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Costa Rica Alive PDF

479 Pages·2003·4.74 MB·English
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COSTA RICA Bruce Morris HUNTER HUNTERPUBLISHING,INC. 130CampusDrive,Edison,NJ08818 (cid:1)732-225-1900;(cid:1)800-255-0343;Fax732-417-1744 www.hunterpublishing.com [email protected] UlyssesTravelPublications 4176Saint-Denis Montréal,Québec,Canada (cid:1)514-843-9447 WindsorBooks TheBoundary,WheatleyRoad,Garsington Oxford,OX449EJEngland (cid:1)01865-361122;Fax01865-361133 ISBN1-58843-323-4 ©2003HunterPublishing,Inc. ThisandotherHuntertravelguidesarealso availablease-booksinavarietyofdigitalformats throughouronlinepartners,including Amazon.com,BarnesandNoble.comandNetLibrary.com. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be repro- duced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyform, orbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,record- ing, or otherwise, without the written permission of the pub- lisher. Everyefforthasbeenmadetoinsuretheaccuracyofinforma- tioninthisbook,butthepublisherandauthordonotassume, andherebydisclaim,liabilityforanylossordamagecausedby errors, omissions, misleading information or potential travel problemscausedbythisguide,evenifsucherrorsoromissions resultfromnegligence,accidentoranyothercause. Coverphoto:BuddyMays/TravelStockPhotography Allotherimages©BruceMorris MapsbyKimFoleyMacKinnon&KimAndré, ©2002HunterPublishing,Inc. IndexbyNancyWolff 1 2 3 4 www.hunterpublishing.com YoucanviewHunter’sextensiverangeof travel guides online at our website. Now youcanreadexcerptsfrombooksthatin- terest you and view the table of contents before you buy! We also post comments fromotherreadersandreviewers,allowingyoutoget a real feel for each book. All transactions are pro- cessedthroughoursecureserver. We have guidebooks for every type of traveler, no matter the budget, lifestyle or idea of fun, from dive guides and hiking books to volumes that inspire ro- manticweekendescapes! ALIVE! Top-selling guides in our series include: St. Martin&St.Barts;Martinique&Guadeloupe;Domi- nica & St. Lucia; Miami & the Florida Keys and Aruba, Bonaire & Curaçao. Click on “Alive Guides” on the website and you’ll see all the other exciting destinationscoveredinthisseries. Active travelers should be sure to check out our Ad- venture Guides, a series aimed at the independent traveler with a focus on outdoor activities. Adven- tures can be as mild as beachcombing on a deserted shore or hiking a rugged hill, or as wild as parasailing,hot-airballooningordivingamongship- wrecks. All books in this signature series offer solid travel information, including where to stay and eat, transportation,sightseeing,attractions,culture,his- toryandmore. Log on to www.hunterpublishing.com to learn about ourotherseries–LandmarkVisitorsGuides,Roman- tic Weekends, Nelles Guidebooks and Travel Packs andmore. About the Alive Guides The ALIVE! series was started by Arnold and Harriet Greenberg, who also serve as series editors. The Greenbergs founded the world-famous bookstore, The CompleteTraveller,inNewYorkCity. Arnold has co-authored South America on $40 A Day, as well as Alive! guides to St. Martin & St. Barts; Aruba, Bonaire & Curaçao and Buenos Aires & the BestofArgentina. Harriethasco-authoredAlive!guidestotheUSVirgin IslandsandSt.Martin&St.Barts. We Love to Get Mail Thisbookhasbeencarefullyresearchedtobringyou current, accurate information. But no place is un- changing. We welcome your comments for future edi- tions.Pleasecontactusat: CostaRicaAlive! c/oHunterPublishing 130CampusDrive Edison,NJ08818 [email protected] About the Author Bruce Morris has traveled and lived in the US, Eu- rope, Asia and Central America sampling the food, fishing,divingmusicandgoodlife.HereceivedaB.A. inJournalismfromCollegeofthePotomac,wherehe worked as photographer and designer at the rock magazineThirdEar.Hehaswrittenforawidevari- ety of magazines and newspapers and wrote HTML in Action published in 1996 by Microsoft Press. He founded The Web Developer’s Journal, started and managedtheInternetdepartmentatcomputerman- ufacturer Gateway 2000, served as Director of Tech- nology at Carlton Online in London and COO of Europe Online. He is an avid diver and angler. He lives with his wife, cats, dogs, horses, ducks, several guitarsandothercreaturesattheirfarminEastTen- nessee. Acknowledgements No author can do his job without the support of family and friends. I could not have written Costa Rica Alive! withouttheenormoustoleranceofmywifeandtheedit- ingskillsofmymother.Dr.PaulKanciruktriedtokeep mefromcommittingscientificandeditorialfauxpas.At Hunter, Kim André and Kim Foley MacKinnon have beenmuchmorepatientthantheyshouldhavebeen.In Costa Rica, I want to thank Felix for his tremendous help.AlfonsoMartinoatHotelMartinoResort&Spaal- lowedmetousehiswonderfulhotelasabaseformySan Joséactivities,taughtmenewthingsaboutcookingand eating,andentertainedmelongintothenightoverItal- ian wine. Shawn Feliciano and all the staff at Silver King Lodge provided some of the most exciting fishing I’veeverdoneandfedmewellattheendofthedaywith byfarthebestfoodI’vehadinCostaRica.NatalieEw- ing and Michael Kaye at Costa Rica Expeditions pro- videdmewithvitaltourinformation,hospitalityandan Internetconnection(nosmallthing,this).BraddJohn- son and Pedro Garro made sure I experienced the beautyoftheseaandforestaroundDrakeBay.TheBug LadyandCarlosopenedmyeyestowhatcanbeseenin theforestatnightifyouknowhowtolook.Laurenand Toby Cleaver welcomed me into their warm home and tolerated my rusty guitar playing. Captain Mike in Matapalo,DianaandMiltonLieberman,GlennJampol, CaptainTominHerradura,JudyHeidt,MarcoMontoyo inparticularandmany,manyothersgavemehospital- ityandfriendship.Thankstoyouall. Contents INTRODUCTION (cid:2) ABriefHistory .........................2 (cid:2) CostaRicaToday........................7 TicoCulture............................7 Religion ...............................9 Education.............................10 Government&Economy.................10 Attitudes .............................12 Retirees ..............................13 Music ................................15 Art ..................................15 Language.............................16 Food .................................16 Wine,Beer&LocalDrinks...............19 (cid:2) TheLand .............................20 Volcanoes.............................20 (cid:2) Flora.................................23 (cid:2) Fauna................................24 Bird-WatchingBonanza.................24 Cats .................................25 Insects ...............................27 Monkeys..............................30 (cid:2) LifeintheSea.........................31 CoralReefs............................31 Crocodiles.............................31 Dolphins..............................32 Manatees.............................32 Turtles...............................33 Whales...............................36 (cid:2) Climate ..............................37 (cid:2) Top10Attractions......................38 PLANNINGYOURTRIP (cid:2) GettingReady .........................39 p viii Contents WhentoVisit/WhattoWear..............39 Telephones............................41 Holidays&Festivals....................41 Passports,Visas&Customs..............42 LearningSpanish ......................43 (cid:2) GettingHere ..........................45 ByAir................................45 ByCar ...............................45 ByShip...............................46 (cid:2) WheretoStay .........................48 Hotels,Lodges&B&Bs .................48 Spas .................................49 ExtendedVacations ....................50 (cid:2) Where&WhattoEat...................51 (cid:2) OrganizedExcursions...................53 Tours&TourOperators.................53 ScubaDivingTrips .....................58 WHATTOEXPECT (cid:2) GettingAround........................61 FromtheAirport.......................62 Taxis.................................62 CarRental............................63 Buses ................................66 Ferries ...............................67 InternalFlights........................67 (cid:2) TheBasics ............................68 Communications.......................68 Telephones ..........................68 PhoneCards .........................69 Faxes...............................69 InternetAccess.......................69 MoneyMatters ........................70 Currency ............................70 Media................................74 PostalService .........................75 Electricity ............................75 Laundry..............................76 p Contents ix TheMetricSystem .....................76 Heath&Safety ........................78 (cid:2) ActivitiesonLand......................80 Bird-Watching.........................80 Golf..................................82 Tennis ...............................82 (cid:2) ActivitiesonWater.....................83 Fishing...............................83 Windsurfing...........................84 Surfing...............................85 WhitewaterRafting.....................86 (cid:2) Shopping .............................89 WheretoGo&WhattoBuy..............90 Duty-FreeInformation.................92 (cid:2) Photography ..........................93 TipsforShutterbugs....................93 SANJOSÉ (cid:2) Overview .............................95 (cid:2) GettingHere ..........................96 (cid:2) GettingAround........................96 GettingYourBearings ..................98 RentalCars ..........................100 (cid:2) SunuptoSundown ....................102 Seven-DayItinerary ...................102 Bullfights............................106 Fútbol(soccer)........................107 Golf.................................107 Tennis ..............................108 (cid:2) Day-Trips&Tours ....................108 ButterflyFarms.......................110 CanopyTours ........................110 CityTour ............................111 CoffeeTours..........................111 Sarchí...............................113 TortugueroNationalPark ..............114 Volcanoes............................114 VolcánPoásNationalPark..............114 p x Contents WhitewaterRafting....................116 ZooAve..............................118 (cid:2) ShopTillYouDrop ....................118 Antiques.............................119 Art .................................119 Books ...............................121 Coffee...............................122 HandmadeGuitars....................122 Markets .............................122 (cid:2) AfterDark...........................123 LiveMusic...........................123 Bars,Discos&Nightclubs ..............125 Casinos..............................127 Shows...............................128 Lowlife..............................128 (cid:2) BestPlacestoStay ....................129 CentralSanJosé......................129 SuburbsofSanJosé ...................133 (cid:2) BestPlacestoEat.....................144 CentralSanJosé......................144 SuburbsofSanJosé ...................148 (cid:2) AtoZ ...............................154 THENORTHWEST (cid:2) Overview ............................157 Arenal ..............................157 Monteverde ..........................158 (cid:2) GettingHere .........................161 (cid:2) GettingAround.......................162 (cid:2) SunuptoSundown ....................163 Seven-DayItinerary ...................163 Attractions&Tours ...................165 (cid:2) ShopTillYouDrop ....................170 (cid:2) AfterDark...........................173 LiveMusic...........................173 (cid:2) BestPlacestoStay ....................173 Arenal ..............................174 Monteverde ..........................178

Description:
Tico culture, salsa music, traditional beliefs, unique fauna and a stunning landscape are just some of Costa Rica's attractions. This diverse country is now one of the top destinations of eco-travelers, not to mention a hot spot for retiring North Americans. Costa Rica Alive! explores it from top-to
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