Costa Rica

Leaving Barranco, Lima to head to the airport gave us a few extra heartbeats. There was a lot of traffic, and we went to a wrong address before finding our way to the airport. I was horrified because I thought it was a major hub and the security lines must be horrendous — but luckily it was a smooth cruise once we finally got there.

The flight to San José, Costa Rica took about 4 hours and there was no drama. Sometimes when there's turbulence, our son actually gets excited for the “homppupomppu” — like Tigger in Winnie the Pooh. I, on the other hand, tend to grab Matias by the leg and squeeze tight 😅

Once we got off the plane, I noticed that this time the junior was missing his cap, and we had to wait a few minutes to get it. This meant we were the last in line for immigration. And the line was a loooong one :/ There were also no restrooms anywhere along the corridor, which made the waiting even more uncomfortable.

I suggested the junior run around a bit to burn off steam — and also kind of hoped he’d be noticed by airport staff. Luckily someone did notice all the little kids in the line, and soon enough we got moved to the kids’ priority line. A very smooth and easy way into the country, luckily.

We had booked two nights in San José, and the idea was to explore one full day, visit travel agencies and book transfers to the destinations we had chosen. (We also pondered renting a car, but then weighed how much we actually wanted to drive around…)

We found two agencies that actually had offices, just like the good old days — but sadly, no nostalgia here. We were knocking on the doors but there wasn’t anyone there to welcome us. Matias WhatsApped one or two places, but the prices were high and the shared transfers weren’t leaving at a reasonable time.

So we turned to our hotel receptionist — Joseph, or something — and he was a gem. He really helped us out and asked around. He went above and beyond and finally got us a driver named Marlon from Costa Rica Transfer.

But before our road trip began, we did visit the city. I felt a little bit uneasy walking through some less crowded areas before reaching the city centre, but all was good — and once again we got our daily steps in.

We wandered around, visited the San José Central Market and bought some souvenirs, and enjoyed the vibrant music and colours of the street. 

San José Central Market vibes

After awhile we wanted to have a break and sit for a bit. I had searched beforehand and found a great coffee place in the centre — and Matias did not need much persuasion with this one. The place is called La Mancha Coffee Shop, and I had read they have coffee tasting sets so you can choose three different local beans and styles.

There were two sets of three to choose from, and we actually didn’t get the one we wanted, which was a bummer because the reviews kept saying how great the Henry blend is. But luckily they made our own Henry-style tasting for us to try. It was interesting — almost like iced tea in coffee form. Not bad at all!

Coffee, coffee, coffee!!

After that there was more walking and wandering ahead. We almost ordered an Uber, but we had a deal with the kid: 10 minutes of YouTube/TV screen time per 1 km walked, so after a discussion we got the steps in again. This tactic really helped us along the way :)

Road trip: San José to Manuel Antonio

After a meaty breakfast with gallo pinto, we were ready to get the road trip going. We were greeted by our driver Marlon in the lobby, and we were pleasantly surprised when we saw the ride: we had a spacious van all to ourselves! We hopped in the van and started our way to the southern side of the country. Marlon spoke some English and we spoke some Spanish, so this was a great trip for both of us to practice and learn some more.

The wheels are here

The drive was smooth and we enjoyed the scenery and Marlon’s insider stories about his country.

We stopped to eat some empanadas and to see a big, chunky crocodile at Puente Tárcoles. The journey took several hours and the roads can be scary — one lane in many places, and unfortunately a lot of people die on the roads. But Marlon was a great driver and we didn’t need to worry. We also stopped shortly for groceries and saw some toucans nearby on the tree.

When we arrived at our hotel, Villas de la Selva, it was around sunset and wow — what a view we had! It was astonishing. Our balcony had a hammock and it was so lovely to bask in the sun and really enjoy the beauty this country (and this world) can offer. We were told that near our balcony there was a “monkey highway”. So cool! This was the first real indication that we were properly in nature now.

Manuel Antonio stunning balcony views

We stayed in Manuel Antonio for 4 nights. The first full day was more for exploring: seeing the nearby beach and enjoying the warm water. And we did see monkeys — smaller ones jumping from branch to branch, heard howler monkeys roar, and also saw a couple of the bigger ones too.

