Here are some of our favorite photos from the trip (each photo is a thumbnail linked to a higher quality picture.):
1) Route 606, Santa Elena, Costa Rica, February 12, 2024 - We landed in San Jose in the early afternoon where we met up with Heather than then got a shuttle to the office of the rental car company with whom we'd rented a Suzuki Jimny 4X4. Thanks to GPS problems we ended up taking the scenic route through San Jose but eventually managed to get out of town where we drove to the tiny village of San Isidro where we'd rented a house for the night. The next morning we drove up the fantastic twisty-curvy Route-606 up into the western edge of the central highlands. The landscape was beautiful with countless green hills, squiggly ridges and drainage valleys.
2) Treetopia, Monteverde Cloudforest, Santa Elena, Costa Rica, February 12, 2024 - Once we arrived in the town of Santa Elena went straight to the private Treetopia preserve. There we did their 3km loop that contains 6 aerial walkways that go through the canopy of the cloud forest 165 feet above the ground. We had beautiful sunny weather, which in this case was a negative because every creature in a cloud forest hides when the sun is out. Nonetheless, the forest was amazing to see. Layer upon layer of tree tops each one covered with creeping vines, parasitic plants, mosses, lichens and probably many more layers of living matter. We could see all the way out to the Pacific Ocean to the west and all the way to the volcanoes in the east. We also hiked trails down at the bottom of the trees as well so we got to look up through a kaleidoscope of green leaves filtering spears of sunlight. Gorgeous!
3) Bat Jungle, Monteverde, Costa Rica, February 12, 2024 - For the afternoon we visited a bat rescue where paid for a guided tour which means got a talk where we learned a ton about bats and then got to see about a dozen bats which are being rehabilitated at the rescue. Very informative and we always enjoy getting to see cute critters.
4) Wildlife Refuge Monteverde, Monteverde Cloudforest, Santa Elena, Costa Rica, February 12, 2024 - The above filled our day and would have been a great day if we’d stopped there. However, Jonna had seen online that the top thing to do in this area is a guided nighttime hike through one of the preserves so we found one and signed up. OMG! Amazing! We did a two hour tour through Wildlife Refuge Monteverde with Roy. I understand intellectually how much and how varied the biodiversity is in a rainforest but having a guide point things out drives that home in a very visceral sense. We never went more than 2 or 3 minutes without Roy pointing out something...from unique insects (unicorn katydids, leaf mimic katydids, giant walking sticks) to amphibians (pygmy frogs, red-eyed frogs) to reptiles (green pit vipers) to birds (Toucan, Motmot, Pale-billed Woodpecker) to mammals (Agouti, Porcupine) and much, much more. We had barely walked away from the visitor center when Roy spotted a Motmot so we jumped straight into the wildlife mere seconds after starting the tour.
5) Wildlife Refuge Monteverde, Monteverde Cloudforest, Santa Elena, Costa Rica, February 12, 2024 - As the sun went down we hiked down to a little creek and set up the spotting scope. Roy was basically finding critters whereever he pointed his scope, including finding two baby Side-Striped Palm Pit Vipers who were just coming out to start their evening of hunting. Then, about 50 feet away we found the momma viper who was coiled around a tree right next to the trail. The babies were maybe 6 inches long but the adult female was more like 3 foot long.
6) Wildlife Refuge Monteverde, Monteverde Cloudforest, Santa Elena, Costa Rica, February 12, 2024 - We also spotted three different varieties of frog, including this Red-Eyed Tree Frog.
7) Wildlife Refuge Monteverde, Monteverde Cloudforest, Santa Elena, Costa Rica, February 12, 2024 - Roy had a spotting scope with a bright flashlight and a laser pointer but the real magic was his knowledge and his eyes. He was spotting all this on a basically moonless night while rapidly scanning the jungle with a flashlight *and* walking on an uneven rutted trail. He spotted this Toucan about 40 feet away just by noticing the yellow beak mixed in with yellow/green leaves at NIGHT. After he had the spotting scope on the bird *with the flashlight pointed right at it* I couldn’t pick it out without looking through the scope... incredible skill! Anyway, Jonna and I were both disappointed when the two hours were up and would have gladly gone another two hours! It was spectacular. If you are a nature lover you should head for the airport right now and book your nighttime guided tour en-route.
