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Ana;

As you probably already know our visit to Costa Rica went as planned.
You did a very fine job of making sure our itinerary was organized to perfection. Thank you very much! We never took a digital camera along but when Fran gets the photos developed I'll do my best to pick a picture or two for your guest book. Thank you very much for the complimentary breakfast @ our last stop. You were right, they have a fine restaurant. With out hesitation we will recommend yourself and Rainforest Tours to anyone who asks. We were very fortunate to see and do all we had planned and more during our stay. I will write more about our highlights at a later date if you so desire. Make sure to say Hello to Francisco and Randall for us. They both were both very professional and enjoyable drivers during our ground transfers.

Take care of your young family;

Ana:

I just want to thank you for all your help in planning my birthday vacation to Costa Rica!!! Everything was absolutely perfect! Everyone was very punctual for our shuttles and tours. The people we encountered there were so friendly and helpful, not to mention honest. I was so impressed with all the effort in communicating in English with us, all the locals did a great job. We did try our hand at the little Spanish that we know as well. The resorts were also very impressive and the food was so scrumtuous! We definitely got our money's worth, that's for sure. We will surely be visiting Costa Rica again soon. I can't thank you enough for making the whole process so easy!!

Can you tell me when the off season is? I can tell that we just missed the crazy peak of December. People were just flooding in the last few days we were there and I'm glad we missed it. I may be able to plan another trip later in 2005 if the price is right.

Best Regards,

Hola Ana:

Siento no haber podido contestarte antes. Me dió pena no haberte conocido, así que lo dejo para mi próximo viaje.

Efectivamente, tuvimos un viaje alucinante a tu país. Era la segunda vez que íbamos, porque nos había gustado mucho. Vuestro servicio fué impecable. Me facilitaste la búsqueda, y me ofreciste justo lo que buscaba. Todo salió perfecto. La pena fué no haberos encontrado antes, porque me habrías organizado todo el viaje. Eso sí, puedes estar segura que si conozco a alguien que vaya a visitaros, voy a hablarle de vosotros. Me gusta que lo organiceis de forma personalizada, sin paquetes para todos. Muchas gracias por todo.

Me pides que te cuente un poco nuestro viaje. Te cuento, y si quieres más información, dímelo que te la mando.

Estuvimos 15 días por Costa Rica. Llegamos a San José, y nos quedamos allí la primera noche. No nos quedamos más días, porque en nuestro viaje anterior ya habíamos hecho las excursiones de los alrededores de San José. Alquilamos un coche todo terreno, para movernos nosotros a nuestro aire, y tener así más contacto con el país.

La primera zona a la que fuimos, es Puerto Viejo, Manzanillo. Estuvimo allí tres días. El tiempo no nos acompañó mucho, pero no nos impidió pasear por el Parque Nacional de Cahuita. Nos quedamos con las ganas de hacer esnorkel, pero no había guías que nos llevaran. Estuvimos por Puerto Viejo, el pueblo de Cahuita, por la zona de Punta Uva,... y estuvimos en mi pueblo preferido, Manzanillo. Encuentro que tiene un sabor especial, con su carretera de tierra, las playas, la gente, ... Me encanta.

Después fuimos a ver el volcán Arenal. Y lo conseguimos. De noche, vimos cómo sale la lava roja. Es algo espectacular. Visitamos la catarata de La Fortuna, que es preciosa. Esos días aprovechamos para hacer canopy, rafting, y darnos unos baños en el spa de Tabacon. También hicimos una excursión en coche, intentando dar la vuelta a la laguna Arenal. Llovió tanto, que la carretera estaba cortada por un río, que no se podía cruzar por el gran caudal. Aún así, disfrutamos de nuestra aventura conduciendo por esos caminos. Nos gustó.

De Arenal nos fuimos a Quepos. Allí visitamos el Parque de Manuel Antonio, donde nos dimos unos buenos baños en las playas, después de haber recorrido varios de los senderos del parque. Otro día, alquilamos un barco para ir a pescar en el mar. Es muy emocionante ver cómo salta el pez vela. Y cuando lo tienes en el barco, dan ganas de abrazarlo, porque es precioso, y con una cara muy tierna. Después de hacer unas fotos, se devuelve al mar.

