Surfin' Safari

After leaving Arenal we spent a few days in Tamarindo, which was all sun, sand and surf. It was exactly what we were in the mood for after four days in the jungles up north. As popular as Tamarindo is, we were surprised to find such a small town. It's basically 3 streets, all dirt, and a big long stretch of beautiful beach dotted with hotels and surf camps. There are lots of free spirits providing entertainment, some of it orchestrated like these fire dancers and some just in the random people watching, like Forest knitting a scarf for me on a sweltering evening when there are fire dancers behind her.

I had planned to take a surf lesson, check out the neighboring beaches, maybe do some more hiking. But instead we just chilled.

 

We had some pretty good dinners at the Voodoo Lounge & Copacabana, had a very interesting New Year's Eve, enjoyed a delicious if somewhat slow lunch on the beach at Nibbana...

waded in the ocean which was as warm as a bath, viewed some breathtaking sunsets and had some very good mojitos in the sand...

A great couple of days doing just about nothing. And it was perfect!

Tamarindo photos here.

Genever Say Never

One of the things I always enjoy at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans are the Spirited Dinners, so I was happy to see that this year Tales on Tour added an evening of Spirited Dinners in some of Vancouver's best restaurants. It was hard for our group to decide on one but finally we chose Genever Say Never held at MARKET by Jean-Georges and led by Jay Jones. I love genever so I was especially happy!

Originally Agostino Perrone, one of the bar talents at London's Connaught Hotel bar, was meant to team up with Jay, but due to a medical issue was not able to travel. Dayne and I loved the Connaught while in London last fall so we were disappointed that Agostino was not able to be there but Jay called and told me personally that he would be making Perrone's creations and I think they all turned out beautifully.


The cocktail pairings for the evening all used Bols Genever (natch). First up was the Yellow Submarine by Agostino. Bols Genever, Galliano L'Autentico, Fino Sherry and Celery Bitters. This was paired with a celeriac and lemon panna cotta. I have to say that the panna cotta was amazing and the color was so beautiful!

Next up was Jay's Kopstootje Kocktail. Kopstootje means "little head butt" and it refers to the tradition of leaning over and slurping genever from your filled to the rim glass. This cocktail used Bols Genever, Coriander, Lemongrass, Anise and Brasserie L'Achouffe "La Chouffe" Golden Ale. It was paired with juniper scented Sooke salmon with grapefruit and anise. I loved the flavor of the ale in the cocktail and the salmon was amazing!


The Stranger cocktail, also by Jay was our "main course" libation and used Bols Genever, Courvoisier VSOP Cognac, Cherry Brandy, JJ Bean Eastside Espresso and Angostura Bitters. The entree was butter poached squab and roasted carrot, coffee essence and cherry. This was my favorite cocktail of the night, it's got everything I like and it went very well with the dish. 

For dessert we had sous vide pear, roasted almond milk and vanilla fromage blanc sorbet (yum). The paired cocktail was Angostino's Galliano's Cup- Bols Genever, Galliano L'Autentico, Sauternes, Lemon, Yuzu, Orgeat, Pear, Sage and Peychaud's Bitters. This one came off a bit sweet for me but I thought the flavors were very interesting and original.


All in all another fun Spirited Dinner and a chance to taste the creations of two great bartenders! If you went to a Spirited Dinner at Vancouver Tales which one did you attend?


I apologize for the (lack of) quality of my photos, there was a bit of drinking involved...

Cocktail Camp

I think it's only fitting to relive a little Tales on Tour Vancouver today being Mardi Gras!
Upon checking in at registration we all sat with sponsored St Germain cocktails and went through our goodie bags. It's a bit like Christmas with everyone shouting "look!" and "cool"! The lounge provided cocktails and punch for hours on end, we researched all of it.

"Cocktail Camp" phrase coined by Jen B.

Unlike last year, which was just one day of seminars, this year's conference expanded by a day to include some fantastic tasting rooms and Spirited Dinners.
Hendrick's Gin put on a morning filled with curious umbrellas, delicious drinks and even a bit of knowledge as we tasted through the spirit in different stages of distillation. Nothing like a bit of gin to wake up your senses!

There was also a gathering of interesting spirits in the "Meet the Distillers" hall. We were really happy to see Seattle represented with Oola Spirits and San Juan Distillery (Spy Hop Gin is a house favorite).
In the Lifford Lounge we were treated to oysters on the half shell served with Bowmore 12 Year Old Islay Single Malt. After that snack we walked into the "Around the World in Whiskey Days" room where cocktails made with Scotch, Irish, Canadian and US Whiskey's were flowing.

