Costa Rica

Costa Rica:

San Jose: Having been to San Jose I can second the general opinion that it is not a nice city, with muggings common at night in down town. We had an enjoyable stay in Aldea hostel which is fairly new.  The staff there were very friendly and helped us book a few trips out of the city. Two eventful things happened while we stayed there: A massive car crash happened right outside our hostel while we were busy cooking dinner. We watched the whole scene through the windows – luckily no one was hurt even though the cars were pretty smashed up. The other thing that happened was that a girl had her bag stolen right outside the hostel one night while waiting for her taxi. It was slightly disturbing especially as it happened so close to us. If you ever travel through San Jose, use it only as a gateway to get to other places things.

Coffee Tour: When I lived in the UK, I bought a lot of Costa Rican coffee and therefore could not resist a coffee tour. Britt Coffee is located in the Heredia province of Costa Rica (there are 7 regions in total). The slightly higher altitude gives rise to a cooler climate and that together with all the mineral deposits coming from the volcanoes makes for good coffee. I didn’t have overly high expectations of the coffee tour but have to admit that I was very pleasantly surprised. Our guides were actors as well who kept bantering with each other and even staged a small show dressed up in funny costumes while acting out the history of coffee. It was a great day out as we learnt about the history of coffee as well as the manufacturing process. 

It has been rumored that coffee was discovered by an Ethiopian goat herder who saw that his goats became hyperactive when eating particular red berries. Arabs were the first to start drinking coffee and soon started trading it with other countries. Coffee first came to Costa Rica in 1750. The berries change colour from green (unripe), to red (ripe) and finally to black (over ripe). There are 3 layers to remove before reaching the actual beans – only 25% of the actual berries is used!  Workers harvest the berries with woven baskets tied around their waste which when full weigh 25lbs. Years ago the Costa Rican Government parceled up land and allocated it to families.  This means that today, many locals have their own small plots for growing coffee. After harvesting they deliver their coffee berries to a plant, such as Britt Coffee, which is supplied by over 1,000 individual growers.

To start the beans are weighed and dropped into a tank filled with water. Good beans sink to the bottom whereas the poorer floating berries are sold to instant coffee producers. The first process is crushing the berries to remove the outer skin. The slimy whitish beans then go into large containers which are filled with water where natural fermentation takes place – a little like fermenting wine. The fermentation process helps to remove the 2^nd layer after which the beans are left outside, on large flat concrete bases, to dry. Workers have to rake the beans every hour for a week to ensure the beans reach the optimum humidity level of 11.5% – any higher can cause fungi to grow on it. The beans can then be stored in a neutral environment as they absorb other smells, for up to a year. After storage the last parchment layer is removed to reveal a green coffee bean. These beans are then roasted at a temperature of 300C to the desired color and taste – caramelizing the natural sugars turns the beans brown. 

The longer beans are roasted, the darker they become and more natural oils are released - Espresso for example is the darkest bean with the strongest flavour. Another interesting fact is that after the Costa Rican government ruled that ALL of the best coffee must be exported, sugar sales have increased dramatically.  The reason for this is that good coffee tastes nice hot and cold without sugar whereas bad coffee tastes bitter, hence the high sugar sales! For creating froth you don’t need an expensive coffee machine only a French Coffee Press (cafetiere).  Pour chilled semi-skimmed milk into the press and pump the handle up and down fast about 30 times. This creates lovely foam which you simply heat up in the microwave.  No $5,000 coffee machine required!

Tortuguero National Park: The day after the coffee tour, we were picked up at our hostel at 5:45 for a day trip to the park. On our way we drove up into the mountains through a cloud forest - water condenses at around 1,200m forming a cloud, hence then name. The weather up there was not good – cold, windy and rainy but luckily the weather back down at sea level was much better. Along the way we passed many pineapple and banana plantations and stopped at one for some photos. I bought a coconut (with straw) off a local who also displayed a large beetle gnawing on a sugar cane.  We continue to be amazed by the random things we see along the way.

