COSTA RICA | Sarchi and Monteverde | Howler Monkeys | El Establo Mountain Hotel in Monteverde

In this episode (Part 2 in this Costa Rica Travel Series), I'm taking you along as I travel around the beautiful country of Costa Rica in November 2021. We're leaving San Jose and travelling to Monteverde, with stops in Grecia and Sarchi.

Click here to read my full Costa Rica Travel Guide: https://wanderlustjourney.ca/2021/12/...

We had breakfast at the Grano de Oro Hotel, again I had the “Tico Breakfast” with potatoes instead of plantains. I really enjoyed my stay at the Grano de Oro Hotel and highly recommend staying here if you're ever visiting the San Jose area.

On our way out, we drove by one of the art museums in San Jose, which actually used to be the old air traffic control tower of the old airport, which the old airport is now a beautiful park.

Once we arrived in Grecia, we stopped at the main square to stretch our legs for a few minutes, which had a park and this beautiful church.

Ronald our guide explained that Sarchi is home of the oxcart, which is listed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

We had a guided tour of how they still make oxcarts still using the traditional ways. They cut 15 pieces of teak or mahogany wood and fit it together like a pie. They then place the hub and secure it to each piece of wood, then they trim the pieces into a perfect round and secure a iron ring around the wooden wheel.

The factory is also very sustainable as it is still powered by a waterwheel, the original one was installed in 1923 and this is the third waterwheel that was installed in 1965. Many of the tools are actually powered by rotating rods that turn cogs to power some of the machines such as a saw.

We had lunch at El Jardin, which is a restaurant that serves local Costa Rican food and is very similar to a “soda”. Lunch was included for us, however for a meal like this you can expect to pay around $6 to 7 USD.

Once we were on the road to Monteverde, Aiden our driver spotted some “Howler Monkeys”, so he stopped the bus so we could see them. There were between 10-12 monkeys in the surrounding trees, including a baby which was really cute to watch.

Aiden also stopped for us so we could enjoy this stunning viewpoint from the mountains down across the Nicoya Peninsula in the distance.

We then arrived at the El Establo Mountain Hotel in Monteverde and checked in. When you check in you are given your room keys and a physical key to the safe. All the rooms here face the valley below and there are some stunning sunset views from the hotel. You are definitely in nature here. This very curious “Coati” was quite entertaining to watch and graciously posed for some photos for me.

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To watch the entire Costa Rica series I filmed, click here:    • Costa Rica Travel Vlogs  

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