But the closest we got to them was when they entered our balcony! We had a staring competition with them, and after losing that game one monkey… well… sh*tted on our balcony. Thanks, mate... After that we made sure not to leave the door open.

White-faced capuchin monkeys were our regular visitors

The main reason to come here was Manuel Antonio National Park. We hoped to see wildlife (sloths in particular), waterfalls, and enjoy the beautiful beaches.

When we visited the national park it was a hot day and we decided to first walk 1.3 km to the entrance of the park and then start the journey inside. Many people had guides to help spot wildlife, but we opted to save the money — Costa Rica was turning out to be quite an expensive country. But whenever crowds stopped, we sometimes stopped too and listened to their explanations. One nice guide even took my phone and made a video of a sloth to show our son, because it was quite difficult to see anything clearly.

We did see a tiny waterfall too — but after Iguazú, what’s the point anymore, right? Still, we appreciated it, and the step count (and junior's YouTube timer) kept climbing. On the way we saw a deer, some bright red legged crabs on the ground, monkeys, birds etc.

Inside the park there was a cafeteria so we could refuel before heading to the beach. There were two sides of the beach: the first (Playa Manuel Antonio) was crowded and a little dirty (maybe just leaves, but anyway), so we decided to walk just a tiny bit more — and that paid off. The other beach (Playa Espadilla Sur) was less crowded and very beautiful.

Playa Manuel Antonio inside the national park

Our son loved the ocean and built sandcastles, and I swam, floated and enjoyed the water and the view of the beach from the sea. I really tried to take “mental pictures” to return to later. I loved it there.

Then it was time to head back out of the park. We knew we still had a fairly long walk ahead if we headed back up the hill towards the restaurant cluster near our hotel, so we were happy to spot a nice-looking place by the beach not far from the park. Matias had been dreaming of eating lobster somewhere, and Restaurante Marlin turned out to be the perfect beach side stop. The food was excellent and the atmosphere was spot on.

Yummy seafood

Then more walking up the hill and we were back at our hotel, enjoying that beautiful view once again.

Road trip to La Fortuna

We had been weighing different options for getting to La Fortuna, but our first drive with Marlon had gone so smoothly that the choice started to feel obvious. We messaged back and forth and ended up booking him not only for the ride from Manuel Antonio to La Fortuna, but also for the later transfer back to San José where we had our flight out.

So the next morning Marlon picked us up again, and as always, the drive wasn’t just “getting from A to B” — it came with spontaneous stops and little surprises along the way.

We pulled over at random viewpoints just because the scenery demanded it. At one stop Marlon casually turned the whole break into a mini jungle mission.

He disappeared down a little path and into the bushes like he was on a secret assignment, moving around for a while as if he knew exactly what he was looking for. We stood there half amused, half curious, watching him rummage through the greenery.

And then he reappeared holding a tiny, exotic red frog in his hands.

Even better: the junior bravely held it too, and we got some great photos before the little guy was safely returned back to the jungle.

The roads climbed and twisted through the mountains, and the landscape kept changing. At some point we stopped for a tasty lunch at a buffet-style place that also had a butterfly house and some bigger animals on the backyard. 

Little stops like that made the long drive feel easy. Instead of just counting kilometres, we kept collecting small moments, and suddenly five hours on the road didn’t feel like a big deal at all and soon we found ourselves in La Fortuna.

La Fortuna itself felt like a classic Costa Rica postcard: warm air, lush surroundings, and the famous Arenal volcano watching over everything in the background. Once again it was around sunset when we arrived, so the timing was spot on and almost immediately after getting in to our Airbnb apartment we left to check out the neighborhood.

The Arenal volcano seen from La Fortuna

The apartment itself was interesting too. Every now and then we’d hear faint rustling behind the walls because, as it turned out, there were bats living in there. From what we understood, bats are protected wildlife here, so the “just poison them and be done with it” option wasn't an option for the owner. On top of that, the upstairs air conditioner kept acting up. A repair guy even came by once, but the Spanish conversation was short and efficient and the AC still shut down again after a while. At least we learned where the fuse box was located and which fuse we needed to reset to make the AC work for another 30-60  minutes at a time.. All in all, a very authentic stay, for better or worse.

