Costa Rica - First Day of Caravan Tour

 I have been wanting to come to Costa Rica (CR) for many years.  I hear a lot of good things about the country.  Many Americans decided to buy houses here and live here either part-time or permanently.  It has a very welcoming population and stable government.  The weather is always nice.

I finally bit the bullet and signed up with Caravan Tours, a company that I have tracked for many years and I know has a good reputation.  They have been in business since 1952 and has a reputation of staying in nice hotels and good itineraries.  Best of all, their prices are very reasonable.  The downside is their tour groups tend to be quite big, in this case 33 travelers.

We have 4 things on the itinerary on the first day:

1. A drive-through of the city of San Jose
2. El Valle lookout point
3. Wildlife Sanctuary
4. Boxcart Factory and Shopping

After a nice buffet breakfast at the hotel we set out at 7:30am.  We have a 50-passenger bus so we have plenty of room to stretch out.  We are supposed to rotate our seats every day, determined by Aaron.  Our driver is a burly guy called Chiega.  He looks more like a wrestler than a bus driver.  But he handles a 50-passenger bus like a small car.  I often see other cars cutting right in front of the bus but Chiega patiently keeps his cool just continue driving.

Chieda and I

Our 50-passenger bus

We did a quick drive-thru of San Jose but did not stop anywhere.  I am glad I came two days early so that I can explore the city on my own.  There is much to learn when you mingle with the local population, especially on the streets.  Aaron pointed out some places of interest but he said it was difficult to stop the bus and let the passengers off.  

We next drove to the outskirts of the city and went to a lookout point.  It looks over the Central Valley where San Jose is located.  This places also sells coffee beans and some souvenirs.

Our next stop is a Wildlife Sanctuary where animals and birds are brought there for various reasons, like being injured or have been kept as pets.  The important thing is they cannot be let out into the wild because they do not have the skills to survive.  They will probably live in the sanctuary until the last days of their lives.  Pictures of some of them are below.

Macaws

Crocodiles

Some kind of bird

Wild Pigs

Tortoise

Iguana

Our last stop for the day is a factory that has been making boxcarts for more than 100 years.  These boxcarts are used to transport coffee beans from the farm to various locations to be processed..  They have been used since the early days of coffee growing and is still in used today.  This factory still uses some of the early technology, including using water power to run some of the machines.  Today's boxcarts are very nicely painted and are often used as decorative furniture rather than for transport.  They are being pulled by water buffaloes instead of oxens.

We are finally back in the Barcelo Hotel in San Jose for a nice buffet dinner.