Costa Rica Vacation Contest Names 2nd Monthly Winner

$Michael\'s Vacation$
Mike’s Engaging Photos Helped Him to Become our 2nd Monthly Winner.

Costa Rica Pages is pleased to announce that Mike is the second monthly winner for our Travel Writing Contest. His witty account of a 9-day Costa Rica vacation takes readers from the city to the mountains and back again, all while noting some of the eccentric qualities of the country with astute scrutiny.

Mike is a professional photographer for a medium sized newspaper in California. His travel agent wife Carrie and teenage daughter Katie live in the San Joaquin Valley and have traveled with him twice to Costa Rica, and are in love with the country.

Thanks to his quality writing, bright photos and a positive response from our readers, Mike received a 10% off coupon for a vacation to Costa Rica when purchased through our travel affiliate Costa Rican Vacations.

For all of you interested in participating in the contest, there is still time! One last monthly winner will be chosen for July, and the final winner of our 6-night luxury Costa Rican Vacation will be announced on August 4th. While the monthly winners are chosen for their ability to engage the reader and elicit responses and votes, the grand prize winner will be chosen for the content of their essay, style of writing and overall message portrayed.

All it takes to participate is a short 300 to 800 word reflection on a travel moment that changed or affected you. This may have taken place in any foreign country or in your own backyard as long as it evokes the spirit of discovery, adventure and/or change. Our deadline for entries is August 1st, so stop pondering that perfect travel moment and get writing and share it with the world! With a total of 45 entries so far, there is a fair chance that anyone could win! For more information on how to sign up, visit the competition page here: http://www.costaricapages.com/Competition

If you need some inspiration, take a look at Mike’s entry below!

Welcome to the Jungle

We landed in the dead of night in Costa Rica‘s capital city of San Jose. Everything appeared normal, until we picked up our luggage — then all hell broke loose.

Hundreds of men clamored for our bags, shouting their offers to deliver our luggage from the terminal to the street, a distance of 15 feet. They would also hail a cab, and for their trouble, expected 1,000 colones, about $2.

Fortunately, we had hired a driver, whom I managed to find amidst the sea of frantic humanity.

Half a day earlier, our traveling party had left sunny — but cold — California for the mountainous jungles of Costa Rica. We were seeking adventure and relaxation.

We found both.

The adventure

Costa Rica is between Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south. Most tourists who venture there end up on a beach along the Pacific or Caribbean oceans.

But our group‘s travel agent — my wife, Carrie — had other ideas. From the get-go, she had us trekking through the tropical rain forest in a semi-eco adventure. Who wants to lie around on a beach, sipping a neon-colored drink with a paper umbrella sticking out of it, anyway?

During our nine-day stay, we hiked, we rode horses, we white-water rafted.

At the La Paz Waterfall Gardens nature park, a 11/2 hour drive northwest of San Jose in Varablanca, we stared down poison frogs — well, at least I did.

Sort of.

Before photographing the frog exhibit at the park, I asked my guide about the toxicity of its tiny amphibians — for safety reasons. It went exactly like this:

Me: “Can they make you sick?”

Costa Rican guide: “A little.”

Me: “Convulsions?”

Guide: “Ah … maybe some …”

Me: “How about coma?”

Guide: “Maybe some … but not that bad …”

I found out later that the frogs were not toxic at all. Maybe.

In Costa Rica, there are seven species of frog, three of which boldly display the bright, contrasting colors that are the family trademark of poisonous amphibians.

In Colombia, the Choco Indians use the toxin, secreted from glands in the frog‘s skin, on their blowgun darts. Simply rubbing a dart across the frog‘s body is enough to transform that dart into a lethal weapon.

Costa Rica‘s poison dart frogs aren‘t nearly so venomous. Still, any animal that eats one is likely to suffer violent sickness or even death.

After a few days in the rain forest with poison frogs, we were off to a live volcano.

The gods were not angry with our party — at least they didn‘t roast us alive as I had predicted.

The Arenal Volcano, located near the town of Fortuna, was shrouded in clouds. You knew it was there only by the dozens of post cards for sale in the hotel lobby. The clouds cleared for about an hour.

Arenal is the only volcano in Costa Rica that has been constantly active since it awoke after 400 years with a huge eruption in 1968. It is considered one of the 10 most active volcanoes in the world, producing ash columns, explosions and streams of glowing red lava almost every day.

The relaxation

Hiring a private driver was a smart move and took a lot of stress out of getting around. We went with Costa Rica Shuttle, whose owner, Leonel, answered our hundreds of e-mailed questions, all within 24 hours, some within minutes.

In Costa Rica, we found, the skills of the local drivers far exceed anything you have seen at a NASCAR track.

Their vehicles’ horns honked out Morse code type messages, warning other drivers of their location and intention. I picked up this much: Three short beeps followed by one long translates, “I will now attempt to pass you on the sidewalk.”

Vehicle emissions weren’t fretted over. I saw one truck that, I swear, was on fire as it lumbered toward us on the way to the rain forest of La Paz Waterfall Gardens.

Our first motel had been a beautiful restored mansion in the middle of San Jose that afforded us a good first night‘s rest.

The Peace Lodge, located within La Paz Waterfall Gardens nature park, offered the best of two worlds: opulent comfort and raw nature.

Plus, Peace Lodge guests don’t have to pay for tours and admission to the nature park, which is about $25 — or one bale of Colones.

In addition to the frog exhibit, the La Paz property also features a butterfly observatory, a hummingbird garden, orchid gardens, an authentic castia historic indigenous dwelling, five waterfalls and miles of hiking trails. The Waterfalls Walk, in particular, is well worth your time. Especially since it’s all downhill, and a shuttle bus will drive you back up to the lodge at the end.

We left Costa Rica after nine days of taking in the lush tropical rain forest, listening to jungle sounds, lounging in hot springs, eating great food, drinking great beer Here’s one big tip: Imperial, the local beer, is very good and hanging 250 feet above the jungle treetops on a zip-line tour.

We brought home fond memories of a very special winter vacation, spent in a beautiful country and full of sights, sounds and smells that we will never forget. We will be back!