There were tour guide stands all over the town. We chatted with one guide just next to our apartment and booked a sloth spotting tour (Tour Mundo de Perezosos, we highly recommend) for the next day and a chocolate & coffee tour (Don Olivo Chocolate tour. Also nice, but the kid got bored there) for the day after that. In hindsight the commission was a bit much considering the sloth tour was a short walking distance away. If you're around, just check Google Maps and go straight to the place or check their website to book.

The next morning after breakfast, we walked to the sloth tour place. Besides us there was an American couple and a guide. The first stop of the tour was just around the corner. There were some sloths in the trees, and the guide set up a telescope so we could get a better look — the sloths were high up. He explained that sloths usually stay up in the canopy and only come down to ground level about once a week. Even though they were far away, we got a surprisingly good look through the scope.

After a while we took a small path leading into the rainforest. We saw a long trail of ants, big birds, hummingbirds, termites (did you know some species smell and taste like peppermint? We do now…), and all kinds of plants and trees.

The tour ended at the same place where it started. It was a little disappointing that the sloths were all so far away, so after the tour we decided to take one last peek around the corner where they’d been in the trees. On the way, the junior called out excitedly. Matias turned, half expecting he’d found a nice rock or something similar — but to our very big surprise, there was a sloth right in front of us on the ground, slowly making its way towards the trees!

I ran back to the tour office to tell the others, and soon the guides and the American couple came with us to see this rare sight. We stood there for a good while and the sloth seemed unfazed by the little crowd watching it and taking pictures.

Perezoso

Next day we did the chocolate tour. There we got to sample different fruits covered in chocolate, homebrew rum, coffee and chocolate and learned about the process of chocolate making. The junior was not so interested though, I bet he would have enjoyed running in some playground more. He did like the chocolate though.. After the tour we just lingered around the town a bit, and got ready for the car ride next day.

In the morning when it was time to move on, Marlon picked us up once again and we started heading towards Alajuela. And yes, more stops again. A stunning waterfall, views all the way back towards San José, and a moment where Marlon got his well-deserved thanks for being such a great driver and guide.

Marlon & Matias

In Alajuela we still had the evening to explore after checking in at the hotel. We found a nice, affordable restaurant, a good playground nearby, and a generally easy, friendly atmosphere — it was a good place to slow down for a moment before the next chapter.

-Sini & Mateo

Crossing the border to Langkawi

It was a beautiful, hot Tuesday when we packed our bags and headed to the beach.. though today was not the day to just lay there. No, it was time to go to the immigration so we could say our goodbyes to Thailand and hello to Malaysia.

We had booked our ferry tickets the day before from the company called Bu-ngha and paid 750 tbh each. We had read that bookings should happen at least the day before and before 6 pm. So with the tickets we went to check in, handed our passports and sat by the immigration to wait for them to call us by our names. After some time the moment came and we went to get our stamps and noticed that we didn't get our passports back just yet.. scary, but we figured (hoped) that we'll get them back on the ferry. Then after some more waiting we got to hop on a longtail boat and got a lift to the ferry. Koh Lipe does not have a pier so wear a pair of flip-flops and shorter pants so you won't get too wet when entering or leaving the island ☺️.

