Costa Rica 2011

Six years in the making, as Afrin prepares to graduate medical school and become "Dr." Afrin Kamal, my brother Robin, his wife Fahmeedah, and Jenny and I took our little sister to Costa Rica from April 16 - April 24 to celebrate the wonderful achievement. Four doctors and one future doctor set out to explore the rainforests, cloud forests, volcanoes, and beaches of this wonderful country - and we weren't disappointed. For many of us, the repelling down the 210 foot waterfall, zip lining 1 Km over the cloud forest in Monteverde, white water rafting in Manuel Antonio, snorkeling at Playa Baesanz, hiking at night avoiding the Fer-de-Lance (most poisonous snake in Costa Rica) that we almost stepped on, and horseback riding along Arinal Volcano, were first-ever experiences. Our hunger for red snapper and mango daquiris was fulfilled; a new appreciation for nachos was acquired. And of course, none of us can forget the rocking waves that took our snorkeling equipment, the too-close-for-comfort iguana while sleeping on the beach, Afrin's negotiating prowess in the tourist trap markets, and finding the elusive sloth one of the last days in Costa Rica - without a guide! For Jenny and I, it was our "leopard" (the only animal of the Big Five in Kenya we didn't see) and we were elated to stumble across two (!) on the way down to the beach. Wonderful memories of family, adventure, and food!

Junior Suite - Issimo Suites, Manuel Antonio

A surprise upgrade to the junior suite (which we almost uninentionally argued out of when she told us about the "change in the room") with jungle and ocean view while laying in our bed. On the Pacific Ocean and facing west, we saw great sunsets in the evening and heard howler monkeys (which are quite loud) in the morning as our wakeup call (whatever happened to roosters?). The beach was a 7 minute walk down the hill, and being a boutique hotel with only 12 rooms (with all three of our suites right next to each other), felt like we had a little home away from home.

Horseback riding in Arinal

For Robin, Afrin, and Fahmeedah, their first time horseback riding. Although it was our second time and felt more adventurous, the horses didn't seem to respond to our motivations to go "faster" - we were warned they were lazy, but wow!

Birds

Crested guans, toucans, hummingbirds, the (very rare) purplish-backed quail dove (pictured) and other random birds seen around our chalet and during hikes.

Macaw

The resident Macaw at the Arinal Lodge - certainly the apex bird for miles around and the apex predator during the (human) breakfast buffet. She watched over us as the walked from the chalet down to breakfast and then dined with us in the morning. Though she was used to humans, both Afrin and Fahmeedah learned not to get too close.

Scenery of Costa Rica

We traversed many types of ecosystems in Costa Rica - from the valleys and highlands of the Arinal (volcano) region to the cloud forest of Monteverde to the rainforest and beaches of Manuel Antonio. This picture is from our hotel room at the Issimo Suites in Manuel Antonio overlooking the bay at sunset.

Animals of Costa Rica

Through several days of hiking on the rainforest canopy floor and in the hanging bridges in Arinal and Monteverde we saw several species of migratory and native birds, insects, and mammals. Shown are pictures of the Quetzal (elusive, mythical bird of the central American rainforests), orange-kneed tarantula, hummingbirds, howler monkeys, spider monkeys, macaws, white-nosed coati, toucans, crocodiles, frogs, and lizards. We save several giant blue butterflies in the rainforest, which are hard to see, but only got pictures of their wings closed, a less-than-brilliant camouflaged brown.