Daily Times

Costa Rica lies in Central America between Nicaragua and Panama. The Pacific Ocean is on the west and the Atlantic on the east.It is well known for its natural beauty. And so off we went to see it one December, during the year-end holidays.

Besides beaches and rain forests, it has volcanoes. One of them is Arenal. We had no intention of climbing the 5,357 feet to the top. But it has had consistent lava flows since the last eruption in 1968 which have created hot springs at its base.

We landed at San Jose, Costa Rica and headed to Hotel California. We were awakened at night by a violent shaking. It was if we were still living in San Jose, California. This one felt much worse, since the building rattled. It was scary but eventually we fell back to sleep.

The next morning we went out to have breakfast on the patio. Small wild creatures were climbing in and out of the trees. That is something you would never expect to see in a large urban town in California.

Afterwards, we went to tour the Manual Antonio National Park. A taxi dropped us at the entrance of the park. Once we were out of the taxi, I realised I had forgotten my camera in the taxi. I had a sinking feeling.

As the evening set in, we went back to the beach and sat on the sands to view the sunset. The rays of the setting sun lit up a large rock that was out in the sea, rendering it magically iridescent

Then something happened which you only see in the movies. The taxi was coming back towards us. The driver rolled down the window and handed me my camera. I was speechless and simply took back the camera with a smile. I forgot to thank him or tip him. He drove away. In any other country, I would not have seen either the taxi or my camera again.

To get to the park, we had to ford a small stream. The high tide had flooded the entrance with sea water.The park sits on the beach but we did not want to stay the entire day on the beach. That would have to wait for another day.

That park is one of the best places to see monkeys, including the mantled howler, the squirrel monkey and the spider monkey. As we walked through the park, which resembles a rain forest, we spotted monkeys jumping from tree to tree, as if they were posing for the camera.

We also saw a creature called the sloth. They hung out in the tree canopies and moved slowly on the branches. We were told you could only see them at night but for some reason they were also active during the day.

Later, we took a boat tour through a swamp and saw more monkeys up close. One even found his way onto our boatand scared the daylight out of one of the passengers as he jumped onto her shoulder.

As the evening set in, we went back to the beach and sat on the sands to view the sunset. The rays of the setting sun lit up a large rock that was out in the sea, rendering it magically iridescent.

The next day we got on the road that would take us to the hot springs of Arenal. During the drive, we went past a river that had large mammals laying in it. We pulled over for a closer look. They were alligators.

The road got bumpy and windy at some point. The traffic slowed us down. And then what one hopes will never happen on a trip happened to us. The car got a flat tire. It took the driver some effort to replace it with a spare tire.

Now we were on the road again and dusk was beginning to settle in. Then the rains arrived, even though this was the dry season. Finally, we took a turn off the main road and arrived at the La Mansion Inn.

The driveway was so muddy the car could not go over it. Then a man came out, greeted us in heavily accented English, and carried our bags for us. He was French and possibly the manager or the owner.

We checked in, had a quick meal, and fell asleep. When we woke up, I pulled the drapes of our room to see what was outside. The view simply blew me away. A beautiful lake was in the background, framed by the most colorful foliage in the foreground.The lake was surrounded by mountains. The sky was cloudy.

There was total silence and not a single person was to be seen. In the distance, a few boats were docked on one side of the lake. The blue waters sparkled where the sunrays broke through the clouds and kissed them.

We had a light breakfast, walked around the lake, and went horse riding. It was my first time on a horse, and proved to be easier on the mind and the body than riding a camel.

As the evening set in, we got in the car to head to the hot springs. By now the clouds had reappeared and totally enveloped Arenal. It was rendered invisible, much to our disappointment.

I now knew what my brother must have felt when we had visited San Francisco for the first time. We took him to show the Golden Gate Bridge only to find that it was engulfed with the city’s famous fog. And while it was still daylight, the bridge was nowhere to be seen.

In Costa Rica, our spirits were revived once we got to the resort at the base of Arenal which was home to the hot springs. The inside atmosphere was lively. We went into the lockers to change. When we came out through the other door, the hot springs lay out in front of us.

Several people, old and young, were sitting all around the hot springs, dipping their feet and getting their bodies wet under the small waterfalls.

We found a spot and took a seat. The warm waters of the springs did their magic. We relaxed and indulged our senses. Next day it was time to pack up and head back to San Jose.

In San Jose, we stayed at a resort outside of town. It was next to a canyon with a restaurant that hung over the chasm. After a lazy breakfast, we took a walk through the path that went past a river.

We returned home with some incredible memories. The only think lacking was a sighting of the jaguar in the wild.

The writer can be reached at ahmadfaruqui@gmail.com

Published in Daily Times, May 14^th 2018.