This trip began as a taunt: ''Well Tom, you are always talking about organizing a trip to Costa Rica and you are always talking about the orchids there. Why don't you just do it?'' And Tom hooked up with Adventure Life, and sent an email to a few friends and acquaintances and within a very short time, with the help of Adventure Life, a trip was …

Early the next morning, the group assembled in the lobby; some of us meeting for the first time. By that evening- we were thoroughly enjoying the camaraderie of our first dinner together joyfully sharing the events of the day!
You see, we started our tour at Lankaster Gardens - a mecca for any devoted orchid lover and there, a virtual rock star …

The next morning, we were off to CATIE Botanical Gardens. Marco, a CATIE guide and a student there greeted us with a flower and fruit snack. CATIE's mission is to protect and develop the many agricultural resources of Costa Rica including coffee, hearts of palm, and cocoa among other plants of commercial value and utilitarian use Marco gave a …

We had a choice of dates for this trip. March or the end of December/beginning of January. Since March is jammed pack with orchid shows for most of us - of course we picked the holidays! What better way to begin the New Year than in horticultural Disneyland?
Our New Year’s destination was very special. To get there, we had to travel …

After an early morning walk through the forest and a sighting of Miltonia powellii in bloom, we embarked for Arenal Volcano and environs. Soon, we would take on the challenge of the Rio Celeste hike. Along the way, we stopped at La Fortuna, a small town on the outskirts of Arenal and spent some time in the town square with the local church and …

This was the granddaddy of trails we had been training for! Though we probably should have taken to the ski slopes instead of treadmills to train. We arrived and the trail was muddy. Not just a little muddy - but VERY muddy. And steep. I think we did more skiing and sliding than hiking at times. But it turns out, that slow and steady wins the …

After the exploits of the day before, the day of travel to Monteverde, was welcomed. It was a rainy day - December is at the crossroads between the rainy and dry season so it was a good day to travel and see sights from the comfort of our bus. The road to Monteverde took us round the large lake that was formed when Arenal erupted in 1968. Along …

The next day brought nicer weather and we filled the morning in what was the best orchid garden we had seen so far in Costa Rica. Not only were the owners sticklers for proper identification (they were right on top of the latest taxonomic nomenclature) but friendly and informative. There were Epidendrums, Lycaste, Coelogynes, Laelias, …

We embark upon another full day; not to be outdone by the day before. We headed south and west leaving the rainbows of Monteverde behind, and traveled into the drier regions within sight of the Pacific Ocean. Cynoches took the place of Pluerothallids; Palms for Heliconias. Bougainvillea sprawled over rooftops and fences.
Along the way, we …