Day 1 Sun, February
3, 2008No Meals Arrival in San José, Costa Rica
Upon arrival at San José’s Juan Santamaría
International Airport (SJO) you will clear Customs and be transferred to our
hotel, the Courtyard by Marriott San Jose.
Depending on your arrival time, join us this evening at the hotel for
an optional get-acquainted dinner.
Overnight: Courtyard by Marriott San Josè
Day 2Mon, Feb.
4B/L/D Costa Rica Star Lodge
After breakfast we’ll all meet our Costa Rican guide and Sky & Telescope
tour leader Gary Seronik in the lobby of the hotel where we will board our
private motorcoach for the journey west to our
Star Lodge, reserved exclusively for our stargazing pleasure.
Located on the Gulf of
Nicoya, our dark-sky lodge is in a prime birding and wildlife habitat.
Lodge rooms feature two beds,
private bath, ceiling fan, and screened windows on three walls, enabling the
evening breeze to keep us comfortable. Rooms will be outfitted with red
lights to allow stargazers to preserve dark adaptation and enjoy the truly
dark viewing conditions. Away from observing areas, non-stargazers will find
a lighted area for reading, card games and socializing. The lodge’s manicured lawn
faces an open southern sky, which is the perfect site for setting up
telescopes and other equipment. The open-air restaurant and lounge area
overlooks the hotel’s beautiful swimming pool and the bay beyond, and is a
comfortable meeting-place both day and night. Meals at the lodge are served
buffet-style and feature fresh local ingredients, including locally grown
vegetables, chicken, beef, fish, and tropical fruits, always accompanied by
pintos de gallo, the traditional rice and black bean dish. Throughout the
night, stargazers will be served famous Costa Rican coffee, tea, and
cookies. This afternoon, stargazers can
set up their telescopes for the first of five nights under the glorious
southern skies.
Day 3-6 Tue, Feb
5 - Fri, Feb 8 B/L/D Daily Optional Daytime Activities and Southern Skies
Over the next four
nights we’ll continue to enjoy the richness of the southern Milky Way and
the many deep-sky wonders visible throughout the night. You are invited to
join Gary Seronik for discussions on finding night-sky objects, basic astro-photography,
and the not-to-be-missed highlights visible throughout the night. One of the
highlights of our stargazing experience will be with Gary as he conducts
three guided tours of the night sky (at 7pm, midnight, and 4am) to show
where to find some of the sky’s best .
sights with binoculars
and smalltelescopes. Each evening we will have
dinner around 5:00 p.m., concluding at sunset, and then prepare for a great
night under the stars. February nights at this location are 10 hours long —
the Sun goes down around 6:00 p.m. local time with astronomical twilight
ending one hour later
During the day, we can sleep in late, relax at the lodge, take a dip
in the refreshing swimming pool, or enjoy optional activities that include
horseback riding, day trips away from the hotel, and guided nature walks to
look for exotic birds and wildlife. Included in the trip is a
half-day boat excursion from the lodge’s private pier into the Gulf of
Nicoya to visit a nearby mangrove habitat, home to many exotic water birds;
a sunset tractor ride to a beautiful lookout point; and a full day excursion
to Carara National Park, one of Costa Rica’s most popular parks. The unique
transitional zone between tropical rain forest and tropical dry forest
provides habitat for a great variety on birds and animals. This park is home
to one of the largest remaining wild populations of scarlet macaw in Costa
Rica, along with toucans and many other species that will delight
birdwatchers. Monkeys, crocodiles, two-toed sloth, poison-arrow frogs and
many other intriguing creatures also inhabit the park.
Day 7Sat, Feb
9B/L/D Craft Village of Sarchí
After breakfast we’ll pack our belongings to depart for San José, stopping en route for lunch and shopping in Sarchí. This colorful village is best known for its traditional crafts and is the perfect place to buy gifts,
coffee and souvenirs. Join us this evening for our farewell dinner.
Overnight: Courtyard by Marriott San Josè
Day 8 Sun, Feb 10B Costa Rica - Home
After breakfast you’ll be
transferred to the airport according to your flight schedule. You may wish to
extend your stay in Costa Rica to explore nature preserves, volcanoes, and more!
Contact
TravelQuest for details..
It is each traveler's responsibility to take all appropriate medical
advice prior to booking as to whether or not they are fit enough to
undertake this trip. If you have any questions regarding this, please
contact
TravelQuest.
Special thanks to Fran Debnam, Gary Seronik, Gayleen Thomas,
Laura Holliday for their photographic contributions to these web pages.
Copyright 2007 TravelQuest International. All rights reserved. 800-830-1998 Revised:
April 28, 2007. Information in this document is subject to change without notice. Other products and companies referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or trademark holders.
