Most Inspirational Moment
Spotting wildlife in its natural habitat is wonderful.And looking at the stars on the beach in Tortuguero. Amazing!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Jonathan had an encyclopedic knowledge of birds and other wildlife. We've never had a guide who knew so much detail about everything we were seeing. However, the organizational side was a bit confusing at times. It would have been useful to have had an opening formal briefing with everybody introducing themselves and then daily briefings to let us know what was going on the next day, which we have had on other Exodus trips. Our driver Keylor was great, getting us over some quite rough terrain at times, and even spotting and stopping for monkeys and other animals along the way.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Half of the group got sick (plus Jonathan and Keylor). We are not sure exactly what the source was - although it may have been improperly filtered water from a hotel. So bring enough Imodium for a few days (to help with the long bus rides in particular) and we found rehydration salts helpful. A couple of people brought ciprofloxacin just in case. We don't want to over emphasize this aspect, but we've never been on a trip with so many people falling ill and it did impact our enjoyment of the trip as we had to miss out on some activities. Obviously not Exodus' fault - just the nature of the type of region we were in.
Note that you can get laundry done along the way, and the prices are reasonable, especially at Esquinas Lodge. It is difficult for things to dry if you wash them yourself since it is humid and you don't much time at any one place.
Suggestions
Be prepared for long drives - 4-5+ hours at times, with stops.
We did the extension to Tamarindo. Because of a bridge that was out, combined with a holiday weekend, it took 7 1/2 hours to get there. On the way back, Exodus arranged for a private transfer because we needed to make a flight. That took 5 hours. A regular group transfer would take longer because you need to change vehicles halfway there, adding a half an hour. So the 4-5 hour estimates are not particularly realistic. Tamarindo was eye-opening, and not entirely in a good way. On the positive side, it is a beautiful position on the Pacific. And while it is quite busy and noisy (the booming music never seems to stop), we were able to find some quieter spots. Our hotel was nice - Arco Iris. Set back from the hustle and bustle a bit, a nice pool and great breakfasts (although not much else on site). On the negative side, Tamarindo represents a highly problematic side of tourism. As we drove in from the north (our driver went off-piste to avoid traffic), we saw lots of luxury hotels and gated communities in development. This appears to be primarily for the American market and likely does not return much to the local communities as foreigners buy up the country. And the roads were atrocious (presumably this will all change in a few years since the rich expats wouldn't stand for this as they drive to their luxury villas). Tamarindo itself was a bit bizarre. Nice beach town in some ways but with an undercurrent of a developing country being gentrified. Once you got off the main road running parallel to the beach, the roads were very poor, frequently without sidewalks, highlighting the dual nature of the place. And then there were the golf carts. You would see men driving their families around in golf carts and then parking them in designated golf cart parking spaces, as if the entire town was just one big luxury resort for their personal enjoyment. And the jacked-up dune buggies were also a sight to behold. So while eventually the extension provided us a bit of downtime after the trip, it was a bit unsettling. And driving back to San Jose to catch a flight the same day resulted in us being in transit for 31 hours, which was a bit exhausting. If you go to Tamarindo we suggest you spend an additional night in San Jose before flying home. However, we suggest that Exodus consider whether Tamarindo is the best place to send its customers. It certainly does not sit with its commitment to sustainability (lots of water is diverted from other parts of the country to sustain Tamarindo and the development around it, and it is clear that the development is not for the locals). Perhaps there are other places on either the Pacific or Caribbean coasts that would not have such a negative environmental and social impact.
Also, while we understand why Exodus includes the home visit, it was a bit strange and awkward. It also came at a bad time at the very end as we were on our way back to San Jose when people were tired and many still feeling unwell.
