Photos & Writing: Lyle Such
Camera: Canon 5d MkIII
Our first stop during our trip to Costa Rica was Zarcero,a small town of about 4,300 people. The main attraction is La Iglesia de San Rafael and the surrounding Parque Francisco Alvarado. The church is painted to look like it was built of marble and brick, but is really made of metal and concrete. The park is...just bizarre. The area served as a great spot to stop and eat on the way to Arenal.
The hot springs at Tabacon are fed with water which is heated by the volcano and sent flowing into the resort. Each pool is more secluded than the next, and as you wind your way up the river you discover a variety of unique and beautiful areas. It was easy to lose time exploring each area, and the weather was just the right temperature to make the hot springs the perfect place to be. After this experience, we all agree that Tabacon is easily one of the best hot springs in the world.
We discovered the private guest area on our last day, adding an even greater sense of privacy and seclusion.
Our only scheduled activity in Costa Rica was a canyoneering excursion down a stretch of river on the Arenal Volcano. After a brief lesson on Costa Rican-Nicaraguan relations, we harnessed up and were ready to go. The trip comprised of 4 major vertical descents, the largest of which was about 200 feet.
At one point we were instructed to straddle a crevasse with a small pool underneath us. Then, we were told to cannonball into the pool, which turned out to be about 5 feet deep. Needless to say, none of us were very graceful.
Later, we were told to stop midway down a cliff. One of our guides had stopped up the river like a human dam, and when he let it go, we were pounded from above by the rush of the newly opened river. Luckily the water was just warm enough to be refreshing, and no leeches.
Ecocentro Danaus is a bilogical reserve located in La Fortuna. It’s a small section of protected forest with paths leading around a small body of water. The main attractions include a butterfly farm, frog habitat, plenty of lizards and caymans, and of course, the sloth.
As we entered the reserve, the noise was almost deafening. The population of what we think were cicadas began their evening activities just as we were arriving. As we walked down the paths, we could barely talk to each other over their constant buzzing.
The guide informed us that there was a sloth nearby, and showed us the spot. It was just a hairy little ball way up in the trees, and had unfortunately just settled in for what could be up to a 15 hour nap. It had just been active, so we figured we’d move on and seek out the other sloths that were supposedly hanging out on the other side of the lake.
We couldn’t find the colorful tree frogs that we were looking for, but as we rounded a corner on the far side of the reserve, we found one of the other resident sloths. We had an unobstructed view, and could see how he was lazily clinging to the branch and trying to make himself comfortable for his long early-evening nap.
We came across this tiny bird nest outside of the Tabacon resort. The baby bird was trying it’s hardest to stay awake in the breezy conditions, and looked like it was trying to keep a watchful eye out for the mother who would soon be returning with dinner. As our little friend would nod off, it’s sibling would act as a soft landing spot for the head which seemed too heavy to keep aloft. So cute!!
Of all the unique and interesting wildlife we came across in Costa Rica, we easily spent the most time observing this tiny little spectacle.
Our second hotel was perched on a mountainside overlooking a vast stretch of unpopulated beach near the southern end of the Nicoya Peninsula. We wanted to see an area of Costa Rica that hadn’t yet been spoiled by tourism, and this was the place. The drive up was a little treacherous, and our host Zene told us that we were the first visitors to arrive without being guided up the steep, rocky mountain road.
Henner was preparing a beachside ceviche shack housed in a converted shipping container. We suggested they install a zipline down from the hotel for easy access. Unfortunately the restaurant wasn’t ready, but he introduced us to the extremely bitter jocote fruit, and we were treated to ice cold sodas.
Playa San Miguel was exactly the type of area we were looking for in Costa Rica. As far as you could see, isolated beaches stretched out in both directions. During our time playing around in the surf and just relaxing in the sand, only two people passed by. When they say this is “unspoiled” Costa Rica, they truly mean it. Unfortunately the waves were too small to bring out boards and go surfing.
In an attempt to avoid getting too much sun early in our trip, we decided to take a short road trip up the coast to Playa Bejuco. The final road into the beach was through dense, dry desert along the bumpy dirt roads we had become accustomed to. The beach was located within a large cove, and was full of fishermen out in their rustic old boats. The fishing village turned out to be more of a small cluster of shacks built around the river mouth, and there wasn’t really a lot of activity except for the birds, circling in hopes of stealing their next meal.
The Hotel Playa Negra was located at the end of a long, dusty road directly in front of a popular surf break. By the time we arrived the heat had reached 100 degrees, so after situating ourselves in the hut and having a quick lunch, we headed out in our air-conditioned truck to explore the area. We visited Tamarindo, about 20 minutes north of Playa Negra, then headed back for sunset at the beach.
Sunset at Playa Negra.
Driving back from Tamarindo, we passed a little town that looked like it was setting up for an event. We stopped to ask, and found out there would be a rodeo that night. We returned in the evening to find they were already chasing the bull around the arena and trying to rope him up. There didn’t seem to be any rules, and anyone in the crowd could jump in at any time to torment the bull. In the end, they weren’t very aggressive, and mostly were just reluctantly dragged out of the arena.
We drove over to Lola’s in Playa Avellana to meet an old high school friend. Arriving at dusk, we witnessed one of the famous Costa Rican sunsets over the Pacific. With perfectly clear skies and endless beaches, it really was the perfect spot to end the long hot day. We learned about a Costa Rican tradition called “being huevo’d.” When a child celebrates their birthday, they are pummelled over the head by eggs similar to an American birthday spanking.
We finally rented our surfboards and headed out to the beach. Thu decided to take lessons from the local surf guide. Unfortunately we missed the perfect waves of the day before, but there were still some nice easy waves coming in, and they were great for her to practice the basics on.
Our final pictures at the beach. We had to hurry as the temperature was rising into the hundreds again, and we wanted to hit the road without being covered in dust and sweat.
