Costa Rica | 3 in 1
Do you want to go on a journey around the world in 15 days and not in 80, like Phileas Fogg?
Do you want to explore around 5% of the world's biodiversity?
And finally, do you want to enter a time-travel machine and fly back to the 80's?
Well, if this is what you want, you can have it all in Costa Rica.
Do you want to explore around 5% of the world's biodiversity?
And finally, do you want to enter a time-travel machine and fly back to the 80's?
Well, if this is what you want, you can have it all in Costa Rica.
Toronto layover
Our flight included a 20 hours long layover in Toronto Canada, so our journey to the tropics actually started with 0ºC. We had a short experience between the modern skyscrapers inside a society with one of the best Gini Index (34), on a Boxing day.
[Gini index measures the extent to which the distribution of income (or, in some cases, consumption expenditure) among individuals or households within an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution]
[Gini index measures the extent to which the distribution of income (or, in some cases, consumption expenditure) among individuals or households within an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution]
Costa Rica = Pura Vida
After a five hours flight, we landed in San Jose, Costa Rica. We found ourselves suddenly with pleasant 26º degrees, streets that we cannot compare to anything we have seen before, smaller buildings, and a very different Gini Index (48). Prices were almost as high as in Canada, higher than in Portugal and higher than what we were expecting from what we read in our Lonely Planet book. As we read prior to our trip, growing rate of inflation and severe income inequality are two of the main problems in Costa Rica and it wasn't that difficult to confirm it. However, seems like Ticos found their way to face all the difficulties surrounding them. Their motto and way of living is Pura Vida - that would happily follow us over the next two weeks of our lovely journey in Costa Rica where we also celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary.
All together we made over 1800 km in a tiny car, from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea, from the Monteverde Cloud Forest to the Corcovado National Park, from the touristic eco-thermal capital of Costa Rica La Fortuna to the unique Boruca Indigenous Village.
All together we made over 1800 km in a tiny car, from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea, from the Monteverde Cloud Forest to the Corcovado National Park, from the touristic eco-thermal capital of Costa Rica La Fortuna to the unique Boruca Indigenous Village.
Road Trip in a very small car
Our first mistake was renting a small car - Chevrolet Beat. We were expecting some tough terrain in the way to Boruca Indigenous Village but not, for instance, on the way to Monteverde or in almost any access road to the beautiful beaches around the country. Our second mistake was not paying for the full insurance for the car. Later we were said that it's very common to have your car hit by other person without leaving a note with a phone number! It happened to us, but fortunately we had our Nomad Explorer travel insurance plan. If you are going to Costa Rica, be sure to get a 4WD with full insurance because problems can arise on the road.
But you know what? What a magnificent set of different scenarios we had along the roads of Costa Rica. Breathtaking mountain views (including Cerro de la Muerte at 3.451m), stunning roads along the coast, and dozens of villages along Interamericana nu.1 & nu.2, with as many football pitches. Yes, most of Costa Rican villages grow around a green football pitch and not around a church :)
Googlemaps is a great tool to help you on a road trip, but in Costa Rica the WAZE app rocks! Use it, it's accurate and very useful. The country is trying to promote a shift to non-fossil fuel, but still, the good news is that cost of fuel is very low (under 1€/liter).
Nature and wildlife are incredible in Costa Rica, so as a final advice, be ready to encounter some unexpected “friends” on the road. Try not to drive too fast so that you can still hit the break in the event of having some monkey, a sloth or a bunch of coatis crossing the road. And again, is it after all them being on your way, or your road crossing their habitat?
But you know what? What a magnificent set of different scenarios we had along the roads of Costa Rica. Breathtaking mountain views (including Cerro de la Muerte at 3.451m), stunning roads along the coast, and dozens of villages along Interamericana nu.1 & nu.2, with as many football pitches. Yes, most of Costa Rican villages grow around a green football pitch and not around a church :)
Googlemaps is a great tool to help you on a road trip, but in Costa Rica the WAZE app rocks! Use it, it's accurate and very useful. The country is trying to promote a shift to non-fossil fuel, but still, the good news is that cost of fuel is very low (under 1€/liter).
Nature and wildlife are incredible in Costa Rica, so as a final advice, be ready to encounter some unexpected “friends” on the road. Try not to drive too fast so that you can still hit the break in the event of having some monkey, a sloth or a bunch of coatis crossing the road. And again, is it after all them being on your way, or your road crossing their habitat?
Animals
Monkeys (spider monkey, white-faced capuchins, howler monkeys), coatis, snakes, birds (toucans, quetzal, scarlet macaw, hummingbird, euphonias, tanager, ...), sloths, tapirs, lizards, frogs, crocodiles, falcons, wild cats, butterflies, spiders, tarantulas... what else? We saw them all and most of them in the wild (except for the big cats). So I guess we just missed the marine wildlife.
