Photos
Gil Gonzálas Dávilla is a more likely source of this irresistible moniker. He employed brutal tactics to strip what little gold the Indians had scoured from the rivers of the Osa Peninsula on a bloody march from Panama to the gulf of Nicoya in 1522. After failing miserably in his mission to establish a permanent settlement, he returned home with the stolen gold and a proclamation that the area should be called the "Rich Coast" in an attempt to disguise his defeat as an auspicious exploration.
Regardless, Costa Rica's is rich in another sense. Its strikingly diverse terrain—lush forests, wildlife reserves, and tropical beaches— offers a little something for every traveler to enjoy. Beach-lovers staying along the Pacific Coast have plenty of choices from Guanacaste and the Nicoya Peninsula in the northern part, and Jaco, Playa Dominical, Quepos, Manuel Antonio and Drake Bay going south. Nature-seekers staying in the Northern Plains or along the Caribbean coast visit Puerto Viejo de Talamanca before venturing inland to zip-line above Monteverde's Cloud Rain forest and hike Arenal Volcano. For bird and wildlife viewing, San Gerardo de Dota, Manuel Antonio and Corcovado are obvious options.
There's much to discover in this paradise - cloud and rain forests, volcanoes, hot springs and waterfalls. After tourism, Costa Rica's economy depends on exports of coffee, bananas, pineapple, sugar, lumber, wood products and beef. United Fruit Company (now, Chiquita) is instrumental in making banana a key export from the Banana Republic countries to the US.
Costa Rica is among the free-est and safest of Central American countries (not to mention, most expensive) - one that has NO standing army of its own. Police are not too visible, but they were always there - at the scene of an accident on those narrow roads of Costa Rica. Main reasons to go:
- Cloud forests are unique highland forests characterized by 100% humidity. A significant portion of their precipitation is derived from the surrounding clouds and mist. As a result, cloud forests maintain tremendous biodiversity - one that thrives on moisture in the air, not flowing water. For the most part, cloud forest zones are significantly cooler than their lowland and beach counterparts.
- Tropical Rain forests, on the other hand, are home to two-thirds of all living animal and plant species on the planet - thanks to 200 inches of rain annually.
- Waterfalls - Owing to its splendor, and location next to the highway from Barva/Poas to San Miguel, the popularity champion waterfall is at La Paz. Like us, many visitors just stop by the roadside for a few minutes, take pictures, and continue on to Arenal. If you have time, you can spend a night or two in the Peace Lodge and take advantage of the improved trails to the upper falls and butterfly gardens.
- Volcanoes - Most people familiar with Costa Rica would immediately think of Arenal's fiery lava flows if asked for the most visited volcanic destination, but it's actually third on the list. Irazú and Poás volcanoes each attract more than twice as many tourists as Arenal. In fact, they're the two most popular National Parks in the country mainly due to their proximity to San Jose. Unlike Arenal, both these volcanoes have roads leading to the top of the crater. Keep in mind though that volcanoes in Costa Rica are frequently shrouded in fog - as we experienced.
For a country smaller in area than West Virginia, Costa Rica boasts over 50 national parks covering more than 25% of the country. These parks and conservation areas are mostly undeveloped forests with few facilities. Some notable ones that we visited were:
- Manuel Antonio is the most popular National Park/beach in Costa Rica. Park service imposes strict limit on the number of visitors to prevent this tiny natural area from being loved to death. Park entrance is only $3 per entry for locals, but $16 for everyone else. Additional $20 per person will get you a guide with a spotting scope - pretty much the only way you will see wildlife that tends to shy away from humans, or blends in with the colors and shadows of the forests. You can spend the entire day here - in the park or on the beach.- The Park, located 80 miles south of San José, is relatively small, and includes a lowland rain forest right on the beach. It is home to a healthy monkey population, including the endangered squirrel monkey. Due to the park's popularity, a large number of hotels and resorts can be found nearby.
- Monteverde is a private reserve with the easiest access to cloud forests - provided of course you make it there in the first place. Having the most rugged dirt roads sporting "potholes the size of bathtubs" help keep crowds under control. The approach to Monteverde from either San Jose (South) or Tilaran (North) is on a road numbered 606 on maps. I didn't see the road number on any road signs - not that you have time to look for one while navigating around the potholes. The road is so bumpy that you need a 4X4 vehicle with high road clearance, and you'd still be lucky to go any faster than 20 kmph (12.5 mph) - nowhere close to the posted speed limit of 35. The time -and patience- it takes to get there shows your commitment to Monteverde! - Like Manuel Antonio, it has gained tremendous popularity, but has much less chance of being loved to death. Monteverde is also much larger in size - the cool, wet, windy weather (and frequent fog) means shorter visits. There are many other private areas/forests nearby with tempting offering of activities that are fit for all age groups.
