Day 19, Macaw Lodge in Carara National Park

Just two more nights before heading back to Germany.

When booking, I remember wanting to go to a water national park. But I was advised against it because the distance to the airport is about 6 hours, and it would be tight to catch the flight.

So we went to Macaw Lodge in Carara National Park.

Scarlett Macaw is the name of the parrot species Scarlet Macaw.

At first, the road followed the Pacific coast, a very well and comfortable route that was often expanded to three lanes for passing slow trucks. Eventually, we turned right into the mountains. Slowly, we realized that the hotel is located in the middle of a rainforest. Solitary, probably far away from civilization again....

I have to say, I only complained and grumbled during the drive. Lonely in another hotel in a rainforest... I did mention wanting to get to know the country and its people during the trip planning. I guess people were overlooked.

Our idea of vacation also includes eating in small sodas, watching people, taking a walk on the beach or in a town....

But there's nothing we can do... just before we arrive at the lodge, another jeep drives in front of us... it was the receptionist.... on the way to the hotel.... the only guests, welcoming us. Ugh

The lodge was very eco-friendly. Power is generated from solar energy. The main house is open on all sides, there is a nice restaurant, and a small library. From here, you can see a small lake and observe various birds.

The name lives up to the hotel, you can hear and see macaws flying everywhere. Unfortunately, not close enough for me to capture any on camera, but they fly in larger groups over the property.

After checking in, we went to our little cottage, about 150m through the beautifully landscaped grounds. The small rooms in the form of cottages are nicely furnished, but besides a fan, they have no additional comforts. Since the power is also supplied through solar energy here, we have 5 LED lamps in the room that provide so much light that you don't bump into anything at night.

The paths to the main house are not lit, so you have to go to dinner here armed with a flashlight.

We explored the area... there is a beautiful waterfall here and it started raining around half past two, so we sat in the lobby for the rest of the day, had a coffee, and I logged my last days in this travel blog.

Only here in the main house can you charge electronic devices and only here do we have Wi-Fi. 😑 Boring....

At 7:00 PM there's dinner.. it wasn't great, and you pay $4 for a small beer!

Once again, in bed at half past 8 and up at half past six.

At breakfast, we met a second guest. A solo female traveler from Germany. She arrived around half past 9 in the evening, but there was no one at the lodge anymore. Lonely, like I said....

We got into conversation and it was refreshing to talk to someone else.

At around half past 9, we headed to Jaco Beach. That means 45 minutes down the mountain to the sea. The beach is black here, and it was also clear here that we are in the low season.

First, we walked along the beach, where we treated ourselves to a coffee. Then we walked along the promenade and bought some souvenirs for our loved ones back home.

After a small meal and an ice cream, we headed back to our solitude around five. The food was not excellent.

We invited our German travel acquaintance to our table because we needed some entertainment. The staff was also not there after 8:30 PM, and we talked about everything until about half past 9.

After breakfast, we headed towards San Jose.