 Most of the trip consisted of a boat ride along a series of canals through the forest. We saw many species of wildlife, including white herons (who have yellow worm like feet to attract small fish), tiger herons, Jesus Christ lizards (so called because they can run on water!), caimans, crocodiles, howler monkeys, white faced monkeys, black river turtles, anhingas, snowy egrets, northern jacanas, montezuma oropendol and we even saw a nocturnal two-toed sloth next to the road! Our guide, Thomas, also pointed out a very well camouflaged owl sitting on a branch. He was very passionate about his job and mentioned a few interesting facts such as:

·        -- > Whales were actually wolves and have evolved over thousands of years into swimming creatures. The funny lumps on their bodies are patches of “skin” and may even contain hair.

·         --> White Faced Monkeys are the only predators in Costa Rica who decide what they are going to hunt together in a pack.

·         --> The leaves on trees are NOT green. We only perceive it as green because of this is the part of the light spectrum they emit.

·         --> Matter cannot be created only redistributed so where do all the bananas come from? Millions get exported but nothing comes back to replace them. The answer is carbon! Plants absorb carbon from the atmosphere to create the fruit – hence why you can grow plants using hydroponics!

·         --> Road-kill only happens outside National Parks. You will never see a dead animal next to the road inside the park.  Reason: the animals only move around outside the park because they are forced to do so by humans.

·         --> Animals that eat leaves move a lot slower than animals that eat grass because they are harder to digest and provide less energy.

Gillian became sick after our day trip and ended up visiting the hospital as her coughing became worse and she had a fever. I can only praise the Costa Rican health services as they were professional and very efficient. She was diagnosed with lower airway infection and ordered to bed which meant that we ended up staying in San Jose for 7 nights. Travelling around Costa Rica can be a bit tricky especially if you want to do various National Parks, and so with Gillian still recovering, we decided to rent a car.  Unfortunately we discovered that quoted prices on the internet are only half the story – the neglect to include the mandatory taxes and insurance (we were quoted $350 and paid $470). Nevertheless, we were pretty screwed without one so had to bite the bullet. In hindsight, I definitely would have gone for a jeep rather than our economy car as some of the potholes we encountered were almost as big as our little car!

Quepos: After the vast distances we covered in South America, Central America seems very small. We drove from San Jose to Quepos in under 3 hours and settled into a small hotel in town. The town was fairly Americanized with many tourist souvenir shops. I’ve never seen so many deep sea fishing charters in one town – all advertising the catch and release of blue and black marlin, sailfish, dorado and many more. Since Gillian was still not very well, I aided her recovery by giving her a day off and booked a fishing trip for me the next day. Quepos is a mecca for deep sea fishing and there are two optionson offer: inshore fishing for rooster fish, red snapper and snook or deep sea fishing for sailfish, dorado, tuna and if you’re lucky, blue or black marlin! I decided to splash out and booked a boat for the day.

Deep sea fishing: The boat had a captain and a very energetic helper who tended the rods. Generally, flashers and teasers would be more thought of in connection with strippers, although the terms are also also used with respect to fishing. Extended on either side of our boat were 2 down riggers, each with a teaser (squid-like rubber lure) and baited with a small fish or lure on the hook end. The next two rods were situated on either side of the boat (on the lower deck) while the last was bang in the middle mounted in the rod holder in the top. Last but not least was a flasher (rectangular shiny piece of metal) that spins around in the water and reflects the sunlight which attracts fish. That gave us a total of 5 rods all baited with either small fish or lures. Our captain maintained a steady pace and thus began the waiting game.

When a fish strikes all hell breaks loose on the boat amidst loud and frantic shouting. Both captain and mate drop anything they might be doing and scurry towards the rods with outstretched arms as if sleepwalking, only very much faster. After spotting the jerking rod they would grab it and set the hook by which time I would have position myself in the swivel chair on the back of the boat. We had quite a few strikes which we lost before actually hooking into a sailfish. Having an acrobatic sailfish on the other end of your line is a pure adrenaline rush to say the least. I was amazed by the power of the fish as it leapt out of the water while viciously shaking its head trying to dislocate the hook. Luckily for me it never happened and soon I was able to pose with my first but hopefully not last sailfish! For the rest of the day I was more emotional than a pregnant woman as I switched between happy and very sad when I lost a very large dorado and a few more sailfish. I did however finish the day a very happy customer with a smile as big as the sailfish I caught!

