COSTA RICA

Costa Rica is the second smallest country in Central America; it is also one of the most democratic. Bounded on the North by Nicaragua and on the Southeast by Panama, with the Caribbean Sea on the East and the Pacific Ocean on the West, it has a varied topography that includes high tablelands, windswept mountain ranges and hot, tropical coastal plains

More than half of Costa Rica is covered by forests, making for a highly varied plant and animal life.  Over 134 families of trees, embracing some 1,315 species, have been identified in the tropical forests.  Forest products include rubber, chicle, medicinal plants, and hard and soft woods.  Wildlife is overabundant and includes jaguar, deer, puma, caimans and crocodiles, and monkeys.  At least 725 species of birds and 130 species of snakes and frogs have been observed. This exuberant flora and fauna is the reason why the nation sustains a dynamic policy of conservation of national parks and wildlife refuges.   

                                                                                                                               

We found the people very friendly and with a high degree of education.  English is taught at every school from first grade.  There are many American enterprises there, besides the expansive tourist industry, were the English language is essential. 

ITINERARY: We visited Costa Rica in March of 2006.  The tour bus from CARAVAN took us all around Costa Rica.  From the capital to the Caribbean side;  then to the North, to the border with Nicaragua and then to the Pacific side and as South as the Manuel Antonio National Park, probably the most beautiful and visited park of the country.

We saw toucans, lots of other birds, butterflies, reptiles, monkeys, sloths, and a myriad of exotic flowers.  The weather was perfect, never raining during the day but only at night.  And, despite the brochure instructions, never had to use the mosquito repellent.

After lunch on our first day, we took our bus to visit the Poás volcano which, according to the brochures, is almost always covered with clouds.  We were extremely lucky, according to our guide, because it was a blue sky day and the volcano was a fantastic sight.  In a few minutes, however, the strong wind started to bring some clouds in.  Whoever arrived one hour after us could not have seen it.

Aerial tram above the canopy. We had an early breakfast on our second day and, at 7:00 AM, were already boarding the bus for the long ride to the eastern side of Costa Rica.  We drove it through the Braulio Carrillo National Park, a typical rainforest where we joined a group of six people to glide through the jungle canopy on the world famous rainforest aerial tram, rated one of Costa Rica’s top tourist attractions.  Some of the trees were a first sight for us, like the rattan vines and the heart of palm tree, which grows about 40 feet high and have many aerial roots on the bottom to stabilize the height.

Next stop was at the mouth of the Parismina River, where we abandoned our bus and boarded a boat for the one and a half hour ride to the Tortuguero National Park, a 47,000 acre site crisscrossed with many rivers and canals.  

It rained a lot that night (they say it rains almost every day) and I was afraid that it would be muddy, but since the soil is very sandy, our shoes never got dirty. After breakfast, we took an open boat ride through one of the many canals around our lodge.  We saw herons, egrets, toucans, snakes, turtles, iguanas, lizards and many other birds and exotic flowers, all from the boat.   

After two nights there, we took our ride back to the place where the bus was waiting for us.  Our next stop was at a banana plantation and then to

 the Selva Verde National Park, a rain cloud forest.
 In the afternoon, we arrived at the town of Fortuna, on the verge of the Arenal volcano. 

On Friday, we headed north after breakfast, passing through sugar, teak and orange plantations.

The bus stopped in the middle of a bridge, so we could see more than a dozen crocodiles in the Targolis River, where it is estimated that more than 3,000 crocodiles live.

Our destination this morning is the Caño Negro Wildlife Refugee, on the border with Nicaragua.  We took a ride on a boat through the Rio Frio, where we saw more caimans, lizards, birds and very exotic flowers.  According to our new guide, we were very lucky, because we had the chance to see a very rare animal.  It was a blond female howler monkey.  The National Geographic Magazine had visited the Rio Frio before and had taken photographs of this monkey, which they nicknamed “Blondie” and stated that it was the only one of its kind in the world.

Back to Fortuna and then to the Baldi Thermal Springs for a bath in a hot pool, which is naturally heated by the underground magma of the volcano.   

 On Saturday afternoon, we arrived at Jacó, a small beach town, which not much to do but enjoy the all-inclusive hotel with the bar by the pool.   

Next morning, we had an early breakfast at 6:30, so we could arrive at the Manuel Antonio National Park before the multitude that is expected today.  It is Sunday and a lot of natives, especially from the capital, like to come to this park on the weekends.  It is the most beautiful and most visited of all the parks in Costa Rica.   

The sand here is light and the water very calm, perfect for swimming.  I took a photograph of a big bird called the great potoo posing on a branch.  It took me some time to find the three-toed sloth which was sleeping on a tree branch about forty stories high.  Bruni decided to stay at the beach while I walked about four miles to a lookout.  Half way there I saw a group of people acting very excited.  There were four or five white-throated capuchin monkeys jumping from branch to branch and sometimes posing for the cameras very close to us.   

On the morning returning trip to San Jose we stopped at Sarchí, known for the famous painted ox carts and other colorful handicrafts.   

Next, we stopped at Grecia, to see its metallic cathedral.  Grecia is also considered one of the cleanest towns in Central America.  It is also the only picturesque town that we saw in the whole trip.

Our tour ended after breakfast on Tuesday and we were taken to the airport for our return trip home.