"Just thought I'd like to give you a reprise of our wonderful week in Costa Rica. We actually had a fabulous time -- from the moment our guide (Peter/Vladimir) and our driver (Abraham) met us at the airport in San Jose, CR, through the travels in national parks, rain forests, along the volcano spine of the country, through rich agricultural areas, and up to Cano Negro Lake and the Rio Frio River in the north. We had our own taxi with a drive up ramp in the back. Just the four of us.

We stayed in three lovely lodges, in addition to a night each at the Hampton Inn near the airport, coming and going. After a city tour of downtown San Jose, we headed for the rain forest. Our first stop was for a tram ride, deep into the forest with a special guide. We rode under the canopy and over the ground through every shade of green you could imagine! Exquisite beauty!

Then on to the La Quinta Lodge, not to be confused with the motels of the same name in the US. This was a family owned former farm turned into a center for hospitality and ecology. The butterfly farm on the grounds was so lovely, as were the gardens with all sorts of heleconium, breadfruit trees and medicinal plants, and the frog land, where we spotted a tiny 'blue jeans' poison dart frog. Our biggest disappointment was that our trip the next day to the La Selva research center had to be cancelled because of extra heavy rains (it was the rainy season, but they had a very serious storm during the night including the loudest thunder we'd heard, and cracks of lighting that sparked, so there was some flooding). However, we instead visited a serpentarium, and had lunch at a lovely river-side restaurant where, by chance, we got to watch the rescue of a cow stranded by the raging waters, along with hummingbirds that entertained us throughout our meal!

The walk through the Centro Neotropico Sarapiqui was beautiful in the morning sunshine, and our guide here was the head gardener, who told us through our interpreter stories of every gorgeous plant growing in the neatly tended beds. After a leisurely cup of Costa Rican coffee on their patio, we watched a Chorotega artist (one of Costa Rica's native tribes) turn a piece of pottery on a hand wheel. He spoke fine English and had his two children playing around him as he worked. We had a fun visit and I bought one of his already completed pots.

Next we drove through lush countryside past pineapple, hearts of palm, and coffee plantations to the Arenal Springs Resort at the foot of the Arenal Volcano -- another beautiful setting, near the city of Fortuna. We took a drive into the countryside and marveled at the beauty. After a lovely dinner (most of the dinner places were outside, though covered) we explored the city square.

The next day we drove to Cano Negro on good roads, but the last 20 miles were really rough -- so we knew we were in the wilds. The lovely lodge there is used by researchers and other guests like us. After lunch we went down to the Rio Frio (river) and four men loaded Dave in his wheelchair into the little boat. The rest of us climbed in and we had a three hour boat ride, low in the water, up and down the river and canals and lagoons of the Rio Frio. Our boatman was also our guide and pointed out the magnificent bird life in the forests and on the lily pads. We saw cormorants, black vultures, aningas, northern jacona, kingfishers, kiskadees, egrets, owls, parrots, white-tailed kites, and more birds that I can name. Then we (that is, our guide) spotted a boa constrictor hiding in the green, who didn't move as we watched cautiously. We saw two caiman (little alligator type critters), black monkeys, two or three iguanas, and a green baselisk. The next morning we had a second boat ride, this time all the way up into Lago Cano Negro (lake). The down side was running into a wasp nest in one of the canals, but the beauty outweighs the pain.

Back to Arenal Springs that afternoon, and a short swim in their pool before the rain started again in earnest. We sat and sipped at the wet bar and enjoyed visiting with other tourists, comparing notes and travel stories.

The clouds finally disappeared from the top of the mountains so we got a great view of the live volcano Arenal from our bedroom window the next morning! We could see the steam coming from the top, though the lava went down the other side. I sat on the porch in a lovely rocker from 5:30 am to 6:00 am just to watch the volcano sights and listen to the birds. It gets dark around six in the evening in Costa Rica, but the sunlight of the day started early! And the fresh fruit juices (papaya, mango, etc, along with simmered plantains, egg omelets and CR coffee, made for a wonderful way to spend the morning (well, not all of it!). We savored this last day before heading back to San Jose.

The beauty of the trip, the hospitality of the Costa Rican people, the excellence of our guide and driver, and the total accessibility of the accommodations and outings made for a real vacation for both of us. We are truly grateful!! And we highly recommend Costa Rica as a great place to visit!"

Accessible Costa Rica	TOUR CODE: EAI-DIS14	US$1,555 pp
Length: 9 DAYS
Eco-Adventure International is pleased to announce our newest program: Accessible Costa Rica. We have been working for some time with several lodges and hotels in Cost Rica building a trip for persons with disabilities and are now pleased to announce the results. Our trip begins in San Jose after our arrival at the modern and accessible airport. In the morning we are off to the Northeast and the rainforest! Our first stop is an Ariel tram were we will ascend into the canopy for a look at life high off the ground. Then we will spend three days exploring nature in this Sarapiqui area. Highlights include: several trips to La Selva Research Station were we will find 7km of paved paths that go deep into the jungle allowing us unprecedented access to the forest. We will also do a night walk were a whole new world will be reveled. In addition we will visit a Botanical Garden and a pre-Columbian burial site. Our lodge is not only accessible but boasts an accessible butterfly aviary and gardens! From here we move to Arenal National Park, home to the most active volcano in Central America. Our lodge has accessible rooms and grounds including paved trails and a roll-in pool! Also each room has a huge picture window facing the volcano allowing us to lie in bed and watch for eruptions! The last part of our journey takes us to Joco Beach to enjoy the tropical sun.
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Accessible Costa Rica Express	TOUR CODE: EAI-DIS141	US$1,232 per person
Length: 5 DAYS
Journey into the magnificient interior of Costa Rica. Travel through the Central Valley and then into the mountains of Braulio Carrillo National Park. Tour La Selva, the private research station based on 1600 hectares of land. View one of the most active volcanoes in the world, Arenal.
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Costa Rica Rainforest Adventure	TOUR CODE: EAI-DIS142	US$1,455 per person
Length: 6 DAYS
Journey into the magnificient interior of Costa Rica. Travel through the Central Valley and then into the mountains of Braulio Carrillo National Park and Centro Neotropico Sarapiqui. Tour La Selva, the private research station based on 1600 hectares of land. View one of the most active volcanoes in the world, Arenal.
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ACCESSIBLE COSTA RICA