San José – a city between tradition and globalization

Amongst all the adventure experiences here in Costa Rica, I also want to increase my cultural knowledge about the country. Therefore Serendipity Adventures gave me the opportunity to make a trip to the capital San José.

For me, it was a very exciting experience because San José is an interesting city that is hard to categorize. On the one hand, San José tries to be like a huge modern capital with the high number of international restaurants, shops and all the different sightseeing offers. On the other one, the city still has got the typical Latin-American flair. The many different street sellers, who offer fruits, clothes or souvenirs, are a good example. 

The first part of my trip was a visit of the National Stadium. This multi-functional arena hosts all the games of the Costa Rican soccer team. Additionally, it hosts concerts and other big events like the presidential inauguration a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, a big fence covers the stadium so that I was not able to come really close to the arena. Nevertheless, the whole construct is a very impressive view for someone who loves to play soccer and to be in big stadiums. 

After this, I made a walk back to the center of San José. This is another fact I like about this city. Its center is not too big, so you can reach each important point by foot. 

The National Museum was the next part on my agenda. There were no guided tours this day, so I had to discover the museum on my own. But this had also benefits. So I could spend much time in the sector that attracted me most, the newer history of the country. Costa Rica is very proud of its stable democracy and the whole history of its development is shown in a very modern part of the museum. Newspaper articles, short video sequences and real historic artifacts make the history understandable.

After two hours in the museum and a short break for lunch, I visited the last part of my agenda. This was the National Theatre of Costa Rica. Built in 1891, it is now one of the finest historic buildings in the capital. The old building is equipped with a very cozy and modern interior. It is a great place for a nice theatre evening. 

Nearly two further hours later, my day in the capital was over. Typical for a city trip, it was quite exhausting because I did the whole exploration by foot. Nevertheless, it was a great and interesting tour. Now I know much more about the history and culture of this exciting country.

Canyoning – a slippery, but very thrilling adventure

My personal adventures in Costa Rica got a new highlight last weekend: Canyoning with Serendipity. I did not know Canyoning before and for those who do not know this sport either: Canyoning means descending along a waterfall into the water – secured with ropes and a harness. 

One of the typical characteristics of a Serendipity adventure is to stay away from touristy and crowded places. Therefore we had to do a 90 minutes ride in our 4x4-vehicle – 60 of them on tight and unsealed roads uphill. These rides are an adventure itself! 

When we arrived in the no-man’s-land, our three guides explained the correct use of the harnesses and ropes. After that, we had to hike for a little while until we arrived on top of the waterfalls. This created a really thrilling and special atmosphere. On the one hand you see the steep and dangerous canyon, but on the other one, you can enjoy the peaceful sound of the flowing water and watch the various types of small animals. But to be honest, the worry about the steep canyon outweighs before your first descent. 

One advantage of a group adventure is the following: You do not have to be the one who starts. After some of my colleagues arrived safely at the bottom of the waterfall, I felt comfortable enough to start my descent. At first, it was quite difficult to find the right position and the right techniques to handle the ropes. The most scaring moment is when you have to lay back and trust the ropes. If you overcome this moment, the descent can start! 

You always have to be careful that you do not become unstable on the slippery waterfall. But even if you do so, the ropes keep you safe all the time – you just have to trust them. 

 My first descent took about two minutes, but it felt like twenty. I was really relieved when I finally arrived at the bottom. The next part was really funny because we were allowed to slip down from a small rock. This was hilarious, although the water was ice-cold. After passing two smaller canyons, the last challenge waited for us. This was a really huge waterfall. It took about 20 minutes per person to descend it. 

Without doubt, this waterfall was the most challenging one. You should not make the mistake to look across your shoulder, otherwise you will get very afraid. The waterfall just seemed to descend in the most steeply imaginable way and there was a lot of water on the way down. But I was successful in descending this waterfall, too. If you are at the bottom once, you are really glad that you made it. And you notice what you can reach if you just challenge yourself – this is an excellent feeling. 

