Costa Rica - leaving our comfort zone in the wonders of nature
I should have paid more attention in those science classes decades ago. Fortunately, it's never too late, and a brilliant fellow named Ivan Castillo and Road Scholar's "The Best Of Costa Rica: Exploring Natural Wonders” 12 day tour in late September 2026 opened my mind to ‘biodiversity’ (basically meaning the variety of life forms at all levels) and the interaction of all life forms between themselves and the environment. Every activity we engaged in (hunting for birds/frogs/bats/crocodiles, sampling coffee at a plantation, drooling over handmade chocolate, eating with a local family, and traversing suspension bridges - even river rafting and zip lining) was put in the context of sustainability and how the behaviour of just one person can contribute. Whoa, indeed.
Ivan:
But before we met Ivan and our tour group, my sister and I had a day to discover San Jose, Costa Rica’s largest and capital city situated in the centre of the country. There are about two million in the larger metropolitan area and although the city is not known for major architecture, there are plenty of parks, modern office complexes and malls, traditional churches, museums, and theatres, a nice combination of old and new.
We enjoyed strolling the locals’ market, the San Jose Central Market (Mercado Central), a maze of tiny alleys with a variety of vendors, both modern and traditional, where you could purchase cultural food, fresh fruit and vegetables, natural remedies, modern clothing, or a rooster. I enjoyed our first fine Costa Rican coffee and traditional lunch. We appreciated all the pedestrian-only streets such as Avenida Central in the downtown where businesses range from small and traditional to high-end fashion and modern cafes found anywhere.
Scenes from Mercado Central:
During our first meeting with Ivan and our fellow travellers, he challenged us to "get out of your comfort zone". We soon found that was easy to do.
Early the next day, we received an introductory talk about what makes Costa Rica a unique biodiverse area. It quickly became clear that if Costa Rica does not lead the world in biodiversity and its efforts to sustain life itself, it certainly is working hard to be a leading contender. Firstly, it sits in Central America, 10 degrees north of the equator, bordered to the north by Nicaragua and to the south by Panama. It’s long and narrow with the Pacific coastline on the west and the Caribbean Sea coastline on the east. Costa Rica sits on a relatively young land mass (only a few million years or so) that was formed when what is now known as north and south America were joined after volcanic action, forming a long, thin stretch of land, perfect for animals and insects to travel back and forth. Then, think about the location, the constant temperature of 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, the 12 hours of daily sun, the rain which can be up to 250 inches a year in parts, the mountain ranges going right down it's centre, and over 100 volcano formations, and you have the perfect recipe for a magnitude of plants and animals to thrive. (This is the most abbreviated and uneducated version, and you might want to research Costa Rica’s geological formation for yourself as well as an interesting article such as ‘Ranking the world’s biodiversity’ by Rhett Ayers Butler at butlernature.com where he explains the difficulty in measuring biodiversity and the different factors involved.)
To prepare us to enjoy Costa Rica's natural wonders, we first had to learn some key factors in the country's development.
The National Theatre is considered a significant part of Costa Rica's history. San Jose was named capital in 1821 when Costa Rica became an independent country, but San Jose was a rather rough town that depended on local agriculture. When coffee was discovered by the world years later, the plantations became prosperous. As the coffee barons became wealthy, they wanted the town to become more cultural and intellectual which put pressure to build the theatre. Initially, a tax on coffee was imposed to pay for construction and then every Costa Rican helped to pay through a general tax. You can learn more at "The National Theater of Costa Rica, The Nation's Cultural Treasure" by Michael Miller at therealsanjose.com. The theater is an example of how Costa Rica's built it's identity and evironmental reputation. We did not tour the inside but you can see pictures in the article noted above, and it is glamourous. The neoclassical architecture outside is spectacular with three statues on top representing dance, fame, and music.
Next up was the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum, an underground museum in central San Jose that provides a history of early Costa Rica through gold pieces, showing the social, spiritual, and artistic life of Costa Rica's indigenous people, including their connection to nature and how they found inspiration in the natural environment. Gold was not used so much for currency as for the meaning behind the pieces. A good article is "Pre-Columbian Gold Museum" at museosdelbancocental.org. Here is just a very small sample:
You've probably heard about the goodness of Costa Rican coffee? It doesn't only taste mighty fine, it is credited with transforming Costa Rica from a poor Spanish colony to a modern nation. By 1829, it was the pirmary export and for years was the financial staple of the economy, funding the first roads, railways, public institutions, etc. Remember Costa Rica's unique location and climate? It is perfect for growing that important bean. We learned about this in an entertaining tour at the Britt coffee roaster. Today, coffee may no longer be the main export (that honour now goes to medical devices and instruments), but it is still in the top 10 ('Costa Rica's Top Exports', worldstopexports.com)
We headed out the next day to the east cost to the remote Tortuguero National Park, and on the way, our first sloth-sighting. The sloth might be the most famous animal in Costa Rica. They are everywhere - hanging from trees and painted on fridge magnets and coffee cups and t-shirts. Besides being adorable and having a cute butt (yes, I actually said that), sloths help the ecosystem by regulating plant growth through eating leaves, providing home in their fur for moths and algae, and providing nutrients to the soil through their feces; and it's pretty hard to be stressed when you watch the slow, deliberate movements of a sloth. More on these interesting creatures can be found at 'Featured Creature: Sloth' at bio4climate.org.
Tortuguero means ‘place of the turtle’. Simply getting there is an adventure which prohibits many Costa Ricans from visiting - it's definitely not a day trip. The road goes only so far before you have to board a river boat for about a 90 minute ride to the small village of Tortuguero and the Pachira Lodge (where I first learned that sharing a room with cockroaches is completely normal), winding through small rivers and canals that serve as roads. The canals even have road signs (or, is that water signs?). You could also fly in by small airplane. Here's our driver Michael. The locals grow up on this waterway, and he knows every square inch.
Tortuguero National Park was established in 1970 to protect sea turtles, rain forest, and wetlands. Over 75% is marine territory. With 20 miles of coastline, it has the largest green turtle nesting area in the western hemisphere. Besides turtles, the park has over 400 identified bird species such as macaws, toucans, and hawks, over 700 plant species,118 reptile species, etc. A good article is ‘Tortuguero National Park’ at Sinac.go.cr. SINAC stands for National System of Conservation Areas, part of Costa Rica’s Ministry of Environment. The park receives some 250 inches of rain a year. It is sometimes called Little Amazon. We enjoyed several boat trips on the canals where Michael and Ivan were able to pick out monkeys and birds and lizards of all types from afar. I still marvel at how they do that.
Here's a collage of the wildlife we saw at Tortuguero National Park. You might have to look closely as nature is quite amazing - some of the critters are well-camouflaged.
We were fortunate one evening to visit the sea turtle nesting area to watch females laying their eggs in nests on the beach which generally occurs only between June and October. Viewing is tightly controlled to be as least obtrusive as possible. The public can only attend with a licensed guide in very small groups and can only watch a turtle that has been found by spotters. You are not free to just roam the beach and look for nesting turtles. There are no pictures or lights allowed, and people are encouraged to be quiet. It was magical. A sea turtle can lay over 100 eggs in one nest (called a clutch) at a time. Again, the article ‘Tortuguero National Park’ noted above has good information.
Although we were not able to take pictures of the live sea turtles, we did see their nests on the beach (large holes dug into the sand) and were able to learn about them in the Sea Turtle Conservancy.
The quaint little village of Tortuguero is a step back in time. Tortuguero is car-free (and care-free), and bikes and boats are the modes of transportation. Tortuguero started out as a lumber town but now is home to generational families, local business owners, employees, and conservationists. A few modern cafes and lodgings sit amidst traditional colourful houses. The vibe is Afro-Caribbean. This is main street:
Tortuguero elementary scool:
If you know me, you just know I had to hail a water taxi to Tortuguero for an Americano.
Chances are that when you think of coconuts, you think of eating and drinking, but in Tortuguero, we found that coconuts played a much larger role for early inhabitants - yes, they can be made into any number of mouth-watering recipes as we found in a humourous and delicious (think candied coconut heavy on the sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla) presentation, but we learned that coconuts were essential for oil, furniture, bedding, ropes, jewellery, utensils, tools, and construction. I am sure I've missed a few.
And, finally, a Tortuguero sunrise and sunset:
What an honour to experience this natural wonderland.
We moved on to the Selva Verde Lodge in Sarapiqui, which sits in northeastern Costa Rica and is known for the Sarapiqui River, agriculture, a lowland rainforest, and lots of adventure. The lodge sits in the Sarapiqui Rainforest Preservation Area with almost 400 species of birds, 69 secies of mammals, 50 species of amphibians, 10,000 species of insects . . . you get the picture ('Rainforest Ecology at Selva Verde Lodge', selvaverde.com)
After an abbreviated rainforest walk (Ivan was amazing at determining just when the next downpour would occur - maybe it was the smell in the air or the leaf cutter ants ceasing their work or the location of the thunder), we experienced the largest rain/thunder/lightening ‘show’ that I have ever seen. I hid away on a veranda (maybe with a glass of white wine) and enjoyed my solo moment amidst the darkness, the clash of thunder, the lightening streaks, and the sheets of rain.
The lodge had a wonderful bird buffet that was filled with fruit several times a day. You could spend hours watching the variety of diners and, yes, there is a ‘pecking order’.
The next morning, we learned about the importance (and the deliciousness) of chocolate handmade from cacao beans growing right in front of us at Costa Rica Best Chocolate. Cacao crops are 'touchy' and are hindered by climate, pests, disease, and soil quality; but we learned firsthand that there is no comparison between low quality chocolate which, we learned, has a a lot of sugar and fillers, and the ‘real’ cacao made with no, or very little, sugar and fillers such as oil. The euphoria on my face when tasting was only a little exaggerated. Although chocolate production is now only a small part of Costa Rica's economy, it still provides employment on artesanal cacao farms and income from ecotourism and sales. You can learn more at 'History of Cacao in Costa Rica: A Deep Dive Into It's Rich Legacy' at sibuchocolate.com.
We were afraid that the heavy rains the night prior would cancel our river rafting adventure on the Sarapiqui River, but Ivan explained that rivers rise fast with downpours but also drop just as quickly; so, all of us grey-hairs got to enjoy a thrilling water experience with highly talented guides (so talented, our guide skilfully used his paddle to keep one of our group from falling backwards overboard. He looked at me and said, “That was close.”) This was no float down the lazy river. Again, ecotourism provides business opportunities, employment, and income for locals.
On our final evening at Selva Verde, we went 'frogging'. We just had to walk a few feet from our rooms to snap photos of these beauties:
Heading out the next day, we were honoured to visit Hazel at her rural home. She shared her story. She has three children, two who have moved away for education and employment, and one who is still in school (employment opportunities are limited in rural communities, often with only the local banana or pineapple plantations as options). Hazel milks cows each morning and sells fresh milk and cheese to neighbours, as well as conducts ecotour sessions for income. She maintains her fruit and vegetable garden. She and her brother made us traditional coffee and delicious sweet arepas topped with fresh cheese, homemade marmalade, and fried plantains. We ate in the ‘rancho’ which is a covered open-air space behind the rural houses, a space where families and friends can gather because homes are very small.
This is Hazel's neighbour. I love this picture because of the way the dogs are looking at me, but you can also see how small the rural homes are. You can see right through it.
On our way to the Arenal Volcano, we stopped in the main area town of La Fortuna whose centrepiece is a beautiful, understated church surrounded by gardens. Churches here are often humble and beautiful in their plainness. As the gateway to the Arenal Volcano which sits in the background, La Fortuna has many restaurants and businesses that cater to travellers.
The Iglesia de La Fortuna de San Carlos with the Arenal Volcano in the background:
The Arenal Volcano is one of the most well-known volcanos in Costa Rica. It is 5,348 feet tall, perfectly symmetrical, and has been dormant since 2010; but in 1968, it erupted, killing 87 people and wiping out three small towns. It changed the nearby landscape over 90 square miles, but given Costa Rica’s climate, the area recovered quickly. This was another example we learned of how nature (and life) recovers and grows from tragedy.
We enjoyed a short hike in the Arenal Volcano Park overlooking the reservoir, Lake Arenal, which was enlarged by the Presa Sangregado Dam, or Lake Arenal Dam, for hydroelectric power.
Our bus got laid up on the road to the park due to a wash-out from the excessive rainfall. This simply gave us an opportunity for a longer walk in the park and a chance to enjoy the countryside.
The next day was full of adventure. The morning saw us manoeuvre the Mistic Park Hanging Bridges, a series of bridges (six hanging and ten regular) stretched over two miles high up in the rainforest. Here, we were joined by more forest creatures (monkeys, sloths, wild boars, snakes, frogs, and lizards - but we didn't see them all) and unique trees and plants. I particularly liked the Strangler Fig tree which winds itself tightly around a host tree, eventually killing it, but providing food for bats and monkeys and shelter for small animals and insects.The walk is interpretive, with educational stations along the way, but we had our own Ivan whose knowledge of nature and history was endless. We agreed, this was a highlight morning.
Here's a Strangler Fig winding around a host tree. Nature is amazing.
That afternoon, we had free time to relax or enjoy the natural hot springs at the Arenal Paraiso Lodge - but also an optional adrenaline rush. Zip lining is popular in this area due to the terrain. Our lodge had a zip line running right through the rainforest at the ‘canopy’ level (the canopy layer is not at the top but about 100 feet above ground where the leaves all touch one another and holds the majority of rainforest animals), so some of us could not pass up the opportunity. Five strong athletic young men guided our small group through the five zip lines, not at all stopping for the massive rainfall that hit us half way (there was no other way down, anyway). I know we would have passed monkeys and other rainforest life, but we were going too fast to visit. It was the most fun a group of 'senior citizens' could have. We were soaked but exhilarated. In hindsight, it was a perfect metaphor for life: when torrential 'rainfall' comes, just keep going, there's no way out anyway, and you will emerge a little 'weather-beaten' but stronger for the experience.
Who knew bats were so adorable and so helpful? After recovering from our adventurous day, we attended a lecture on bats from the Night Wings project, learning how they live, their importance to the environment (for example, if there are no bats to eat insects, the insects will eat crops so farmers will have to use pesticides that hurt the environment), and efforts to sustain the bat population. I have a new appreciation for those little creatures that tend to make me shudder. And they are dang cute. Costa Rica has over 100 bat species.
Oh, my. They say half the joy of a trip is the journey, and that is what we experienced on our way high, high up to the Canto del Rio Lodge near the village of La Paz for a lecture on safeguarding cloud forests. Yes, cloud forests. They get their name from the low-hanging mist and fog that constantly covers the forest. The mist and fog deposit water onto the forest which is laden with moss which holds the water which then drips onto the land and into rivers - an example of how everything is tied together; and if one aspect suffers, that affects all others. (Rainforests get their water from rain while cloud forests get their water from the air.)
Cloud forest moss:
Back to that journey. Our bus driver Omar skilfully manoeuvred our bus over curvy, narrow mountain roads with steep drop offs and no such thing as guard rails and no room to pass other vehicles. I swear our bus grazed one of those ropes that marked a few-hundred-foot drop. Omar is possibly the best driver I have ever seen. If the ride itself did not take our breath away, the scenery along the way certainly did.
I did love the road signs that made that grade very clear, regardless of language:
The final stop in our adventure was Punta Leona lodge on Costa Rica’s western coast, a private nature reserve and popular vacation spot for Costa Ricans due to the relatively close proximity to San Jose. Here, we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset on the Playa Mantas beach.
The nearby Carara National Park is an example of the transition between forests with parts rainforest and parts 'dry' forests which felt more like our forests back home in Canada. If we did not already have enough photos, this park was a photographer’s dream with the insects, wild mushrooms, tree types, and over 400 bird species. I loved learning about leaf cutter ants and watching them work so hard in a team. Ivan told us that when the leaf cutter ants stop working, a rain storm is surely on its way. They also have quality control ants and take care of their fallen comrades. They are such smart little critters.
I was intrigued by the Monkey Ladder Vine which gives monkeys a natural 'highway' through the rainforest:
We might think of termites as bad, but in a rainforest, they break down dead plant matter, help preserve water supply in times of drought by bringing moisture to the surface, aerate the soil, and provide food to other species. There's much information online that might alter your view about these little critters. For everything there is a purpose . . . Here's a termite nest:
Some random spottings:
And look at the size of this stick insect, perfectly camoflouged in the forest:
Leaf cutter ants hard at work:
Our final organized adventure before we headed back to San Jose for the trip home was crocodile hunting. We didn’t have to ‘hunt’ very hard as they were everywhere along the banks of the Tarcoles River which has the highest density of crocs per square mile in the world. We were thrilled and honoured, albeit a little nervous, to see the oldest and biggest croc hold off a younger male croc who was sunbathing on the bank. The big croc is 90 years old and rules that section of the river. Apparently, a croc fight is quite intense. Affectionately, the guides have names for the more well-known crocs, such as Mike Tyson, Osama Bin Laden, and Lady Gaga.
Look closely, and you can see the big croc holding the younger one to the bank. The younger croc is trying to look ferocious.
This section of the Tarcoles River is also a haven for birds. Just when you think you have seen the most beautiful, you see this:
And the picture that everyone associates with Costa Rica, taken by a fellow traveller, Howard, with a good camera:
In addition to sloths and birds and insects and frogs and trees and crocs and who knows what other vegetation and how many other creatures, Costa Rica is home to thousands of species of flowers, over 1,000 species of orchids alone. Here are just a few:
That ended our 12 days of 100% adventure and 100% education with Ivan and Road Scholar. We finished with a final going-away meeting where we each mentioned what stood out for us, or the new insight we’d take home, or the funniest moment of the tour. For some it was the turtles, for some it was the abundance of nature, for some it was the ferocity of the rain storms, for some it was the thrill of ziplining, for some it was the honour of being invited into someone's home, for some it was Ivan's energy and pure love for all living species. We all stepped out of our comfort zones in some way. Suffice it to say, 12 people from all over the United States and two from Canada came away with enlarged minds and an enlarged appreciation for nature and sustainability and for how everything in our world is related in some way at some point.
Be good to nature. Be good to your fellow human. Mother Teresa said: "I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples."
(I try to be accurate in my information. Always do your own research.)
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