Costa Rica Adventure, Day 5: Hit the Beach

Our fellow adventurers at the Chocolate Rainforest Experience

After three amazing days in Arenal, it was time to say goodbye and head to the Pacific coast.  We packed up our bags and set them outside our room before heading out to our last breakfast at the Kioro Resort.  While we were at breakfast, our bags were collected and loaded on to the bus.  Adventures by Disney really does make it that easy.  Today would be a big travel day and one that involved a lot of windy roads.  Easton is prone to motion sickness, so I was little concerned.  The adventure guides reserved the first few rows on the bus for those who suffer from motion sickness.  Thankfully, he held it together on the ride, but at one point, he did announce very loudly that he didn’t feel good and he thought he might throw up.  We sat in the front row for the remainder of the trip holding a bag, just in case. 

To break up the day’s long drive, we took part in a private tour at the Chocolate Rainforest.  I’m a choco-holic, so I was really looking forward to this, but on the whole, I don’t think this was on most people’s “most anticipated” list.  It ended up being one of the most fun experiences of the trip.  This could have been a run-of-the-mill tour enroute to Guanacaste, but our tour guide, Chapo Guapo, was so informative, engaging, and funny, that he had us all laughing from start to finish.

Chapo Gaupo was not only funny, but knowledgeable 

We learned the origins and history of the cacao tree, cocoa, and chocolate.  We then had an opportunity to briefly explore the cacao plantation on our own.  While we were walking around, Easton spotted a poison dart frog!  It was so exciting because he’d learned about them in a book a few years ago and had become obsessed with them.

The elusive poison dart frog

Clara getting a feel for the fruit from a cacao tree

Drying the cacao seed.  Once it's dried and fermented, it's referred to as a bean.  

After our brief exploration of the plantation, we gathered in a covered pavilion to learn how cacao is processed.  All the while, Chapo Guapo kept us entertained, and engaged members of the audience to participate in the different phases of processing.  It was a hands-on experience where we got to open the fruit, taste the raw seeds, see how the seeds are dried and fermented to become beans, and then how the beans are ground into cocoa.

Fico showing us the inside of a cacao fruit (and hamming it for the camera).  Clara was not impressed.

You do not have to be traveling in a tour group to take this tour, but the fact that our group had already been together five days elevated the experience.  At this point, we weren’t in the company of strangers.  We had all become good traveling companions, so it was great fun to cheer on our fellow adventurers as they humorously participated in whatever Chapo Guapo threw at us.  I was randomly selected to participate in a cacao seed spitting contest.  I think I held my own.

Chris took home bragging rights as the cacao grinding champion.  

After learning about and taking part in the chocolate making process, we lined up with our spoons to taste the final product.  We got a spoonful of liquid chocolate and could add any toppings we liked to it.  I tried it with cayenne and heeded Chapo Guapo’s advice to stick to one serving.  The ultra-concentrated chocolate can upset your stomach if you aren’t used to it.  The kids were expecting it to taste like Hershey milk chocolate.  I think they liked the toppings more than the chocolate.  I thought it was delicious and pure, but I’m a dark chocolate lover and love it for its bitterness.

The kids each got to take turns grinding the cacao

Before leaving, I bought a couple of chocolate bars and cocoa in the gift shop.  Clara has an ice cream maker, so we’re going to use the cocoa to make homemade chocolate ice cream.  Notably absent from our trip was a coffee plantation visit.  I was curious about this, so I asked Fico. He stated that quality coffee comes from higher elevations and we didn’t visit those areas.  Yes, there are plenty of coffee experiences you can book on a visit to the area, but it’s not premium coffee.   Fico explained that the best coffee comes from the Tarrazu region and that’s what we should look for on the label.  I found some in the gift shop to bring home. 

After our Chocolate Rainforest experience, we loaded back on the bus for the remainder of the drive.  It was very slow going with lots of hairpin turns.  It was nearly 2 p.m. before we made it to our lunch stop.  Lauren and Fico had refilled our snack kitty in anticipation of the long morning, so the kids were able to enjoy their favorite snacks to hold them over until lunch  Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait to be seated when we arrived at our lunch spot.  We had reserved tables with a river view.  Adventures by Disney must give the guides access to discretionary spending because when we sat down, Lauren announced that since it had been such a long morning, the drinks would be on Mickey’s tab.  We enjoyed another delicious lunch and enjoyed a beer and the view while we waited for our food.       

