OUR 25th ANNIVERSARY STORY IN THE LAND OF PURA VIDA.
In the summer of 2019, my hubby and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary! But how and where would we celebrate this milestone?
We’ve been so lucky during our marriage, having visited so many amazing places around the world. Most of these experiences have been as a family of four. Road trips throughout the U.S., National Park visits, exploring European cities, cruising, Hawaiian and Mexican adventures. I consider us very lucky! But this was to be a different trip, for just the two of us to go and celebrate this special anniversary. So where did we decide to go?
The land of Pura Vida — Beautiful Costa Rica!
And it didn’t disappoint. My hubby and I wanted to go somewhere that was unlike anywhere we’ve ever visited, focusing on two of our travel passions — love of nature and animals. And Costa Rica certainly fits the bill!
This beautiful Central American country, nestled between Nicaragua to its north and Panama to its south, is a land known for its rainforests, volcanoes, biodiversity, beautiful beaches and yes, many North American and European retirees!
Costa Rica seemed to tick off all of our wants:
- Its people are keen on preserving its biodiversity.
- It has set aside ¼ of its land as national parks and protected areas.
- It has more species of animals and plants combined than the U.S. and Canada
- It was safe and its people are known to be warm and friendly.
So I put on my research hat and found out that…
Although Costa Rica is not a large country, its most popular destinations are relatively far apart.
And with an infrastructure containing mostly one lane highways (many paved but many not) that run through mountains and other types of rugged terrain, travel between destinations can take longer than what you’d expect.
We had about 8 days to spend here so I wanted to focus on one area.
So after doing some more research…
We decided our trip would focus on the Arenal area and its rainforest.
We discovered that the Arenal area was about a 3-4 drive from the San Jose airport. Although only about 75 miles apart, the roads and terrain would limit the speed in which to get there. But why rush?
Now where should we stay?
My research seemed to always lead me to the Arenal Observatory Lodge and Spa.
Situated only 1.7 Miles from the majestic Arenal Volcano and with a spectacular view of Lake Arenal, this choice seemed perfect.
The history of this eco-lodge also piqued my interest. It was originally built in 1987 as a scientific research station for the world famous Smithsonian Institution. After the volcano exploded in 1968, the Smithsonian scientists began to come to the area to study it on a regular basis and camp on the land near the volcano. The owners built cabins and eventually a small hotel. The history of this lodge, its website and reviews seemed perfect for us.
This eco lodge offered not only the typical hotel amenities like a pool and restaurant but, OH so much more…
-Rooms with balconies facing the volcano and rainforest,
-870 Acres with 7 miles of nature trails on its property,
Over 500 species of birds in the area and unique fauna and flora,
-A free 2 hour morning tour of the property and
Two observation towers.
But most of all, it offered us the chance to immerse ourselves somewhere so different than anything we experienced before.
So now that we knew where we’d like to stay, I coordinated the availability of the lodge with round trip airfare. I found a good airfare on a non stop flight out of Newark. The two major airports in Costa Rica are San Jose and Liberia. For our destination, San Jose fit the bill. Not only is its major airport, but you’ll most likely get the most economical fare into this airport.
Costa Rican transportation was the next step to tackle. Should we use airport transfers and local transportation to get us around or rent a car? Round trip transfers from airport to our lodge were about $250. That would be in addition to taxi and bus costs for just getting around to all that we wanted to see.
Although my husband was hesitant at first to rent a car and drive, we decided this was the best option, giving us the most flexibility to explore.
Now I was ready to fill in our daily itinerary. Before we left, I booked a couple of tours ahead of time and we were ready for our anniversary adventure!
DAY 1— Sunday
Fly to San Jose, Costa Rica
Since our flight was leaving for San Jose at 7am, we chose to stay overnight at an airport hotel that also included parking for our car. PERFECT!
We arrived at San Jose airport and picked up our car rental– our little Kia!
Important Tip — Rent a GPS! You will need it!
We began our car journey knowing it would take about 3-4 hours. On our way, we stopped at a local posada for lunch. There are so many of these local, family run eateries along the way. They offer inexpensive, tasty, local food. This dish cost about $5!