Cartago – a city full of culture and mysticism

During my first weeks in Costa Rica I naturally wanted to see the popular touristic hot-spots like the beautiful beaches or the mystic rainforests. However, Costa Rica has so much more to offer. Therefore it was very interesting for me to have a one day-trip to Cartago as part of my work for Serendipity Adventures.

Cartago is a quite big city and was Costa Rica’s capital until the government chose San José as a new capital in 1823. One of the most known places in town are the “Santiago Apóstol Parish Ruins”. These are a couple of old destroyed stones that cover a little cozy garden. The place around and inside the garden is a popular place for Cartago’s people to hang out. 

The history of the ruins is very interesting because there are many mystical stories concerning this place. Originally, a new big church should have been built at this place, but each time the people tried to build the church, another new earthquake destroyed it. They resigned their attempts in 1910 after a big earthquake destroyed the building once again. Since that date the place is known as a mystic and cursed site. Another story says that a headless priest appears in foggy nights inside the garden…

The other big event in the city is the “Basílicade Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles“. Built in 1926, the huge church is the most important pilgrimage site in the country today. On the 2^nd August, the anniversary of the appearance of the Virgin Mary, people from the whole country pilgrim to the basilica. Many of them cross the church on their knees. The central sanctuary inside the church is the “Negrita”, a black statue of the Virgin Mary. She is also seen as the patron saint of Costa Rica. 

Apart from these two interesting cultural impressions, I also liked the rest of the town. There is a quaint market inside a big building where the people sell their fruits, food, clothes and other interesting stuff in small and tight alleys. Furthermore, Cartago is a quite big town and offers therefore many culinary opportunities. From gourmet restaurant to famous American fast-food chains – everyone gets what he or she loves to eat. 

Without doubt, a few culture experiences should be part of any Costa Rica vacation in my opinion. Therefore I can highly recommend a trip to Cartago – a city full of culture and mysticism, and the home of the Irazú volcano.

Feeling like Tarzan in the jungle – Zip lining in Costa Rica

After the spectacular hot-air balloon and horseback riding adventures, our long and challenging day was not over. The next highlight on our schedule was a canopying tour through the rain forests near the Arenal volcano. 

Because of lots of traffic and very interesting hotel inspections during midday we arrived a little bit delayed at the Canopy station. Fortunately, our guests were not upset and we quickly put on the security clothes. Those consisted of a helmet, one special braking glove, another usual glove, the harness, carabineers and two security ropes. After our preparation we were sent on a short trip on the load area of an off-road vehicle. This was fun, but we arrived very soon at the entry of the rainforest.

  

Just as the balloon flight and the horse ride, I had never done a zip-line tour in my life before. Honestly, Germany does not have the adequate rain forests for this purpose. My co-worker Alex named me as a “canopy-virgin” and he was right! However, my “virginity” was no problem because we had two great guides again. They explained the technique of Canopying, for example the right use of the braking glove, very simple and quick. 

 

The whole canopying track consisted of twelve different segments. The highlight was a really fast part, which was called “Speedy Gonzales”. At first, I had much respect towards the whole adventure and I was not sure if I should trust the cables that were stretched from tree to tree. The most challenging act was the correct regulation of the speed. The only tool for this was the braking glove. By touching the cable with the glove, the speed got reduced.

On my first tour I braked a little bit too much and I stopped to early consequently. However, after a few segments I learned the technique and I could enjoy the thrilling atmosphere of a canopy tour. I found myself in an enormous altitude, nearly on top of the huge jungle trees. During the journey from one tree to another, you should not think about the possibility to fall down, you should rather enjoy the view on the rain forest from this unusual position. During our tour through the jungle, we saw so many interesting trees, birds and other animals like the toucan, one of the most colorful birds of Costa Rica.   

After nearly two hours, the next spectacular adventure was over. I can’t say, which of the three big adventures was my favorite one. But I can say that this was a day I will never forget – so full of adventures and so full of new experiences! Thank your Serendipity!