Our view at lunch

After lunch, we still had a little while more to go on the bus before reaching our hotel in Guanacaste.   We could tell that the climate and the landscape had changed.  It was hotter, drier, and flatter.  We had gone from rainforest to a tropical dry forest.  Fico explained that this area receives much less rain and doesn’t have the same biodiversity as the rainforest we had just left.  We would still see monkeys, but the North Pacific doesn’t have as many species.  Also, sloths are not native to the North Pacific side.  You can visit them at a sanctuary, but you won’t see one in the wild. 

When we arrived at the El Mangroove Resort, we unloaded the bus and said goodbye to our driver, William.  The guides and the staff helped everyone get checked into our rooms.  The only thing on the schedule was Adult Dinner/Junior Adventurer movie night.  On every Adventures by Disney trip, there is an opportunity for the adults to enjoy dinner while the guides entertain the kids.  We love time together as a family when we are on vacation, but we also appreciate being able to spend one kid-free evening together. On this adventure, we made dinner reservations to dine at the restaurant onsite at 6:30 p.m.

While we were checking in, our bags had been delivered to our room.  Our room was much smaller than the room at the Hotel Kioro in La Fortuna and felt a little cramped, but it would suffice for the next few days.  Despite the size, I loved our room at this hotel.  The buildings housing the rooms can all be accessed by a small wooden bridge over a water feature.  The design gave you a serene feeling as you approached your room.  The kids loved the novelty of having to walk over water to get to our room. 

The rooms are decorated beautifully with soft, neutral tans and lots of wood.  I actually think that overall they are larger than a standard hotel room, but the suite set up made it feel smaller.  When you open the door to the room, you go through a small hallway that opens up to a sitting area with a small couch, table, and a rocker.  I noticed through the open windows that some of the rooms had a hammock or a hanging rattan chair instead of a rocker.  The entire front of the room has a large open window with a screen to keep out the bugs.  The area isn’t climate controlled.  It was warm, but not muggy.  We enjoyed having our early morning coffee in the sitting area while the kids were asleep in the bedroom.  The sleeping quarters are accessed by a large sliding glass door.  Once you closed the glass door behind you, it felt a little cramped, but the air conditioning was extra cold and the beds were comfortable.

The kids wasted no time getting into their swimsuits to enjoy the rest of the afternoon at the pool.  I had seen pictures of the long, narrow pool on the hotel website and while it was beautiful, I was worried it would be a little crowded.  It wasn’t at all.  We had arrived midweek and you could tell the hotel was not at capacity.  Other than our group, there weren’t many other guests enjoying the pool.  We picked a spot close to the shallow end to keep an eye on Clara.  I hung back to watch the kids while Chris went to the bar to get us drinks.  The one negative about this hotel was the slow bar service.  It would be wrong to say we had bad service at the hotel because all of our servers were so warm and polite, but the on the whole, the service was slow, even in the restaurants.  The cocktails were acceptable, but not finely crafted.  None of that took away from my enjoyment.  It was a great afternoon with my family at a beautiful property overlooking the Pacific Ocean. 

The pool at El Mangroove

We had to drag the kids out of the pool to get ready for dinner.  For Junior Adventurer night, all the kids wore PJs, ate dinner, and then snuggled up with big pillows and blankets to watch Disney movies in one of the conference rooms.  Meanwhile, Chris and I enjoyed a romantic dinner at the hotel restaurant.  It was a great way to end another busy day of adventure.      

You can read about our last two days of adventure here.

Amanda is the owner of Travel Adventures by Amanda, powered by Dream Vacations, specializing in cruises, tours, treks, and custom independent travel adventures for individuals, families, and groups.  For help planning your next adventure, contact Amanda at (901) 901-800-6091 or abiggerstaff@dreamvacations.com.