When we got close to the lodge, the road seemed to change dramatically. A very rocky, gravely and winding road was the last bit to take you up to it. It was a bit daunting but we eventually got use to it. And the lodge was so worth it!
The rest of our day was spent relaxing and exploring the grounds. A dinner and drinks at the hotel restaurant capped off our day.
DAY 2 — Monday
This was a fully packed day.
We started our day with a hearty breakfast, the best Costa Rican coffee and one hell of a view! I could do this forever and so could my husband!
We took the free two hour morning tour provided by the Lodge and then went out to start exploring its extensive property.
We explored its many nature trails as well as their own hanging bridge. Along the way, we heard howler monkeys in the distance and saw a variety of birds.
We also met some coatis, the Central American cousin to our raccoon. Unlike raccoons that are nocturnal, these guys are out and about during the day.
After a full day at the lodge, we ventured out for dinner eating at El Novillos Del Arenal steakhouse.
A night walk to visit the lodge’s frog pond was certainly an adventure. Make sure to bring your own flashlights!
Don’t get too close. Some of these guys are poisonous!
DAY 3– Tuesday
Happy 25th Wedding Anniversary!
We started our day exploring more of the lodge’s grounds and then stopped at Que Rico Arenal for some lunch before heading into La Fortuna to meet up with our 2pm Sloth Tour.
I love sloths! Booking a tour to view these amazing creatures in their own habitat, not in a zoo, was a highlight.
Our tour guide and driver were amazing. They had special scopes so we could view these beautiful animals just hanging out in the trees. We even got to see a toucan!
Part of the tour included a stop at an open air restaurant where they provided some authentic Costa Rican snacks and drinks.
But what was so special was what the owner did for us. We were called into their office where they presented us with an anniversary gift! They thanked us for letting them be part of our love story!
Well, thank you for all kindness and thoughtfulness! It will always be remembered.
After the tour, we headed back to the lodge for a drink and to clean up before our anniversary dinner at Don Ruffino in La Fortuna. The food didn’t disappoint.
My husband’s pork belly. 
My lasagna.
DAY 4– Wednesday
Butterflies and hanging bridges
Our morning started off with a visit to the Butterfly Conservatory where we got to walk among the butterflies and learn about the different types. As you can see, one butterfly seemed to take a liking to my husband!
We followed this by lunch at La Ventanita for some of the best burritos, quesadillas and fruit smoothies.
We then headed off to visit to the Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges for an afternoon of fun.
DAY 5–Thursday
A volunteer experience!
The highlight of this day was particpating in a volunteer program at Proyecto Asis.
For three hours, we were educated about animal conservation, how they rehabilitate animals to be released back into the wild (unfortunately, for some, this won’t happen), and prepared food to increase engagement with them. This was such a memorable experience.
A middle eastern dinner at Tabbule topped off our day.
DAY 6– Friday
A visit to a coffee plantation and a Lava Trail!
A wonderful coffee tour! 
My husband tried his skill at bean grinding.
Our morning adventure started with a North Fields Coffee Tour where we learned how to make different blends of coffee. Highly recommended!
We grabbed a bite to eat in La Fortuna and did some shopping and sightseeing including their church.
We returned that afternoon to start a 4:00 tour of the Lava Trail.
This tour covered the area that was covered by the 1968 eruption of the Arenal volcano. You were literally walking over land and a town that was covered by the lava and ash from this eruption!
Taking this tour is recommended and our tour guide was amazing. I have to say that climbing up to the top was not for the faint of heart. But I made it!
DAY 7– Saturday
Drive back to San Jose
With a mid morning flight on Sunday and a 3-4 hour ride to the airport from Arenal, we hesitantly chose to leave the lodge a day early and head to San Jose for our last day.
We stopped along the way to view some waterfalls and to eat lunch at this wonderful place. A huge thank you to the owner and waiter who tried to help us with the menu and our poor Spanish!
We spent the rest of our last day at our hotel, enjoying the grounds and beautiful view of San Jose from our balcony.
That evening, we ate a wonderful dinner at our hotel, reminisced about our trip, reviewed all our photos and made a pledge to return to this beautiful country!
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