Terminamos el viaje con lo que vosotros nos preparásteis. Volamos en avioneta de Quepos a Palmar. El viaje en avioneta, ya era una experiencia nueva, que nos encantó. Después recorrimos unos kilómetros en furgoneta, y terminamos cogiendo un barco para llegar a Aguila de Osa. Es llegar a otro mundo. Está tan apartado, que te sientes metido en la naturaleza totalmente. Dimos paseos por los caminos que se meten por bosques y playas. Vas viendo animales y paisajes que te dejan impresionado. Nos dimos baños en las playas, hicimos kayak por la bahía, y vimos tortugas, delfines, pelícanos pescando peces a nuestro alrededor,... Hicimos la excursión a la isla del Caño, donde pudimos hacer esnorkel, y ver infinidad de peces entre las rocas y corales. También fuimos al parque de Corcovado, por la zona de Sirena. Hicimos el itinerario más largo por la selva. Eso es otro mundo. Recorrimos los caminos que usan los costarricenses para sus traslados ( no hay carreteras ni otro acceso por tierra). Después de cinco días, tuvimos que volar de Drake a San José. Y ya de vuelta a Madrid.

De todos los países que conozco, Costa Rica es mi preferido, por sus paisajes, y sobre todo, por su gente.

Te mando unas fotos, y si quieres más, dímelo.

Muchísimas gracias por tu atención. Un saludo

Hi Arturo!

I wanted to tell you that we had the best time in Costa Rica. Our only regret is that we didn't book it for 2 weeks. Every place you had chosen for us was wonderful. What really makes a place nice is the people. We found the Costa Rican people friendly and helpful. Rebecca, the tour guide for Tortuguero was very well informed and interesting. She really did a fabulous job and you should know that she made the entire tour group happy.

The lodge was great - we loved it. We had a rough start at Casa Camarona but the place and people grew on us after 1 day and we didn't want to leave. Eduardo, the chef specially prepared our meals as we were the only guests!!

The hotel in San Jose was very lovely and the French restaurant delicious.

Hola Ana,

Fue muy lindo conocerte, en persona eres más encantadora que por e-mail. El viaje salio perfecto, Costa Rica es un país maravilloso, tanto a Lola como a mi nos fascinó, la profesionalidad con la que hiciste todas las reservaciones contribuyo a que nuestra estancia fuera inolvidable, estamos ya deseosos de volver a visitaros, si finalmente lo hacemos, volveremos a contar con ustedes. En el momento que pueda te enviaré fotos del viaje, ahora tengo el scaner estropeado. Muchas gracias por todo y en hora buena por tu profesionalidad.

Jesús Alfaro

Hola Ana,

Muchas gracias por tus atenciones, nos gusto mucho el rafting en reventazón y sobre todo el servicio, tanto de tu parte como la de los guias...nos encanto Costa Rica, y nos quedamos con muchas ganas de volver...saludos

Hi Ana,

We just got back and had the best time! Everyone we dealt with was extremely nice and helpful...especially the people at Tamarindo Adventures and Capitan Suizo! The Sky Walk was beautiful, we saw a group of 20 Howler monkeys and the rare Quetzal! Our guided tour at Monteverde was wonderful, our guide was so informative! One of our favorites was the four wheeler tour because it was so exciting but we also loved the relaxing kayak tour up the estuary. The view from Iguanazul is unbelievable!

Everything was okay on Sunday and we made it back with no problems. Thank you for all of your help! We also really appreciated your phone call on Monday.

Sincerely,

Ana....

We had a fabulous time in Costa Rica..... it far exceeded our expectations. Everyone of 4 our kids said it was the best vacation they have ever taken, and Carolina and I agree. The hotels were just right for our family and Tricolor provided the perfect car. Los Lagos and El Capitan Suizo were very special. Everyday was a blessing. Too many highlights to mention them all but here were a few: seeing the Volcano erupt, white water rafting in Arenal, the falls at Rio Fortuna, the Sky trek and Sky walk in Monteverde, and horseback riding and surfing in Tamarindo. Thank you for all your efforts on our behalf. Here are a few of my favorite pictures.