The trip to Langkawi took about 1,5 hours and the Malay immigration was quick and easy. Before we noticed we were sitting in a taxi, the local driver was speaking some Finnish to us and again we saw some monkeys on the street :) We stayed in Pondok Keladi Guest House. The lovely and funny host Dee lives also on the property with his partner and they were always ready to help. I was expecting some formal check in but no! Dee was so laidback and was immediately ready to show us around the property and also the nearby areas with his car. And there were even complimentary water and beer waiting for us in the fridge.. what a wonderful welcome :) The place is located approximately 1-1,5km from the beachfront and from the shops and restaurants. Dee had also rental scooters available (30 MYR per day) so it was easy to walk or drive to the busier area. After settling in we headed to search for the ATM and food. We found this small chain restaurant, I don't think you've heard of them.. umm it's called McDonald's 😁 Our food was mad cheap! I took a triple cheeseburger meal and it was 3€ (15.5 MYR). Whoa! I also learned quickly that Langkawi is like Åland for the Finn's.. tax free. So cheap beer, tobacco and parfume are available. The chocolate is also tax free and we did find this magical place which advertised to have chocolate from all over the world! Omg I got emotional just from the thought of chocolate and even more so when I thought that I might find some Finnish Fazerin sinistä (Fazer Blue (?)) from the shop.. I know myself and I am sure that I would have started weeping if I have found the best chocolate there is from there.. But this time I was out of luck unfortunately :( But! I do have one bar of Fazer Blue with me but I am saving it for 6th of December because it's a big day for Finland, celebrating 100 years of independence ❤️

Pondok Keladi

Fear factor

We were chilling in the common area of the guesthouse on our first day at Langkawi when we noticed monkeys like 10 meters from us.. they were climbing on trees and getting closer to us.. luckily Dee's dogs scare them away. Then when I went back in to our room, noticed some droppings on the bedside table.. quick Google search taught me that it could be gecko feces and it could get us ill. Gecko droppings contains salmonella and when inhaled.. well you get salmonella also. I was horrified. Then, just when we were heading out to eat, the thunder started booming.. and like that wasn't enough the toilet stopped flushing! "Omg!!!"

I guess it's good to clarify that I  am scared of monkeys, bugs, getting ill, bacteria and for example.. thunder. I like safety and cleanliness.. This night it felt like many of my fears were coming true and I was way out of my comfort zone, again! I was panicking. Luckily I am fortunate enough to have an amazing boyfriend who understands me and Matias said we could have dinner at the guesthouse (guesthouse has a shared kitchen and offers toast, eggs, noodles and coffee for free) and just chill at our room (our gecko poo room 😂). I got the immidiate fear out of my system and started soon to make jokes already about the dirty monkeys and the evening went nicely. We ended up to stay in this place for three nights because,  i dont know, it still felt like a good and safe place to stay.

Cruising around Langkawi

The second day we rented a scooter and went to the cable car which was around 17km away from Pondok Kelodi and Cenang beach. When we got to the cable car park, we saw that this was actually a big touristic place with different kinds of tax-free shops and fun things to do. We bought  the basic package which included the cable car ride and entrance to SkyDome, SkyRex and 3D arts museum. It cost us 55 MYR (11€) per person. The cable car ride was actually scary! Scarier than the one in Barcelona! If I understood correctly, the Langkawi one is the steepest in the world and it sure felt like it! :) A good experience! After getting back to the ground level we headed to the SkyDome where we watched some short films. It was ok but nothing spectacular. After that we went to the SkyRex which had a cart that fits around 30 passengers. We got 3D glasses and sat down with some scared Malay girls :D The cart rolled to an area with 180 degrees screens and some kind of platform that allowed the cart to move and all of a suddent we were a part of Jurassic Park type of a ride where the Tyrannosaurus tried to eat us! Fun ride and it definitely exceeded my expectations :) The 3D arts museum was cool too. A big place filled with 3D art that you could photograph yourself with. Here's some examples:

Later that night we ended up in a Korean restaurant called Haroo. It was top rated on TripAdvisor. The atmosphere was nice and the lady who was waitering us was absolutely wonderful! We ordered kimchi and she was in awe like "how do YOU Europeans know kimchi and how do you dare to order it?" It was out of ordinary I guess! She was happy that we knew their traditional dish and that we ordered and ate it :) We highly recommend this restaurant :) (I must add that it was thundering again but I found some courage somewhere and hopped on the scooter still.. a personal win for me :))

Our purpose was to stay in Langkawi for two nights and take a ferry to Penang but Dee said that we should think about the flying possibility also. So we checked the prices and found a very cheap Air Asia flight so that's what we booked. We paid 266 MYR with the value package (including 20kg luggage and a meal). We could have gotten it a little cheaper without the package and with 15kg luggage allowance but we hadn't tested how much our backpacks weight before buying the tickets.