8) Wildlife Refuge Monteverde, Monteverde Cloudforest, Santa Elena, Costa Rica, February 12, 2024 - Another of the amazing creatures we saw were a small group of Giant True Leaf Katydids. These katydids (basically a type of grasshopper) are such incredible mimics that they look exactly like a leaf including dark "fungal" spots, bite marks to look like partially eaten leafs and even brown "dead" leaves. We saw three of them, two green and one brown all clustered together on one plant.
9) Wildlife Refuge Monteverde, Monteverde Cloudforest, Santa Elena, Costa Rica, February 12, 2024 - The highlight of the tour, and one of the last things we spotted, was a Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine. This little critter was super-cute, hanging upside down from its prehensile tail munching away on a bean-like fruit up in the tree canopy. After a crowd of us amassed on the ground it sat up on a limb and posed for us!
10) Calala Beach Lodge, Playa Cabuya, Costa Rica, February 13, 2024 - After one day in the cloud forest we moved down out of the mountains and moved down to the beach. We drove from Santa Elena to Puntarenas where we boarded a ferry across the Gulf of Nicoya to Paquera on the southern end of the Nicoya Peninsula. From there it was a one hour drive to the very southwestern point of the peninsula in the tiny village of Cabuya where we checked into a little cabana in Calala resort (which is a fancy name for a cluster of seven cabanas.) But they have a pool, a restaurant and a small beach so we are all set with the necessities. The temperature was pushing 90 but an ocean breeze and a little shade meant it felt mostly comfortable. Still, we jumped in the pool in the evening and then ate dinner in our dripping swim suits in the poolside, open air restaurant. We closed out the evening sitting on the porch of our cabana listening to the waves crash and the geckos croak.
11) Calala Beach Lodge, Playa Cabuya, Costa Rica, February 14, 2024 - I know this is uncharacteristic for our style of travel but one this day we did almost nothing. We got up, we had breakfast and then we headed to the pool. It was mid-afternoon before we left and that was just to get out of the heat of the afternoon sun which was low enough to shine underneath the tree canopy. We all managed to dress in real clothes *and* leave the lodge in order to find the grocery store as well as to eat dinner out. With that qualifying as doing something other than lounging we then returned to our cabana to spend the evening listening to the waves roll in and to catch up on digital life. We will eventually go on an adventure or something for this day we just claimed "Pura Vida" and relaxed a little more.
12) Refugio de Fauna Silvestre Curù, Paquera, Costa Rica, February 15, 2024 - We actually got out and about! We had an early breakfast and then made the short drive to neighboring Montezuma where we joined Zuma Tours on their Isla Tortuga snorkeling and beach excursion. This was a day trip by boat into the Curù Wildlife Reserve for snorkeling and then a lunch and beach-time stop at Isla Tortuga. The hour long snorkeling stop was nice - not Caribbean or South Pacific amazing but we saw some White Tipped Reef Sharks, a Jewel Morey Eel, some big puffer fish and a big star fish, along with a variety of reef fishes. The "reef" was mainly volcanic rock with some living coral growing on it but with the water so warm (and probably less than adequate protection) there was more dead coral than living. Seeing tropical fish is always a fun time so no complaints. We then moved over to some rocks just off-shore from Isla Tortuga but the wind was much stronger away from the coast and the water was much choppier. The boat only stayed for 30 minutes and nearly everyone got back in the boat early. The wave action not only made swimming challenging but also drove many of the fish down deeper so there wasn’t much to see.
