Costa Rica’s capital and Caribbean coast

We are still on our 3-month trip through Central America, and recently reached Costa Rica where we had wonderful time seeing some of its amazing forests and wildlife. That was in the northern area of the country, so after that, we headed to the centre of Costa Rica to San José, its capital and largest city.

Sunset from our apartment in San José, Costa Rica

In San José, we stayed in an AirBnB apartment on the 14th floor of a very modern building on the edge of the city. We had fantastic views of the city and some amazing sunsets, and we were close to upmarket restaurants, and within walking distance to the city centre.

Classic and lovely architecture in San José, Costs Rica

So, on our first day in San José, we walked in to see the city centre finding it to be interesting and with some lovely architecture. San José was developed in 1736 through the merging of a collection of small villages. Now days, it is a city of 356,000 people with medium-rise buildings, museums, parks, and historic buildings. 

City of contrasts, San José, Costa Rica

But we also found San José to be a city of contrasts, with interesting variations in its look and feel. In the pedestrian areas of the town centre, we saw run-down shops and houses, broken footpaths, and people selling their wares off cloths on the ground. Two streets over, we saw trendy and smart shops and a cleaner area.

The active Poas Volcano, San José, Costa Rica

While in San José, we visited the active Poas Volcano which rises 2,708 meters above sea level, and has a bubbling caldera. We Uber’d to the top of the volcano where we were put into a small group, shown a safety video, and given a hard hat in case of an eruption. Then we were led to a viewing platform where we could see the caldera with its steaming turquoise lake. It was amazing!

Banana plantation, Costa Rica

Leaving San José a few days later, we were picked up at 5:30 am for a 3-day tour of a remote area on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. On the way, we were given a traditional breakfast of rice and beans, then later we passed a Chiquita Banana plantation where we were told how the bananas are grown and processed for sale. It was so interesting; we’d never seen so many bananas in one place.

Marg on the boat to Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Soon after, we arrived in the settlement of Caño Blanco and boarded a small motor boat for a 2-hour scenic ride along a river, to the isolated coastal town of Tortuguero. It was a great ride, passing through jungle areas and remote riverside villages. Tortuguero is the gateway to Tortuguero National Park which is known for its biodiversity and pristine ecosystems, and this is what we’d come to see.

Tortuguero township and beach, Costa Rica

Arriving in Tortuguero, we were taken on a walking tour of the wee town (pop 1,500). We heard about the small community there and how they rely on each other and tourism to get by, learned about the turtles that nest on the beach, and saw large indentations in the sand where they had laid their eggs. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any turtles because we were out of season.

Rain while on the water, Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica

Another 5:30 am start the next morning saw us in a boat again. But this time, we were gently meandering through some narrow waterways of the rainforest that makes up the Tortuguaro National Park. Because it’s a rainforest, it rains a lot, and we had a corker of a downpour while on the boat. But the guide gave us rubberised ponchos and we stayed as dry as a bone.

Anhinga drying his wings, Tortuguaro National Park, Costa Rica

It was a peaceful way to travel and we saw quite a lot of wildlife including several stunningly marked anhinga drying their wings - their wing pattern reminded us of piano keys. Anhinga are similar to cormorants or shags, but have longer necks and tails, and they don’t dive deep as cormorants do.

(Top L to R) Heron, Jacana, (below) Jesus Christ lizard, Caiman eye

We also saw several herons, jacanas, pelicans, egrets, a distant toucan, monkeys swinging through the trees, and a Jesus Christ lizard which are the ones that walk on water. Also spotted were several caimans which are like little crocodiles, hiding in the river greenery. Luckily, they ignored us as they only feed on fish and shellfish. It was a wonderful few hours.

Spider monkey, Tortuguaro National Park, Costa Rica

A bit later after breakfast and rest, we went for a guided walk in the National Park. The first creature we spotted was a colourful wee crab. As we headed deeper into the forest, we began to notice movement among the tall treetops and spotted several spider monkeys sitting in the trees eating, and they were quite close. What a treat.

Sloth climbing down a tree, Tortuguaro National Park, Costa Rica

But we had an even bigger treat in store a little further on as we spotted a mother sloth with her baby. The antics of the baby kept us entertained for some time. Then soon after we saw another sloth quite close to us climbing backwards down a huge tree. It was wonderful to watch. What a great day.

 

Our hotel in Tortuguero, Costa Rica

While in Tortuguero we stayed at a small hotel booked by the tour company. It had a swimming pool, a pretty garden, and was right in the township close to restaurants. When we headed out for meals, it was difficult to choose between the various restaurants as they all had interesting seafood dishes.

Spider monkey and Canal Green Iguana at our hotel, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Our hotel also had its own wildlife show, with a family of spider monkeys scampering on the roof, a huge Canal Green Iguana that was always sitting at the very top of a smallish tree overlooking the swimming pool, and several tiny geckos that were regular visitors to our room.

The surf in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Costa Rica

After a wonderful 3 days in Tortuguero it was time to move on, so we went back on the boat along the river and onto another shuttle, and 4-hours later arrived in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, a seaside town (pop 30,000) known for its surf and beaches. 

Boats, beach, surf and jungle in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

This town throbs with the sound of reggae music and the surf, is full of fishing boats and seafood restaurants, and moves with people in wetsuits carrying surfboards, all framed by typical Costa Rican jungle. It was lovely, and we did nothing but enjoy it all.

View of the beach from our hotel in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

Our hotel in Puerto Viejo had a great view of the beach. We headed out to walk around the beaches and town on our first night, then spent the rest of our time there sleeping, eating and walking, and found it to be a really off-beat but relaxing place.

Beach and boats in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

Puerto Viejo was our last stop in Costa Rica, but we loved this country. Costa Rica is considered a developing country, but is evolving faster than the other developing countries in Central America. It has a stable and democratic government, a public health system, high literacy rates, low crime rates, and a fair judicial system. It also has potable water – a rarity on this trip.

The beach at Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

Moving on, we grabbed another shuttle and headed south, past many kilometres of tropical plantations, to the border where we would cross out of Costa Rica. We were going into Panama, our last country on our Central America trip. You can read about that in the next blog.

This post is the twelfth in a series that tells the story of our travel in Mexico and Central America. The first post in the series can be found here.