Costa Rica

Cloud Forests

To kick off our trip we headed to the cloud forests of the Tilarán Mountains, home to numerous private reserves including the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.

By exploring these reserves in the morning, we had them largely to ourselves. In the Tilarán Mountains we also got our first glimpse of Costa Rica’s stunning biodiversity including amazing birds, insects, mammals and reptiles, as well as plant species.

In Los Quetzales National Park in Costa Rica’s Southern Mountains, we were able to dive deeper into Costa Rica’s biodiversity. Formed in 2005, Los Quetzales National Park is Costa Rica’s newest national park. Los Quetzales National Park was named for the Resplendent Quetzal. And it is one of the best places in the world to see them. But the park is about more than Resplendent Quetzals. Its 14 different ecosystems, including 3 types of rainforest, include an amazing range of birds, insects and plants, some of which you won’t see anywhere else in the world. One of the highlights of our trip to the Southern Mountains included seeing a pair of Resplendent Quetzals emerge from their nest, fly overhead and land in a nearby branch before continuing down the river to fish for their chicks.

Rainforests

From the cloud forests of the Southern Mountains, we made our way to the coast of Costa Rica.

Historically most Costa Ricans lived in the central valley or in the mountains where it was easier to farm, including to grow coffee and bananas. The beaches and lowlands were considered less desirable, primarily because they weren’t good for growing crops. The coast of Costa Rica is more developed than it was 50 years ago. As a result, it was a bit challenging to find uncrowded beaches and surf breaks along the coast. Fortunately, with help from a few old and new friends, we found exactly what we were looking for.

One experience stands out. The first was camping in a primary rainforest on the banks of the Savegre River, Costa Rica’s last major river without a dam. We found the campground by contacting Lotjke, a friend of a mountain biker we had met in Northern Costa Rica. Lotjke, who is a South African expat, had spent many years protecting the Savegre River against the threat of a dam, as well as against locals who make a habit of hunting and logging in primary forests in Costa Rica. Lotjke let us stay in a remote campground that he had built in the rainforest right on the banks of the Savegre River. During the day, we lounged on the banks of the river with Roseate Spoonbills and Yellow-throated Yellow-throated Toucans. And in the evening, we hunkered down in the rainforest, sleeping as well as we could through crazy thunder, lightning and rain storms. On our third night in the campground, a large cat (likely a jaguar) jumped on top of our camper and proceeded to growl. Needless to say, we stayed in our vehicle for the rest of the night.