On the third day on the island we hopped on the scooter again and went to Kuah to see the famous eagle statue and then back to Cenang beach to walk and wander around. We were surprised how many jellyfish we saw there! We didn't see any in Thailand so that was strange. After some wandering around we were heading back to the main street from the beach. I tried so hard to watch my step but then.. it happened. I stepped on to something sharp and started bleeding a lot from my heel. An old Malay man came to say that I have to push the blood out first rather than stop the bleeding. He was sure it was a rusty nail that I had stepped on to.. I figured it was a rock or a piece of sharp plastic.. either way I was not happy. Shit! (Ja paljon muita kirosanoja..) The man also said that I needed "a shot" and he wasn't taking about tequila alright.. but I had my latest tetanus shot on September so I was confused should I go see a doc or not. We went back to the guesthouse and I started my Google search.. Dee called his medical friend and he said that because my tetanus is ok, I don't need to worry.. well.. I worried. Again thanks to Whatsapp, I asked help from home and got the "ok" from there also and was able to breathe again. Just some Dettol cleaning liquid there and some bandaid and I was good to go. On Friday I felt that it really was time to get out of this island and see what else Malaysia has to offer. Off to Penang we went! Hopefully we (I)  have less scarier times ahead..

- Sini

Langkawi riders

The eagle 

Our route so far

Phi Phi Islands and Koh Lanta - Kayaks and frisbees

On Monday the 13th it was time to set sails and head to the Phi Phi Islands. Our ride picked us up early in the morning and took us to the pier in Phuket town to wait for the ferry. Last time we were in Thailand we mostly traveled on the decks out with the sun but this time it felt nicer to chill inside and watch a movie. The boat ride took approximately 2 hours. Fortunately the movie ended before we got to Phi Phi so we went outside and had our first proper view of the archipelago of the Andaman sea. Wow!

Phi Phi Don closing in

After hitting the shore we paid the island fee (20tbh) and started to navigate towards our hotel.
I have been on a small island before (Koh Tao.. what a paradise 😍), but still the place amazed me.
I mean the narrow streets filled with shops and how there were no tuk tuks or taxis or anything like that (Ok the police had a scooter but other than that..). It was like a walking street all the way. Cool!

We left our stuff at the hotel and headed to the beach. As we got closer to it the more in awe I was. It's so beautiful! I mean Bangkok and Phuket are cool, but this is what I consider a piece of paradise and sights like this is what I seek.

Loh Dalum beach

Later on that day we rented a kayak from the beach. Matias googled that the price should be 200tbh per hour (two person), but the salesman said 300tbh/1h and 500tbh/2h. We did some bargaining and got the kayak for 400tbh/2h.

I got the front seat and off we went! I have kayaked only once before in the canals of Leiden (The Netherlands) so I was a little scared when we got closer to the open, more unsteady waters. There might have been a scream or two.. 🙈😁 The sun was getting low so first we headed to the Monkey Beach where we once again saw monkeys. This time I stayed far away because no monkey shall ever try to steal from me again! :D Matias on the other hand felt right at ease with his hairier mates ;) after awhile we kayaked a bit more to see the sunset. Ai ai ai.. I highly recommend kayaking, it's good exercise and you see and experience a lot. Big thumbs up!

Paddling

In the evening we were walking around and doing some cat spotting (there are so many cute cats on the island!) as we found out there was a fireshow in a bar called Carlito's. Off we went and it was not a disappointing experience! Guys were dancing to the music and spinning their fireball sticks with mad skills. It seems to be a quite popular umm sports (?) here in Thailand. I am beginning to wonder if they teach that also in schools and how could I learn the skills also. I mean a fireshow in Turku, on Christmas 2018, held by me. Could be a thing right? :) (don't hold me accountable for this, written under the influence of Sang Som) 

Carlito's fire show

We ended up staying two nights in Phi Phi, but the second day was just for laundry, chilling, reading and eating :)

