Costa Rica Adventure, Day 2: Make a Splash
Day 2 of our adventure started at the Marriott San
Jose. After a long day of travel the day
before, which I covered here, we were ready
to truly kick off our adventure. Our
bags had to be outside the door for pick up by 6:30 a.m. Chris and I woke up early to make sure we
were dressed and had the kids’ clothes ready to go before our deadline. This is where my OCD packing methods paid
off. We traveled with a Chris/Easton
suitcase, an Amanda/Clara suitcase, and a shoe/miscellaneous duffle bag. We packed everything inside the suitcases in
packing cubes designated for each activity.
Thankfully, I had the foresight to label each cube. We simply popped open the suitcases and
grabbed the cubes labeled “whitewater.”
We changed into the clothes we would be rafting in and packed a dry
change of clothes inside the waterproof drawstring Adventures by Disney bag
that came with our trip documents.
We then headed off to breakfast. Breakfast exceeded my expectations in every
way. As a family, we typically stay in
Marriott-brand hotels and I’ve stayed in everything from select to luxury
properties. This is by far the biggest
and best Marriott breakfast I’d ever seen, including the ones I’ve had in their
luxury hotels. The buffet included American-style
classics (scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, cereal, yogurt), traditional
European breakfast items (cold cuts, smoked fish, sliced cheese), and a host of
local breakfast foods (plantain, potatoes, black beans and rice). As with every breakfast we had, there was an
amazing assortment of fresh, tropical fruits.
As expected, the coffee was rich and dark.
We dined on a patio on the second floor with the lush, green
mountains in the background. It was a
beautiful, sunny day with gentle breeze. At breakfast, our guides Lauren and Fico made
the rounds at each of the tables to greet us.
After breakfast, we gathered in an open air meeting space
for introductions and an overview of the week’s itinerary. Our group consisted of 38 adventurers from various
regions in the U.S. At age 5, Clara was
the youngest adventurer. From there the
kids ranged from age 6 all the way up to teenagers. Most people were traveling with children, but
there was a family traveling with their young adult children and a retired
couple traveling together. Our oldest
adventurer was a grandfather in his 80s.
During our briefing, we had a chance to learn more about our
two guides. Lauren is a fourth-grade
teacher who lives in North Carolina. She
previously worked at Walt Disney World as a cast member. She guides Costa Rica, the Galapagos, and
Montana during school breaks. Fico has
been with Adventures by Disney since the beginning. Adventures by Disney started in 2005 and
Costa Rica is one of its longest-running itineraries. Fico was born and raised in Costa Rica and is
an expert in Costa Rican flora and fauna.
They would both be with us the entire time.
Having two full-time guides on every trip is where Adventures
by Disney outshines the competition. The
guides do a lot behind the scenes to ensure that the trip is running
smoothly. They are also responsible for
taking care of any incidents, injuries, or illnesses that may occur on a trip
(thankfully, we had none). If there is
an incident that pulls one of the guides away, there is always a second guide
available so the rest of the group can continue. Lauren was typically the first and last guide
we heard from during our day. She told
us where we needed to be, when, and in what clothing. Fico was our local expert. He was our source for all things Costa
Rica. Our kids got to a point where if
they found something interesting (bug, leaf, flower, etc…), they would say,
“take a picture, let’s go show it to Fico.”
I’ll definitely be telling you more about these two in the upcoming
posts because they really made the trip.
After our meeting we all gathered outside to get on the
bus. We had the same bus and driver for
our entire trip. The bus was brand new,
immaculately clean, and had a good amount of leg room. While we were at breakfast, our bags had been
picked up and loaded under the bus.
We were off to our first adventure! Normally, we would not be able to drive
through San Jose because of traffic, but since it was Saturday morning, our bus
driver took us through the city so we could see it. Fico gave us a lesson in the history,
geography, and economy of Costa Rica. It
was raining when we arrived at the adventure center so the lead rafting guide
came on the bus to give us our safety briefing.
The outfitter’s facilities on the Sarapiqui River were
perfect for our needs. There were clean
bathrooms with flush toilets and several changing stalls. One of the great things about choosing a top
notch tour provider is that every outfitter is vetted. You do not need to read 10,000 reviews to
find the perfect outfitter. Trust that
they will meet Disney quality standards.
The rain let up for just enough time for us to use the
facilities and load back on the bus to drive up river to where we would put
in. Once we unloaded, the guides got us
outfitted with helmets, life jackets, and paddles. We also had our first monkey sighting! There were several howler monkeys in the
trees right above us. The guides broke
us up into groups of 6-8 people for the rafts.
We were paired with a set of grandparents who were treating their
thirteen year-old grandson to a birthday trip.
If I have a family looking to book a family tour, I always
look at the minimum age requirements.
The minimum age for our trip was 4, but in order to raft, children had
to be 5. Adventures by Disney offered a
scenic float for those too young to participate or those who didn’t wish to
whitewater. In our group, two
adventurers chose to do the scenic float.
Another great thing about the guides is that they participate in the
activities with us. Lauren rafted with
the whitewater group and Fico accompanied the floaters on their raft.
Before walking down to the river, I gave Easton an extra
safety briefing. I wanted to make sure
he understood what to do if he fell in (don’t try to stand up, point your feet
down river) and that he understood the command “lean in.” The kid got it. I reminded him 257 times to make sure he kept
his hand over the T-grip and his foot firmly in the foot hold the entire time. Once we were loaded in, we were off for our
Class I-III rapid adventure. Easton took
the right, rear position. I took the
left, rear position. Clara would not
paddle. She would ride tucked behind
me. There were handles on the thwart
that she could grab onto. Chris got the
left, front position. Lucky. What can I say? It’s the mom life. Let’s face it, if I had been in the front and
Chris in the rear, I wouldn’t have trusted him to look over at Easton every 23 seconds
to make sure he was being safe.