Eddie Russell, Master Distiller

Bacardi then showed off daiquiris made with dry ice and a cola sour using their new Oakheart Spiced Rum.
But the fun for us American's was in the Havana Culture room, stocked with prohibited Havana Club rum and Cuban cigars. I may have filled my flask with some of that 7. And we may be infusing white rum with a cigar.

 These rooms were a great opportunity to meet the Ambassadors, Brand Reps and Distillers and to ask questions and learn about the history of each. It was also an excellent opportunity to taste delicious drinks and have a hell of a fun day!

All the fun can be seen here

Train to Tales on Tour

As per usual I'm about a year behind on posting about our travels. I've yet to write about Italy, Paris, Brugge, London, Bath, Chelan, etc. And I need to finish my posts on Costa Rica, 1st world problems for sure. But another month (or two) brings another trip, this one a short jaunt north with friends for the second annual Tales of the Cocktail on tour- Vancouver.
Unlike last year when there were mud slides and we had to bus most of the way, today is beautiful and sunny. The views of the Sound are beautiful and we spotted 5 bald eagles standing in a field, 2 adults & 3 adolescents.
Dayne pre-batched Corpse Revivers, Gary pre-batched a yummy punch, I made a mushroom/onion/bacon tart and away we went.
The train ride to Vancouver is about 4 hours. There's free wifi in the business class car and you can take a nap since the train leaves so damn frickin early in the am!
Tomorrow is our conference (lol! I love calling it that!) check in and opening party, it's a 30's themed Hollywood ball- I've brought a ball gown :)
There are still some tickets on sale at www.talesofthecocktail.com so if you aren't doing anything this weekend come join us!
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Location:Canada

Adios Arenal

On our last morning, as we walked up that damn hill on the way to breakfast, we passed an agouti next to the sidewalk. Then from the lodge's deck we were able to see quite a few large birds as the grounds crew impale hunks of fruit on a tall stake for the birds to eat. The clouds had not cleared to show us the entire volcano but everything else was on display.

 Dayne and I joined a small group from the lodge for a hike around their extensive grounds which finally gave us a chance to see more of the areas, like the pool and gardens. We found that even the Arenal Observation Lodge had it's own hanging bridges.

We immediately spotted a couple of Toucans, Mot Mots and more Agouti. Farther in we spotted Howler monkeys, about 5 in all but they were so high up in the trees that I couldn't get a good shot of them so here's a great picture of the Toucan!

The property also has a nice waterfall which we hiked down to, not as steep or as far down as the one at La Fortuna, it was still very pretty and with only a few of us deciding to venture to it, it was quite peaceful.

Over 2 1/2 hours we made our way from gardens to jungle to farm lands passing many beautiful plants, flowers and trees. The farthest point from the lodge is a working farm and here we boarded a funny cart which was pulled by a tractor for a "traditional" ride back to the main grounds. If you happen to stay at AOL I highly recommend going on the hike, it's complimentary and takes off each morning at 8:30am.

Back at the Casona we packed up while enjoying the sun and the amazing views of the lake. And we cheered on the volcano to let go of it's cloud cover but it didn't pay any attention to us. We arranged for a taxi to pick us up and take us to the car rental shop in La Fortuna. Here we had a bit of an issue with the folks at AOL who told us their car was being used and it would be $25 cash for the cab and they wouldn't call our cab until they had cash in hand. Geez! So we complied and about 30 minutes later a truck with the AOL logo on the side came and picked us up. The driver didn't speak English so we never got our cash back and when I emailed the company later I was told there was a miscommunication and that was the price for their car, a taxi being more. Hmmmm. We felt a bit jilted for sure.

After grabbing the car we had a pretty good lunch at La Choza de Laurel which is a big open air restaurant known for their casado's - big plates of grilled meat, rice, plantains, beans and vegetables. The food was good and it was cheap but the service was like molasses- don't go here if you are on a schedule. We weren't on a serious time line but it was going to be a very twisty 3.5 hour drive to Tamarindo, which was putting us to arrive after dark- not ideal but still doable.

We loaded up and hit the road, saying goodbye to the cloud forests and volcanoes and headed to the beach. We drove around Lake Arenal to the north and then due west to the coast. We'd have to wait till the morning to see our surroundings but our condo was huge and we were excited to experience another new area!

