Mike surfing at Jaco Beach while I played in the waves with my camera Ontario winters keep changing, one year having lots of snow but tolerable temperatures, another year reaches double digits in the minus zone (Celsius) and stays there, another has lots of ice storms. This year, we had one of those yo-yo years, where it might dump a pile of snow one week, then creep up into low but positive temperatures the next, then rain, then freeze, then plummet to where your eyeballs burn from the cold ... and repeat.
Which made our 2 weeks in Costa Rica at the end of February and the beginning of March very pleasant indeed. From -5 (-20 overnight) to 30+ degrees C and sunshine makes for happy people.
We started our trek by getting a rental car from the San Jose airport and driving about an hour and a half out to Jaco Beach, on the Pacific side of the country. Six days at a surf camp near (but not right in) a beach town where shorts and a tank top (or a bathing suit) kept the worst of the humidity at bay worked great. Mike had 3 surfing lessons--one on his birthday--and I had 4 sessions of yoga. We met a fantastic couple of women (one from Germany and one from Ireland) that we hung out with for pretty much the whole week, having an absolute blast. Even took a day trip out to Carrera National Park, about 30 minutes away, where we went on a hike with a great guide who showed us Scarlet Macaws, Capuchin Monkies, Howler Monkies, Lizards, 2- and 3-Toed Sloths, Cicadas, Bats, and a wide variety of ants.
Which made our 2 weeks in Costa Rica at the end of February and the beginning of March very pleasant indeed. From -5 (-20 overnight) to 30+ degrees C and sunshine makes for happy people.
We started our trek by getting a rental car from the San Jose airport and driving about an hour and a half out to Jaco Beach, on the Pacific side of the country. Six days at a surf camp near (but not right in) a beach town where shorts and a tank top (or a bathing suit) kept the worst of the humidity at bay worked great. Mike had 3 surfing lessons--one on his birthday--and I had 4 sessions of yoga. We met a fantastic couple of women (one from Germany and one from Ireland) that we hung out with for pretty much the whole week, having an absolute blast. Even took a day trip out to Carrera National Park, about 30 minutes away, where we went on a hike with a great guide who showed us Scarlet Macaws, Capuchin Monkies, Howler Monkies, Lizards, 2- and 3-Toed Sloths, Cicadas, Bats, and a wide variety of ants.
The upper level of our 2-tier treehouse Our rental had a few issues (coolant light coming on for one, near bald tires for another), so when the rental company emailed to ask how we liked the car, Mike let them know. They then arranged for a replacement when one became available, driving it right to the surf camp for us. As we needed a 4x4 with decent tires for the second half of our trip, this replacement came as something of a relief.
The next leg of our adventure took us further south along the highway, where we broke up our 3+ hours of driving with a monkey challenge (me going through a tame version of a 6-part ninja course) and some zip lining.
Then we arrived at our next destination: the Finca Bellavista treehouse community, where we stayed in the rainforest for 4 nights. Up a steep and rocky 3-mile road near Piedras Blancas National Park, you come upon this neat community with both renters, volunteers, and full-time home owners. Our treehouse took a 10-minute walk to reach, and we had solar power and mosquito netting. Luckily, it wasn't wet season, so we didn't see many bugs (other than the huge one hanging out on the bathroom mirror--likely friends with the gecko in the kitchen). Finca Bellavista produces most of its own food, which you can purchase to cook up yourself, or have them cook it for you in the communal kitchen/eatery. We did both. With a few kilometers of trails, and multiple ones at that--some in loops, some to the river or waterfall, one to a scenic point--we never lacked for things to do. We had a routine of hiking in the morning, sitting on the covered balcony in the afternoons when it rained, then going to base camp for 'happy hour' where we could meet with others before having some supper before walking back in the dark with myriad stars overhead, the rain clouds having cleared until the next day.
Our last night of happy hour saw 8 people in the space (one being the bartender), where two of us (including the bartender) didn't have our cellphones out. I sat there enjoying the view and writing stuff in my head, trying to figure out how to end my next book The Forgotten Magic. At least when we all got to supper, we sat together and actually spoke to each other. Better late than never!
The next leg of our adventure took us further south along the highway, where we broke up our 3+ hours of driving with a monkey challenge (me going through a tame version of a 6-part ninja course) and some zip lining.
