We arrived in San José (#1), Costa Rica in the evening on March 3rd and departed in the evening of March 11th.  On this trip we took part in an organized tour, which started on March 5th at 7PM with an orientation session. Over the following six days we drove first to San Carlos (#2), then to Monteverde (#3), and returned to San José.

On our first day in Costa Rica we took a bus/walking tour of San José, visiting the National Theatre, the Gold Museum and the Central Market. In San Carlos (#2) we stayed at the Arenal Volcano Inn for two nights. From that point we had two local excursions, the first (C) was a river cruise along the Frio River that took us up to the boarder with Nicaragua. The second (D) was a trip to a spa whose pools were heated by volcanic activity.

Enroute to Monteverde (#3) on the 4th day, we stopped off at Arenal National Park, where we took a short hike to Lake Arenal. In Monteverde we stayed at the El Establo Hotel. From that point, the following day, we hiked the canopy trail and hanging bridges through the cloud forest. Following that we visited a coffee/chocolate/sugar farm.

Our return to San José took us along the Pan American Highway, back to the Studio Hotel, where we had started the trip. With our flight leaving at 22:10 on the 11th, we had a full day to fill. We were able to take a shuttle into San José that dropped us off at the National Theatre. From there is was a short walk to the Gold Museum which had a special exhibition of Picasso etchings. From there we returned to the Market, and then meandered back to our pickup-point, stopping along the way for lunch.

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