Costa Rica is a perfect destination for those who love being in contact with nature and wildlife. Go into the wild with a guide, because otherwise you will miss a lot. Choose certificated guides in the natural parks and try to avoid big groups. But don't expect to be alone. Yes, there will be hundreds of tourist like you, eager to see all that the parks have to offer.
This is a popular destination where the tourism industry is boosting. If you want to go off the beaten track, to be fair, I am afraid Costa Rica is not, anymore, the country for that.
Costa Rica is a perfect destination for those who love being in contact with nature and wildlife. Go into the wild with a guide, because otherwise you will miss a lot. Choose certificated guides in the natural parks and try to avoid big groups. But don't expect to be alone. Yes, there will be hundreds of tourist like you, eager to see all that the parks have to offer.
This is a popular destination where the tourism industry is boosting. If you want to go off the beaten track, to be fair, I am afraid Costa Rica is not, anymore, the country for that.
Nature
Beautiful natural parks with primary and secondary forest, unbelievable biodiversity and a generous offer of different tours inside the parks, makes Costa Rica a prime destination for those seeking for a nature and wildlife observation. The national-park system began in the 1960’s and, today, the 27 national parks, 8 biological reserves, 32 protected zones, 13 forest reserves and 58 wildlife refuges are a safe haven to 5% of the world’s wildlife species. Not everything is perfect, but still a lot has been achieved over the last 60 years in a concerted effort from the government to protect its environment and biodiversity.
We visited Volcano Arenal where we made a beautiful hike but were not able to have a clear view of the Volcano. Even after half an hour of waiting patiently and innumerous time lapses with the clouds, the enormous Volcano was still hiding and so we had to satisfy ourselves by observing eagles flying just above our heads.
At Bosque Nuboso Monteverde (Santa Elena Reserve) we had a knowledgeable guide named Ruth, who showed us how to make friends with a tarantula and explained the efforts that a local school puts to document the wildlife in the cloud forest. We did several hikes, which made Monteverde one of the top experiences of the entire journey.
Already by the Pacific Coast we visited crowded but beautiful NP Manuel Antonio on the 1st of January 2019. We can’t think of a better way to enter the New Year. Lenny Montenegro (Lonely Planet reference) was our well-informed and experienced guide in an almost 3 hours long, very interesting and informative tour. Even though we are not really a tour-people when we travel we realized how important this was in Costa Rica. How, otherwise, would we ever spot a nail-sized frog, or a couple of owls sleeping worry-free. After the tour we spent the day in the stunning sandy beaches inside Manuel Antonio, enjoying the warm Pacific Ocean, sunbathing along with big iguanas, and outsmarting capuchin monkeys who were constantly trying to steal our food. Later on, we had a chance to make other short hikes inside this smallest NP of Costa Rica.
Corcovado National Park was, without a doubt, the most interesting experience we had. From Drake Bay, we headed to Sirena Station by boat, and had an unbelievable six hours tour, where we learned about this Park and managed to have numerous encounters with monkeys, anteaters, crocodiles, falcons, tapirs, and many more. We missed pumas, because they are shy, but the tour was very educational. Lunch at Sirena Station was generous and tasty, minus a strange yukka drink full of sugar.
In our last visit to a National Park – Marino Ballena – at the end of the day we had a striking sunset, and in the morning, I had the opportunity to make an incredible early-morning run. After Marino Ballena, we headed to the Caribbean Coast, and soon we concluded, that the best beaches in Costa Rica are, definitely in the Pacific Coast where you can find many sandy (and in some cases deserted) beaches framed with palm trees and manzanillos, and perfect for surfing.
Nature at its best, but already a bit too crowded, is what you will find in Costa Rica.
We visited Volcano Arenal where we made a beautiful hike but were not able to have a clear view of the Volcano. Even after half an hour of waiting patiently and innumerous time lapses with the clouds, the enormous Volcano was still hiding and so we had to satisfy ourselves by observing eagles flying just above our heads.
At Bosque Nuboso Monteverde (Santa Elena Reserve) we had a knowledgeable guide named Ruth, who showed us how to make friends with a tarantula and explained the efforts that a local school puts to document the wildlife in the cloud forest. We did several hikes, which made Monteverde one of the top experiences of the entire journey.
Already by the Pacific Coast we visited crowded but beautiful NP Manuel Antonio on the 1st of January 2019. We can’t think of a better way to enter the New Year. Lenny Montenegro (Lonely Planet reference) was our well-informed and experienced guide in an almost 3 hours long, very interesting and informative tour. Even though we are not really a tour-people when we travel we realized how important this was in Costa Rica. How, otherwise, would we ever spot a nail-sized frog, or a couple of owls sleeping worry-free. After the tour we spent the day in the stunning sandy beaches inside Manuel Antonio, enjoying the warm Pacific Ocean, sunbathing along with big iguanas, and outsmarting capuchin monkeys who were constantly trying to steal our food. Later on, we had a chance to make other short hikes inside this smallest NP of Costa Rica.
