Twelve Days in Guanacaste and Alajuela

Boy, did we pick the right time to get out of Ottawa.

We feared that our flight to Liberia, Costa Rica, would be delayed or worse, cancelled, when we awoke on January 15. Several centimetres of snow had already fallen and much more of the white stuff was forecast for that morning.

Kid 1 drove us to the airport in the new car, which only had all-season tires on it, and the roads were slick. We had an appointment to get winter tires put on it for 8:30—after Kid 1 dropped DW and me off—and I worried that the car wouldn't make it there.

It did, and the winter tires made all the difference in the world for the rest of the day, and our time away.

Our flight wasn't delayed and we watched from our gate as lines of plows kept the runway clear of snow. We were travelling with our long-time and close friends, Barbara (Bee) and Marc, who have never been to Costa Rica before and were relying on DW's and my travel experience to help them feel comfortable travelling to this Central-American country.

My last view of Ottawa was from the window of my seat, as the growing storm delivered white-out conditions. We were happy to be getting away from it all but felt sorry for Kid 1, who would have to deal with it in our absence.

It was our first time flying with Porter Airlines and I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed with this small company. Unlike with Air Canada, who would always change our flight information—from changing a direct flight to a transfer out of Montreal or worse, Toronto, to changing our departure times—Porter gave us a time from Ottawa and stuck to it. Only when the storm hit did it give us a heads up and offered a free change or cancellation, should the original flight be interrupted.

We left on time and flew directly from Ottawa to Liberia, as promised.

The flight attendants were excellent and the service, with free alcoholic beverages, was generous. They serve wine in actual glasses and are generous with the pour. And, there is free WiFi to compensate for the lack of in-flight entertainment systems.

We got to watch what we wanted by streaming, without any interruptions.

Flying over the Guanacaste coast.

We had set up eSIM plans before we left home, so we had Internet access as soon as we landed. For our last two vacations, I've used Airalo for my eSIM service and I've been very happy. (If you use my referral code ROSS6462 for your first eSIM purchase, you can save $4.50 CAD!)

With our Internet service ready to go, we were able to contact our car-rental agency and have them pick us up. We were hoping to be on the road with our rental AWD SUV but the agency took forever to pick us up, get us to the agency, and fill out the paperwork. By the time we were ready to take possession of the Suzuki Vitara, not only had the sun set but it was downright dark.

I took my time and drove us over the continental divide, from Guanacaste province to Bijagua, in the province of Alajuela, about an hour and a half away from Liberia and tucked between two volcanoes: Tenorio and Miravalles. As the designated driver for this trip (I love to drive and happily offered to take the wheel), I wanted to make DW and our friends feel safe on the journey.

Our stay for the next four nights was at an eco-friendly lodge that was set in a rainforest, Finca Verde. The owner, Kendall, was waiting for us in the restaurant (called Hummingbird Café Bar and Restaurant) when we finally pulled in, at 8:30, and kept his kitchen open to feed us.

The fish tacos were amazing!

Bárbara Pale Ale.

He also had some local craft beer on tap, and when we learned that a pale ale was named Bárbara, we all ordered it in honour of Bee. It was an amazing ale that I'll review in an upcoming Beer O'Clock post.

Because Finca Verde is eco-friendly, they use minimal lighting around the property. We all packed headlamps that helped us get from Hummingbird to our cabins, through a jungle path. We were also warned to not stray from the path nor to touch any of the plants, lest we encounter venomous snakes, spiders, or other creatures.

We were exhausted from the long day but we were looking forward to the next day, when our Costa Rica adventure would start in earnest.

I won't take you on a day-by-day journal of our 12 days in the country but if it's all right, I'll highlight what I found the most memorable details of our trip. I've asked DW, Bee, and Marc to share anything they want in future guest posts, but there's no pressure: maybe they'll share; maybe, they won't.

In tomorrow's post, I'll share our first nature walk and how I spotted two of my three bucket-list birds before the nature walk even started.

Stay tuned.