There was also a guide who was a Shaman (medicine man) who knew a great deal about the traditional medicinal uses of the various plants. His English wasn't as good, but he was really a character -- he even sang songs to us as we were hiking! We also took a boat tour across the Golfo Dulce and up into a Mangrove Swamp. We saw tons of dolphins in the bay, and they even swam right along with our little boat. We also briefly saw a small crocodile, and we learned a lot about the local way of life.
One of the main things we liked about Lapa Rios was the friendliness & helpfulness of the staff. Everyone went out of their way to make us feel welcome and to make our vacation fun. We also really appreciated that there weren't a huge amount of guests, so we could be on a trail by ourselves or evey have the beach all to ourselves! It had almost all the advantages of backpacking (getting away from it all and experiencing nature) without having to lug all our equipment, sleep on the ground, eat meals out of bags, use pit toilets, etc. Not that I don't enjoy backpacking -- I love it! It's just that this vacation was more luxury, while still being out in nature.
So anyway, I highly recommend Lapa Rios in Costa Rica as a wonderful place to vacation. It's not cheap, but we felt like our money was definitely going to a good cause, and we felt it was absolutely worth it. If you're interested, definitely check out their website, and I'm also happy to answer specific questions.
And no, they are not paying me to do this. I just feel like our stay there was so wonderful, I want others to hear about it, and be able to experience it too!
I'd also love to hear about others' vacation recommendations. Even though we've definitely blown our vacation budget for a while, it's fun to hear about potential places for future trips. (Though we'll want to go back to Lapa Rios too!)
Becky http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif
My husband and I just returned from a vacation to Costa Rica, and I just have to share it with you all. I know there are some on this board who are into active, exotic vacations, and I think you'd love this trip we just took to Costa Rica.
We were wanting to take a big, exciting vacation this year, since we're thinking of having kids soon, and we want to take advantage of our relative freedom and available funds while we can! Our criteria were that it be somewhere out of the country, somewhere we could go in May, and a trip in which we could mostly stay in one place, rather than being at a different hotel (or campground) each night.
After lots of research, we decided to go to a place called Lapa Rios in Costa Rica. We found it on the internet (www.laparios.com), and we now can tell you that it is even better than the pictures on the website, which are gorgeous. Lapa Rios is an ecotourism lodge which was created by a couple from Minnesota, who liquidated all their assets and bought a big tract of land on the Osa Peninsula, which is on the southern Pacific shore of Costa Rica. They wanted to promote sustainable conservation of the rainforest, so they employ mostly local people to help them realize how much better they can do by preserving the forest than by cutting it down for farming.
Our accomodations were remarkable! Lapa Rios has 14 separate bungalos, each with two queen-sized beds. They are all very private, with screen walls on three sides looking down from the ridge over the rainforest to the beach. The bungalos all have thatched roofs, ceiling fans, beautiful wood floors, two sinks in the bathroom area, and a huge shower with one screen wall, so you feel like you're showering right out in the rain forest. They also have private balconies, which are a great place to see beautiful birds and watch monkeys playing in the trees right by you.
The food was also remarkable (another reason why I thought people here might enjoy it) -- gourmet at every meal. It was also relatively healthy, with lots of emphasis on fresh, local fruits & vegetables. They also said they try to use organic ingredients whenever possible. The menu varied day by day, and the dishes were wonderful mixes of traditional Costa Rican fare with influences from other cuisines. They also had vegetarian choices at every meal, and though I'm not vegetarian, I appreciated being able to skip meat when I wanted. They're supposed to be coming out with a cookbook soon, and I'm definitely going to get it!
Lapa Rios offers a wide variety of guided hikes & tours through their own preserve and to other areas. We took almost every hike they offered on their land, and the guides were very knowledgeable. They were Costa Rican -- one was college-educated with great English and a huge array of knowledge about the flora & fauna. He could spot birds, monkeys, lizards, etc., that we had no idea were nearby. There was also a guide who was a Shaman (medicine man) who knew a great deal about the traditional medicinal uses of the various plants. His English wasn't as good, but he was really a character -- he even sang songs to us as we were hiking! We also took a boat tour across the Golfo Dulce and up into a Mangrove Swamp. We saw tons of dolphins in the bay, and they even swam right along with our little boat. We also briefly saw a small crocodile, and we learned a lot about the local way of life.
One of the main things we liked about Lapa Rios was the friendliness & helpfulness of the staff. Everyone went out of their way to make us feel welcome and to make our vacation fun. We also really appreciated that there weren't a huge amount of guests, so we could be on a trail by ourselves or evey have the beach all to ourselves! It had almost all the advantages of backpacking (getting away from it all and experiencing nature) without having to lug all our equipment, sleep on the ground, eat meals out of bags, use pit toilets, etc. Not that I don't enjoy backpacking -- I love it! It's just that this vacation was more luxury, while still being out in nature.
So anyway, I highly recommend Lapa Rios in Costa Rica as a wonderful place to vacation. It's not cheap, but we felt like our money was definitely going to a good cause, and we felt it was absolutely worth it. If you're interested, definitely check out their website, and I'm also happy to answer specific questions.
And no, they are not paying me to do this. I just feel like our stay there was so wonderful, I want others to hear about it, and be able to experience it too!
I'd also love to hear about others' vacation recommendations. Even though we've definitely blown our vacation budget for a while, it's fun to hear about potential places for future trips. (Though we'll want to go back to Lapa Rios too!)
Becky http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif