Cloudforests, Tropical Beaches and Armadillos
Before I went to Costa Rica I was always told how crazy green it was. But until I got here, I didn’t realise how much it would live up to the billing.
The minute we crossed the border from Panama walls of lush green rainforest line the roads up the coast. It was a bit like the Colombian jungle.
We decided to try and see some diverse national parks in Costa Rica. So we went for the coastal rainforest in the south, and the volcanoes and cloud forests in the north.
Our journey started in the surfer town of Cahuita. Not much to write home about, except for the Love Island themed villa we stayed in (yes, really) — and the stunning national park on the town’s doorstep.
We biked down to the Manzanillo wildlife refuge and saw some crazy beautiful beaches — followed by a bunch of howler monkeys on the ride home. But it was Cahuita national park that stood out.
You start hiking through a giant rainforest, then transition to a Caribbean beach walk — before finishing with wildlife everywhere near the main entrance. We saw a ton of white faced Capucho monkeys, a three toed sloth and raccoons (eating someone’s lunch 😅). It wasn’t like any walk we’d done before!
Next up, we travelled to La Fortuna — a little town famed for it’s perfectly shaped cone volcano (Arenal). For the first day we couldn’t see it due to clouds — but the next day we had a perfect sky for a baking hot lava walk (excuse the pun). It is based on the trails that formed from lava flows when it erupted in 1968 — and all in the shadow of Arenal.
We then discovered chilli margaritas, the local craft beer — and the best tacos/churros in town as the perfect finish.
Our final stop was in Santa Elena — home to two cloud forests (Santa Elena and Monte Verde). It was amazing walking — the trees are literally wringing wet from the clouds — but unfortunately very little wildlife.
That is until we left, and saw a tarantula crossing the road and found an ARMADILLO in our garden. We’d never seen one before — bonus!
We’re now sat in the town of Liberia doing our COVID testing to get into Nicaragua. Slightly less glamorous than armadillos and cloud forests — but I’ve found three breweries nearby which we’re off to sample. Tash remains most understanding 😅
All being well, we’re off to Nicaragua tomorrow and our first taste of the Pacific Coast!