Being higher than the clouds – a Serendipity Adventures hot-air balloon flight

Another part of our fascinating trip brought us the adventure of a hot-air balloonflight.

As sunrise is the best time for ballooning in Costa Rica, we had to get up very early, our trip started at 5.15am.

Before the big adventure started, there was some work to do for the Serendipity staff. It was astonishing that the huge balloon envelope arrived in a quite small bag. Then, the envelope got stretched on the floor and we got a first impression of its size (see photo).

After that, we started to inflate the balloon envelope. This is a process of about 15 minutes in which a big balloon inflation fan blows air into the envelope. Once it has reached its required size, our pilot, Esteban, started to blow gas to obtain the right pressure. When this had been done, the balloon envelope started to rise up from the ground. 

At this point, we were allowed to jump into the balloon’s basket. First, it seemed to be a little bit challenging, but even our guests, a retired couple from Sao Paulo, Brazil, had no problems to enter the basket. With six persons, the basket was nearly filled up. Then, our pilot started to blow gas into the envelope and our journey finally started. 

 

I was quite surprised in which altitudes such a balloon rises. We went up so high that the clouds were beneath us. Up in the air, there were so many things to see! All the time, we had a great view on the famous Arenal Volcano afar. One of the highlights of the trip was when Esteban let the balloon decline and we were just on top of the rainforest. There we could hear the mystical and fascinating sounds of the jungle, especially the shouts of the howler monkeys. Actually, we either saw them climbing and hanging on the trees. What a gorgeous moment! 

Our whole flight was accompanied by interesting information and stories by Esteban. It seemed if he would know anything about Costa Rica and its nature.

Unfortunately, after about one hour on the air our flight came to its end. Esteban’s advice to hold on had to be taken literally because the landing was quite rough, very close to a river. However, I think this was an unforgettable part of the adventure, too!

Repacking the envelope of the balloon was not as exhausting as the inflation. After some work the whole stuff was back on the truck and everyone was just satisfied and impressed by another Serendipity adventure!

My first time on a horse – a real Serendipity Adventure

A new intern has arrived at Serendipity Adventures in Costa Rica! My name is Julian Sieling and I come from Germany. I am 21 years old and I study International Tourism Management at the University of Applied Science in Heide, a small town near Hamburg. Right now I am doing an eight-week-internship at Serendipity Adventures to gather experiences for my studies and my life.

On my fourth weekend, Serendipity Adventures gave me the chance to take part on an adventure weekend. One of the many highlights of our trip was horseback riding.

I must confess that I have never been on a horse in my whole life before this weekend. The main reason for this is the fact that I never got the chance in Germany, but honestly I also did not look for it. 

When I and my colleagues arrived at the beautiful property in Centaura, I was a little bit scared awaiting my first horse ride. But I also noticed that the horses were very neat and beautiful animals. After a few jokes that I would be supposed to take the wildest one of the horses, they gave me their calmest horse in the end. It was no problem to get on the horse and the explanations of our fulminate guide Esteban sounded quite simple.

 

I was really impressed how easy it was to lead the horse. Every time I wanted to turn right or left, the horse followed, just in consequence of little moves with the rein. 

Typical for Serendipity Adventures, our ride was not a usual ride on fields. No, it was a ride over mountains and hills, culminating in the passing of courses of rivers. Sometimes we also stopped and I saw sugar fields for instance. But I did not only see them, our guide just chopped a sugar crop and gave me the chance to taste it – it was really sweet but special. 

During the time, it got easier for me to trust the horse. It did his job really well! Nevertheless, there were a few moments when I got really scared because from time to time my horse decided to go faster. The gallop may have been fun for it, but not for me! As I was consequently jumping up and down in the saddle, I was really glad when I convinced the horse to go slower.

 

After almost one and a half hour we arrived at the stables in Centaura and I was really proud that I did this adventure. All in all, it was a really safe and well-organized ride. Now I can tell my friends that I have been on a horse – and that I did not fall off!