Recebi este orçamento (valor apresentado sem IVA) para a instalação de AC Panasonic numa moradia com 4 divisões. Uma sala open space com 50m2, 2 escritórios com 13m2, e um quarto suíte com 25m2.
Não tenho pre instalação, vou colocar as unidades na rua e casa e algo longa.
Da breve pesquisa que fiz, Panasonic parece uma boa marca. Não um Daikin mas também não é um Gree.
Here's the report and highlights of our trip to Costa Rica.
Me (2nd time) and my girlfriend (1st time) arrived at SJO late on the 30th of April, and stayed near
the airport. We are from Portugal and did a stopover in Canada on the way to Costa Rica.
Car pickup
We rent a car with Vamos Rent a Car and had no issues.
$1320 for 15 days with Basic CDW
Suzuki Jimny did well in all scenarios, but we didn't push hard on it.
1st day - 1st May
We drove from San Jose (left at 7am) to Sierpe to catch the 4pm boat (the last one of the day) to Drake Bay and we "only" arrived 30mins before the time. As it was long weekend in Costa Rica, we had a crazy amount of traffic leaving the city and until we passed the Tarcoles Bridge.
Since we absolutely had to be in Drake Bay at 6am of the 2nd of May, this was a bit risky - lesson learned, never book something important, expensive and non-refundable in a remote place if you are still a long way out the day before.
Boat trip from Sierpe to Drake Bay, wasn't pleasant at all. It was pouring rain, hitting on our faces so hard we couldn't even lift our head to appreciate the view.
2nd, 3rd and 4th days - Corcovado National Park 2 night at Sirena Ranger Station
The highlight of the trip was absolutely the 3 days and 2 nights we spent on Corcovado National Park. We booked the stay with OSA Wild and it was a unforgettable experience.
Upon arrival at Sirena Ranger Station, we had Josue Baires waiting for us who guide us for the next 3
days. He was great as a guide, his english was perfect and he demonstrated a deep knowledge of the species of both animals and plants. We enjoyed his scientific approach and explanations about the animals, their importance and impact. But most importantly, we loved how he respected Nature, not going on shortcuts just to show us the animals.
We saw 2 tapirs resting on the beach, a large crocodile controlling the river, a couple more small crocodiles, caiman, dozens of birds including woodpeckers, tucan, parrots, 2 different kinds of snakes, 2 species of wild pigs, 4 species of monkeys, lots of spiders, insects, bats, sloths and probably much more that I cannot remember now.
The most important for us was actually seeing them in their natural environment and not behind a fence in some self proclaimed sanctuary.
The stay at the station was as expected, no hot water which wasn't a problem when you spend the whole
day sweating, the beds in the no-wall dormitory were okay, not comfortable since it was too hot even at night and there's no AC, not even a fan. The most comfortable time of the day was right after the bath.
The food was actually good, we had a generous breakfast with gallo pinto and coffee, the lunch and dinner consisted of rice, chicken or pork, potatoes, vegetables, salad, fried banana, some fruit juice.
We had small shop in the station, where you could buy some cookies, ice cream, warm coffee, ice coffee and souvenirs.
On first day we started hiking right after we arrived, just had 30mins to leave our stuff in the station and went for a 2 hours hike, followed by lunch in a 2 hour break, and another 2-3 hour hike until 5:30pm.
The following day we started the first hike of the morning at 5am for 2 hours, then went back for breakfast break for 1h30m and then again another 2 hours hike until lunch. In the afternoon we went again for another
hike for around 2-3 hours. On the last day, we again started at 5am for 2 hours, then breakfast and then another 2 hour hike until we got into our boat back to Drake Bay.
We did an average of 17km a day on the 2,5 days we spent in Corcovado.
The tour with Osa Wild included:
2 night at Sirena Station
Entries in the park for all days
Boat from/to Drake Bay to Sirena
3 meals a day in Sirena Station
Exclusive guide for us
Right after we arrived at Drake Bay from Sirena, we went on another boat back to Sierpe, where we left
out car parked and drove straight to Nauyaca Waterfalls where we finally slept again with some comfort.
5th, 6th, 7th days - Nauyaca Waterfalls and Manuel Antonio
Since we slept quite close to the waterfall, we were some of the first ones to arrive and were able to take some nice pictures of the waterfalls without having to ask to ChatGPT to remove people
from the photos. The waterfall is impressive, not like Iceland waterfalls impressive, but at least we can get in and don't freeze to death. We did the hike from the parking lot, it was a bit hilly and a bit hot as well but it was easy. Its nice to have showers in the parking lot, so we felt refreshed after the hike.
We spent 2 days in Manuel Antonio, mostly to visit the park. It was a bit shocking see that amount of
people in the park, specially after Corcovado where we could really fell immersive into the wild. Manuel Antonio park is really nice, but feels like a park in a city kind of vibe, and I wonder how many animals are hiding away from the crowds.
Don't get me wrong, I know we also contribute to the crowds, but most people don't know how to behave
in a natural park. If I'm in a place to see wildlife, I won't be cheering, laughing or speaking loud. So I questioned if most of those people are actually there to see any wildlife.
Manuel Antonio beach is really nice and worth spending 1-2 hours there.
8th, 9th, 10th and 11th days - Monteverde and Rio Celeste
Weather in Monteverde was a bit unexpected, since it was mostly clear skies, very windy and no cloud forest feeling. We did the hanging bridges, a night tour with our hotel and visited CuriCancha natural reserve but none of these experiences were unforgettable.