Ana,

Thank you for helping us to set up the perfect trip to Costa Rica. I is
so nice to work with someone who is familiar and knowlegeable with all the
hotels and activities. We were not disappointed by anything!

Thankss!

Ana,

Thanks so much for getting my glasses back. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

The trip was wonderful. I particularly liked La Selva's setting. I loved the rainforests and saw many animals, and that was my main objective.

Thanks again, and I will definitely recommend you.

Hallo Ana,

Thank you for your nice mail und thank you for great help. You did a very good job.
It was a wonderful trip and we enjoyed it very much.
Especially the days in Selva Banito were the best of our visit in Costa Rica.

God bless you, kind regards

Dear Ana,

Thanks for arranging the wonderful trip we had to Costa Rica.

Everything was great. The people of Costa Rica are very hospitable and kind. We drove the rental car to Villa Lapas (a great resort) and also to Jaco and Manuel Antonio Park. We saw so many beautiful birds and butterflies at the Carara National Park that I will have to send some pictures as you suggested...

Dear Ana,

I just talked to Mrs Malloch. They had gone to Toronto right after they returned home.

They were very pleased with the trip. She said that their driver,Francisco,was supurb. Could not have chosen anyone else that would have done a better job. Very pleased with his knowledge and expertise. Felt that is was good value for what they had spent.

Thank you again.

Arturo:

Thanks again for everything -- we had a wonderful vacation!! The weather was even fairly cooperative. Gerardo was superb as our driver. We will recommend you to others and will send along some pictures of the trip.

Arturo,

We thoroughly enjoyed visiting Costa Rica. The service was excellent.
Gerardo, the driver was prompt and quite pleasant.

Our trip to Osa was an exciting experience. The Osa peninsula and Corcovado Park are breathtakingly beautiful. We did hikes, swam in waterfalls, rode horses in the river and swam with dolphins. We collected wonderful memories.The staff at the lodge were the best. We felt like family by the end of our stay. One very impressive thing was the fresh fish. Guests and staff would catch fish. It was served for that nights meal. We certainly looked forward to each meal!

Monteverde was wonderful as well. We got to see a Quetzal! The rainforest hike is a memorable experience. The canopy tour is a daily topic of conversation.

We loved the Costa Rican people. They treated us warmly and we enjoyed learning about the culture. I will attach photos at a later date. I have referred you to a local man by the name of David Binder. He may be contacting you.

Thanks for all your help.

Hi, Ana!

We had a PERFECT vacation, thanks to you and rainforesttours. This is our first time ever doing something like this, and it couldn't have gone better. We also want to thank you for helping our friend Cindy get the same tours on such short notice. From the moment we arrived in San Jose to the time we left, we were treated with courtesy and professionalism by everyone who helped with our tours and transportation. Feel free to let people know that they can contact me via email if they wish to get a recommendation from us regarding your company. Thank you once again for all your hard work.

Dear Ana,

This is a note of appreciation for all you did to facilitate my last minute request for a tour of Costa Rica.

I am fortunate that you went "the extra mile" to put all of this together...Your efforts all paid off. The tour was wonderful.
everyone was so helpful, polite, and very educated about your beautiful country. I enjoyed myself immensely, and have returned home safely with so many wonderful memories.

I would like to return and explore the south of Costa Rica and see the Pacific and also the Caribbean. perhaps one week in January of 2005... Do you have tours that take the tourist from point to point throughout the country, stopping overnight in one hotel, then moving the next day or two to another location? This would interest me. I would like to see the entire country.

Again, thank you so much for everything you did for me.
Do you know that we saw the beautiful aqua colored crater of Poas, and we also saw the fire from Arenal ?
It was lucky for us, because of the rain and clouds.
Your tours are great, your guides are knowledgeable, and the drivers are exceptional on the mountain roads in the rain storms!!!

Sincerely,

P.S.