Easton did great listening to all the commands. He would get amped up when he’d see rapids
downriver. Trust me, baby boy, I know
the feeling and I love it, too. One of
the best parts of this trip was that our kids are finally old enough to do some
of the activities we love. Watching
Easton fall in love with rafting brought me so much joy.
Below are some pictures of Easton having the time of his life:
Clara, on the other hand, was a different story. Let’s just say, she did not enjoy the
rapids. From her position on the raft,
she was constantly pummeled with river water.
The guide told her she could sit up on the thwart, but she just stayed
hunkered down behind me. She made it
known several times that she wanted to turnaround and go back upriver and be
done with it. She generally did okay when we were floating, but as soon as we
hit the rapids, she’d wail. At the end
of the day, she survived her short time on the river and, ultimately, had a
vacation of a lifetime. Not every moment
is perfect. She’s vowed to get back at
Easton by making him go horseback riding on one of our vacations.
Here is a picture of Clara not having the time of her life:
We ended our rafting adventure at the outfitter’s location
downriver. We were given access to the
bus to retrieve our dry clothes. I
brought plastic bags from home to store our wet clothes. Turns out, I didn’t have to. When I say Adventures by Disney thinks of
everything, they really do think of everything.
Lauren was waiting for us by the changing stalls, handing out plastic
bags. We had a nice break in the weather
while everyone changed and made their way to the pavilion for our included
lunch. We had a buffet lunch which consisted
of tortillas (corn and flour), ground beef, chicken, black beans, and steamed
vegetables. At the end of the buffet, we
had an assortment of salsas. Chris and I
each partook in a local brew. Nothing
beats a cold beer after an adventurous morning.
Dessert was the highlight of this meal.
We were served tres leches and it was to die for. It was legit, homemade tres leches. I don’t know who made it, but it came in a Pyrex
dish covered in foil.
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| By lunch, Clara had recovered from her harrowing whitewater experience |
After lunch, we loaded back on the bus and made our way to
La Fortuna, which would be our home for the next three nights. The staff of the Arenal Kioro Suites &
Spa greeted us in the lobby with a refreshing beverage and gave us an
orientation of the property. Lauren
handed us our room keys and asked us to come down later to register a credit
card for any room charges.
Our room was spacious with high ceilings. It had two queen beds, a twin sleeper, a
small sitting area, and much to my children’s delight, a hot tub. It also had a split bathroom design. The shower was tucked behind a wall across
from the hot tub and the toilet and sink were in a separate room with a door
that closed. We still stay as a quad
when we travel, so we’ve come to appreciate this design when we see it in
hotels and cruise ships.
All of the rooms at the Arenal Kioro have a view of the
Arenal Volcano. Each room has double
floor-to- ceiling glass doors that overlook the beautifully landscaped hotel
grounds and the volcano. Unfortunately,
it was cloudy and it would be for the remainder of our stay, so we didn’t see
the volcano from our room. If you come
during the dry season, you’ll be treated to a view of the volcano while you sip
your morning coffee or enjoy an evening beverage.
Our bags arrived shortly after we did. I was, yet again, grateful for my packing
organization and foresight. I looked all
over the room and realized that while it had a large wardrobe, it did not have
a chest of drawers. We would be living
out of the suitcases for the next three days.
Thankfully, the room was spacious with a large decorative bench that
served as a luggage holder. We could
prop open the suitcases and pull out the packing cubes as we need them. We pulled out our “Day 2 bathing suits”
cubes, changed, and made our way down to the pool area.
The pool at the hotel is all about the view. The pool itself is nothing spectacular. It’s shallow, not very large, and the pool
furniture isn’t particularly inviting.
All of the furniture is on one side of the pool so you can look up at
the volcano. Since it was cloudy, we
headed over the hot springs located on the property. The water is heated naturally by the volcano
and flows through several man-made hot tubs on the property. Hot spring water is piped into a pool at the
top of a hill. From there, it cascades
down to several pools and gradually gets cooler. We soaked in the pools until it was time to
start getting ready for dinner. The kids
hadn’t had enough hot tubbing, so while I showered, they “swam” in the hot tub
in our room.
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| The hot springs at the Hotel Arenal Kioro Suites & Spa |
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| Hot tubs in all the rooms at the Hotel Arenal Kioro Suites & Spa |
When we arrived at dinner, the “junior adventurers,” as they are called, were given the option to go to a smoothie tasting while the adults took part in a cocktail-making class. We learned to make guaro sours. It was a fun event, but the drink had a little too much sugar for my taste. The junior adventurers rejoined the adults and we all sat down for a private, group dinner. It was a buffet of traditional Costa Rican foods, with some child-friendly options. Clara had chicken tenders and fries. Easton loves seafood, so he ate off the adult buffet. Throughout the trip, I was impressed with almost every meal. I typically don’t overeat on vacation, but we were served delicious, local food, so I definitely ate more than I usually do. I’m pretty sure I ate dessert at almost every meal, too.
After dinner, they had professional dancers come perform
traditional Costa Rican dances. At the
end, all the guests participated. Or so
I’m told. We didn’t make it that far
into the evening. The picture below
explains it all.
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