On Wednesday we headed our ways to Koh Lanta. The trip took about one hour from Phi Phi.
We planned to carry on with our trip the next day so we stayed close to the pier in Saladan.
As we walked to our hotel, Matias noticed that the tide was low and there was a lot of open area just for us.. and what was the idea he got into his head? Well of course to practise some Frisbeegolf (disc golf)! :D this guy! Matias has taken few frisbees with him because you never know when moments and opportunities like this arise 😅
We watched the crabs on the beach for a bit and then started to throw the damn frisbees :D it was awesome! Barefoot, on the sand, the sun was shining and the temperature was reaching +30 degrees. And also it was wonderful to notice that my forehand has gotten some power (I mean, do not get me wrong.. not like Paul McBeth but! I may start to use my forehand next summer on the courses too 😋)

Practice time!

Doing some maintenance

Later on that evening we went out to eat and Matias had locked eyes with some mantis shrimps. They looked creepy but he wanted to try one of them (they actually do freak me out a little bit :D editor's note from Matias) . It cost 1000tbh/kg and Matias picked his dinner (one mantis shrimp) from the aquarium and sat down to wait. Later the thingy arrived with some deep-fried garlic. The shrimp looked weird but it actually tasted really nice. Matias said it was the softest shellfish meat he had ever gotten :) I also tried it and it was yummy. So thumbs up for the mantis shrimp then! :)

- Sini

Freaky things

A yummy thing 

Our route so far

Scootering around Phuket

One week ago we decided to leave Bangkok finally behind and continue our journey to Phuket. We searched for the flights one day before flying (I use Skyscanner almost always) and got the tickets with Thai Airways for a reasonably good price. We also booked a hotel near the Phuket airport because the most popular beaches are still a long way from there and our flight landed after 9 pm.

In the hotel we searched for what would be the best place to stay in Phuket and decided to go with Kata Beach first. Patong is the most touristy one with all kinds of attractions (particularly for single men...), Karon is a bit smaller and Kata's the most quiet one. When we got to Kata next day we stayed at Little Mermaid Guesthouse & Restaurant. It was budget friendly but we had to change rooms because of a bad smell in the bathroom and some little bugs all around the room. Also it was located a little further away from the beach. No thumbs up.

Kata Beach in Phuket 

When it rains, it pours

Our next hotel, Pro Andaman Place, was in Karon and it was a way better place to stay. It had an excellent location near the beach and some good restaurants (nice live music at Two Chefs, good Thai dishes in Schlusslicht and Ying to name a few), and the two always smiling aunties who run the place made us feel very welcome. Only downside was the noise coming from the street outside but other than that it was a bargain being a thousand baht per night. There was also a temple within walking distance, Wat Suwan Khiri Khet, that we paid a visit on the second day in Karon. Later that night they held also a night market there in the temple grounds. You can find some good deals there, we bought some clothes and a couple of sunglasses 100 baht per piece.

Wat Suwan Khiri Khet

The best way to see around in Phuket and many other places is definitely renting a scooter. It's cheap, it's fun, and you easily bump into places you would never otherwise see. 24 hours rental cost us 200 baht (~5€) plus gasoline. Considering that the local Tuk Tuk drivers charge 300 baht just to go from Karon to Patong, it's a no-brainer. We drove to Patong Beach and had some lunch in Nicky's Handlebar (good memories there, cheers Darab if you're reading this!) and then continued towards north until we noticed some food stalls and people gathered around so we pulled over. The sun was getting low and it turned out to be a wonderful place to check out the sunset. Around Patong Beach the traffic can get somewhat crazy so remember to stay alert at all times if you decide to drive there.

Cheesy deliciousness at Nicky's

Kalim Beach sunset

We had rented the scooter around 4pm, so we still had plenty of time to use it on the next day. After a late breakfast we turned on the ignition, fired up the engine and rode our 125cc beast to Phuket's Big Buddha, which was about 16 km away from our hotel. The views were nice, the buddha statue was big standing 45 meters high, and the monkeys near one of the viewpoints were trying to steal everything they could including our water. We won that battle, at least this time.

The Big Buddha

A monkey and the view

A cup of joe on our way back

Our route so far