Manuel Antonio National Park: This is Costa Rica’s 2^nd smallest national park with beautiful beaches and it is home to cheeky white faced monkeys and raccoons. We rented a very poor guide that day and felt pretty much ripped off after a very short and dull tour. A large part of the park we hiked ourselves and managed to see a white nosed coati, sloths, agouties and few birds. Most of the park and trails were however closed off due to a hurricane that destroyed most of the trails 6 months earlier. The fun part was back on the beach where the white faced monkeys came down from the trees to terrorize the tourists. 

There was a whole troop of them constantly scouting for unsuspecting sunbathers and quickly jumping down to steal their food. They were a constant source of entertainment as they went about their monkey business. Not to be outdone were the raccoons. They were even bolder with their theft and raided people’s bags with no care in the world! It was very funny watching the startled tourists trying to shoo off the naughty blighters.  Manuel Antonio was a very nice park to visit and definitely worth a visit. The iconic beaches and cheeky thieving wildlife made it a memorable visit for us.

Monteverde Cloud Forest: From Quepos we drove north past Jaco and over a river containing lots of large crocodiles and onwards towards Monteverde. We took the turn off onto the dirt road leading to Monteverde and discovered that our little car was definitely not up to it – we rattled along for a little bit but soon decided to turn back and give Monteverde a miss. Back on the smooth tarmac road we set off for our revised destination which was a small town called Arenal. Due to the lack of sign posts, we took a wrong turn and after asking for directions discovered that we were yet again on another dirt road to Monteverde! That time we decided to continue and after shaking along and dodging numerous potholes we finally reached the village. We stayed in Eddy’s Cabinas which was lovely and as the owner also owned the barber shop downstairs, it was time for a quick and very cheap haircut.

Monteverde itself is a beautiful little village perched up in the mountains, overlooking the cloud forest - a very vivid rainbow stretching across the town made it even more picturesque! Tourism is big in Monteverde and there are quite a few activities on offer such as zip-lining, hiking, a coffee tour or a visit to the sloth or bat sanctuary or Frog Pond/Butterfly show. On our first evening we booked a night hike as Gillian was eager to see a tarantula. The company we did the hike with had a few bird and animal feeders positioned outside their hut and we soon saw raccoons, white-faced coatis, hummingbirds and a kinkajou who kept stealing the bananas meant for the birds. As it was very windy that night we didn’t see too many animals although Gillian got to see her tarantula. The two we saw were orange and black in colour and are apparently kept as pets by many people. Unfortunately many die as people don’t feed them the correct food.

Twitchers: One of the main things to do in Monteverde is to try and spot a quetzal – a very elusive and colorful bird. Twitchers come from all over the world to try and catch a glimpse of this bird so we headed off early the next morning to try our luck. Bird watchers amused me as they walked about, as if in a trance, with opened mouths and some with a zoom lens the size of the Hubble telescope. We decided not to chance another bad guide so did the hike on our own. There were many groups with guides anyway and the funny thing was that Gillian spotted a quetzal that a guide failed to spot, even after she tried to point it out to him! I quickly zoomed in and took a picture and after that the quetzal promptly flew off followed by an entourage of over excited gawking twitchers and guide, all falling over each other – it was hilarious to watch!

Sloth Sanctuary: We couldn’t resist a visit to the sloth sanctuary on our way back to town and so we stopped in too see the sloths up close. A very passionate woman told us many facts (and a few myths) about sloths which were very interesting. The sloths at the centre had been rescued and cannot be returned to the wild due to their injuries from overhead electric cables, being hit by cars or bitten by dogs. There are two welfare sanctuaries for sloths in Costa Rica. The main one were founded by our tour guide’s parents and is situated on the east coast in Cahita, where they run a volunteer programme. We really enjoyed seeing the sloths up close as they lazed about with their ever present “smiles”. They are really curious animals and one kept trying to reach for us with its long claws. Here are a few more sloth facts:

·         --> They only defecate every 7 days, therefore 30% of their bodyweight is sh*t!

