All meals are included and are served at the same time each day and were buffet style with individual tables for groups or couples. The food was fresh vegetables, fruit and various meat dishes and chicken dishes. A small bar and recreational area with pool table, a small swimming pool, beach area with hammocks, tropical gardens, domestic animals such as horses, one pig, several dogs and a parrot who always shows up at mealtime for a handout. The rooms were all open air with ceiling fans and curtains which could be let down for privacy, with the rooms made of native wood and screened- in halfway to top of the ceiling, private baths with hot water. Rooms all have two double beds with a large day bed couch, which can sleep six people. This is set in tropical gardens and orchids close enough to the ocean to hear the surf at night and right next to the jungle where you could hear all kinds of wildlife. This is truly a real get away from everyday activities that puts you right in nature with no telephone or TV's and you either walk or take a canoe to reach any other place.

There are many beaches and towns along the stretch of the Pacific which can be reached by car or taxi, and it is just south of the major resort area of Papaguayo. There are tours available from here to various parks and wildlife preserves; some, like Arenal, are a four-hour trip one way and require a ten- or eleven-hour tour. There are tours to hot springs in Rincon de la Vieja, tours to ranches and boat wildlife tours on various rivers. Even with the carts for transportation, one should be in good physical shape as the entire resort is built on a hillside and you will need a car to get around the outside of the resort. The resort is 16 miles from the airport in Liberia and there is a local bus that goes to Liberia four times a day from the main road near the resort. However, to reach other beach towns and resorts you will need a car or taxi. Taxi can be called from the front desk. The beach area has beach chairs for sunning with a very nice long beach which is volcanic in origin and dark grey. There are numerous tide pools and volcanic rocks nearby for exploring. Also nearby on the beach, small restaurants and other hotels, which one can reach by walking down the beach. There is no real town but a small community with bars, restaurants, hotels and one store.

Ambiance is warm and intimate and service excellent. This restaurant was recommended by both the Don Carlos Hotel and the Hemingway Inn for its clients even though both hotels have dining rooms. The clientele is mainly Tico business people at lunch time; with the night time, there is dining by candlelight which is very warm and intimate. This is a lovely old home to visit just for an expreso or latte and dessert.

Visitors that stay overnight at Arenal are more likely to see the volcano erupt at night when it is clear. There are hotels there with balconies that face the volcano and have a wakeup call service for guests wishing to see volcanic activity. There are various hotels and B&Bs for all budgets and after speaking with other travelers who made the trip, it is highly recommended that one stay overnight.

The volcano is frequently in the clouds by afternoon and the best viewing is night or early morning. By the time most day tours arrive from San Jose, the mountain is clouded over.

This park can be enjoyed in two hours or a whole day or weekend, as it has five different beaches within the park, all different, some with tide pools and cliffs; others for swimming. All of the parks in Costa Rica are $7 for non-residents and are good for the entire day. In Manuel Antonio, you must bring a lunch or leave the park to eat. There are various places to eat in the community of Manuel Antonio right outside of the park. There are numerous trails off the beaten track where you can be alone and walk to a river crossing or a waterfall with no one else in sight (best to tell someone where you are going, as you can get lost). If you stay in Manuel Antonio near the park, you will hear the howler monkeys at night howling out their territorial rights. It sounds somewhat like a team cheering in a football stadium, and after hearing it once, you know what it is and look forward to hearing it again.

This park is south of Quepos, a larger town, from which there are numerous other tours available such as canopy tours, surfing and many water sports. However, there are many places to stay in Manuel Antonio, with some of the places being very luxurious and in the hills overlooking the bays and park of Manuel Antonio. The park is closed on Monday for cleaning and attendance is limited to 600 people per day so one should arrive close to the 7 a.m. Opening to be sure of admittance during the dry season.

Once you are at your particular lodge, which are isolated from one another along the river, you check into your room. All meals are served at certain times, buffet or sometimes family-style, and includes all excursions by canoe and guide into the jungle, as well as hiking tours with guide into the jungle. The lodge at which I was staying -- Turtle Beach Lodge -- supplied rubber boots and hiking staff and guide for all activities. We had one early-morning (5am) wildlife viewing canoe trip watching the various birds and animals start their day in the jungle. We saw monkeys, sloths, caiman, manatee, many birds and other wildlife.