- We took a popular night hike and loved it. This two hour hike showcased plenty of wildlife in their own habitats - mostly asleep and therefore easy to observe in spotlights/ flashlights. (Nights are usually "down" times in touristy areas - here we found a great way to make use of them for additional sightseeing opportunities.) - Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve covers 26,000 acres of primary forest, mostly mid-elevation cloud forest, with a rich variety of flora and fauna. Epiphytes (like ferns) thrive in the cool, misty climate. The most famous resident is the spectacular Resplendent Quetzal - rarely seen. There is a well-maintained trail system, which you can follow on your own. To see any wildlife, though, it is best to hire a guide. The morning we visited, all wildlife must have gone on a strike. Even the guides were only talking about plants and trees because there was no wildlife to watch. (We saw plenty of wildlife during the rest of the trip.) - Carara National Park - Located just off the highway near the Pacific coast, on the road to Jacó, 63 miles west of San José, is one of the best places in Costa Rica to see scarlet macaws. Several well maintained trails run through the park. The park is comprised of various ecosystems, ranging from rain forests to transitional forests to mangroves. Tarcoles River just north of the park boundary is home to alligators - more accurately, caimans - who prefer sunbathing on the river banks, clearly and safely visible to tourists from the bridge overhead.
- Corcovado National Park - The largest single block of virgin lowland rain forest in Central America, Corcovado National Park receives more than 200 in. of rain per year. It's increasingly popular but still very remote. It has no roads; only dirt tracks leading into it.) Best way to visit is by a boat from Sierpe or Drake Bay. Scarlet macaws live here, as do countless other Neotropical species, including two of the country's largest cats, the puma and the endangered jaguar - rarely seen. Camping facilities and trails are available throughout the park. Located 208 miles south of San José, on the Osa Peninsula, it is by far the best for wildlife viewing.- Corcovado and Chirripó draw most of the trekkers in Costa Rica.
- Playa Dominical and Quepos are among the beautiful beaches that can be found all along the Pacific Ocean. To see giant turtles laying eggs, and later hatchlings running off to the ocean, you'd want to visit beaches further north, or Tortuguero on the Caribbean (Atlantic) coast - during the right season. Most beaches were empty during this shoulder season.
- Poás Volcano National Park - Poás is an active volcano near San José. The Volcano is only 23 miles northwest of San José (even less from the SJO airport), but it takes about an hour on the narrow, winding one-lane each-way roads that pass through small towns along the way. - The main crater is more than 1 mile wide, and is constantly active with fumaroles and hot geysers. Poás is surrounded by dense cloud forests and has some nice gentle trails to hike. Although the area around the volcano is lush, much of the growth is stunted due to the gases and acid rain. The park sometimes closes when the gases get too feisty.- Poás has a road that goes all the way up to the crater rim. However, it is frequently covered in dense fog - especially after 10 am (the park opens at 8 am.), completely obscuring the view of the crater - the main reason to visit this volcano!- To have the best chance and more time for clear viewing, we drove to Poás the previous night and stayed at a hotel mere 10 km from the park entrance. The plan was to get up in the morning and reach the crater just as the park opened at 8 am. It was sunny and clear everywhere the previous evening, except at the top of course. The entire night howling winds were making our hotel windows rattle. It sounded like pounding rain, but it was mostly wind with just a light drizzle - locals don't even consider that as rain. The live cam pictures of the crater showed only fog and nothing else. After waiting a bit, we moved on. It was foggy even at the hotel that day.
- Another chance to visit Poás would be on the last day morning before our flight out of SJO. That day, the morning was mostly clear. We drove to Poas and just a few miles before the entrance, the road was closed due to an accident with no estimated time to open. It was around the curve so we couldn't even see where the accident was or how bad it was. After some time, when we saw cars ahead of us make a u-turn and return, we followed. Poas would have to wait for some other day. - Arenal National Park - This park, created to protect the ecosystem that surrounds Arenal Volcano, has a couple of good trails, and a prominent lookout point that is extremely close to the volcano. Arenal, one of the world's most active volcanoes, stands more than 5,000 feet high and has been dormant since 2010. It is often concealed by a thick layer of fog, just like it was when we drove by. We could only see the base of the volcano even when we were at the closest point at Fortuna - about a mile away. No hiking volcanoes on this trip.