13) Isla Tortuga, Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica, February 15, 2024 - Next we were dropped off on the beach at Isla Tortuga where we had a cooked lunch prepared for us and then had 2 1/2 hours of free time to hike, swim, shop (there was an obligatory gift shop tent!) or relax. We opted for relax. At any given time there were probably 20 boats anchored off the beach so probably 300 or so people on the island. The swimming areas (and the bar) were packed so we just staked out a picnic table under a sun shade and did some serious people watching - mainly rating the level of sunburns on the people walking back and forth between the bar and the water. We also chatted with a few of the other people from our boat which helped pass the time.
14) Isla Tortuga, Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica, February 15, 2024 - There were a few wild Collared Peccaries one the island who would periodically make a bonzai run through the food area trying to steal coconuts that were left behind by folks who'd headed to the beach without properly disposing of their lunch trash. The guides then had to chase the pigs away so we got to watch this play out multiple times during the afternoon.
15) Isla Tortuga, Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica, February 15, 2024 - When it was time to get back onboard the boat the wind had gotten even stronger which meant climbing/jumping aboard while waves were lifting the boat about three feet up with each breaking swell. We all made it on but it was tricky even with about 10 tour guides (all the guides from the different boats were pitching in to try to steady the thrashing boats and help tourists get onboard)! We had a bumpy ride back to Montezuma but we were at least moving with the waves rather than against them so the captain could time when to crest each wave. However, it did mean a lot of splashing so we managed to cool down a little despite the late afternoon sun hitting us straight in the face. We got back to Montezuma at 4pm and were all pretty tired. 7 hours in the sun will take it out of you! We scrapped our plans to have dinner in Montezuma and returned to Calala Beach Lodge instead. We cooled off in the pool and then went to our cabana to shower and change. We summoned the energy to walk the 75 feet back to the lodge's restaurant where we got an oceanside table and enjoyed a quiet dinner.
16) Sendero Playa Cabo Blanco, Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve, Cabuya, Costa Rica, February 16, 2024 - Today started with vigor, then had a long mellow middle and ended with a relaxed stroll. Jonna and Alan woke up early and did a half-day hike in Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve. It was a beautiful but hot trail through dense rainforest that ended at a postcard perfect beach (then we turned around and hiked it in reverse to get back to the trailhead.)
17) Sendero Playa Cabo Blanco, Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve, Cabuya, Costa Rica, February 16, 2024 - The beach was definitely the highlight of the hike - it was straight out of travel brochure - but we also got to see White-tailed deer, White-nosed Coatimundis and Panamanian White-faced Capuchin Monkeys which were great to see in the wild. The forest was also filled with butterflies and small birds. Finally, add in the dozen or so places where we could hear something scrambling around in the leaf litter but never spotted it and we had plenty of things to keep us entertained during our hike.
18) Montezuma, Costa Rica, February 16, 2024 - We got back to our lodging at noon, just in time to grab lunch (along with fresh fruit smoothies!) and then settle in for some relaxing pool time. The temperature was pushing 90F, humidity about the same and the off-shore breeze we’ve been accustomed to was noticeably absent. The cool pool water and the shade of the poolside umbrellas were much appreciated. A couple of hours into our pool-coma a herd of small children came screaming into the restaurant for a birthday party. We reluctantly ceded the pool to the kiddos and returned to our cabana. However, without the lifesaving breeze it was too hot to comfortably hang out on our cabana’s patio. We each took turns showering, drinking cool drinks, hanging out outside, sitting in front of the fan inside and otherwise trying to pass the time. By 4pm we decided it was time to venture out, if only because we could run the air conditioner in the car while we were driving. We hadn’t really seen the neighboring town of Montezuma so we made the short drive there and parked. That meant we had to pry ourselves away from the A/C which we successfully did and then walked down the main street to check out the gift shops, markets, restaurants, tour operators and rental lodgings - all while dodging small motorcycles, ATVs and cars on the narrow main road. We watched some of sunset and then stopped in at the market to buy some cold drinks to replenish our cabana’s fridge, then returned to the car. On the edge of Montezuma we found Soda Tipica Las Palmeras where we stopped for dinner. We had great food and good service but were saddened to watch monkeys and a heron picking through the restaurant's garbage for food. We had a short drive at night (never a good idea in Costa Rica!) to get back to our lodge. We were happy to find it had cooled down and we closed out the day sitting outside trying to solve all the world’s problems while listening to the waves crash on the shore and the buzz of the creatures of the night.
