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It was fun to see San José, and the Hotel Presidente was a great
place to spend a night. The Jeep Cherokee arrived right on schedule Monday
morning. We had been warned by someone on the plane and by a couple of
guys we spoke with on our hotel shuttle NOT to drive. They said we should
return the car and just take shuttles. We decided to have faith that
we (and by we, I mean Matt :) could handle it.... knowing that you had
told us if we had driven the roads in Maui we would do just fine. We
are really glad we did. We had no problems, and it really added to the
experience for us. Matt did all the driving, and did a wonderful job,
I might add! It was a little tricky getting out of San José, mainly
because of few street signs, but the rental car guy gave us a map and
great directions. Since we've now had a chance to see San José,
we would probably stay right by the airport next time. But, we're glad
that we stayed in San José for our first visit.
Villa Caletas was great. Our room was amazing. Complete privacy, and
floor to ceiling glass overlooking the jungle and ocean. Our own private
balcony, all glass in the bathroom, shower and jacuzzi over looking the
jungle and ocean as well... and no need for curtains, it was that private!
They made beautiful towel sculptures with flower petals (two swans one
day, a heart the next), and at night they turned the bed down and sprinkled
it with red flower petals. The room and hotel were decorated beautifully
with antiques and art. Very well done. We did have to get used to the
rather large beetles and spiders that would visit our room in the evening,
though ;) The Greek Amphitheater was really neat and had perfect views
of the sunsets. Unfortunately they didn't have a concert the days we
were there, but they did play music over the speakers at sunset which
was nice. The infinity pool was gorgeous. They entire resort is really
peaceful, and really set up for privacy and quiet. For example, they
don't have a bar open in the evenings, but are happy to bring you drinks
to your room :)
While at Villa Caletas we spent some time exploring Jacó. We really
liked it.... a nice, small surfing town, and we felt very safe parking
the car anywhere on the street. Good restaurants, lots of little shops,
and a nice beach. We also ate one night at El Pelícano, a great
seafood place on Playa Herradura (another nice beach). It was a great
recommendation from one of the staff at Villa Caletas. We took a quick
drive though Los Sueños and walked the marina... wow, quite a
contrast from hanging out in town, a little look at how the wealthy live!
We also had a good time on our canopy tour. It was more of a ride than
anything (not a lot of time spent up in the canopy looking around, mostly
we just "flew" from platform to platform). It was fun, though,
and the guys running the tour did a great job and were lots of fun.
Sí Como No was another nice resort.... more kids here, as we expected,
and a bit busier, as we also expected. Our room was a nice typical hotel
room with two double beds. Another nice balcony with another great view
of the jungle and ocean. We were really glad they had added the adult
pool and the new Claro Que Sí restaurant by the adult pool. Great
additions and we used both a lot! We decided to leave the car parked
at the resort here and used the bus to go to Manuel Antonio and Quepos.
We read in our guide book that it wasn't as safe to leave your rental
car parked. Sure enough we parked for a few minutes down by Manuel Antonio
beach and were asked for money buy a guy who said he had watched our
car for us. All in all, we just felt more comfortable taking the bus,
which was cheap and easy. We didn't spent too much time in Quepos, overall
Jacó was more quaint and fun to spend time in. We spent more time
while staying at Sí Como No walking through the rain forest. We
took a tour of Manuel Antonio one morning, and a tour of rain forest
surrounding the butterfly gardens across the street from the hotel another
afternoon. In both cases we signed up for group tours and ended up being
the only ones.. so we got two private tours! We had read and heard that
hiring a guide is a must... we absolutely agree! Without them we would
have seen next to nothing. They carried their tripod with scope and found
all kinds of wildlife for us. Lots of birds, monkeys, sloths, bats, snakes,
butterflies, iguanas, lizards. It was lots of fun.
As much as Villa Caletas would be a great place to spend a week, we were
really glad that we split the time as you suggested. It worked out perfectly.
It was fun to stay at two different resorts and explore a couple different
areas of the country.
All in all, it was just a great trip. The weather was great.... it was
hot and sunny all but the last day when some rain came through. The people
of Costa Rica were very nice and we had fun working on our Spanish. It
was truly a great honeymoon! We will definitely return to Costa Rica....
next time Arenal!