Off To Bio Thermales

Mon, 1/24/11 – Monday morning we had a nice breakfast and our car rental guys, Wild Rider, brought our rental car over. It was a 2007 4x4 Hyundai Tucson, one of the most underpowered vehicles we've ever driven. The car guy gave us maps and lots more tips and we off, headed to Bio Thermales Hot Springs which is about 40 km east of the volcano/tourist town of La Fortuna.

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On the way, an iguana ran across the road in front of us. A different experience than raccoons or deer. We stopped for lunch at a place the Wilder Rider guy recommended, "Lands In Love". It is a vegetarian, Jewish kosher resort nestled into its own little valley about an hour south of La Fortuna. The food was absolutely wonderful, a place that will be on our short list next time back to CR.
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The roads were pretty good until we got within about two miles of Bio Thermales Hot Springs and then we got to the dirt road. “Road” is a rather upbeat title for the track we followed, but the bumps and holes were worth it. Joel and Shawne stayed in one "casita" and Lizz and Neil stayed in another one. The whole property was forest until Kathy and Bernie bought it four years ago. In that time they have built their home, barn, two casitas, at least half a dozen stone and cement pools that use the natural hot and cold springs, outbuildings and picnic areas and bathrooms for day use visitors.

We are the first guests staying in our casita. Simple but beautifully made with tile, cement and natural wood. Many little touches using branches in their natural shape i.e. shower rod, clothes rack, small tables. Other wood for beds, swings, chairs. Bernie appears to be the chief wood worker. He has a couple of young men who help him. Kathy seems pretty knowledgeable about the plants and wildlife. Johann one of the young men also doubles as forest guide and will take those of us who want to go on a walk later this week.

The place is pretty remote with limited food service but a nice kitchen so Joel took off to buy groceries before it got dark.

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First Class To Costa Rica

Sun, 1/23/11 - We left San Jose, California before the crack of dawn for our all day journey to San Jose, Costa Rica, with a few hours layover in Phoenix. We flew first class due to a bizarre quirk in how US Air handles its frequent flier miles. For the dates we wanted to travel, economy tickets were in the middle tier cost while first class was in the lowest tier cost and so first class and economy cost the same number of miles... so we can take a hint, first class it is! We met up with our daughter Lizz and her boyfriend Neil in Phoenix since they were joining us from Portland. All the flights were on time, smooth, nice. We stayed the first night at a beautiful B&B, Casa Bella Rita, just outside of San Jose. From the outside the Bella Rita is pretty unimpressive...
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... but inside it is a beautiful oasis, full of bright colors nice art work, and a couple of parrots. Looking out from the back patio there is a deep canyon with a river roaring along the bottom. Rita and Steve are the proprietors and Steve in particular reminds us of Shawne's brother Mark. Sort of an old hippie. Both gave us helpful information about Costa Rica. Their B&B is a very nice place to start our stay. We will come back at the end of the trip for our last night.

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A Sedate Sunday

After my eventful Saturday I opted for a much quieter day on Sunday. I started in the downtown area which is absolutely dead on a Sunday morning.

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I ducked into the cathedral just as a service was starting. It was much more elaborate than any catholic service I had attended anywhere else with bishop-looking guy, a priest, five assistant priests and an alter boy. Eight in all. Holy water sprinkling and lots of incense.


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I learned in Seattle that a nice, inexpensive way to see the sights is to jump on a ferry. There was a ferry dock downtown so I decided to jump on board and see where it took me. It went across the bay affording great views of the city from the water. I took the same boat right back again.

People who live across the bay joke that they have the best views in Rio...because their view is of Rio.
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After the ferry I took the subway back to Ipanema beach. Nearby every Sunday they have a "Hippie Fair". It is a city block filled with booths of various kinds of arts and crafts for sale.
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The weather was much nicer on Sunday so I finally got my proper Rio beach scene. The beaches go for miles and are gorgeous in more ways than one.




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Too soon it was time to head back to the airport and back to work the next day.

Monday afternoon I came down with a cold that has lingered for more than two weeks. I must have caught a bug in Rio. So I guess what happens in Rio doesn't stay in Rio! Too bad!


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You can see all of my Rio pictures (but not the videos) at My Wild Weekend in Rio

Samba School

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Carnaval is a big holiday season in Rio. It takes place during the 40 days before Easter but preparation for it goes on all year long. During Carnaval about a dozen "samba schools" compete to present the best show of music, dance and costumes. Lusi is involved in some way with the Salgueiro Samba School which has won many of the annual completions. They practice every week and Lusi thought I might enjoy watching.
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I was much too tired to even contemplate it after a long day running around Rio. I would have thought that the samba school would run from something like 9 pm to midnight, but no way! It doesn't really get going until after midnight and lasts past 3 am. But after an evening nap I was refreshed and ready to go though Lusi did promise to send me home at 2 if I was too tire to stay. We arrived around 11.