All photos of Arenal can be seen here
 

It's A Jungle Out There

We left the cloud forest mid afternoon and headed to the jungles surrounding the Arenal Volcano. Even though Costa Rica is tiny it is a mess of mountains, volcanoes and in this case a big ole man made lake turning the relatively short 85 mile distance into a  4+ hour drive. Instead of one long car trip we chose a multi- transportation excursion that I so mysteriously love.

First we were picked up in a 4 wheel drive vehicle and for 1 1/2 hours drove past coffee plantations, up and over crazy steep mud roads, made a quick stop at the drivers' house (so he could grab a snack), and finally were deposited lakeside, the only thing we could see in either direction was a small coffee shack.


We watched the hummingbirds dart around while we waited and once a few more vans arrived with more passengers we boarded a boat and took off across the lake. It was cloudy and a tad stormy so we were not rewarded with views of the volcano as we had hoped, but it was still a pretty 40 minute ride.

Once we landed on the opposite shore we were picked up in a van and taken to the Arenal Observation Lodge. It was about a 20 minute ride on a very bumpy dirt road and we ended up arriving after dark, always a surprise for the next morning! The other surprise, as we checked in, was that we were told that our rooms in the Casona was 500 meters downhill from the main lodge. Did I mention that it was dark? And that we were in a jungle? Luckily one of their crew members had just dropped some guests off from a day trip and offered us and our luggage a ride down. He even waited for Dayne to grab a bucket of ice, it was past happy hour after all!

The Casona was a large building with 5 rooms and 2 shared bathrooms. It also had a great big outdoor porch which was perfect for relaxing. We did have quite a hike up to the restaurant for dinner that night (and each morning for breakfast) but the views of the volcano and the grounds were lovely.

The next morning after breakfast we were picked up for a full day of excursions. We scored by having just one other couple with us and also with our super knowledgeable and passionate guide Marcos! For our first adventure of the day we headed to Arenal Hanging Bridges. But before we even got into the reserve Marcos spotted Howler Monkeys so we stopped on the road and watched this momma and her baby hang around!

Shortly after that we were queuing up to pass over the first bridge that led into the park. There were huge parrots right by the parking lot!

This was the beginning of 3 hours of Marcos spotting an incredible amount of wildlife, birds and flowers. The jungle was amazing, it was hot and steamy just like you think of. The bridges were all lengths and heights and even though there was quite a line up when we first entered we soon were on our own for much of the morning.

Eyelash Viper, only about 3" long

We spotted Helmet Iguanas, an Eyelash Viper, a Tarantula, lots of birds like Macaws, Parrots, Hummingbirds, Motmots, Vultures, Woodcreepers, Warblers, other various snakes and lizards. And these crazy Leafcutter Ants which are quite amazing to watch!

The variety of plants, trees and flowers was stunning! The hike covered paths and 16 hanging bridges including this one that was over 70 feet up!

We finished our hike and piled into the van to head to our next destination- La Fortuna Waterfall. Again, beautiful lush surroundings and as we started down the 500 steps to the bottom we immediately spotted a tree with about 5 Toucans in it!

We hiked down to the gorgeous falls and relaxed by the banks, being misted with water for a while before heading back up... 500 steps!

After a wonderful lunch at Don Rufino in La Fortuna we set out again, this time with an additional 4 adults and 2 kids (groan). We headed to the slopes of Arenal Volcano to walk along the lava flows. Marcos is studying to be a vulcanologist so along the way we learned about the eruption of Arenal and witnessed the regrowth of sugar cane and other plants. We spotted a very rare orchid that only blooms once a year for 24 hours and another huge crazy spider!

Our final treat of the day (now evening) was a trip to The Springs (fans of the show The Bachelor might recognize this as the hotel/hot springs featured on the show). With all that volcanic activity hot springs are a big thing and it was just the thing we needed after a day trekking through jungles and volcanoes.

With over 35 various sized hot pools we had no problem finding one all to ourselves. We relaxed in the hot water, full of healing minerals, with guara sours! We only saw The Springs at night but it looked really nice and was on a huge estate. After an hour or so of soaking we had dinner at their buffet (this was all included in our full day booking) outside on a pretty terrace. When Marcos came to pick us up we invited him to share a bottle of wine with us and got a chance to hear more of his amazing knowledge of wildlife and the area. He knows 150 bird calls and can spot over 500 birds. Throughout the day he recorded everything we saw in his guides, next to their photo with notes about the area we were in. There is no way we would have seen everything that we did without him and I can't emphasize enough the need to hire a guide while hiking in Costa Rica. People would come up on us and see us looking at something but without a trained eye telling you exactly where to look and what to look for everything is camouflaged!