If you speak with "Billy" Rafael Montero, please give my regards. Monte Sky was outstanding. I had four people to accompany me, including the Ornithologist who pointed out many interesting plants and, of course, the birds.
Jorge has a keen love of all nature. He would not kill a flea. He would not touch a bee. He is so respectful.
That tour was truly a unique experience.
Thank you Thank you Thank you

Hi Arturo, got your Cheque last Monday thanks. As soon as I know what I'm doing about next year I'll let you know. At present I'm trying to do an exchange year away in Germany. My Fiance sends her regards, she absolutely loved Costa Rica!!!!!!!!!!! Walking the beaches with her under the stars in The Osa and along the Carribean was a dream come true , thank you for allowing those momemts to come true. The trip was great!!! Feeling a little bit of Culture shock at being back at work today. Once I have some of the photos's down loaded I'll send you some with a brief letter. Costa Rica is a very beautiful country, and the kids had an amazing time. I'll be in touch with you soon, once I decide if I will be running another trip next year, as it stands right now I'm thinking of planning an adult trip.
Thanks again.

Keith McCanna
Lions Bay, B.C. Canada.

Talk with you soon.

Dear Arturo

Once again thank you so much for our wonderfully organised holiday. I would have replied earlier, but jet lag and work has taken its toll since returning.

All six of us had the most amazing time and the hotels and service, particularly from your superb driver Heraldo (?), could not be faulted.

Costa Rica certainly has so much to offer, with its fantastic wildlife, lovely food and first-class hotel accommodation. We actually saw more wildlife this time than we did when we spent a week in the Amazon.

Hope you trip abroad with your parents goes well. Let me know if you arrange holidays anywhere else other than Costa Rica, for instance I seemed to recall from last time you mentioned Cuba and also you have some connections in the States. For our part it was wonderful to know that we could totally rely on you, our independent travel agent, to book exactly what we had requested, and give us unbiased advice when we were doing our planning.

Thanks so much for that
Very best wishes
Rita & Rob

Ana,

I just got back from Costa Rica. What a wonderful place. The raft trip was excellent. I have been on many rafting trips before in the US and Canada.
This trip and the company Rios Tropicales were SUPERB. Thanks for help with planning this adventure.

O.J. Robinson

Dear Arturo,

I'm sorry it's been so long for me to reply, when we returned from our trip there were many "catch up" projects to complete, and I'm just now able to be sociable.

Our trip to Costa Rica was really great! We appreciate the friendly people and beautiful scenery! Sandi and I both enjoyed the different areas we went to on this trip. I suspect our favorite stops were Tortuguero NP and the Trogon Lodge. But, there were no bad areas either, just some we liked more that others. I've also now finally been able to finish some of my pictures from the trip. I'm attaching several to this note. Feel free to use them on your site of in your photobook.

Best of luck in your business ventures. Keep in touch periodically.

Regards,

Dear Ana,

Many thanks for organizing this trip for me. The organization was perfect, from the beginning till the end, the choice of hotels was great, ... a dream.
- Hotel "Le Bergerac" in San Jose : nice hotel, quiet, very nice neighborhood, nice staff, great value for money
- Hotel "Bahia Paraiso" in Osa Peninsula : fantastic location, great staff very helpful and dedicated, incredible guide for the tours in the forest (ask for Consuelo)... I loved this week in Corcovado and Caño Island.

Thanks again for everything.

Best regards

Benjamin Aubanton

Hi Arturo,

I know that Henry wrote you a detailed letter about our trip but I want to add my comments. The trip you arranged for us was fabulous and everything came off without a hitch, including the small plane flights. The accommodations were excellent, especially liked the small hotel in Playa Grande. Costa Rica is a fabulous country. I liked every place we visited and everyone I met. Could have had a bit less rain in Arenal, but that's the way it goes.

We all have very special feelings about Gerardo, he's the best guide I have ever had. He is kind, thoughtful, filled with information about all the places we went, an excellent driver and contributed suggestions that enhanced our trip. When the rains in Arenal prevented us from hiking at the volcano he made the excellent suggestion that we head north to Cano Negro and then made all of the necessary arrangements and adjustments to our schedule. Cano Negro turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip.