19) Montezuma Waterfalls, Montezuma, Costa Rica, February 17, 2024 - For our final full day on the Nicoya peninsula we decided to have a few small adventures. The first involved Jonna and Alan jumping in the car right after breakfast to drive to nearby Montezuma. We managed to find a parking spot on the side of the road by the trailhead which meant we could avoid the $2 parking lot charge. The trailhead is for the Montezuma waterfalls - a short but challenging hike up a creekbed to a nice waterfall that is very popular with visitors to the area. The "trail" is mostly rock hopping in the bottom of the creek gully but with a short section where you have to climb tree roots up onto a narrow ledge. The last bit involves some slippery rocks along a steep cliff face with ropes to steady yourself. We spent some time enjoying the first waterfall but decided to skip the second half of the trail which supposedly involved a precarious climb up to a hanging ledge. I was wearing hiking boots and Jonna had on tennis shoes - most of the other people we attempting it were in sandals and they universally looked miserable trying to navigate the trail. We headed back to the lodge after our waterfall excursion in order to cool off and eventually cracked open a chilled watermelon we’d kept in the cabana fridge for a couple of days. Yum!
20) Cabuya Island Cemetery, Cabuya, Costa Rica, February 17, 2024 - After our fruit lunch we headed out for our afternoon adventure. There is a small island just offshore, called Cabuya Island, that has an exposed land-bridge at low tide. For a couple of hours you can walk across the seafloor to visit the island and see the tiny cemetery that is there. Low tide was at 2:30pm so we got to the small parking lot at 1:30. We paid the standard $2 to park and then made the trek over to the island. There was (as expected) no shade and the rocky sea bottom was made up of dark grey rocks so it made for *hot* walking. Add in the last pools of ocean water evaporating in the direct sun and it was also so humid you practically felt moisture seeping into your clothes out of the air. The island had some trees for shade but these blocked the mild breeze so it was uncomfortably muggy. Still, the cemetery was neat to see and had a couple of covered picnic tables where we could rest. As we walked up a couple was just leaving and they said there were some whale bones on the west end of the island. Jonna and Heather were both wearing sandals for this walk and they weren’t the right shoe choice for the bare volcanic rocks that stretched off to the west. I was wearing hiking boots so I made the trip by myself. The rocks were sharp and in places covered with slimy moss where the receding water left tide-pools behind. I managed to get across without falling but it was tricky going, especially with me trying to move fast. Sure enough, on a little knoll on the very edge of the island - a spot that is probably just barely above the waterline at high tide - there was a pile of giant whale bones. All the bones small enough to carry away had been removed - either by wave action or greedy tourists - but the big chunks remained: the skull, the massive upper ribs and about half the spinal column. It was sobering but also magnificent. I took a few pictures and then speed walked my way back across the sharp, slippery seabed. I think I know what an ant would feel like if it had to walk across a frying pan. By the time I got back to the cemetery I was completely soaked and I felt like I’d spent 20 minutes in a sauna. Being in the shade dropped my core temperature about half a degree but that was enough to spur us to strike out across the land-bridge again to return to the car. At the halfway point I picked up the pace so I could get the car cranked and the A/C blasting for when Heather got to the car. We all luxuriated in the arctic air that filled the interior as we slowly drove back to the lodge.
21) Playa Cedros, Montezuma, Costa Rica, February 17, 2024 - Once back we set a record for stripping off gross, sweaty clothes then changing into bathing suits suits then showering off the sunscreen, sweat and dust and finally to diving into the pool. I suspect a cloud of steam rose up as I hit the water! After cooling off, drinking a icy drink and reading for a bit we were all sufficiently relaxed to make one final excursion. We all piled back into the rental car and drove halfway back to Montezuma before stopping at Playa Cedros for a final moment of beach time. Jonna and Heather jumped into the Pacific (which they described as "bathtub warm") to swim. I sat in a shaded log up on the beach and watched the local fishermen who fished with throw nets and hand lines.
