The drive up the
mountain (11,000-12,000 feet) from Dominical is quite challenging, like the majority of roads in Costa Rica. This road is called the "mountain of death" due to high number of casualties. This road adds the excitement of being so
high that we drove through rain AND clouds.
After passing lots of trucks, with me not looking and repeating “we are protected”, we finally came to a
recommended stop for lunch with a FANTASTIC view ~ the Ricar2.
Stunning view overlooking the San Isidro valley from our lunch restaurant
Diana enjoyed a pollo (chicken) sandwich with fries
Dennis ate a typical "Tico" lunch plate with carne verde, rice, black beans, potatoes, veggies & salad
From our lunch stop outside of San Isidro, our
GPS said it was only 90 minutes to our destination, but it took longer due to driving
up the twisty road in more clouds and truck traffic. Plus, of course, we missed the turn-off
because the Lady in the GPS was WRONG AGAIN!
The drive down
into the San Gerardo de Dota valley is steep, bumpy, and beautiful. This valley was discovered in the 50’s and it
has not been commercialized like Monteverde, the very well-known Cloud Forest
area up by the Arenal Volcano. Thank
you, Beth Ann, for steering us away from that area as we prefer the more off-the-beaten-path
kind of nature destinations.
Cloud forest... it's different from the rain forest and jungle
Workers cut a tree apart that fell across the road. The tree crashed down on this car. YIKES!
We were very pleased when we reached our next AirBnB home.
The water features around this home are truly amazing.
We crossed a covered bridge and finally found the AirBnb home (on the left side of the pic).
There is a loud and gorgeous natural waterfall off of the main living area, and a large fountain of water off of the master bedroom and loft area. Both are loud and impossible to ignore. It always sounds like it's raining, even when it's not.
We crossed a covered bridge and finally found the AirBnb home (on the left side of the pic).
There is a loud and gorgeous natural waterfall off of the main living area, and a large fountain of water off of the master bedroom and loft area. Both are loud and impossible to ignore. It always sounds like it's raining, even when it's not.
View from living room and kitchen to the rear deck. Stream flows under the house.
View from master bedroom overlooking the front deck, pond and water fountain
LOOK through the master bedroom window providing a view of the stream running under the house
For dinner Dennis prepared fresh pescado (fish) with Costa Rican beans and rice. Quite traditional!
Many thanks to Dave and Debbie, our hosts in Dominical for arranging our guided Quetzal tour with Carlos. He arrived at 5:30 am and THANK YOU GOD, it was not raining. He lives towards the top of the valley, so we followed him up the road and watched for Quetzals. In what felt like 30 seconds, he pulled over and pointed up the mountain. WHAT do YOU see 'cause I don't see nothing. Well .... here's what he captured on my Samsung smartphone through his spotting scope...
This is the male Quetzal (view from behind) - just look at those long feathers down his back!
Carlos is the perfect example of a person who turned his bird watching passion into a guide business
While waiting for the male Quetzal to turn around, we found this gorgeous bird eating wild peaches
And then Carlos found another male Quetzal higher up in the trees but facing us. WOW what a site!
How does he spot these beautiful creatures?
We are so grateful that Dave and Debbie arranged for our tour with Carlos as we would have NEVER SEEN ANYTHING. And with the limited animal viewings we have had on this trip, this was a highlight.
We spent the day walking and talking and then taking our own personal time on the two water decks. It was special reflective time for both of us. There is MUCH to discuss as we work our way home.
In the last 24+ hours, I (Diana) have been feeling a little discomfort in my chest and lungs. No, I don't think I'm having heart issues, and if I was, this would be the end of the road for me as NO ONE can get down here quickly. I actually think I have a little mold / mildew / algae issue in my lungs as we have been in A LOT of moisture on this trip. I'm not concerned, but I am ready to get back to my dry desert.
We leave in the morning and head north of San Jose to another AirBnB, by the airport, for one night. If all goes well, we'll do a couple of posts before arriving home on Wednesday afternoon.
This is a female Resplendent Quetzal sitting in an wild avocado tree
This is the male Quetzal (view from behind) - just look at those long feathers down his back!
Carlos is the perfect example of a person who turned his bird watching passion into a guide business
While waiting for the male Quetzal to turn around, we found this gorgeous bird eating wild peaches
How does he spot these beautiful creatures?
We are so grateful that Dave and Debbie arranged for our tour with Carlos as we would have NEVER SEEN ANYTHING. And with the limited animal viewings we have had on this trip, this was a highlight.
We spent the day walking and talking and then taking our own personal time on the two water decks. It was special reflective time for both of us. There is MUCH to discuss as we work our way home.
In the last 24+ hours, I (Diana) have been feeling a little discomfort in my chest and lungs. No, I don't think I'm having heart issues, and if I was, this would be the end of the road for me as NO ONE can get down here quickly. I actually think I have a little mold / mildew / algae issue in my lungs as we have been in A LOT of moisture on this trip. I'm not concerned, but I am ready to get back to my dry desert.
We leave in the morning and head north of San Jose to another AirBnB, by the airport, for one night. If all goes well, we'll do a couple of posts before arriving home on Wednesday afternoon.
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