You can go to a settlement of Tortuguero where the natives live who used to work on the banana plantation and now are mostly engaged in some capacity or other in preserving or catering to the tourists who visit for the turtle nesting which occurs from May to October each year. There is a Conservation Group there of biologists and volunteers who monitor the turtle nesting, tagging, counting eggs, and generally helping with the nestlings. There is a volunteer program that you can sign up for which you pay $1300 a week for your room and board and transportation to Tortuguero, and does involve physical activity and sometimes late hours when the turtles are nesting.

If you come off-season as I did when the turtle are not there, this place is still a must-see for all the other plant and animal life. It was the only place I saw the green tree frog and the tiny, red, poison-dart frogs in nature. There are numerous butterflies, dragonflies, and hummingbirds, including the giant blue morpho butterfly and the violet saberwing hummingbird.

This area is warm and humid, and if you are on the Caribbean as I was, the beach is wild, driftwood-strewn, and isolated. This is not the place to swim because of the rip tides, but is a wild, lonely area where you will not see another soul. All the lodges are separated in the jungle along rivers a long way from each other, so you really feel as though you are alone except for the few people staying at your lodge. Some lodges in the area cater to fishermen - I understand the fishing is excellent.

You can hold the various caterpillars and view butterflies, including the giant blue morph, in a netted outdoor facility where you can see the butterflies in their natural habitant. You can view the different pupae of the butterflies, which are tagged and named so you can see the difference between the species of butterflies and their pupae. There is also a store that includes artisan products from all over Costa Rica including the many excellent coffees grown here. Grayline also does tours here with pickup from your hotel; however, you can take a cab and join one of the tours at specified times and spend all the time you want there including a very nice restaurant.

After the volcano, we had lunch at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens (included in our tour price) and then a tour of the butterfly gardens and then a hike to the waterfalls. This involves getting wet, so you must have raingear and it also involves some climbing of steel stairways around and under different waterfalls. You can opt out of the most strenuous part of the hike if you wish. Otherwise, you will walk along steel walkways and stairs over and under and through a rain forest and five waterfalls along the Trail of Falls. There are nine viewing platforms below and next to the water. The power of these waterfalls into the river gorge below is awesome and I believe, a must see. There is also an excellent handicraft shop here with handcrafted objects from all over Central America.

Canopy tours are offered here for those who wish the thrill of sailing through the trees, which is an adventure but not a way to view wildlife. Any wildlife would be scared out of its wits by the screams and yells of those people swinging through the trees.

There are wild orchids and bromeliads everywhere in the trees and insects and animals of all types. I came across a beautiful orange-kneed Tarantula in the woods., along a trail. The suspension bridges and trails are the way to see the plants and wildlife.T here are various types of hotels here for all budgets, including backpackers and hikers as well as upscale mountain lodges.

There is regular bus transportation to this area from San Jose and other areas as well as one-day tours available in San Jose. Some people rent four-wheel drive vehicles for the drive on a rough, gravel road. It is slow going as the road is rough and there are potholes from the rain which is almost a daily event.

This is a small mountainous community of farmers and dairy farmers and people involved in the tourism industry. The road will probably guarantee that the community will remain small and isolated which the residents probably want to keep that way. You can charter a small plane into the area but otherwise, you will always have to deal with that road.

It is worth the trip only if you stay overnight as it will take at least four hours each way to Monteverde and you do not want to drive that road in the dark with the steep dropoffs and potholes. The trip on the way is very scenic and you will see lots of wildlife on the way so the trip is well worth it, but if you don't stay overnight, you have very little time to enjoy the area.

There is really something for everyone to do here including history, culture, and museums in city of San Jose. It is only six hours on a direct flight from Los Angeles (one hour longer than for Cancun here) and with approximately the same airfare that it takes to reach Cancun. The people are friendly, educated (98% literacy rate), and many speak english as it is required in the schools. You can use travelers cheques or American dollars in many hotels, restaurants and shops as well as credit cards. I went to the airport bank on arrival to change to some colones and never had to visit a bank again.

Some places will give discounts for cash as the rate on credit cards are high (8%) here. I used the banks at both the San Jose and the Liberia airports; their rates were the same as banks and without the lines found in the banks. Banks are crowded here as Ticos pay their utility and mortgage bills at the bank and sometimes the lines can be an hour wait. Gambling and prostitution are legal here with numerous casinos in the hotels. I just returned from Costa Rica and can hardly wait until I return which I know now will be often.

I'd love to keep this place a secret so it won't be overcrowded and spoiled by tourists but I know that other travelers like myself have fallen in love with this country and will not keep it quiet. The Ticos are very proud of their country and really go out of their way to make your experience in their country a memorable one.