Costa Rica- January 2019
Planning
Airfare: JetBlue 53k/each UR
Hotel: Andaz Papagayo Peninsula 20k/night
Food: Super Kosher Costa Rica
We left JFK on Wednesday morning, January 16th, at 11am, and the weather was 26 degrees Fahrenheit.... 5 hours later, at 3pm, we arrived in Liberia airport to a sunny 88! We were definitely off to a good start!!
A driver from our hotel, Andaz Peninsula Papagayo, was there to greet us and take us to the hotel.
After a quick 30 minute drive we arrived at The Peninsula Papagayo, better known as Paradise.
From the moment that we pulled up to the Andaz, we knew that we were in good hands. The staff greeted us with a warm smile, a glass of pineapple mint juice and a cold neck towel. Ah, so refreshing!!
We checked in, went to our room, on the 3rd floor, with a gorgeous view of the forest. We truly felt like we were one with nature. The room was beautiful.
We then went down to the main restaurant, Rio Bongo, where our meal, sent by Super Kosher Costa Rica. The food was packaged beautifully and labeled perfectly. We knew this was going to make our stay that much more enjoyable. The kitchen staff was beyond accommodating. The staff, in general, was amazing!
We woke up after an awesome night’s sleep, and went straight down to the pool to soak up some sun. Again, the Andaz, has everything! Flip flops, sunscreen, fruit infused water and even baristas bringing around complimentary fruit smoothies poolside. The pool was magnificent! An infinity pool, with a view of the rainforest. It was simply breathtaking.
After a lunch, we went to the beach where we took a 10 minute boat ride to the Andaz Beach house. It was extremely relaxing and entertaining! The monkeys were roaming freely and put on quite a show. We then went back to the hotel for our “barista class.” Being that Costa Rica is known for it’s amazing coffee, we knew that we were in for quite a treat. The Barista teacher, Luis, did not disappoint. He was extremely well educated in all things coffee. He showed us serval different techniques to achieve the perfect cup of joe! We tasted them all and they were all delicious in their own way. Now that we were wired, it was time to dance the night away! The bar band was awesome! We had a great time!
The caffeine wore off and we fell asleep, super excited for our adventurous day in Borenquin.
We left the hotel at 7am with our adorable tour guide, Jose. He had such a passion for his job and it was evident from the moment that we got into his car. We arrived in Borenquin about 90 minutes later and ready for our exciting day ahead of us.
We started off with horseback riding with spectacular views. We went through stunning greenery and ended by a gorgeous waterfall. Jose was an amazing photographer and went above and beyond to capture all the fun!
We then got suited up for “canopying” which we refer to as zip lining. It was the coolest thing I’ve ever done!! We did 13 zip lines through the rainforest. Each one was cooler than the next!! It’s an experience I’ll never forget. After lunch, we went onto relax a bit. We went to the sauna, followed by a mud bath, from volcano mud, and then a dip in the sulfur bath. Our skin felt amazing afterwards!
Borenquin was the perfect place to get a taste of many of the amazing things Costa Rica has to offer.
Jose then took us to the souvenir shop where we bought tons of local Costa Rican coffee along with the Chorreador, the famous stand used to make the perfect cup of Costa Rican coffee.
We got back to the hotel at 4:30, with an hour to spare before Shabbos began. We packed a bag with our books, snacks and drinks and brought it to the front desk before Shabbos began. The staff once again was so accommodating. The hotel engineer, came to our room to turn off all the sensors.
The next morning we took a walk to the marina. After our Shabbos meal, we went to the front desk where a sweet employee carried our bag of goodies to the pool. They set up our longe chairs and we read our books which sipping our fruit infused water, what could be better?! How about a hammock on the beach? After we finished our books, that exactly what we did! It was so relaxing. We then went back to our room for shalosh seudas and havdallah. We capped off the night with a great time by the hotel bar accompanied by music.
We woke up for our last day in paradise ready to soak it all in. We went down the beach and went kayaking, paddle boarding and snorkeling. Afterwards, we went to the pool and completely relaxed. The fruit smoothie in the pool was the icing on the cake! Once we were dried off, we took one last bike ride around the Penisula Papagayo. We took the hotel’s free electric bikes and had an amazing time. The scenery was stunning. From the marina view to the lush greenery to the ocean. It was the perfect ending to our stay.
Special thanks to my wife for writing the TR