The Samba School auditorium kind of reminded me of a high school gym. Not at all fancy. Inexpensive plastic tables and chairs. It held about a thousand people. A stage on one side and a corp of drummers high up on the opposite side. Most of the people were down on the main floor but Lusi had a small group in box seats up above.

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Much of the program was singing. Some very good, some not so good. A couple of speeches... very boring when you don't speak Portuguese and maybe even if you do. The drummers were very good.
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Then there was the dancing. It was wildly, beautifully sensual. I liked that part the best...

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Towards the end of my stay there was some kind of show on the floor with judging. There I saw the first signs of the elaborate feathery costumes they wear for the big competition at Carnaval.

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I had had enough by 1:45 and as promised, Lusi sent me home in a cab. Now that really was a wild ride. Much scarier than the motorcycles that morning!

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Sugar Loaf

After the beach we headed up to Sugar Loaf.


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Stuck out in the middle of the bay it has spectacular views in every direction.














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Gondolas hanging from cables take you quickly to the top. First to the lower mountain then to higher one...






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Coming down to the lower part of the mountain we ran into this strange creature. An ugly monkey? I have no idea what it is...

Ipanema Beach

After the favela we went to the Ipanema beach for a quick lunch. The beach was stunningly beautiful but nearly empty. The day was one of the coldest of the year in Rio at around 65 degrees Fahrenheit. This is not the Rio beach scene I had been looking forward to! Well, I would have another chance on Sunday.
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Not all was lost. The beach really was lovely and peaceful and then we noticed the hang gliders. There were about 8 of them floating lazily in the air above the beach and then landing one by on the beach nearby.

The Rocinha Favela

After the Christ statue it was off to a favela. A favela is a kind of a slum where regular poor people live along side gangs and drug dealers. The movie "City of God" was about life in a favela. Many tour companies offer favela tours. I found the favela to be fascinating. It reminded me of parts of India. Lusi assured me that the favela was perfectly safe. There are drug dealers and “bad people” she said but they leave the tourists alone as long as they are with a guide. She said it is not allowed (by whom?) to rob tourists. The one caution she gave me was that I was to put my camera away when she told me to because these same “bad people” don’t like having there pictures taken and might decide to shoot you if they think you might be working the police. No problem! We went to the Rocinha favela, one of the largest in Rio.

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The main road in snakes up the side of the mountain affording the poor who live there million dollar views of the city. The way up for us was on the back of a motorcycle taxi. There was considerable discussion about me because they were worried about my weight but eventually one of the guys agreed to take me on. Now this really was a wild ride, weaving in and out of traffic, no helmet, winding up the road through the favela.

Take a look at these brief video clips...









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At the top we got off and a fellow wanted us to go look at his paintings which we did. I really liked them and bought one.


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The artist then kind of attached himself to us as our informal local guide. You couldn’t see a view of the city from street level so he led us through a back alleyway of the favela to a house with a spectacular view. The alley was a very narrow sidewalk but was teeming with life with lots of people and tiny stores open only to the alley...




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The first house we tried was locked with nobody home but the local guide found another family who was wiling to let us have a look at the view for a couple of dollars. We climbed a short, steep set of stairs and burst into this family's house. It had something like three floors, each a single room about 12' x 15' with a very narrow winding staircase in one corner leading from floor to floor. There was a TV a washing machine on one floor, a computer on another, a bedroom on the top floor, and then the roof with a ladder to climb to get to the very top.


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Like I said before, the view was a million dollar view with the city laid out at our feet.

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On our way back through the alley to the street I started to take a movie when Lusi suddenly turned and said "put that camera away". A bad guy.








We walked back down to the bottom without incident. I never did feel threatened but maybe that is a simple matter of luck and cluelessness. By absolute sheerest coincidence there was an small article in today's San Jose, California Mercury News newspaper that mentioned my favela...

One killed in Rio hotel shootout

By Felipe Dana, Associated Press
RIO DE JANEIRO - Heavily armed drug gang members engaged in an intense firefight with police, then fled into a luxury hotel popular with foreign tourists and held about 30 people hostage for three hours Saturday before surrendering.
The upscale, beachside neighborhood of Sao Conrado where the Intercontinental Hotel site was transformed into a war zone aw upward of 50 gunmen with high-caliber rifles, pistols and even hand grenades faced off with police.
A police spokesman said the gunbattle began when police spotted about 10 cars and vans leaving the Vidigal slum heading toward the nearby Rocinha slum, one of Latin America's largest.
Spent casings littered the streets around the hotel. One woman was killed, and four bystanders and three policemen were wounded.
The gang members were leaving an all-night party in Vidigal when they ran into the police patrol and began shooting.

Too bad I missed all the excitement. Some people just have no luck!