Cooking & Spa Escape
in Costa Rica

Costa Rican tropical cooking lessons will enrich your knowledge and provide you with an unforgettable experience that you will enjoy for years to come! Your program includes a two-night stay and 6 hours of cooking instruction at a mountain lodge in Turrialba, plus a two-night stay at a  resort & spa in the beautiful Orosi Valley.  

Learn unique cooking techniques and exciting traditional recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation. Experience the fine tastes of exotic tropical fruits and vegetables you have never had before and learn what you can do with them!

You will tour the Tayutic Hacienda where coffee, sugar cane and macadamia nuts are grown. The view from the hacienda of the Turrialba Valley below is one of the most spectacular in Costa Rica.
You also will travel through the historic Orosi Valley where the Spanish created their first settlements.  

At your resort and spa, relax in a pool with thermal mineral waters heated by Irazu Volcano, and have a spa treatment.

Day	Daily Activity
DAY 1	You will be met at the San Jose International Airport and transferred by van directly to Santa Cruz de Turrialba, about a 90-minute drive, east of San Jose. Upon arrival, the group can relax  and enjoy the beautiful view of the Turrialba Valley and the mountains from your hotel, the Guayabo Lodge.    Evening:  After dinner, there will be an orientation meeting to review the cooking program and tours for the next three days.
DAY 2	9-11am   Morning Cooking Class: Costa Rican Highlands Cooking   12:00-3:15pm Tour and Lunch at Tayutic Hacienda We will tour the beautiful hacienda of the Ortuño Family where they grow  organic sugarcane, coffee and macadamia nuts. The tour offers a good inside view of how these products are processed, and will help you to understand their historical importance for Costa Rica.  On the farm you can see a little church built in the beginning of the 20th Century and beautiful gardens.  We will also visit a herbal farm and get some knowledge of local use of herbs for medicines and for cooking. 6:30pm  Dinner (with food prepared in class) at the Lodge 7:30-9:30pm  Chocolate Class You will learn the whole process of how chocolate is made from the seeds of the cacao fruit.  Your finished product will be a delicious chocolate cake that you will enjoy at bedtime.
DAY 3	9-11:00am  Morning Cooking Class: African-Caribbean Cooking Costa Rica's best-known African-Caribbean chef will teach you his specialties.    And, you will gain a perspective about Costa Rica's small   African-Caribbean population, whose Jamaicans ancestors came in the early 1900s to build the railroad and work on the banana plantations that developed along the tracks. 11:30am Lunch (with food prepared in class) at the Lodge 12:30pm Transfer to Rio Perlas Resort through the Orosi Valley  After lunch, you will leave Guayabo Lodge and transfer through the beautiful and historic Orosi Valley.  You will see the ruins of Ujarras, the first church built in colonial Costa Rica.  You will end the day at Rio Perlas Resort in Paraiso (yes, that does mean paradise in Spanish).  It is located on the south side of the Aguas Caliente River in a lush mountainside setting. The swim- ming pool is fed by thermal mineral waters from Irazu Volcano.
DAY 4	Today is your day to kick back and relax.  Their spa offers a full range of treatments. We have reserved a massage appointment for you.  You can purchase additional treatments, such as a full-body mud wrap, a facial, hot stones massage, manicures, pedicures, paraffin applications, and electrolysis. .
DAY 5	You will rise early for a direct transfer to the San Jose International Airport for your afternoon departure to the United States.

Cost: $1195 per person in double occupancy (add $175 for single occupancy), includes 6 hours cooking instruction and materials; hotels for 4 nights; all 10 meals; a tour of a coffee plantation; a one-hour massage; roundtrip ground transportation San Jose airport / Turrialba / Orosi Valley /San Jose airport.  The cost does not include international airfare, local guide and housekeeping tips, or departure exit (currently $26).

Costa Rica Tours, Ltd
info@costaricatoursltd.com
704.541.8680