Day 1-Rio Celeste

This morning we got up around 4 a.m. to drive to the Orlando Airport– Easy drive at this hour to the airport.  We got to the Park & Fly and it’s now $7.19 per day – just last year when we traveled to Peru it was only $5.99 per day.

We took a shuttle to the airport from the parking lot, checked in for our Jet Blue flight to San Jose, Costa Rica, went through customs and still have about 2.5 hours to wait.

We enjoyed people-watching at the airport, had some breakfast and waited. The flight was on time for departure.  We watched “Something Borrowed” on the Jet Blue direct flight – non-stop.  We actually arrived in San Jose about 15 minutes early! We had a representative from Destination Costa Rica waiting for us as soon as we arrived, helped us find our luggage, go through customs, Customs in San Jose was a breeze and then our driver whisked us out of San Jose. We had a 4 – 4.5-hour drive to Rio Celeste. Looking back on it I would have flown into Liberia and starting in November 2011 Jet Blue will have non-stop flights from Orlando to Liberia. But they didn’t have the flight in September so I couldn’t have gone.

Our driver stopped for a quick lunch at a SODA on the way for our first lunch of rice & beans! We continued on a bit and then had another stop en route to buy some fruit and take a few photos. The afternoon brought a nice rainstorm, and finally we were getting closer to our destination of Rio Celeste. The last 22KM were the worst! They say it is still not as bad as the drive to Monteverde, but close! Plus it was still raining.

About 5 p.m. local time we finally arrived at the Rio Celeste Hideaway. This is named correctly as it is a hideaway! The Rio Celeste Hideaway is a new, luxury boutique hotel & resort nestled within the untouched jungles of Costa Rica. Our resort offers sophistication, comfort, and style amidst the lush natural beauty of Costa Rica. The hotel is situated in a secluded rainforest adjacent to the Tenorio Volcano National Park.

Within the National Park is the breathtaking Rio Celeste (River), considered a jewel of Northern Costa Rica. Rio Celeste is a destination for eco-tourists, who are often amazed by the brilliant sky blue water and the colored by volcanic minerals. At Rio Celeste Hideaway you are only steps away from the stunning blue lagoons and waterfalls.

A legend tells that after God was done painting the sky, he washed his brushes in the river that now bears the name of Rio Celeste (Light Blue River).

The large casita had a nice sitting area inside and outside facing the river.  It has a large bathroom with a shower inside and outside in your own garden oasis. We went outside to relax and listen to the river and I looked up in time to see howler monkeys jumping from tree to tree! Yeah already seeing monkeys! This is going to be a great adventure for us!

At around 6:30 p.m. we had a wonderful dining experience at the Kantala Restaurant. The restaurant is beautifully decorated with open walls surrounded by lush plants and flowers. Our waiter Juan was terrific!

We returned to the room with our stuffed bellies and after a few minutes of writing in my journal the electricity turned off, took that as a sign and went to bed. It had been a long day.  Great start but a long day!