Then we arrived at our next destination: the Finca Bellavista treehouse community, where we stayed in the rainforest for 4 nights. Up a steep and rocky 3-mile road near Piedras Blancas National Park, you come upon this neat community with both renters, volunteers, and full-time home owners. Our treehouse took a 10-minute walk to reach, and we had solar power and mosquito netting. Luckily, it wasn't wet season, so we didn't see many bugs (other than the huge one hanging out on the bathroom mirror--likely friends with the gecko in the kitchen). Finca Bellavista produces most of its own food, which you can purchase to cook up yourself, or have them cook it for you in the communal kitchen/eatery. We did both. With a few kilometers of trails, and multiple ones at that--some in loops, some to the river or waterfall, one to a scenic point--we never lacked for things to do. We had a routine of hiking in the morning, sitting on the covered balcony in the afternoons when it rained, then going to base camp for 'happy hour' where we could meet with others before having some supper before walking back in the dark with myriad stars overhead, the rain clouds having cleared until the next day.
Our last night of happy hour saw 8 people in the space (one being the bartender), where two of us (including the bartender) didn't have our cellphones out. I sat there enjoying the view and writing stuff in my head, trying to figure out how to end my next book The Forgotten Magic. At least when we all got to supper, we sat together and actually spoke to each other. Better late than never!
Nauyaca Waterfall, where you could swim in the lower basin. I didn't have my bathing suit here, so Mike went in in his shorts without me On our third and final leg of the journey, we headed inland toward the mountains and cloud forest of the Quetzal Valley. To break up that 3 hour drive, we stopped at the Nauyaca Waterfall, which is a 4 kilometer hike along a dirt and rock road that we managed to get to around 11 a.m.--so yes, we hiked 4 km each way in the highest heat of the day in a humid rainforest with the sun blazing down. The waterfall was worth it, though, as well as the birds we saw along the way, including a toucan hanging out in a tree where we could actually see it.
Toucan, singing away as we hike past
Our cabin is down the hill, and didn't have outdoor seating Then we finally reached the Quetzal Valley, driving through the usual 3 p.m. shower. Nelson met us at Quetzal Valley Cabins and showed us our cabin for the last 4 nights, doing a decent enough job explaining things even though he spoke Spanish, and we pretended we understood more than we did. He conveyed the most important information; that we could drink the water from the tap, as it was spring fed. As we had now gone into the higher altitudes (the valley spans somewhere between 8000-11,000 feet, depending on what part you're in), the temperatures had fallen. The days ranged from 13-18 degrees C, and the nights went as low as 8. The cabin had a heater and four layers of sheets/blankets on the bed. We huddled under the blankets and toughed it out without the heater, though that first night saw a couple of chilly noses.
Waterfall at the end of the traversable valley Quetzal Valley is famous for its population of the Resplendent Quetzal, a long-tailed and colourful bird, which we never did see despite learning a few places to look. We did see many other birds though (like yellow thigh finches, black guam, collared redcap, swifts, hawks, sooty thrush, maybe some warblers and flycatchers) and hiked some very hilly terrain. The path to the waterfall near the end of the road had some quite exciting patches, including bridges and stairs lacking some under-foot mesh (so you're walking on less-than-stable metal cross-pieces rather than full bridges) and a tree across the final stairs. Also, the rope assist down to the actual waterfalls was great fun!
Some of the many hummingbirds at Miriam's Most times, we ate at a place called Miriam's Quetzals, a nice little family-run business with good food. They also had a spot out back with hummingbird feeders and a platform for feeding other birds, such as acorn woodpeckers and tanagers.
On the last full day, we drove up to the highest spot of Cerro de la Muerte ('Summit of Death' at 3335 metres, or nearly 11 000 feet, where they have all their antennas and cell towers set up) and did some wandering. We watched the clouds roll through, stealing the sun and masking everything outside a few metre radius, cloaking the world in a haze of mist. We found one path that our GPS said went about a kilometre (a rather steep km down) and followed that, watching the flora change from scrubby and dull to lush and colourful, and when we reached the end, discovered that we had followed a maintenance road to a hydro tower. Not as inspiring as we might have hoped. We found a craggy rock to climb when we got back to the top and found the 'real' path that people likely usually take. Hey, we always like finding things off the beaten track ...
On the last full day, we drove up to the highest spot of Cerro de la Muerte ('Summit of Death' at 3335 metres, or nearly 11 000 feet, where they have all their antennas and cell towers set up) and did some wandering. We watched the clouds roll through, stealing the sun and masking everything outside a few metre radius, cloaking the world in a haze of mist. We found one path that our GPS said went about a kilometre (a rather steep km down) and followed that, watching the flora change from scrubby and dull to lush and colourful, and when we reached the end, discovered that we had followed a maintenance road to a hydro tower. Not as inspiring as we might have hoped. We found a craggy rock to climb when we got back to the top and found the 'real' path that people likely usually take. Hey, we always like finding things off the beaten track ...
We love Costa Rica, with its kind and generous people, fantastic scenery, awesome flora and fauna, and all around good feeling. Mike's already planning next year's trip, possibly making this an annual outing. Definitely worth it!
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