Two for the Road

Choosing the most beautiful country you’ve ever been fortunate enough to visit is a tricky one. Some may even say impossible. Some, if based in the UK, may even state that that’d take any bit of beautiful countryside if it only stopped pissing raining.¹ For us, it’s difficult. New Zealand was certainly up there, every corner turned bringing upon a new majestic mountain-scape the scale of which has to be seen to be believed. But, my god, there’s a strong competitor in Costa Rica. The forested landscapes are vast and the animals…oh my word, the animals!²

To pick up where Iris left off, we had breakfast in the shadow of the Arenal Volcano before heading to take in the iconic hanging bridges. These were both amazing and terrifying to stand on, particularly when you have the balance of a drunk toddler like me. The views were spectacular, stretching out to encompass the wider forest. We definitely don’t regret gingerly stepping out onto these magnificent bridges, even if sometimes we couldn’t see the floor.

It wasn’t just the flora that was impressive, though. We saw some amazing animals, including a Rufous Motmot that came so close to our group that even our guide remarked had never seen one been so friendly. This was no thanks to the loud group of American tourists behind us, who managed to chat loudly despite the copious amount of ‘keep quiet’ signs. They must have been confused as to why all the animals kept fleeing away from them. Must have been the deodorant.

Of all our stops in Costa Rica Arenal felt the most tourist-y. There were many gift shops around selling all kinds of tat. It also turns out there must have been a by-law in place that every business had to have some kind of uncanny-valley AI-generated sloth picture. We provide a couple of these for your enjoyment/horror.

After our time at Arenal, it was time to head into the Cloud Forest Proper. We drove four hours to Monteverde, which is naturally a long time to drive so we needed to stop for a snack. Where was good to stop for food in this part of Costa Rica? Why, a German bakery, of course! It was the full shebang, with schnitzel, sauerkraut, and sausages on the menu. Iris even had a complimentary weissbeer. Prost!

We stayed in a gorgeous hotel on the side of the mountain. Our day began by spotting two agoutis on the lawn outside our windows. These furry little guys were just the cutest, even with their bandy rear legs.

After breakfast we headed to the nearby nature reserve to do their ‘Continental Divide’ walk. The selling point of this walk was, on paper, to see both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts once you’d scaled the hill. I’m sure this would have been brilliant 10-15 years ago, but it turns out the viewpoint was totally overgrown. Dendrologists everywhere would have loved the excellent view of some trees, but the lack of views was disappointing.

What wasn’t disappointing was the wildlife we encountered. Iris’s eagle eyes (we love a bird pun here) spotted a Crested Guan in the trees early on in our hike. ‘What a brilliant spot of luck!’ we thought, before, a few kilometres down the line, we spotted one of Costa Rica’s cutest and most intriguing mammals, a coatimundi. For those unfamiliar, imagine a cross between a racoon, a badger, and a dog who climbs trees and loves nothing more than snacking on insects. We stood and watched for about ten minutes while one climbed a tree and dug into branches to get the insects underneath. Amazing creatures!

But that wasn’t all the walking we did. That evening we headed out to a night time walk around a local forest. Our guide made one too-many jokes about bumping into a puma on the trails for our liking, but hey, if push came to shove I’d have my money on us outrunning the German family who joined us on the tour. We managed to see scorpions only visible by UV light, many a cool insect, and even some birds fast asleep on their branches. I envy that ability to balance.

The following day, we headed to Manuel Antonio and stayed at Gaia, another incredible hotel whose sky bar offered a breathtaking view of the sunset. As one of the hotel staff showed us around we spotted a sloth in the tree! BBC, if you’re looking for an eventual replacement for David Attenborough, look no further.

But, my God, it was hot! Our plan for our full day there was to take in a boat tour to hopefully see some capuchin monkeys before, later that day, taking another hike to hopefully see some Red Macaws. The temperature exceeding 32 degrees by 10am meant that we were too drained to do the afternoon walk, especially when we’d been out in the morning.

But the morning boat ride was amazing. We saw crocodiles, lizards, sandpipers and plenty of curious capuchins who jumped from branch to branch and clambered onto the boat. One even climbed onto my shoulder and stayed there for a few seconds! Just call me Snow White. Actually, Ace Ventura is probably more accurate. What’s more, when we got back to the hotel some Macaws had roosted on the branches near where the sloth was a day earlier! If only there was a way to monetise spotting animals in trees. Suggestions are welcome in the comments.

This brings us up to to the present. Yesterday we flew to the Osa Peninsula in a plane fresh out of an Indiana Jones film (just think of the ones flying over the map during the travel montage scene). We’d never been in a plane that small before and it was great fun despite the swaying turbulence. We’re in the Botanika hotel, which is a slice of tropical paradise.

We’re having a chilled day here before going on a half-day expedition to the rainforest tomorrow. Here’s hoping we see some squirrel monkeys! Tomorrow is my parents’ last day with us before heading home to the UK. We’ve had a brilliant time and I know my Mum has wanted to come here for a long time, so we hope is hasn’t disappointed.

We’re here until the 27th, at which time we begin our time in the USA, heading to Dallas first. Apologies in advance if you don’t hear from me for a while. I’m hoping to be too full on Texas BBQ.

1. From what we’ve heard. My heart goes out to all of you at home. Honest! Now to continue describing the tropical paradise that is Costa Rica. Hey, it may be some nice escapism!
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2. Putting information about birds here as otherwise I’ll take up the whole blog just talking about it. If you’re into birds – especially if you, like me, are into the real-life version of Pokémon Go that is the Merlyn Bird app, Costa Rica is your dream holiday destination. The birds here are so colourful and chirpy, with even such brilliant things such as wild parrots and macaws flying overhead. If this footnote has interested you, you’re in good company, my friend. If not, then go back to skateboarding or whatever it is that cool people do.
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