22) Playa Cedros, Montezuma, Costa Rica, February 17, 2024 - Oh, and I also watched the incredibly cute hermit crabs wander across the beach. (How is it that Pixar hasn’t made an animated movie with a community of tiny Costa Rican hermit crabs? They are so adorable looking it would be like printing money!) With our final activity done we returned to the lodge to have dinner and start packing. This was our last outing on the Nicoya Peninsula before we head back to San Jose where we plan to spend a couple of days exploring the capital city. We finished off our day sitting on the patio listening to our last night of gecko squeaks, cicada trilling and ocean waves pounding the beach.
23) Parque La Sabana, San Jose, Costa Rica, February 18, 2024 - This was a long, boring travel day so nothing exciting to report. We got up, had breakfast, packed the car and started driving. An hour later we arrived at Puerto Paquera where we sat around in the heat for 1 1/2 hours until we boarded the ferry. They it was another hour of sitting in a barely air conditioned lounge while the ferry traversed the Gulf of Nicoya to Puerto Puntarenas. From there it would normally be another 1 1/2 hours of driving to reach San Jose but Sunday afternoon traffic more than doubled the drive time. We finally parked at our AirBnB next to Parque La Sabana at 5pm. It was a long, slow slog in stop and go traffic with an hour long rain storm as we neared the capital. We thought we’d return the rental car early but after driving a half hour back to the rental office we were told they wouldn’t refund the three unused days so we decided to keep the car and turned around and drove back to our lodging. Despite it being a boring day we were thoroughly exhausted at the end of it but still found the energy to (finally!) do laundry and to order dinner via UberEats so we didn’t have to leave the building. We did have a nice view of the city though so hanging around for the evening wasn’t so bad.
24) Parque La Sabana, San Jose, Costa Rica, February 18, 2024 - We had two days to explore San Jose and we’d planned to get at early start on our first day. However, the fold-out couch in our AirBnB was apparently specifically designed as a torture device to bring about sleep deprivation so Jonna and I both had a miserable night. We ended up dragging in the morning and even having a cup of black tea didn’t get us out the door before 9am. When we did manage to extricate ourselves from the lodging it was just to walk across the street to La Sabana park to stroll around the lake there. As it turned out there wasn’t a lake there just a few small mud puddles and some marshy holes on the ground. We still strolled through the park looking at some of the public art sculptures and watching people work out at the national roller skating rink - a field with three different skate facilities (a flat oval, a tight banked oval and an inline-skate hockey rink.) While we were out we also stopped by a grocery store to get some lunch and breakfast items before returning to the apartment. Heather was up when we got back but she had work to do so we spent a couple of hours napping, reading and snacking.
25) Mercado Central, San Jose, Costa Rica, February 19, 2024 - In the early afternoon we all headed into downtown to attend a city tour we’d booked with City Striders to get a guided tour through the Central Market. This market was built in 1880 and still caters to locals, as well as having some tourist-oriented gift shops.
26) Mercado Central, San Jose, Costa Rica, February 19, 2024 - In addition to booths selling fruit, vegetables, meat, seafood, cookware, clothing and housewares there were also small restaurants and artisanal food vendors. The oldest ice cream vendor in San Jose, La Sorbetera de Lolo Mora, is in the market selling a single flavor of ice cream made from a variety of spices. Delicious!
27) Mercado Central, San Jose, Costa Rica, February 19, 2024 - We met our guide Amaral at one of the entrances and then did a great two hour tour that touched on San Jose history, Costa Rican history, Tico culture, regional foods, local businesses and Amaral’s own life. Throughout the tour we tasted coffee, fruit, empanadas, tamales, breads, candies, ceviche and more. We found Amaral very engaging and really enjoyed his stories.
