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Photo of the Month: |
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You're in for treat in this edition of our bi-monthly newsletter. For with the help of some of our recent guests (and friends!), Phil and Lisa, I am going to take you on a virtual in-house tour to the Volcano Poás and La Paz waterfall. |
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Then we
arrive to the Volcano Poás and hike along the trails. Afterwards, it's a
little French cuisine, and we will end up the mighty La Paz waterfall and
the Waterfall Gardens Nature Center. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NEW! Do It All! A Town and Beach Combo Package
Before we begin our trip, however, I want to tell you of a way to experience the complete Costa
Rican vacation which you won't find at any other B&B
here. We've put together our "Town and Beach Combo" with our friends at Cashew Hill Jungle Cottages, in Costa Rica's Caribbean coastal village of Puerto Viejo. When visitors come to Costa Rica, the first picture that probably comes to mind is usually a tropical beach somewhere, lined with palm trees. This is all fine and good, but you would be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't take some time to experience the spectacular mountaneous interior of the country; or the great city life of museums, concerts, cultural events, and restaurants that Costa Rica has. You might have to spend a night somewhere close to the airport before or after you enjoy that piña colada as the waves crash in, having a free night, afternoon or morning before your flight. Why not enjoy something in the Heredia/San Jose area?
The couple on the left did exactly that with our combo.
Vice versa, you may not be a beach person, but might just want to dip your toe in the ocean, an afternoon of snorkeling, or see and learn about the coastal wildlife like monkeys, sea turtles, and/or crocodiles. Now you know you have all the bases covered, including transportation, between Casa Holanda B&B in Heredia and Cashew Hill Jungle Cottages in the Caribbean coastal town of Puerto Viejo. We have joined forces to tailor-make a "Wow!" vacation combo where you'll be able to experience it all. I can't tell in one newsletter you how many choices there are, we can fill your time here with as much, or as little, adventure as you would like. For a thorough vacation, I would recommend at least spending 2 nights in both places to enjoy the areas and have time to relax. Simply contact either B&B at: info@casaholanda.com or reservations@cashewhilllodge.co.cr for personalized iteneraries, prices, and discounts.
Buckle your seatbelts. We're off to Volcano Poás! First Stop: The City
of Heredia
With approximately 65,000 people, Heredia, the "city of flowers" (because of its beautiful residents), is located just to the north of San Jose and 10km from the International Airport Juan Santamaria (SJO). Like San Jose, Alajuela, and the rest, Heredia is the capitol of the state of Heredia. A few of the satellite villages surrounding Heredia are: San Pablo (where Casa Holanda is), San Francisco, Santa Lucia, Mercedes, and Barva. Despite its rapid building, and the neglect
of many of its historical buildings, it still retains its charm
and has been dubbed "the safest city"
in Costa Rica. Little coffee/desert shops dot the city streets, where people meet at 4pm to discuss the gossip of the day and watch passersby. Inhabitants from Cartago (the original capital of Costa Rica) came in 1706 and gave it its original name of "Inmaculada Concepción de Cubujuquí" (say that ten times fast). But after a time, around 1763, the name Villa de Heredia appeared, named after the president who had made it officially a municipality. The only surviving building from this period is the church of the Immaculada de Concepción, built in 1796 and is the second oldest standing church in the country. The oldest, being in the Orosi Valley. In part, there are no other buildings from this period because a major earthquake hit the town in 1851. The coffee industry was centered in Heredia and thus we see a huge building period after the quake and into the 20th century.
The thick walls of Heredia's cathedral has Heredia's famous and controversial fort (El Fortín, above left ) was built in 1876 to serve as a watchout against any other disaffected United States confederates like William Walker, who invaded the Costa Rica in the previous years, take it over and turn it into another slave state. Heredia is a great,
walkable city. Major sites not to miss are the House of Culture, its Central Market, its huge Saturday morning outdoor market, and the Sports Center with it public Olympic-sized pool to the east. Click here to see my personal photo tour of
Heredia.
As we head north out of Heredia, we pass through the smaller town of Barva and up the slopes of the Volcano with the same name. The landscape becomes more sculpted and manicured with rows and rows of coffee plants. There are two types of coffee grown, Arabica and Robusto. Robusto is native of Brazil and contains more caffeine. The Arabica bean is what is grown and exported throughout most of the world.
