Discovering Costa Rica

Judy Oldmstead

Having heard how varied the natural sights were in Costa Rica, from volcanoes to rainforest and birds, we knew we wanted to see it in person. When I saw a McPhail ad in KIT last fall advertising a two week discovery tour of six different areas of Costa Rica, focusing on nature, we were excited to go. After a delay due to an east coast storm, an overnight in Houston, and a rerouting through Tegucigalpa, Honduras, (the second most dangerous airstrip in the world) we arrived in San Jose, the capital city of Costa Rica.

We stayed at the Gran Hotel, a charming old hotel in the historical centre of the city. After visiting the stores around the market square, our group of 20 plus 2 guides met for a welcome dinner. It was a great opportunity to meet the rest of our travel mates. Eleven of the 20 were retired teachers, some from Alberta and Ontario, as well as several other RTAM members. The next morning, after breakfast in a lovely open air room on top of the hotel, with views of the city and the mountains, we boarded our bus at 9 am for Irazu Volcano. We travelled through the Central Valley which is a major agricultural area producing a variety of crops, including the best coffee. The type of crop depends on the elevation; at lower levels, where it is warmer, sugar cane, pineapple, passion fruit and rice grow, while at higher elevations, cauliflower, cabbage, onions and potatoes are produced. There were many cattle in the region, both beef and dairy. In fact, the grass beside the highway was kept short by cows grazing, without even a rope to keep them from wandering.

At the end of a long, narrow, winding road, we trekked across volcanic rock to peer into the bottom of the crater, which was more than a kilometre in diameter. It last erupted in 1965, but only a muddy area was visible as we peered over the edge. Vegetation was sparse on the upper level, with a few clumps of grass and tiny wildflowers. We had a glimpse of the Magnificent Hummingbird in the dense shrubs along trail. These birds are only found above 3000 metres elevation. As we left the Irazu Conservation Area, we were surprised to see a kilometer long line of vehicles waiting to enter the park. Entrance is limited to a certain number at one time and we were glad we had arrived early.

We continued on to Cartago for lunch in an open air restaurant with local musicians entertaining the diners. A staple dish in Costa Rica is casadas, a combination of black refried beans and rice, mixed with chicken or beef. The flavour varies from one region to another, but it’s still black beans and rice.

We continued travelling east to Turrialba and the cloud forest region surrounding this volcano. As we approached, smoke was drifting from the volcano. Our destination was Guayabo Lodge, run by a Dutch wom-

an, where we would enjoy a cooking class while preparing our dinner of stuffed trout, plantain, rice and black beans, and delicious chocolate cake. The grounds around the lodge were filled with flowering shrubs and flower beds as well as views of Turrialba Volcano and fields in the valley. I was excited to spot a black bearded trogan in a shrub, and a blue and white parrot.

Today, Monday, February 11, is the first day of school for the year. Schools are public and mandatory with students wearing uniforms. There are so many children in the cities that schools have two shifts: mornings from 7 am to 12:20 pm., and afternoons from 12:30 to 5:45 pm. The students alternate mornings and afternoons each day. Teachers work one shift, except in isolated country areas, where they are paid extra.

Today we travelled to Tayutic Hacienda through valleys dotted with bright orange Poro trees. This family coffee farm has been in production since the 1800’s. The farm also produces sugar cane and macadamia nuts. We were treated to an informative presentation of the artisan way of how coffee and sugar blocks were produced, complete with oxen turning the wheel to squeeze the juice from the sugar cane. We also tried sorting macadamia nuts and visited the orchid greenhouse on site.

In the afternoon, we followed a trail through the rainforest to visit the archaeological ruins at Guayabo National Monument. This recently discovered indigenous city was believed to be home to 10 000 people dating back to 1000 B.C. There is evidence of elaborate aqueducts and roadways paved with stones.

At 7:00 am Tuesday morning, the bus headed northeast to Tortuguero on the northern end of CR’s Caribbean coast. Our route took us on rocky, bumpy trails through the hectares of banana plantations found in this province of Limon. Rows of blue bags covered the “hands” of bananas in the fields which could weigh 125 pounds. We stopped at the packing shed to observe the process of preparing the bananas for shipping, and were able to refresh ourselves with cool coconut water straight from the coconut in the shell. We gasped at the size of the Hercules beetle gnawing on a sugar cane stick which a Costa Rican man had found to show us! As we continued down the trail, we were amazed by mothers biking along the rocky road holding an umbrella in one hand to protect them from the rain. Another impromptu stop by our Spanish guide provided us the excitement of seeing and hearing howler monkeys as they jumped among the trees beside the road.

