2010 Itinerary

[jamesfc]

Please go to http://www.elusiveimage.net for more information about this trip and to be added to the list! Due to the nature of this trip, the number of participants must be limited.

Your Costa Rican Naturalist Guide will give a wonderful introduction to the indigenous culture of Costa Rica. Free time can be provided to give you the opportunity for optional tours or relaxing; otherwise, this tour will focus on nature photography, bird watching and the indigenous culture of Costa Rica.

This trip requires a moderate level of physical fitness and some moderate walks and hikes. You should be able to walk for 2-4 hours at a slow pace. Travelers should be aware that the heat and humidity may be very high in some places and very cool in the higher elevations. In addition, you may experience periodic heavy tropical rains. The roads may be very bumpy.

Day 1
Arrival in Costa Rica's Juan Santamaria Airport San Jose, Costa Rica.
You will be met at the airport by your Naturalist Guide and taken to your hotel.
(Hotel Corteza Amarila or equivalent)

Day 2
Drive to Puerto Viejo.
Today we will drive to Puerto Viejo “Old Harbor” on the South
Caribbean side of Costa Rica. Along the drive will stop to explore the local communities including local coffee/sugar cane farms, birding or any other nature viewing. We will also stop for a brief city tour of Limone which is the most important port in Costa Rica on the Caribbean side and place where Christopher Columbus arrived in 1502.
(Suerre Hotel or equivalent)

Day 3
Day Trip to Yorkin Community
This morning we will depart very early (around 6:30 a.m.) for our trip to Yorkín BriBri indigenous community. After a one-hour drive to the river, we will take an indigenous handmade dug-out canoe along the Yorkín River (natural border between Costa Rica and Panama). Please note, the dugout canoe ride is very rustic. There are no backs to the seats and you will travel along mild rapids at your own risk. Upon arrival, we will visit the Yorkin School and hike to the Estibrawpa Association Indigenous Community, where our local guide will tell us the history and purpose of the organization. Then, the guide will lead us through the nature trail telling us about the local trees, medicinal plants and important crops of the Yorkín community. We will enjoy a typical lunch. Afterwards, we will learn about the secrets of the chocolate process and how the Bribris build their houses. After lunch, we will depart back to our hotel by hike, boat, and drive. The late afternoon is free to relax or continue to explore the area with your Guide.
(Suerre Hotel or equivalent)

Day 4
Travel to Turrialba
After breakfast, we will depart Puerto Viejo and make our way to the busy town of Turrialba near the Turrialba volcano and home office of Aventours. The drive will take us approximately 4 hours and we will stop periodically for photographs.
(Hotel Villa Florencia or equivalent)

Day 5
Day Trip to Cabecar Community
Today we will head for our second trip to an indigenous community. We will begin after breakfast and depart for our day trip to the Chirripo area where we will visit with the Cabecar indigenous community which inhabits a large humid rain forest. The Cabecars are considered the indigenous group most in danger of extinction due to their geographic location in the highlands where the survival is very difficult and located in a remote area away from other communities.
Along the 3 hour drive to the community, we will pass through many local rural communities stopping as needed for photos of the towns, birds or other panoramic pictures. Our meeting with the Cabecar’s will include a tour of the community and a visit to the school to learn about their culture and ways of living. Due to remoteness of the area, our lunch today will be a box lunch.
(Hotel Villa Florencia or equivalent)

Day 6
Travel to Drive to Paso Canoas (7 hours)
Today is a travel day and we will depart early for a long drive to the very busy border town of Paso Canoas. Along the drive, we will see many changes in the flora, fauna and culture as we pass from the Caribbean side to the Pacific side of Costa Rica and over the El Cerro de Muerte which is the highest point on the Pan American highway and above the tree line.
We will also pass through the region of Buenos Aires which has the largest pineapple plantation in Costa Rica.
(Hotel Los Higerones or equivalent)

Day 7
Day Trip to Guaymi Community
After breakfast, we depart for our third and final trip to the Guaymi indigenous Community. Along way, we will drive through many plantations in the area, including, African palm, rice and banana. Our goal is the town of Alto Conte, just at the Panamanian border in South Pacific. Here we will visit the Guaymi indigenous community members and visit a school where we will talk with the students and teachers. This Guaymi community is located close to the coast and to Panama so they have more opportunities to buy and sell products. We have lunch here in the town.
The drive takes approximately 3 hours drive in a bumpy road via 4x4 in dry season. In the afternoon, we will return to hotel.
(Hotel Los Higerones or equivalent)

Day 8
Drive to San Vito
Today we will depart very early for our drive towards the Panamanian border and the home of the Wilson Botanical Garden part of "La Amistad Biosphere Reserve" that encompasses 472,000 hectares of park-land and buffer zones centered in the southern Talamanca mountain range, in Costa Rica's south pacific. (Organization Tropical Studies (OTS)/ Wilson Botanical Garden Housing)

Day 9
Full day at Las Cruces
Today we will change gears and spend the day exploring one of the premier botanical gardens in the American tropics, which boast an impressive collection of tropical plants and gardens designed by Roberto Burle-Marx, famous Brazilian landscape architect. On the grounds are hundreds of bromeliads and orchids; dozens of philodendrons and other aroids of all sizes; scores of heliconias, plus giant bamboo and more than 650 species of palms. In additional to the tropical plants there are nearly 400 bird species, more than 800 types of butterflies, an abundance of mammals (at least 38 species of bats), and an impressive diversity of reptiles and amphibians.
(OTS/ Wilson Botanical Garden Housing)

Day 10
Travel to San Jose
After breakfast, we will depart for our return to San Jose to prepare for the return trip home. Along the drive, we will make a stop for lunch.
(Bougainvillea Hotel standard room)

Day 11
Departure Your Naturalist Guide and driver will accompany you to the airport for return home.

All meals and transportation included!
Hotels are subject to change based on availability

Check http://www.elusiveimage.net for additional information!

[GeseleS]

Sounds interesting.
Couldnt hear it, but I bet the interview went well.
Jim & Jenny look terrific.
Allergy season is on its way, I wonder if down there in California
if the pollen affects people down there as much as up here?
I wonder?

[seamstart]

Very nice post, thanks for sharing...........................................
















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