I think that we (Judith and Connie) are going to return in February with one of my daughters and her family. The destination for the family group will be Playa Grande, then they will return to the US and we will travel on. I will keep you posted.

I am working on some photos and will send them along at a later date. Again, thanks.

Best, Connie Adler

Dear Arturo,
We had an absolutely FABULOUS time in Costa Rica, thanks to Rain Forest Tours!
The itinerary planned was perfectly balanced (thank you Arturo for taking the time to accommodate our frequent changes), the hotels and lodges were wonderful, the country is incredibly beautiful... and Gerardo Lara must be the best driver/guide in all of Costa Rica (he spotted and identified many different species of critters, taught us Costa Rican history and culture as well as some espanol, retrieved some of our belongings that had been left behind in a previous hotel, and made us feel very welcome to be in Costa Rica).

Corcovado is well-worth the extra flight down and Monteverde, the bumpy drive up. The food was delicious, as were the pina coladas. All-in-all this was one of best trips ever. Only one complaint though ... Gerardo got us to our return flight on time. We certainly want to return, however, we'll insist on having Gerardo as our guide again.
Here's a preliminary bird sighting list (over 100 new species for our "Life list" started fresh Jan 1/01)
(Photos are on their way)

I have already recommended Rain Forest Tours to others and trust they'll have a wonderful time as well.
Pura Vida,
 

ps We have a website where we post photos and other interesting things for our friends and family to see. I'd like to put the Rain Forest Tours link and logo on our site if that is ok with you.

Dear Arturo:

All four of us enjoyed our trip to Costa Rica very much -- we had our "guaranteed good time." I'm writing you this critique so that you can give even better service to future clients. In reading these comments you should be aware that the four of us were primarily "nature travellers" and not "adventure travellers." We met many other tourists enjoying themselves doing surfing, white water rafting and other adventure activities that really would not have interested us. Our interests color our impressions and might not apply to travellers with other interests.

We would all like to compliment and thank our driver and guide, Gerardo.
He was a safe and careful driver and also an excellent guide -- he often spotted birds, monkeys and even a sloth in the trees. He even helped Moira find a soccer jersey for her son, age 39. He was simply great and added to our enjoyment of Costa Rica.

The hotel in Guanacaste turned out to be our favorite place. The hotel, run by an ex-hippie-type American, had a casual atmosphere that was very pleasant. We enjoyed the company of tourists from America, Europe and some "locals" on holiday. The hotel is 50 meters from a lovely beach -- we all took early morning/sunrise walks to see the birds (I even saw some turtle hatchlings). The hotel organized activities for us on request (some for a fee), like canoeing on the estuary in the late afternoon to see wildlife. Even though the hotel had a laid-back, casual feel it had a high standard (nice pool, good food, clean rooms with good showers). This hotel might not be for everyone, but it was perfect for us. It certainly isn't the place for people who want nightlife.

A very nice hotel at Monteverde, with a good dining room. There was good bird watching on the hotel grounds. Gerardos's recommendation of the bakery for lunch was great -- they have a bird feeder and we got to see emerald toucans. We also have high praise for our cloud forest guide, Roberto Wesson.

Tabacon: We are all glad we experienced this, but also are glad we only had one night here. We aren't really spa/resort people and found it a bit too fancy for our taste. We did enjoy the beautiful gardens at the hot springs.

We had three days of rain (unusual) at Arenal, so we never got to see the volcano or even enjoy the hiking trails at the Lodge, but they have a great bird feeder that attracted 25+ species and 100+ birds, so we had a good time anyway. We have an expression in America, "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade," which is what we did. We traded in our Waterfall tour (who wants to go on horseback ride and then a hike in the pouring rain?) for a day trip to Cano Negro (where it wasn't raining). This was the best single thing we did on the whole trip. Cano Negro is full of wildlife.
We say many species of birds, caymans, monkeys, iguanas, even a sloth. They even served us a very nice lunch. It was just a super day. I'd recommend this to anybody who is nature oriented.

