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Testimonial. “Wonderful Travel Adventure Vacation to Costa Rica” Designed by Ann, The Costa Rica Travel Planner

Ann — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 00:51:33 +0000

Ann designed the itinerary for Ester and Emmet’s ten day travel adventure vacation in July 2010. Here is what they has to say:

“Ann, The Costa Rica Travel planner , Allowing Ann to “design” our the trip to Costa Rica made it a wonderful and stress-free adventure for my husband and I! Her expert knowledge of the country and its top attractions allowed us to plan the trip of a lifetime and leave feeling we saw everything we could have wanted to from monkeys and sloths, rain forests, volcanoes and beautiful Tortuguero canals.

Emmet and Esther

Ann’s help in finding places to stay that were wonderful and within our budget and transport between locations made trip planning a breeze before hand and travel in the country stress-free as we didn’t have to worry about getting from place to place. Traveling with Ann was always fascinating as she has extensive knowledge of the country and the people. If you love nature and animals, I would highly recommend a trip to Costa Rica and contact Ann so you will be sure to enjoy the best this country has to offer! Contact Ann “The Costa Rica Travel Planning Expert” at anncreed23@gmail.com

Written by: Emmet and Esther Loney, July 2011

Itinerary included- Central Valley- Hotel Buena Vista located in a mountain settings with gorgeous cool, clean air with views Poas Volcano. Day tour Poas Volcano National Park and lunch at Chubascos, typical Costa Rican cuisine. Four Generations Doka Coffee Plantation Tour.

Three Day Tour Tortuguero National Park and the Tortuguero Canals along Caribbean Coast. Turtle nesting region. Monkeys, sloths, toucans, lush tropical vegetation, crocodiles, manatees, and green parrots. Lush tropical jungle setting.

Arenal Observatory Lodge-Arenal Volcano. Sky Tram and Zip line tour, horseback riding to La Fortuna Waterfall, Butterfly Gardens, Tabacon Hot Springs with dinner.

Northern Region- Blue River (Rio Azul) Rio Celeste Hideaway Hotel Hike to the Blue River (Rio Celeste) in the Tenorio Volcano National Park, swim in Blue River under the eight foot waterfall, Day Trip to explore the limestone caverns at Barra Honda National Park.

Costa Rica Spotlight: Like to Take a Trip on the African Queen “Down the Tortuguero River”

Ann — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:23:12 +0000

Tortuguero Canals, Costa Rica

Let’s travel to Costa Rica and take this wonderful lyrical five hour trip , not down the Amazon, but down the Tortuguero River to the Tortuguero Canals, and Tortuguero National Park, which run parallel to the Atlantic Ocean on Costa Rica’s north eastern Caribbean sea shore. We are not on the African Queen and we are not Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. But we are having just as much fun floating dreamily down the Tortuguero River and the tranquility soothes the savage within us. We pass an Ilan Ilan Tree and smell it’s sweet fragrance, “things for which the most famous French Perfumes are make of.”

A flock of green macaws suddenly fly from the top of the rain forest, making a swooping sound and land unexpectedly very near us. Fresh water turtles, basking in the warm sunshine, lounge lazily on the logs lining the side of the river. Howler monkeys shake the branches high in the rain forest canopy, certainly getting our attention.

Dug out canoes pass us painted in bright colors of green and yellow. The local indigenous people who inhabit this region scout these waters for their daily food supply, mostly Tarpon, a large fish with beautiful white flesh. These people are mostly self sufficient. They grow their own vegetables and pick the wild fruit of bananas, coconuts, and wild pineapple. They fish the waters and and hunt the wild forest for the small pork, a pig weighing around three pounds.

At night along the long stretches of unspoiled beach, we see the green sea turtle coming ashore, digging a large hole and laying its eggs. We are here in the month of July and hundreds of green sea turtles can be seen here. We visit the Caribbean Conservation Corporation in the small village of Tortuguero. It’s purpose to to study and protect these sea turtles.

How can I arrange a tour to the Tortuguero Canals? You can purchase a 2 night or 3 night all inclusive package. Contact Ann at anncreed23@gmail.com for the information you need about booking this 2 night-3 day ( All Inclusive)tour of this region.

What time of year is best to visit here? This is a very rainy area of Costa Rica…no specific dry season here but we do get sunny mornings and many days it does not rain at all. So any month of the year is good.

What is the weather like in the region of the Tortuguero Canals? It is warm and humid.

costaricalearn.com strives to offer you helpful travel tips to make you Costa Rica vacation more meaningful. Saving you time and money in planning your trip., and sending you to the most exotic and interesting places in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica Spotlight: Mawamba Lodge Caribbean Tortuguero Canals- Limon Costa Rica

Ann — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 02:05:00 +0000

This is a continuation of my series about travel Costa Rica, and the adventure we encounter here. Couldn’t wait to write about this wonderful place called Mawamba Lodge located on the Caribbean Sea, bordered by a lowland tropical rainforest and beautiful beige sandy beaches. (it’s located just north of the town of Limon). My husband Ken and I spent three days at this unique jungle retreat. The center piece is of course are the Tortuguero canals which run parallel to the Sea, then jut out and carve into the jungle where you see white face and howler monkeys, crocodiles, Jesus Christ lizards, green parrots, toucans, eagles, and many more species of birds. The jungle canopy of huge age old trees grow right down to and hang over the waters edge. A sight never to be forgotten is the bright soft filtered sunlight beaming through the trees, creating a mirror image onto the clear waters of the canals.

Our local guide was excellent, taking us to the little hamlet of Tortuguero where we visited a small one room school house where we were greeted with smiles and hellos (in English) by the children. They were neatly dressed in uniform.. blue trousers and skirts, crisp white blouses, and black shoes. The teacher, a young attractive Costa Rica Rican woman welcomed us and explained in English her method of teaching. No textbooks exist here. The children copy from the blackboard into their notebooks, which then become the textbook.

The people who reside here make their living in fishing and tourism. They live in modest houses built up over the water on a series of wooden stilks, because of the heavy year round rainfall. Transportation around here is only by small boats, and one can sit by the waters edge for hours just watching these colorful parade of boats going up and down the canals

Mawamba Tour company owns and operates the lodge, and I highly recommend it for it’s first class service, gourmet Costa Rican food, and genuine hospitality in this remote jungle paradise.

Costs: Different all inclusive packages are offered but it is best to check the web site for the current prices. My husband and I paid $350 per person for all inclusive package 2 nights and 3 days.
This included 2 canal tours , all meals which were delicious, comfortable rooms with 2 double beds, ceiling fans and hot water
And of course round trip transportation from San Jose via very comfortable motor coach.

The night tour to see the nesting green turtles was $30 per person Extra. This included a guide with a flashlight (only light allowed) no photos. We saw several turtles digging into the sand and laying their eggs. They were hugh turtles!