Most Inspirational Moment
Like other reviewers, there were many highlights - looking down at molten lava in the crater of the Masaya volcano; a guided trip down the Rio Tenorio where the iguanas and ospreys are so numerous that we became blase about them; the wildlife around Lake Arenal; the hot springs near La Fortuna; bathing in the Pacific after the day's ride at Las Lajas and the Panama Canal.
Thoughts on Group Leader
This is our third Exodus trip and each of the leaders has been excellent in terms of organisation, humour and imparting local knowledge but Roberto was definitely a cut above the others. Everything was done that bit better than before e.g. daily briefings on the route with its profile, where the refreshment stops would be and any specific things we had to be vigilant about; paying for the meals, rather than us delaying things by doing it individually and then presenting us later with our own aggregated accounts; copious photos and videos being uploaded daily to a WhatsApp group so we could review and chat about them over dinner; melding the new group of support staff into a harmonious and happy team. The result was that we (and, I believe, they) had a ball. His Pièce de Résistance was his male howler monkey impersonation that certainly had the desired effect on the local monkey population!
Advice for Potential Travellers
We hadn't appreciated that the prevailing weather comes from the Caribbean and so, even in the dry season, it can be wet on that coast. Also, like another reviewer, we had debated about taking anti-Malaria tablets. In the end we used Deet and saw few mosquitoes, which vindicated our decision not to take them. Do take advantage of the laundry in La Fortuna, which was efficient and used to cycle wear.