·         --> Sloths live in trees and feed on the leaves. They only risk coming down to take a dump in order that they can bury their sh*t next to the tree they feed on before any rain can wash it away to fertilize the soil.

·         --> Sloths used to live alongside dinosaurs and evolved to walk on land and became huge animals. When the  American continents joined, predators came down from the north so sloths evolved back to living in trees and being much smaller.

·         --> Two and three toed sloths are actually two very different animals and according to our guide should be called Choloepus and Bradypus respectively.

Frog/Butterfly Sanctuary: A visit to this place is best at night time when the frogs are most active. Unfortunately we didn’t know that and due to Gillian’s strict Excel spreadsheet stating that we had to leave that day, we could only see them during the daytime. There were 30 different species of frogs of which our favorite was the red eyed tree frog. Apparently the large toad is the one that people lick to get high and the poison dart frog is the one Indians used to poison their arrows.

Arenal: Arenal is a very small village next to a large lake with hundreds of notice boards advertising places like the infamous German bakery as well as various hotels well in advance. We only stayed there for one night as although it is a reasonable little town, there was just not much happening there.

Cana Negro: One thing we saw a lot of in Costa Rica (but also in South America) were the funny looking cows grazing along the roads - they look a bit like the Droopy the Dog cartoon in cow form. It was nice to settle into a quiet wooden cabin at the edge of town after the very long and bumpy road where I had to constantly dodge potholes. The sleepy little town had lots of character and we even got to eat at every restaurant (a total of 3) in town. Cana Negro was good for spotting wildlife, especially birds that flew around pretty much everywhere. 

The only proper activity we did there was a fishing/bird watching tour where we saw many birds, caimans and very large tarpon which had no interest in my bait whatsoever. Also very interesting was seeing pink spoon bills for the first time! These birds also change colour, just like flamingos, due to eating small pink shrimps which are found in the river. Back on land we visited a small butterfly sanctuary which was very interesting, especially seeing the weird caterpillars. For seeing wildlife this little place is a must while in Costa Rica. 

La Fortuna: The touristy town of La Fortuna was our last stop in Costa Rica and we found that pretty much every shop sold tours, even restaurants! The backpackers where we stayed was really nice and had amenities such as internet, bar/snack bar and a swimming pool. Our first trip from there was to visit the hot springs and even though it was a bit commercial it was still great fun. There were many different pools to choose from and all varied in temperature. Three water slides also kept us entertained although with the middle slide you literally took your life in your own hand as it would easily have broken all UK health and safety rules! I went down and bruised my elbow at the bottom while Gillian bumped her head and sported a large lump for many days after. It was funny watching people going down the slide and crashing down below in a tangle of arms and legs, before surfacing with a very stunned (or pained) look on their faces! The slides turned me into a young excited boy again and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Our evening there ended with a buffet dinner which in term of buffets had a very large variety of food and tasted pretty good. 

Seeing lava flowing down the side an active volcano was not to be as the damn volcano stopped erupting 5 months before we arrived – even though it had been active since 1968 – typical! We had to be content with hiking the Toucan Trail next to the volcano which had no toucans on it the day we were there. To cheer ourselves up we went zip lining through the forest canopy with a company called Sky Tram. Their restaurant was situated part way up a mountain and had a great view over Lake Arenal and the volcano. 

A tram(cable car) transported us all the way to the top and from there we zipped our way down through the forest canopies – brilliant! It was a nice way to end our time in Costa Rica before we returned our very muddy and battered hire car back to Alamo. Costa Rica was all about seeing wildlife and we were definitely not disappointed. Having a rental car also helped us a lot as we weren’t dependent on buses and could zip around quickly from place to place. It is a relatively small country and getting from one end to the other was fairly quick but visiting all the National Parks on the other hand would prove difficult as there are so many. With all its wildlife, sandy beaches, sport fishing and hiking I can highly recommend a visit to Costa Rica.

Complete photo album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=333373&id=749927742&l=48c422c8f3