Corcovado National Park was, without a doubt, the most interesting experience we had. From Drake Bay, we headed to Sirena Station by boat, and had an unbelievable six hours tour, where we learned about this Park and managed to have numerous encounters with monkeys, anteaters, crocodiles, falcons, tapirs, and many more. We missed pumas, because they are shy, but the tour was very educational. Lunch at Sirena Station was generous and tasty, minus a strange yukka drink full of sugar.
In our last visit to a National Park – Marino Ballena – at the end of the day we had a striking sunset, and in the morning, I had the opportunity to make an incredible early-morning run. After Marino Ballena, we headed to the Caribbean Coast, and soon we concluded, that the best beaches in Costa Rica are, definitely in the Pacific Coast where you can find many sandy (and in some cases deserted) beaches framed with palm trees and manzanillos, and perfect for surfing.
Nature at its best, but already a bit too crowded, is what you will find in Costa Rica.
People & Local Traditions
Our superficial contacts with Los Ticos made us think they are good people, ready to help. Problems? No, just Pura Vida.
Despite having around 20% of Ticos living under the poverty line, the overall feeling is that they are happy, relaxed and enjoying the Pura Vida.
After the Civil War, back in 1948, the country decided not to have a standing army. There are, in total, 23 countries worldwide without a standing army, but what is more striking is that Costa Rica has managed to be in this position for over 70 years while bordering with Guatemala, Honduras or El Salvador (all with chronic poverty and violence that have sent a flood of refugees to the US), Panama (world capital for money laundering and corruption) and Nicaragua (permanent political upheaval).
Without a standing army, the defense budget has been spent on education (adult literacy over 97%), health care and a durable social safety net. This do sound great, but still, we found locals complaining about the corruption and not being satisfied with how their representatives in the Government work.
Nevertheless, Costa Rica is ranked the first in Latin America and 12th in the world when it comes to happiness, according to the 2017 World Happiness Index.
We loved the people. They were friendly, open and helpful. In San Jose we were lucky to see the Carnival Festivities and, in Boruca Village, we saw the local children celebrating The Fiesta de los Diablitos that symbolizes the historical fight between Indigenous villagers and the Spanish conquerors, back in the end of the 15th century.
It wasn't easy to pack :) but we decided to bring home one beautiful mask from the Boruca People, not only to have something to remind us of this incredible journey, but also to support the work that has been done to preserve this ancient art [Learn more about it: borucacostarica.org].
Despite having around 20% of Ticos living under the poverty line, the overall feeling is that they are happy, relaxed and enjoying the Pura Vida.
After the Civil War, back in 1948, the country decided not to have a standing army. There are, in total, 23 countries worldwide without a standing army, but what is more striking is that Costa Rica has managed to be in this position for over 70 years while bordering with Guatemala, Honduras or El Salvador (all with chronic poverty and violence that have sent a flood of refugees to the US), Panama (world capital for money laundering and corruption) and Nicaragua (permanent political upheaval).
Without a standing army, the defense budget has been spent on education (adult literacy over 97%), health care and a durable social safety net. This do sound great, but still, we found locals complaining about the corruption and not being satisfied with how their representatives in the Government work.
Nevertheless, Costa Rica is ranked the first in Latin America and 12th in the world when it comes to happiness, according to the 2017 World Happiness Index.
We loved the people. They were friendly, open and helpful. In San Jose we were lucky to see the Carnival Festivities and, in Boruca Village, we saw the local children celebrating The Fiesta de los Diablitos that symbolizes the historical fight between Indigenous villagers and the Spanish conquerors, back in the end of the 15th century.
It wasn't easy to pack :) but we decided to bring home one beautiful mask from the Boruca People, not only to have something to remind us of this incredible journey, but also to support the work that has been done to preserve this ancient art [Learn more about it: borucacostarica.org].
Well, but why 3 in 1?
If you look at the map of Costa Rica, you will notice that Ticos have this strange habit of naming their villages after well-known locations such as Alaska, Siberia, Liverpool, Los Angeles, … :) so you can travel “around the world” without leaving Costa Rica :)
The National Park system has managed to guarantee that 5% of the world's biodiversity can be found in this small country of around 5M inhabitants and 0,03% of the earth’s surface, which is bewildering and can not be found anywhere else in the world.
At the end, if you forget the cost of living, and consider the overall countries’ infrastructure offer (roads, health care, public buildings), the level of services provided (telecommunications, bank system, and others) and, finally, the radio broadcasting, you will definitely be taken on a journey that will remind you of the 80’s in Portugal.
The National Park system has managed to guarantee that 5% of the world's biodiversity can be found in this small country of around 5M inhabitants and 0,03% of the earth’s surface, which is bewildering and can not be found anywhere else in the world.
At the end, if you forget the cost of living, and consider the overall countries’ infrastructure offer (roads, health care, public buildings), the level of services provided (telecommunications, bank system, and others) and, finally, the radio broadcasting, you will definitely be taken on a journey that will remind you of the 80’s in Portugal.