Finally around noon, we arrived at Cano Blanco dock, a bustling area crammed with buses, boats and people, both coming and going. There are no roads here, so travel is by boat along the Parismina River to the canal north to Tortuguero (Land of Turtles). This area has the greatest biodiversity so enroute we saw egrets, a Tricolored heron, and many other birds, as well as horses and Brahma cattle in the fields. It took about 90 minutes to reach Pachira Lodge and after a delicious lunch, we investigated our new location. The lodges were scattered along cement paths throughout the jungle, four large separate bedrooms in one lodge with screens for windows, no TV, fridge or air conditioning, but a ceiling fan. A perfect setting to enjoy the wildlife. Butterflies flitted from bush to bush along the pathways and howler monkeys scampered along the rooftops. The large pool was, of course, turtle shaped. Here the temperature is much warmer and more humid than the cool mountain area we had just left.

Our Spanish guide offered to take those interested on a 6 am. bird watching hike around the lodge, and since that is what I had come to see, I set my alarm and joined the small group with my binoculars. We saw a Montezuma Orapendula with its long yellow tail, a Great Kiskadee, hummingbirds, a Red-lored Parrot, Bare-throated Tiger-heron, Green heron, Purple-throated Fruitcrow, Chestnut-mandibled Toucan and a Lineated woodpecker in an hour.

On the later boat tours, our guide, Jorge, and the boat driver were excel-

lent at finding sights and maneuvering as close as possible so everyone could get a picture. We saw huge orange iguanas lying on tree branches, purple gallinule birds, and several Anhingas on tree branches in the middle of the canal with their large, black, white-striped wings outspread, possibly drying them from the morning rain shower. We saw the tiny Jesus Christ lizard and bats lined up in a row along the roof of a dock. We also saw Great Blue Herons, a Tiger heron with two babies, and several Northern Jacana walking on lily-pads right beside the boat, as well as a river otter, a kingfisher and the tail of a Boa constrictor. Costa Rica has 138 species of snakes, but fortunately we saw far more birds! Although the temperature was high, the trees were so high along the narrow canal tributaries that we were usually comfortable in the shade on our afternoon tour. Our afternoon delights were delivered by our very knowledgeable guides enabling us to see numerous species of birds and plants.

No need for an alarm the next morning. The growling of the howler monkeys from the trees outside woke us before 6 am on the morning we could have slept until 7am! Then the chirping of the birds filled the air. What a paradise! However, today we have to leave, backtracking along the canals to meet our bus and driver. Unfortunately, the water was lower and our boat had another load of passengers from another resort, so we became stuck on a sandbar. Fortunately, no luggage had to be sacrificed. After much pushing with poles by our guides and maneuvering by our driver, we finally managed to chug through. Our entertainment while we were stuck was provided by the huge pig lying in the mud along the shore. After leaving the dock, we bumped back through the banana plantations’ rocky trail before heading south to the port of Limon and the southern Caribbean coast at Puerto Viejo de Talamanca. Another unique resort was tucked in the jungle, and since our arrival was on Valentine’s Day, special treats decorated our bed. The supper buffet also included entertainment-- a young lady performed acrobatics on long fabric curtains hanging from the ceiling to the accompaniment of music.

The Talamanca region protects the largest population of indigenous people in Costa Rica, so besides the beach, we visited an indigenous community of Bribri. They performed an interesting interactive play on the history of their people. They also showed us their gardens and crafts they had made to sell.

The highlight of the trip for me was visiting a one-room local indigenous school in the area, and although all the schools were closed while the teachers attended a meeting in the capital, our guides and driver were able to find a more remote school where we could meet the teacher and tour the school. When the children heard there were visitors, they shyly came to school as well. After seeing the one blackboard and the few books they had, we should be very thankful for all the supplies and conveniences we have in our schools. We were grateful that we had taken along bags of school supplies to give them.

Our next day was free to enjoy the large pool at the resort, or watch the waves roll on the beautiful sand beach, or take a long walk to explore the shops in town. Even staying at the resort, we saw a two-toed sloth high in a tree and a Passerini’s Tanager, which is a black bird with a brilliant red section on its back.

Along the way to our next location, we visited the only sloth sanctuary in the world where rescued sloths are nursed back to health and released if possible. The grandson of the sanctuary’s founder handled several of the sloths and provided us with a wealth of information. Sloths eat 93 types of leaves and fruit, but no meat. They don’t need water as it is provided by the leaves they eat. Their fur grows from the stomach so rain drips off as they hang upside down in the tree tops where they spend most of their lives sleeping. The fur colour can range from blond to dark brown. It varies depending on the cli-

mate and other factors.