We also did a coffee and chocolate tour with Don Juan which was actually great. We were the only ones in the tour - perks of travelling in the low season.
Rio Celeste was an amazing place, inserted in Tenorio volcano National Park where we get some
amazing sighs. The color of the water is impressive and you get to see the 2 rivers encounter, and create this phenomenon. However this area is really small, not many restaurants available, so a day trip would be enough in most cases. We stayed a night since we were travelling between Monteverde and La Fortuna and Rio Celeste was in the way.
12th, 13th, 14th and 15th days - La Fortuna
We spent the last few days in the same hotel in La Fortuna, with a great view to Arenal volcano. The view could be better if the clouds collaborate, but we weren't very lucky.
We didn't do much here, did the hanging bridges again in Mistico Arenal, did the 1968 trail which was
quite nice with amazing views of the volcano, did hot-spring in Ecotermales with dinner included and in the last day we went for a spa treatment at Amor Arenal, one of the most amazing places we ever been.
There are loads of restaurants options in La Fortuna, and most of the ones we tried were good.
Activities & Tours review:
Sirena Deep Exploration
(3 days, 2 night) with Osa Wild - Corcovado
★★★★★
Very expensive, but completely worthwhile the money. It felt like a real adventure, as we were surrounded by Nature the whole time with little signs of civilisation. Sleeping in a dorm in open air was an experience by itself, hearing howler monkeys and so many other animais just 50 meters away from your bed was intense.
Price: $655 per person,
minimum 2 people with private guide
Nauyaca Waterfall
★★★★
Impressive waterfall, however is not possible now to get to the viewpoint of the upper waterfall so we could only see it from the bottom. Still good enough for some photos, as we arrived early we were able to standing right below the main waterfalls completely by ourselves for a few minutes.
You don't need a guide
for this hike, don't think it is worth it here.
Price: $10 per person,
hiking
Manuel Antonio National Park
★★★★
A bit crowded park but with lots of animals to see, specially sloths. Even without a guide we were able to see 3 sloths just by looking where everybody else was looking.
After Corcovado, we felt very different in this park with a lot of human noise, paths completely packed with cheering and laughing.
The beach however is really nice and completely worth the entry. We didn't have a guide and since there's so many people with guides here, you can just walk around and check what the
others are looking at for free.
Price: $18 per person
Valle Escondido Nature Reserve Night Tour - Monteverde
★★★
As we stayed at this hotel, we choose to do the night tour with them, however we were not impressed. Yes we saw some scorpions, a really big tarantula and an armadillo but for $40 it wasn't worth it.
Price: $40 per person
Don Juan Coffee, Chocolate and Sugar Cane Tour - Monteverde
★★★★★
We really enjoyed this tour, very informative and fun as we walked through the process of production of these beloved products. We were the only 2 people doing this tour at this time, so it felt like a private tour. Got the chance to taste pure cacao, get a fresh coffee made on the spot and drink the sugar straight from the cane.
Price: $42 per person
Selvatura Park Hanging Bridges - Monteverde
★★★★
The park is really beautiful and well maintained, we didn't see many animals but the views were impressive. It's a bit expensive but when you are standing in a bridge 40 meters high above the canopy, we need to feel the money you paid is going to maintain that structure.
Price: around $55 per
person
CuriCancha Nature Reserve - Monteverde
★★★★
Giving it 4 stars because it was cheap, but we actually weren't impressed by the reserve as we didn't see much animals, despite we arrived early. Maybe with a guide it would be much more interesting, so that's on us.
Price: $25 per person
Volcano Tenorio National Park - Rio Celeste
★★★★★
This place is amazing, the waterfall and river colours are out of this world and we were able to see a beautiful green viper. If you do the whole hike, you are able to see the river bubbling from the volcanic activity and the most amazing part, you can see how the actual blue colour is created when the 2 rivers merge.
Price: $12 per person
Eco Termales Hot Spring with dinner - La Fortuna
★★★★★
Really nice hot springs, with 6 or 7 different pools with different water temperatures. You are surrounded by
Nature, and at the same time you have a bar really close to the pools and barman always trying to sell you drinks, but apart from that it was amazing. We were there at night, from 5pm and got the
dinner included and it was worth it. The food was food, plenty of choices in the buffet and for extra $32 you wouldn't eat better in almost any place in La Fortuna.
Price: $81 per person
Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges - La Fortuna
★★★
Very similar to hanging bridges in Monteverde, a bit cheaper but with less bridges (plus one that was closed due to maintenance).
Would skip it next time.
Price: $32 per person
Volcanic Hiking Trails at Arenal 1968 Natural Park
★★★★
We did the long trail of 5kms and had some great views of the Arenal volcano, despite the clouds. Didn't see much wildlife here, just some birds along the way. It was really hot, and not all of the hike are covered by trees, so it's recommended to bring a hat and solar protection.
Price: $28 per person
Amor Arenal Massage for couple - La Fortuna
★★★★★
Unfortunately we didn't stay in this hotel, but went there for a massage.
This must be the most beautiful hotel I even seen, right in the middle of the jungle, the property is huge and you have to drive for 1km after you enter the main gate to reach the reception.
We tried other places to get a massage, like Tabacon or Baldi but they require us to stay there or buy the daily pass, plus the value for the massage.
At Amor Arenal, they didn't required any of this, and it was easy to book even on the same day. They treat us like king and queen, the place where the massage is taken is a open air wood cabin in Japanese style, facing the jungle.
Price: $265 per person