Cruising Through Costa Rica

An oh-so-long flight from Taipei, Taiwan landed us safe and sound in San Jose, Costa Rica. The first thing that struck us was the beautiful, lush, green landscape and next the amazingly friendly and helpful people!

After getting our rental car and finding our way we settled into our hotel in San Jose for a few days of rest to recharge and adjust to the 10 hour time difference. We did very little in San Jose. A few short walks to explore the neighbourhood by our hotel was about it. We had been advised there wasn’t really too much to see in San Jose and that safety wise it was a bit iffy so we were content to hang out in our comfortable hotel for the 2 days before heading out of the city and into the jungle of Costa Rica.

Our first destination was the stunning Manuel Antonio National Park, about 132kms from San Jose but a 3.5 hour drive due to single lane roads with low speed limits. The weather was gorgeous and it was nice to hit the road in our rental car, with no set schedule, after months of crowded trains and buses in Asia.

Our hotel was located just outside the park and was outstanding! It truly felt like we were staying in the jungle. The property was on the Pacific Ocean side of Costa Rica with stunning views. Our favourite part was the wildlife. Have we mentioned the wildlife yet?! Prepare to be bombarded with creatures large and small! There were two 2-toed sloths who lived in the trees near the pool, a couple of rainbow macaws and countless monkeys who lived in the many surrounding mango trees. In fact, walking to and from our room we had to take cover from falling mangos, made loose or dropped by all the monkeys in the trees. We could have watched them for hours!

We happened to be spending Father’s Day in the park, and we know Dad loves to be on the ocean, so we booked a catamaran trip to see the park from oceanside and to do some swimming and snorkeling. The weather was fantastic and we had a great time enjoying and playing in the turquoise water.

The following evening we went on a guided night walk in the park to scope out some of the creatures that go bump in the night. While we were hoping to see some larger critters we did manage to see several frogs, spiders and even a Fer De Lance snake…eeek! We all agreed it was a somewhat creepy experience to trek through the jungle in the dark but definitely memorable!

The next morning we packed up and reluctantly said goodbye to Hotel Parador and its resident creatures and made our way further north and inland to Monteverde. Monteverde is home to one of the rarest habitats on Earth, the Cloud Forest. The high humidity here creates a mist that looks like clouds and gives the forest its name.

Activities in Monteverde included a guided hike through the cloud forest, including 10 suspension bridges at Monteverde Sky Adventures. Costa Rica sits between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, creating a unique and biodiverse environment. There are roughly 9,000 species of plants in Costa Rica, with approximately 3,000 growing in Monteverde Forest. The complex eco system is also home to over 100 species of mammals, 400 types of birds and thousands of insects. Our trek was quite interesting and allowed us to see and learn about some pretty unique plants and critters.

We also visited the Life Monteverde Coffee Farm. Life Monteverde is an association of 12 families with long histories of farming in Monteverde. The focus here was on sustainable farming using environmentally responsible practices. While the boys weren’t keen on learning about coffee, the farm was beautiful, the tour informative and the tasting at the end fantastic. We left having learned just how much work goes in to delivering a good cup of coffee to our tables and the wide variations in beans and preparation.

Moving northwest we headed next to Arenal National Park to spend a few days admiring Costa Rica’s most famous volcano and surrounding lake. We lucked out and on day one had a fog free view of the volcano, some thing that happens only about 80 days per year. For the remainder of our time we couldn’t see anything due to heavy mist and fog.

For our second day we booked a Full-Day Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge boat tour. After an early morning hotel pick up we travelled about 2 hours to the wetlands, located near the Nicaraguan border. We saw so much wildlife including herons, cormorants, monkeys, turtles, caiman, and iguanas. Afterwards we stopped for a traditional meal on the way back. It was another great day!

We didn’t realize it at the time but our day on the river was the last day we would see the sunshine for the remainder of our time in Costa Rica. It was raincoats and umbrellas for the next week as we made our way to the Caribbean Sea side.

After leaving Arenal we made a stop at the Fortuna River Waterfall which included a brief hike down to the falls. The falls themselves weren’t all that impressive and the entrance fee steep but still worth a look. There was a great swimming spot at the base of the falls which was teeming with swimmers. We also spotted a pair of yellow toucans in the nearby trees.

Our next destination was Sarapiqui for one night to take in some white water rafting. Our hotel was almost deserted. We later learned that Sarapiqui, while famous for its rafting and kayaking, isn’t generally an overnight destination. Regardless we did enjoy watching a family of tucans hanging out in the trees near the pool and had a blast on the river!

Our final destination was the Puerto Viejo de Talamanca beach area, directly on the Caribbean Sea. Getting there turned out to be a bit of a nightmare due to transport truck strikes that turned a 3.5 hour drive into a 9 hour drive and our return about 6 hours! We’ve had so much “togetherness” this year what’s an extra 8 hours in a car with the kids asking “are we there yet?!”

Unfortunately the weather wasn’t very beachy so we spent some time reading and getting caught up on pictures and what not while the boys finished up their school work for the year. Our hotel was very nice and the staff most helpful, which made things more comfortable. On one lucky day we managed to see a sloth up close as we discovered him just hanging out on the side of the road as we went by. They are such bizarre looking but cute creatures!

We did manage to escape the rain for a few hours for a tour of the Jaguar Rescue Foundation, located next door to our hotel. While we were surprised to discover there were no actual jaguars there we had an informative tour and got to see some pretty precious animals. The foundation rescues injured, ill or orphaned animals and offers care and veterinary services in hope of releasing them back into the wild. Those animals who are unable to be reintroduced to the rainforest are given permanent homes at the center. We all agreed there is probably nothing more adorable than a basket full of baby sloths!

We loved Costa Rica and found it to be very unique. The combination of lush jungle landscapes, beautiful beaches and amazing and unique wildlife made it unlike anywhere we have been so far. Oh what a wonderful world!

With Love,

The Travelling Babins

“There is no time to be bored in a world as beautiful as this” – Unknown