Costa Rica 2016 After Action
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Costa Rica After Action Report 21 to 31 March 2016 1 Table of Contents Purpose of Travel ......................................................................................................... 3 Overview of Travel ....................................................................................................... 3 Trip Review .................................................................................................................. 3 San Jose ....................................................................................................................... 5 Airport ............................................................................................................................................................................ 5 Adobe Rental Car Information ............................................................................................................................. 5 Hotel ................................................................................................................................................................................ 6 Fuel Locations ............................................................................................. 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Gandoca-Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge ............................................................. 7 Braulio Carillo National Park ........................................................................................ 9 Arenal ........................................................................................................................ 10 Santa Rosa National Park / Junquillal Bay .................................................................. 10 Tamarindo ................................................................................................................. 11 Nosara ....................................................................................................................... 11 Quepos / Manuel Antonio Park .................................................................................. 11 Carate ........................................................................................................................ 12 Directions ................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Coordinating Instructions ........................................................................................... 14 Packing List ............................................................................................................................................................... 14 Expenses ..................................................................................................................................................................... 15 SJO Airport Layout .................................................................................................................................................. 16 2 Purpose of Travel Purpose of travel to Costa Rica was to conduct a country familiarization to determine future living suitability. Movement throughout the country was by vehicle and lodging consisted primarily of camping. Overview of Travel Familiarization of the country was conducted in eight days with visits to key regions throughout the country as depicted in Fig 1. Junquillal Bay Arenal Tamarindo Braulio Limon Nosara Quepos Carate Fig. 1 Trip Overview D+1, 21 March 2016. Travel Day - Traveled from San Jose, CA to San Jose, Costa Rica -- 7am plan departure from CA with a ~7pm arrival in San Jose with layovers in LA and PHX. - Multiple delays by American Airlines at LA and PHX prevented me from arriving on the 21st. Finally arrived at 11am in Costa Rica on 22 March. - Decided to remain and explore San Jose on the 22d 3 D+2, 22 March 2016. San Jose - Arrived in San Jose ~ 11am - No issues with immigrations and customs - Took cab to Hilton Garden; $25 taxi charge (not bad price) - Explored San Jose D+3, 23 March 2016. Limon, Puerto Viejo, Manzilla - San José to the East coast. Traveled along the southern half of the Caribbean from Limón to Puerto Viéjo to Manzilla and pitched tent on a desolate parcel of beach about 40km N of PV D+4, 24 March 2016. Arenal, El Castillo, Essence of Arenal - Early morning wakeup, collapsed site, and spent a few hours on the road heading West to the central volcanic highlands near La Fortuna with Arenal Volcano in my sights. Out of nowhere, came across a divine organic farm yoga retreat, Essence of Arenal,” a shy distance from El Castilló-Arenal where I pitched tent for the evening. D+5, 25 March 2016. Arenal, Liberia, Santa Rosa Nacional Park - Departed Essence of Arenal and started the day by summiting El Chato Volcano which is an inactive volcano neighboring the still very active Arenal. - Traveled to the West Coast and setup camp for the night in Santa Rosa Nacional Parque. Ventured up to the coastal town of Jobó to recce populace and surf. D+6, 26 March 2016. Tamarindo, Playa Grande, Playa Negra, Nosara, Playa Garza - From Santa Rosa Nacional Parque, continued south along the coast visiting and getting acquainted with the local "hot spots." - Spent the night on Playa Garza which is situated near a small cove D+7, 27 March 2016. Playa Jaco, Playa Hermosa, Quepos, Playa Manuel Antonio - Woke to a beautiful sunrise and a squad of hungry spider monkeys seeking friendship but all I could offer was some downward facing dog. - Continued movement south surveying coastal towns - Pitched tent on a grassy knoll overlooking the beach right outside of Manuel Antonio Nacional Park. D+8, 28 March 2016. Dominical, De Osa Península (Corvacado Nacional Parque, Puerto Jiminez, Golifito) - Spent the day venturing south to the Osa Peninsula which is the wettest of all regions in CR. Visited Puerto Jiminez and Golifito which are crucial shipping ports for CR. - Determined to travel back north and remain the next couple days in Domanical, my favorite Pura Vida location so far next to Arenal Essence. D+9, 29 March 2016. Dominical, Ventaña - Spent the day in search of a jungle hideout and experiencing my favorite location in CR - Playa Dominical - Surf, sand, sunset - Harbored up on Playa Ventaña for the night. Near dangerous encounter with a couple crocs that were resting on a river bank when I went to conduct evening hygiene. Broke camp early due to unexpected torrential downpour and concern of flooding that would 4 severely impede movement back to hardball and botch exfil time. - Be cautious around riverbanks - Avoid pitching tent beneath coconut trees D+10, 30 March 2016. Dominical, San Jose - Found a pullup bar and dip station on a secluded parcel of beach which seemed totally out of place to me.... hmmm. The concrete/gravel posting, welding style, threading, design style, and gauge of steel piping suggested construction by gringo with potential military background. Someone's training site perhaps??? - Wrapped-up the day exploring San José, conducting much required hygiene, and cleaning gear/equipment - Remained in San Jose for the evening D+11, 31 March 2016. Travel - Get to the airport early!! - Flight departure set at 6:40am and I arrived at 4:30. American Airlines counter service is AWFUL! No online check-in allowed so you have to check-in at counter. Spent an hour and half in check-in line due to one representative working the desk - There is an exit tax of $29.00 from Costa Rica so be prepared to have to pay this at a separate counter. This fee is sometimes already included with your airfare with some airlines (United, American Airlines), so check your airfare so you’re not waiting in this line to pay your exit tax. - No issues with security San Jose Airport Website: http://goo.gl/zPbDyk Adobe Rental Car Information I went with a small compact car that worked just fine for me. There is an Adobe rental office near the airport. Seeing that I was going to be spending the night in San Jose, I opted to rent from an office within walking distance from the hotel I was staying at for ease of return prior to returning. Car Planning and Selection Considerations - Unless you plan on going off-road, there is no need for a 4x4, at least during the dry season - I went with a compact car; I recommend a standard type car with a trunk. Majority of compact cars have only storage space behind the rear seat where your belongings are still visible to passerby’s increasing theft rate. - Though rental cars are cheap, you will pay heavy for insurance. Better to err on the side of caution and pay the extra for the comprehensive and liability insurance the agencies offer. Office Address: Calle 34, San Jose, Costa Rica Tele: +506.2542.4800 5 Hours: 0730-1800 Adobe Hotel Hilton Garden Inn 6 Airport Hotel Adobe Gandoca-Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge The 9,446-hectare Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Gandoca-Manzanillo (Gandoca- Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge) protects a beautiful brown-sand, palm-fringed nine- kilometer (5.5-mile) crescent-shaped beach where four species of turtles—most abundantly, leatherbacks—come ashore to lay their eggs (Jan.-Apr. is best). Some 4,436 hectares (10,962 acres) of the park extend out to sea. The ocean has riptides and is not safe for swimming. The reserve—which is 65 percent tropical rainforest—also protects rare swamp habitats, including the only mangrove forest on Costa Rica’s Caribbean shores, two jolillo palm swamps, a 300-hectare (740-acre) cativo forest, and a live coral reef. The freshwater