Costa Rica

Mar Luna

(Quepos, Costa Rica)

Our hotel recommended this local Quepos restaurant for its wonderful seafood selection. Though we arrived at Mar Luna after sunset, I’m sure it has spectacular ocean views during the day and evening.

3 out of 4 of our party ordered the lobster special – it was incredibly fresh and presented beautifully, though it’s hard to go wrong with a lobster like this.

Lobster at Mar Luna

I ordered the Mahi Mahi prepared with hearts of palm cream sauce – we actually got to sample a fresh heart of palm plucked right from the forest floor on one of our hikes – it had an interesting nutty flavor – really, you just can’t compare to canned hearts of palm.

Mahi Mahi with Hearts of Palm cream sauce

And of course, no Costa Rican meal would be complete without Lizano Salsa!

Best Salsa Sauce Ever!

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We were fortunate to spend a few days in Costa Rica over the holiday. Upon arriving in San Jose, we transferred to a small plane (15-seater plus 2 pilots) to make our way to Quepos, a small town on the Pacific side of Costa Rica. Many friends have told us that Costa Rica is a beautiful place to visit and we were not disappointed in the least. Our short plane trip to Quepos provided us with amazing views of the lush rain forest below.

Manuel Antonio Park

Located just south of Quepos, this small national park has a wide range of wildlife. We came across a sloth that had just given birth in tree about 10 minutes prior. We also saw numerous white faced monkeys who were quite mischievous and apparently like potato chips.

Rainforest Canopy Tour

This rainforest preserve also boasts rich biodiversity which we were able to observe from a number of suspension bridges. One of the most interesting things we came across was far below the canopy…leaf cutter ants traveling along the forest floor. These ants are actually quite large and can carry even larger leaf pieces back to their nests.

Zip Lining

Definitely a must-do in Costa Rica! This was amazing! Scary at first, we had to get over any fear of heights and remember (well, force ourselves really) to look around while sliding across the line in order to enjoy the views. The tallest zip line was 350 feet high and the longest was 1200 feet.

Catamaran

After zip lining, we went on a Catamaran ride off Quepos and Manuel Antonio National Park. The scenery was stunning and as we took it all in, we were sad that we would be leaving the next day – we definitely could have spent more time in this lovely country. And finally….a Costa Rican sunset. The previous 2 nights were cloudy and we weren’t able to see much, but this sunset made up for it. I can honestly say I’ve never seen a sunset with such beautiful hues of blue and pink.

Flight from San Jose to Quepos

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