Member Herb Bullock and his wife Agnes vacationed in Costa Rica, then wrote a letter to ABLE to Travel’s Yojerdi “Jolly” Rodriguez, who arranged their trip. They’ve graciously consented to share their travelogue in Action.

Friendly locals surround Herb Bullock on beautiful Jaco Beach on the Costa Rican coast.

February 28, 2006
Attn: Yojerdi Rodriguez, Travel Coordinator, ABLE to Travel
United Spinal Association
75-20 Astoria Boulevard
Jackson Heights, NY 11370

Dear Jolly,

We have returned from a wonderful vacation in Costa Rica! And we would like to thank you very much for your help in making arrangements that worked out perfectly!

The tour that you set up through Eco-Adventure International and Turismo Expertos De Costa Rica went off without a hitch. Costa Rica is a beautiful country and we found the people very friendly. We would certainly recommend a vacation in Costa Rica.

I should tell you that everyone we met was very helpful—from the man who helped us off the plane and through customs right through to the one who guided us through the airport papers necessary to leave Costa Rica.

The weather was great: It was generally around 80° F (a welcome change from the below-zero temperatures we left in Canton, New York), but usually with a light breeze (especially at night— bring a windbreaker!) so it never felt too hot.

Getting Around

When we arrived, Jorge Mora (our driver/guide) was at the airport to meet us with the van that was our transportation. This van definitely would not have worked for someone who needed a power lift, but it worked fine for us with Jorge’s help. The seat was about the height of one in a minivan here in the States, but Herb could manage the transfer with just a bit of help.

It was definitely a good idea to have a car and driver rather than to rent a car. In the city, the people drive like maniacs! And in the country, the roads are quite rough—lots of potholes and winding, narrow roads. Neither city nor country areas had any street signs to speak of, so without a driver, we would have been lost most of the time.

We stayed at the Marriott Courtyard, which worked out very well. The handicapped room we had was very comfortable (it did not have a roll-in shower, but we hadn’t expected one, and the rest of the bathroom was accessible), and the staff there was very helpful. All the people at the desk and restaurant spoke English and were very accommodating to our needs. This hotel is not a “resort” and is geared mostly to the business traveler, so there was not much entertainment going on. Since we wanted to see the country rather than lounge around, this worked out very well for us.

Of interest to your clients who are veterans: the Marriott Courtyard gives a special rate to retired military with an ID (which all 100% service- connected disabled vets have), so our room was $84 per night. (The newer Marriott, which is styled as a resort, is much more expensive.)

Sight Seeing

Arenal Volcano. The drive there was very interesting. We stopped at a coffee plantation and learned from our driver how coffee grows, is harvested, and processed. Saw a local with an ox cart pulling the famous “Sarchi” carts. Stopped at a waterfall, and had local strawberries.

After lunch went on to Arenal volcano. We would not call this the high point of the trip; the volcano itself is often hidden by clouds, as it was this day. We could hear the rumble at intervals and the sound of falling rocks. It might be better in early morning. Many people stay overnight in the nearby town hoping it will be clear enough to see the lava flow from the volcano at night.

Inbiopark. Very interesting. We had a group tour with a student guide who gave lots of information about how Costa Rica is working to preserve the environment. Our driver helped push the wheelchair and added more information. Saw lots of animals (iguanas, turtles, sloths, caimans, tarantulas, snakes), birds (toucans, bobos), and butterflies (morfos were prettiest, but owl butterflies were the most unusual), as well as many beautiful flowers (everywhere we went the flowers were beautiful), to name a few.

An aerial tram takes you through the rain forest without leaving any ‘carbon footprints.’ A naturalist goes in each tram to explain about the animals, trees, and plants in the rain forest. He was very well informed, and gave a great talk. The tram was easy for Herb to use—similar to transferring into a car––and it was completely stopped while he transferred. After the tram, there are accessible trails to explore.

La Quinta. More than a restaurant and motel, La Quinta has trails along beautiful gardens, a butterfly house, and a pond. A “typical” Costa Rican meal always had beans and rice, and any beef, chicken, or shrimp you might want. Sea bass was also very popular and very good. In general, the food was different enough from home to be fun, but not too spicy. (We were careful to drink bottled water or other bottled drinks and to avoid ice, but it probably wasn’t necessary. Most places we went were very clean. We had no episodes of ‘Montezuma’s Revenge,’ although we brought ImodiumTM with us just in case.)

La Selva. At this biological institute, we were taken on a private, guided tour of the forest. Have you ever seen “walking” pine trees or “strangling” figs?

Jaco Beach. We enjoyed this very much, probably, in part, due to the local people we met. We saw beautiful views on our drive through the mountains. We had lunch adjacent to the beach. Some people told us that the beaches further south were nicer. If you have clients who want to spend time in Costa Rica just relaxing on the beach, they might want to think about Puntarenas or across the bay at Playa Tambor. It also might be fun to take a boat tour of this area. We were still there at night, and the night sky was beautiful—so many, many stars. And it was fun seeing them from a perspective near the equator.

San Jose City. National Theater and museums are interesting but, to be honest, we enjoyed seeing the countryside much more. Cities are cities, and don’t seem much different from cities at home.

Irazú Volcano. This was the best day. The trip to the volcano led up winding roads to 10,000 feet above sea level. We traveled past lush farms of just about any kind of crop you could imagine. Sometimes they were being worked with big 4wheel drive tractors, and sometimes with horse drawn plows and many workers picking crops by hand. It was a beautiful drive, literally up through the clouds. When we got to the top, it was like being on a plane; you could look down at the clouds, but it was clear where we were (although quite windy).

On the way back to San Jose, we saw the Basilica at Cartago (a beautiful cathedral, well worth the stop), and toured Lancaster Gardens (lovely, especially the orchids, but a bit repetitive with some of the other places we’d been). The views as we traveled along the mountainside were great, and our guide had lots of stories and interesting history to tell us.

All in all, it was a great trip and we found Costa Rica and Costa Ricans (who call themselves Ticos) very hospitable. We did not encounter any really big problems traveling with a wheelchair. If any paralyzed vets ask you if they might enjoy Costa Rica, tell them “Go for it!”

Sincerely,
Agnes and Herb Bullock
Canton, New York