Costa Rica
My adventure to Costa Rica took me into stunning rainforests in search of monkeys and sloths, walking on hanging bridges in an ethereal cloud forest, hiking to the bottom of a 230 foot waterfall, traveling into crocodile filled waters, and swimming in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
GETTING THERE
Costa Rica is a country in Central America. Most visitors arrive at San Jose International Airport SJO on direct flights from across the USA and South America. From there, tourists take rental cars, private shuttles, shared shuttles, or coaches to get to their destinations. Either way it’s another 2 to 4 hours of travel, most likely through mountains. A second big airport Liberia LIR is in the northern part of the country, in the jungle, and just a couple hours from popular surf spots. I flew into San Jose because it was central, and allowed me access to most of the country.
AMAZING EXCURSIONS
I traveled to La Fortuna, a fertile valley in northern Costa Rica. It was a slow drive along twisting, turning narrow mountain roads, past villages and terraced vegetable fields, moving higher in elevation, then slowly back down the other side of the mountain. I saw a Toucan during the journey, it flew right into my path and it’s large yellow, red and white beak was clearly visible against its black body, When I arrived at La Fortuna, the picture perfect Arenal Volcano cone was in the backdrop. I hiked down a deep canyon to La Fortuna Waterfall, going past tall trees, hanging vines, and ferns of all shapes and sizes. It was very hot and steamy, so it felt great to take a refreshing dip in the natural pool at the base of the spectacular 230 foot waterfall. As I left the waterfall I saw three Sloths, high up, each nestled in a tree, resting during gentle showers. La Fortuna also had thermal hot springs to soak in, rivers to raft down, zip lines to ride, and nature trails to explore, in search of animals all along the way.
Monteverde Cloud Forest was deeper in the mountains, a bit farther than La Fortuna. I hiked across several long hanging bridges in a beautiful nature reserve. The wind blew mist all over the forest, until I was completely surrounded by cool white wispy clouds. It was a surreal feeling to literally be inside the clouds, watching them floating on air, I felt like I was floating myself. I explored the tree canopy in search of some of the bird species which lived in the cooler forests of Monteverde. I heard many birds singing, including the colorful Queztal, but never saw them, because they were skillfully hidden inside the dense tree tops. However, just as I left the forest, I saw two Howler Monkeys swinging from branch to branch, then they quickly disappeared from sight as fast as they showed up.
Costa Rica’s coastline along the Pacific Ocean was a mix of tropical jungle, with long black sand beaches, scenic white sandy coves, traditional fishing villages and lively resort towns. Jaco Beach was a tourist hub, with a few high-rise condos, some nice hotels, a couple casinos, a long beach, good surf, and warm weather. It was a popular spot because it also had easy access to zip lines, ATV adventures, horseback riding tours and more. Little shacks called Sodas were everywhere. The family run shops offered tasty meals with beans & rice, plantains, empanadas, tortillas, and much more.
Just a short drive from Jaco were Crocodile Cruises along the Tarcoles River, where it’s believed more crocodiles live than anywhere else in Northern Hemisphere. There was also a big bridge over the river and a skywalk, both were great crocodile viewing spots. I saw many of the creatures floating in the water, and some basking in the mud onshore, with the sun warming up their cold blood!
About an hour south from Jaco along the Pacific Ocean was Manuel Antonio Nature Reserve. The rainforest had monkeys, sloth, birds and other animals, but they mostly stayed high up in trees. As I hiked through the reserve, I encountered a mother and baby sloth hugging a tree trunk high up, barely visible with the eye, but fully visible with a scope. I also watched two howler monkeys swinging in the branches, and a White Tailed Deer foraging through the forest. The pathway ended at two white sand beach coves, among the most pristine I’d seen in Costa Rica. After the hot hike through the jungle, it felt great to take a refreshing dip in the cool ocean. As I drove away through the countryside I saw flocks of Vultures circling in the air, and one beautiful red, yellow and blue Scarlet Macaw, flew right by me, it seemed about four feet from top to the tip of it’s tail feathers.
I kept hearing buzz about a town on the Caribbean Coast called Puerto Viejo de Tallamanca. I drove through winding hills of lush green rainforest, tall waterfalls, and raging rivers to get there. After about five hours I arrived at the charming seaside town, which was lined with swaying palm trees and long sandy beaches, some white sand, some dark sand. One beach was near a river, with signs warning about crocodiles! Despite this, plenty of people were inside the warm waters learning to surf, so I had the courage to swim. There were beach huts selling clothes and plenty of little restaurants, serving the local Caribbean version of rice and beans, which was infused with delicious coconut. In my mind, Puerto Viejo de Tallamanca was the exotic yet simple Costa Rica of yesteryear. I wish I had more time to stay!
I met a few people heading to the beach towns of Santa Teresa and Tamarindo, which had a good surf breaks and great sunsets. Tamarindo was in the upper northwestern part of Costa Rica, almost to Nicaragua. Santa Teresa was on the peninsula, just below. I didn’t get a chance to visit either during this trip but I hope to another time. Liberia Airport LIR was the closest to those destinations.
My journey to Costa Rica was filled with tropical jungles, scenic beaches, majestic waterfalls, and mystic cloud forests with hanging bridges. Although it was rare to get up close with wildlife, they could be seen high up in trees and there was an abundance of outdoor sporting adventures for everyone to enjoy.
