After our day exploring San Jose, it was time to switch into beach resort mode. We had another nice breakfast in the Club Lounge, then we set out around 9:30AM for Herradura on the Pacific coast, just under two hours from San Jose. The traffic wasn’t heavy at all, and the toll highway west of San Jose was actually pretty decent.
We planned two stops on the way: Crocodile Bridge, known as one of the country’s best sites for sure-bet views of crocodiles, and Carara National Park, which has several good but short trails through the rainforest, promising the opportunity to see good examples of flora and/or fauna.
Crocodile Bridge did not disappoint: the hungry reptiles were sitting directly below the bridge in the muddy waters, possibly waiting for a dumb tourist taking risky iPhone pics to fall over the bridge rail!
Carara did not disappoint, either. We agreed as we started out on the trail that, if we came away having seen a frog, we would be content. Well, sure enough: we saw not one frog, but two. Plus a number of other interesting things, which are detailed below.
We pulled into the stunning Los Suenos Marriott Resort just after 1PM. They promised us an ocean view suite, if we could wait til 4PM. So we whiled away the afternoon exploring the beach and the village of Herradura.
At 4PM, we accessed our suite - which was worth the wait - and then hit the pool. And what a pool it is! At 7PM, we had a wonderful dinner overlooking the pool complex.
Tomorrow will have a mix of more pool time and then a long drive to our next beach resort.
In San Jose, we stayed at the Sheraton. It was truly a beautiful hotel, and we loved the club lounge for breakfast and dinner
We saw six crocodiles from famous crocodile bridge Over the Rio (“river”) Tarcoles, en route from San Jose to the coast.
En route from San Jose to our resort in Herradura, we stopped for a hike at Carrera national Park. The highlight was seeing two poison dart frogs. We also saw a woodpecker, leaf-cutter ants in action, a cicada up close, and five iguanas.
Now that’s what I call a tree root!
Costa Rica has some of the most colourful and poisonous frogs on the planet. Thanks to a fellow hiker, we were able to see two poison dart frogs. Believe it or not, these little guys have enough venom to kill 10 adult men.
Click on this link to see a poison dart frog in motion!
Some of the mushrooms and fungi we saw on our hike.
A woodpecker hard at work along the trail.
All over the rainforest in Costa Rica, you hear the loud roar of cicadas. They are, however, quite elusive. So we were tickled pink to have gotten to see one on a tree trunk during our hike.
Click on the following link to see leaf cutter ants hard at work, each and carrying a chunk of leaf across the trail. Leaf cutter ants can carry ten times their bodyweight. They take the pieces of leaves back to their colony, where the plant matter develops a bread-like fungus, which they consume. https://youtu.be/UYIDtwRXiko?si=R3nZQhpaJL9xB21V
Wide brown sand beach at Herradura on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
Rivers like this that empty into the ocean, are one of the reasons why people don’t tend to swim in the Pacific in Costa Rica. Why? Because crocodiles can exist in salt and freshwater. Crocs often swim downstream to the point where rivers empty into the ocean, and they hang out just offshore.
We have often seen designs in beach, sand, resulting from crabs or other selfish spewing sand out of a hole. But we have never seen such intricate patterns as these.
Kids in Herradura use the beach as their soccer field. And why not?
The marina in Herradura.
All over Costa Rica, you will see signs for “Sodas”.
A soda is basically a local café where you can get drinks and snacks.
Not only did we want to see a sloth on this trip, we also wanted to see a macaw. And that wish came true when we got out of our car in a parking lot near our hotel. We saw two macaws in a tree, eating nuts from the tree. What beautiful birds, and what strong beaks.
Quick tour of our suite upgrade at Los Sueños Marriott Resort
There are various scenes from the resort where we are staying in Herradura: Los Sueños Marriott Resort.
The Marriott property has a long hedge tunnel. It is quite remarkable.
And the sun sets on a wonderful day of experiencing Costa Rican wildlife, and being introduced to its Pacific coastline.
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