That they could build such a fine lodge (great rooms) and run such a nice establishment (dinner especially) in such a remote location in the Osa Peninsula is truly amazing. We enjoyed the Lodge, but for us it wasn't perfect for us. It was too much like "summer camp." The activities were a little too organized -- "meet at 8:00am for the jungle hike", and not the more laid back style of las Tortugas "tell us when you want to go". We really can't blame the establishment for this -- with 40 or so guests, and such a remote location, it is probably the only way to run a hotel/resort like this. I'm not sure that any other establishment in the general area would have been any better for us, and its location right on the edge of the Corcovado National Park was definitely a plus. We did get to see scarlet macaws, toucans, spider monkeys, a boat-billed heron and its nest with chicks, and numerous other birds, so we really did have a good time here.
As you can see, we had a very good time. We really found Costa Rica very beautiful and the Costa Rican people we met, both in the tourist industry and in towns a villages, were always friendly and kind -- it is a great country.

Thanks also to Adriana for meeting us at the airport.

Henry Shapiro along with Connie Adler, Judith Nelson and Moira Robertson

Professor Emeritus of Computer Science
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131

March 7, 2004

Dear Arturo:

Thanks for arranging the wonderful trip we had to Costa Rica. Everything was great. The people of Costa Rica are very hospitable and kind. We drove the rental car to Villa Lapas (a great resort) and also to Jaco and Manuel Antonio Park. We saw so many beautiful birds and butterflies at the Carara National Park that I will have to send some pictures as you suggested. The roads in Costa Rica were as good as many in the U.S. and nothing close to the guide book warnings. The police were checking every car in three places and they were always polite and gracious to us. Although we saw many beautiful sights in Costa Rica and enjoyed shopping in San Jose, perhaps the best part was the "Highlights" tour. Our guide Jorge was the best. We saw and did more than the brochure promised. Jorge was very knowledgeable and had a great personality. We can’t say enough good things about Jorge. If you talk to him, please tell him that we think that there couldn’t be a better guide. We are beginning to plan our trip for next January and what we will want to see. I’m sure that I will have some questions for you before we actually book the trip. Thanks again for a great vacation. We are looking forward to coming next year.

Sincerely,

Tom and Alice Abbott

Hi Arturo and Adriana:

Thank you for making this such a wonderful trip for us. We were incredibly impressed by the service obtained from both your office and the hotels that we stayed in. We enjoyed staying in the Hotel Don Carlos in San Jose. Although the beds were a little hard the ambience of the hotel made up for it. Our stay in Monteverde at the Fonda Vela was excellent. Our room (no. 12) had an amazing view. It had floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the Nicoya Peninsula. We witnessed a truly beautiful sunset one of the days there. In the Monteverde Reserve we saw multiple Quetzal's, Howler monkeys, and white faced capuchin monkeys (as well as multiple other birds that unfortunately I can not recall the names of). Our Sky Trek adventure was an experience. I was very hesitant about venturing on this excursion since I am afraid of heights but it ended up being a lot of fun. It was great not to have to worry about stopping on my own since their guides do this for you.

The next part of our trip was to Corcovado. What can I say. I will remember this for the rest of my life. The lodge was even prettier than we imagined. The rooms were beautiful. The service was impeccable. The one and only glitch that we had during our trip was with our scheduled diving day. The was miscommunication between the hotel and the dive center so that we ended up waiting for 4 hours for our dive ship to pick us up. After all the hassle, the diving was not very good. However, the lodge went out of their way to make this up to us. The manager of the facility, Luis Silas, was waiting for us when we got back from our trip. He immediately offered to have us go on an additional diving day at no charge. When we declined he offered us an alternate trip. They certainly did not have to do this since it was not their fault so this made huge points with us. Our trip to Sirena was incredible. We had gone to Costa Rica in the hopes of seeing a tapir and our guide went beyond the call of duty to make sure that we saw one. We also got to see all four species of monkeys, scarlet macaws, and peccaries.

Thanks again for all your help with setting up accommodations and transportation in Costa Rica. We have recommended your agency to all of our friends.

Sincerely,

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