Our long day was finished up with nightcaps on our porch (after we finagled a ride to get ice at the bar and then a drop off back at the Casona from Marcos)!

All photos of the Monteverde and the Arenal areas can be seen here

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Up Up in the Cloud(forest)

Our first trip to Costa Rica, I've wanted to come here for years now! We flew Seattle to Miami on a red eye & then Miami to San Jose on American. when we arrived in San Jose we had arranged a car service to take us to our first destination - Monteverde. We'd been told it was a 3 hour drive on a dusty twisty road so we figured we'd hire a car & relax. We used Anywhere Costa Rica to book almost all our transfers and tours and couldn't have been happier with their service.

Our driver stopped so we could grab beers and bags of chicharrones for the car trip. We were heading towards the high altitude cloud forest but started our drive right next to the sea. The country is so small you can practically see side to side and tip to tip. The roads varied from 2 lane highways to 1 lane steep dirt roads, we were happy to let someone else do the driving!

Driving higher and higher up into the mountains we spotted an Emerald Toucan, our first wildlife spotting! here the roads were also a bit hairy, full of potholes and lined with steep drops.

We arrived in Santa Elena, the tiny subset town of Monteverde, and we're immediately in love with our lodgings, the Hotel Acor Iris. We had a cute cabin with a porch, living room and two bedrooms each with their own bathroom. The grounds were gorgeous and the whole thing was tucked off the main roads.



Not that that would matter much as we found, walking into the tiny town, it was literally only a 3 block circle. We checked out the grocery store, made a mental note of some bars to check out later and concluded the walk back to our front porch where we enjoyed a few martinis and the amazing weather.



Since we were only going to be in this area for 1 night I had booked us a night hike in Hidden Valley (also thru ACR). We were picked up just before sunset & by the time we got to the ridge of the valley the sky was crazy beautiful.



We set out in small groups each led by a guide and outfitted with flashlights. Almost immediately we came across some Agouti. Continuing on in the dark jungle (which was a bit unnerving) we came across a huge spider web which was home to the crab spider. Our guide demonstrated the strength of this massive web and also told us that by morning the spider will have taken the whole thing down.

Next we came across coati which are raccoons with long snouts that they poke in the ground and in trees and bushes looking for bugs and such. They run in small pacts and we'd come across this group again before the night was over. Our guide also spotted different birds sleeping in the trees- toucans, parrots and the such. The wind was quite strong and it was funny to see them all tucked in and swaying precariously on the branches.

At a small rise of earth our guide asked us to step extremely quietly and as we crouched around the opening he tempted its house mate out for us to see... A tarantula!



Ok then! They are blind which is why they are so tuned in to the vibrations of the ground. It was big and a bit unreal which was good as I didn't run screaming!

Also on the creepy meter was a fruit bat we passed under, hanging upside down from a tree branch sucking on a guava. Cute (not)! We crossed paths with the coati again and then we were back on the ridge. A successful first hike in Costa Rica I'd say!

That night we had dinner at Morpho's, named after the amazing blue butterflies of the country. The food was good (CR isn't really a foodie destination) and well priced. Kate, Dayne & I headed out after for some Guaro sours, the national drink, at The Treehouse.

In the morning we headed to breakfast (included) at the hotel & got quite a show from the White Faced Monkeys who were also at breakfast!








Then we were picked up and driven higher into the mountains to the Sky Trek Park where we started the day with a hike in the cloud forest. The park has a series of 5 hanging bridges suspended just above the forest floor, at mid level and high above the canopy. The longest is 984 feet across. It was very cool and a bit scary for this acrophobic!



The morning was quite cool and when our guide spotted (smelled their fresh poo actually) a few howler monkeys high up in the treetops they were very still and huddled together. Exciting for us non the less!

This was my first time in a actual jungle and I was in awe of the variety of trees and plants; the size of the leaves and fronds; the sounds of exotic birds and animals. We spotted quite a few beautiful birds (no quetzals for those of you in the know) and even the world's smallest orchid.



We finished our 2 hour hike and Dayne, Forest & Kate got suited up for some zip lining. I'd already checked this off my bucket list in Puerto Vallarta and once was enough for me. We all took the Sky Tram up the mountain together, I just didn't have on as much gear.



The views on the way up were amazing, you get to a point where you are straddling the continental divide and the winds from either coast are battling each other. As Team Zip Line made their way down via dizzyingly heights and breakneck speeds on 10 zip lines, I rode back down in the tram and went on a little hike through the hummingbird garden.



And so ended our 24 hours with our head in the clouds...



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