The coffee plant is originally from Ethiopia. The Arabs were the first to develop a drink from the seed (or bean of the fruit) of the fruit, and was sold during the Renaissance across the Mediterranean in places like Venice, Rome, and Spain. It wasn't until the Pope declared it a "Christian drink", and the French acquired the plants that the coffee house culture took root in Northern Europe as well. The French brought it to the Western Hemisphere via Martinique and Haiti in the Caribbean. With the social unrest in the islands, the plants made their way to Costa Rica in 1750. Coffee thrived in Costa Rica's mountaineous terrain. The plant need high elevation, of around 3,000 feet above sea level with 6 months wet season and 6 months dry.
Because it is a small country, Costa Rica produces only 2% of the world's coffee, but the quality is one of the highest. That is why coffee plants are usually planted 2 together in 1 spot, to conserve space. The three largest producers of coffee in the world coffee market are Brazil (#1), Vietnam (#2), and Columbia (#3). Coffee in Costa Rica is harvested 1 time a year, during the dry season of January through March. The plant flowers with a white, lemony-scented aroma, the the green berry (pictured below), and finally ripening to a red fruit, which must still be picked by hand. We'll talk about the processing of the bean and how it is roasting in later editions of our newsletters, so check frequently!
We keep driving up in altitude, past the fields, and about now you should notice the air is much cooler and your ears should begin to pop. Beautiful vistas await of the Central Valley and we enter one of Costa Rica's oldest national parks of Volcano Poas. We are now about 6,000 feet above sea level, and the air is sometimes thick with the smell of sulfur.
Next we climb the trails to venture to the original crater, which is now a lake. The volcanic cement trails were installed in 1971. Heat and gas, lava, always search for the area of least resistance. The lake is named after the Botos Indians, and is so acidic, nothing can live in it. Laguna Botos is 400 meters wide in diameter, 14 meters deep, and has an average temperature of 11 degrees Celsius.
Now
it's lunchtime, and I bet after all that hiking you're famished. Usually
we'll stop off at a restaurant where you can enjoy more of Costa Rica's
typical food, but if you're tired of all that rice and black beans, and
want something a little special, let me
suggest a spot that only an Costa Rican insider would
know
.
Who would have thunk it that one could find an excellent French provincial restaurant on the way to the La Paz waterfall? Cobert Restaurant is owned by frenchman and chef, Joël Suire R. All the bread and dishes are made in-house. Incredible paté and sauces simply make your mouth water. The quality and care that goes into preparing the food definitely translate into authentic, delicious taste. The restaurant could also be considered a destination in and of itself. I've taken two guests up there. One was French and he confided in me that the view and food made him feel he was dining in the French Alps. For the high quality, the prices are very reasonable too. If you don't have time to dine, you might their carry-out. I have tasted their home-made marmalades, chocolates, pates and baguettes.
The gossip is, the Waterfall Gardens was previously primary forest land that was privately-owned by a Costa Rican who wanted to sell it. A well-financed, young American saw this land for sale and its great potential. Therefore, he built and opened a nature park where people could learn about Costa Rica's wildlife up-close and hike along the river to view the other 4 waterfalls. The result? A successful privately-owned tourist destination with also a hotel, The Peace Lodge .
I have heard the Peace Lodge is a little over-rated for its price, but I can assure you the exhibits and hike are not. The trails are safe and well laid-out. You will have to be in good physical conditional to walk these, however. This micro-climate is called a rain-forest , so a pancho or umbrella is needed. Walking sticks are provided and you can pick them up and drop them off where you would like.
So that's it for this edition. I hope to see you soon at Casa Holanda. It's time to get in your reservations for this upcoming winter. New things are happening
all the time, so check
often the website to keep up-to-date, and if we don't see you, please tell your friends about us.
Chao! James 
"Casa Holanda, Bed and Breakfast" You
have been included on this e-mail because you have some connection |
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*All photos in this newsletter, unless otherwise noted, are original and property
of Casa Holanda.
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+Photo taken by Phil Stringer, Used in this newsletter with permission. Copyright by
the owner