28) Mercado Central, San Jose, Costa Rica, February 19, 2024 - My highlight of the market tour was stopping a tropical fruit vendor where Amaral bought a variety of fruits specific to Central America which we cut up for us right there for us to sample. When we walked out the exit at the end of the tour we had full bellies and knew a lot more about daily life in San Jose. Dinner wasn’t gonna happen so we headed back to the apartment where we are closed the day drinking herbal tea and swapping family stories.
29) Museo Nacional, San Jose, Costa Rica, February 20, 2024 - For our last full day in Costa Rica we put forth a concerted effort to learn as much as we could about the history of the country. So our day started early with Jonna and I waking up with the sun, grabbing a quick breakfast in the apartment and jetting out the door. We got an Uber ride to Museo Nacional de Costa Rica (the National History Museum). We got there a little before they opened so we walked around the block to see the public street art while we waited. The museum is built in the main barracks of the Army which was ceded to the Museum when the military was abolished in 1948. A new entryway was recently added that is a handicap accessible ramp through a butterfly garden. As a result you get to begin your visit seeing native butterflies as well as seeing a metamorphosis area with hanging chrysalises. The museum exhibits are pretty sparse on information, or at least on information in English, but does try to cover a long period of time starting with stone age tribal groups all the way through the Spanish conquest in the 18th century then independence in 1821 then civil war in 1948 and then ending with COVID. I really liked the big stone carvings spanning 300AD to 800AD with various figures, furnishings and ornamental designs carved into volcanic rock. We spent 1 1/2 hours in the museum (and used their free wifi to check in for our flight out!)
30) Museo Del Jade, San Jose, Costa Rica, February 20, 2024 - Next up, and right across the street, was the Museo Del Jade. This museum was really a Pre-Columbian archeological museum with jade, gold, pottery and stone work on display. The colection is huge, spanning 5 floors, and is installed in a fancy new building with very professional rooms. The layout is very intentional but not all that different from room to room. The sections have names like "Memoria", "Dia" and "Noche" but they all seemed to have basically the same things on display and gave the same information. Still, the sheer volume and quality of artifacts was impressive. My favorites were the clay pots with expressive animal figures molded onto the legs and rims. We spent almost 2 hours in the Jade Museum so when we exited we were past due for some food (and caffiene!) There was a Chinese restaurant directly across the street so we bee-lined in the door and were soon eating dim sum and heaping family style stir fried dishes. Those and a big soda breathed life back into my sore feet.
31) Teatro Nacional, San Jose, Costa Rica, February 20, 2024 - Four blocks away is the Teatro Nacional - the national theater that was build in 1897 and is very much a point of pride among the citizens of San Jose. A guided tour, in English, was scheduled to start in 20 minutes so we bought tickets and killed the time by getting something sweet to eat in the cafe. It will surprise on one to hear I had ice cream. The tour was very good and allowed us to visit the interior of the theater as well as the foyer/intermission gallery (which was being renovated and allowed us to watch artists re-applying gold leaf to the many ornamental pieces in the room). We also saw the grand staircase that leads up to the balcony level and saw the famous ceiling paintings there. It was all very posh but the excellent guide was careful (and a little snide) in pointing out that the uppermost gallery was always set aside for the common people - over the objections of the coffee and banana oligarchs who had wanted the theater for themselves.
32) Teatro Nacional, San Jose, Costa Rica, February 20, 2024 - It was a very good tour and a beautiful historic building so I’m glad we made visiting it a priority. As it turned out our seeing it was at the expense of visiting Museo de Oro Precolombino (the Museum of Pre-Columbian Gold). We were too tired after three museums so we decided to skip it. So we hopped an Uber back to the apartment and spent the late afternoon relaxing and resting then dug all our leftovers out of the fridge and made dinner out of them so we could clean out the kitchen. We closed out the evening packing and bringing out the trash and otherwise preparing to leave early in the morning. We'd had a great trip that wasn’t just a beach vacation but also included visiting the cloud forests in the mountains to the north, hiking in the coastal rainforest along the Nicoya Peninsula and getting in some city time learning about the history, culture and modern lives of Ticos!
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