As we continued north, our bus began making a strange squealing noise and we were forced to travel very slowly, barely making it up the hills. Finally we arrived at our luncheon stop, and only had to wait a short while before another bus rescued us and delivered us to our next location, Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui in the northern plains region of Heredia province.

Our morning tour took us to La Selba Biological Station, a research and education center since 1953. Scientists come here from around the world to study ants, or poisonous frogs or countless other topics. Hiking the trails, we found wild pigs, the Blue-jean frog (a tiny red frog with blue legs) and watched the Orapendula perform his mating call ritual. Perched high in a tree, he squawks, spreads his wings and flaps them while tipping forward until he almost falls off the branch. Then he rights himself and starts the whole procedure again.

At the open-air restaurant where we had lunch, bird feeding platforms were positioned right at the wall, so as we waited for our food, we were able to photograph the Clay-colored Robin, (Costa Rica’s national bird), the bright turquoise Green Honeycreeper and a Baltimore Oriole.

In the afternoon, we visited an organic family farm. On his eight acres, the owner grows several varieties of limes, peppers, oregano and peppercorns. Peppercorns grow in a row along the stem, and when one in the bunch is reddish, they are ready to pick. Red ones are peeled to form white pepper. The others dry to become black peppercorns. He told us about the special methods he uses to be registered as an organic farm, and the current problems with fungi attacking his plants. His hospitality included a delicious fruit drink and snacks from his garden.

On the route to our next resort, we visited the Corsicana organic pineapple plantation. We travelled through huge fields on a covered, tractor-pulled wagon with the plantation’s very humourous guide, Michael. Not only did we learn about production and working conditions for the mostly Nicaraguan workers, but were royally entertained, and tasted the sweetest pineapple fresh from the field as well as delicious cake. To buy good pineapple, look for: 1) bigger eyes, 2) symmetrical shape, 3) a healthy green crown, and 4) a golden ring on the bottom. When Spaniards first took them back to Spain, only royalty were allowed to eat them.

Travelling on, we stopped for lunch at Restaurante Las Iguana in Muella, where huge iguanas wandered on the sidewalk outside eating fruit scraps, and rested in the trees in the yard. Our final resort was outside La Fortuna, near Arenal Volcano, an active, perfect cone-shaped volcano which last erupted in 1968 when lava poured over one side destroying two villages, but left the other side green with vegetation. Our accommodations were lovely side-by-side bungalows with rocking chairs on the front porch to enjoy the balmy weather. They even had air conditioning and a fridge. Hiding in the drain pipe beside our cottage was a thin mother cat and her litter of five tiny kittens. Of course, we had to feed them some scraps and a couple eventually ventured up to our porch.

Later in the afternoon, we visited Tabacon Hot Springs which has the most beautiful setting of hidden pools at different levels, surrounded by luxuriant shrubs and flowers. Although hundreds of people were there, you could still find a totally private pool in which to soak. As darkness fell, the paths and shrubs were illuminated by mini sparkling lights, while the pools glowed with underwater lights creating a fairytale wonderland. It was incredibly beautiful and I wished we could have arrived earlier in the day to enjoy the beauty longer. Our evening concluded with an expansive buffet in elegant surroundings, including a mouthwatering display of desserts.

Our tour was nearing completion. Some brave adventurers did zip-lining. (I stayed safely on a platform and took pictures.) The last morning’s adventure was travelling through the rainforest on a series of 14 hanging bridges. It was a misty day, so we were thankful for the cinder-blocks on the slippery mud trail and a rope to hold as we trekked up the forest path until we could look down upon the tops of many trees and out through the valleys.

Our last tour to the Ecocentro Danaus Butterfly Farm was a case of “saving the best for last.” Although it was a relatively small area, there were many plants, animals, birds and butterflies to see. The Blue Morphos, which I especially wanted to see, were plentiful in the butterfly enclosure, but fluttered so erratically and closed their wings so quickly on landing that it was impossible to capture a great picture. At the end of the trail, there was a fruit feeding station where we enjoyed close encounters of the avian kind. We were delighted to see a Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Golden-hooded Tanager, a Yellow-crowned Euphonia, and three Collared Aracari toucans all at once. It was a fantastic end to a fabulous tour of Costa Rica! I highly recommend it if you enjoy nature. §