The scoop…

Costa Rica solo, by Judy Storch

Costa Rica, “Pura Vida”

Staring with a little Costa Rican history. CR has no army, even when flanked by Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south, with neither country known for its pacifism. Apparently a former CR President and visionary leader, Figueres Ferrer, reasoned that with the US military in many places in Central America they could spend the money in Costa Rica on education and healthcare. So not surprisingly, both flourished and are said to be excellent here, uniformly available independent of income, type of employment, or region. Another notable visionary leader, is Oscar Arias, also a former CR President. He was not only widely responsible for protecting and preserving the magnificent natural environment of Costa Rica, but was also the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for “his work in lasting peace for Central America”. Arias was a moving force in restoring the rain forest terrain that had been cleared by United Fruit and other predatory companies after they pulled out of Costa Rica in the 1980’s, leaving massively high unemployment in their wake. Thanks to Arias and others like him the evolution into the clean, popular and healthy industry of ecotourism has given Costa Rica and their people a new life. Today ecotourism generates more revenue than bananas and coffee combined. It is the country’s major industry, and the major employer overall. Most all of the Costa Rican people you meet are in the tourism line of work and are incredibly friendly and helpful. You begin to see that the friendliness is not just to us tourists, but genuinely with each other. It seems to be the Costa Rican norm of interpersonal behavior, openness and a pleasant way of being.

It’s January, technically the early part of the dry season, but things are lush to my eyes. The terrain is very rugged and covered in a textured green blanket of trees and lower growing bushes and plants. There is a beautiful tree here that grows tall and expansive spreading its many branches upward and outward, and much welcomed for the shade it provides. It is called the Guanacaste, and is the national tree of Costa Rica (CR). Locals refer to it as the monkey-ear or elephant-ear tree, as its seeds resemble human ears. Its beautiful wood with its deep brown, lustrous hue is used for making furniture.

So, I begin my journey in the small city of Atenas, which is less than an hour outside of the capital, San Jose. Atenas is a very hilly place. There are lots of streets with grades as steep as the steepest in San Francisco. In fact at one point I thought to myself, no one here lives on a street that’s flat! Atenas is full of small shops, and it was a wonderful place to meander through. There is the main church in the center of town, with nearby park and gardens. School children are dressed in uniforms, and apparently that’s the norm at the state schools (I was told there are almost no private schools). While in Atenas I stayed at an Airbnb and used Ubers or Lyfts to get around, as well as a couple of bus rides. I love taking public transportation wherever I am, in the States or abroad and given the terrain and the windy roads it was an easy decision not to rent a car. Although I’ve met other Americans here who have, and they say it’s not as terrifying as it seems at first. Maybe next time!

When traveling I love to go into ‘real’ stores like supermarkets, smaller neighborhood markets and local pharmacies. On one day I easily spent an hour in a big supermarket near Jaco on the Pacific coast, investigating the fruits and vegetables, the amazing array of beans, and the coffee aisle. To note, Costa Rica is the only country in the world that produces 100% Arabian coffee beans. Apparently this is due to the ideal environment of high altitudes, fertile soil and warm climate, coupled with a rainy and dry season where the perfect coffee bean flourishes.

The food is always fresh here—watermelon, pineapple, papaya and all kinds of tropical fruits are everywhere and as a person that loves eating fresh fish, Costa Rica is perfect. I’ve had mostly white fishes like mahi mahi, grilled or pan sauteed, with wonderful sauces (eg a coconut curry) and salsas (eg mango and cilantro). A well loved and traditional dish here is gallo pinto. It is a plate of rice and black beans flavored with various chiles, some fried/grilled plantains, salsa, an egg fried or scrambled, and a corn tortilla. This seems typically to be a breakfast, but my impression is that you can get it at all times of the day. That and a cup of delicious coffee is more than enough to tide me over til dinner.

The real highlight of my Costa Rican trip was not surprisingly, the trip down to the southern Osa Peninsula, site of Corcovado National Park. Rather than an 8 hour bus ride (which I seriously contemplated), I took a1hour domestic flight to Drake Bay airport, which consists of a single airstrip and a nice terminal building. The prop plane seats about 12 but there were only 5 of us plus pilot and copilot. We flew close to the shore for the entire trip, and it was spectacular—first flying low over the mountains and then over the rain forest and the black sand shore. From the airstrip I was picked up by a van for a half hour ride to a beach and then finally, after taking off my shoes and rolling up my pants, made a wet boarding onto a motor launch for the final 10 minute ride to the La Paloma Eco-Lodge. My lodging was a cabin high above the Pacific Ocean, completely surrounded on 3 sides by trees, vines and giant bamboo stands with the 4th side looking out over the sea. The sound of the surf is always there, as were sounds from the trees—birds, insects, and occasional chattering monkeys. The bathroom was open to the elements but I was told to keep the bathroom door closed at night so the monkeys couldn’t enter the main room/bedroom. I never saw evidence of their coming into the bathroom, which was fine with me. I began writing this while sitting at a small wooden desk, facing the Pacific. There’s a tree about 10 feet from the window, and there were two toucans jumping (really) from branch to branch. They are hilarious and stunning at the same time. Can these birds possibly be real? Was the Fruit Loops box an Audubon sketch and not a cartoon?

The meals at La Paloma were served in the main lodge overlooking stunning greenery and the Pacific. Every meal was full of fresh wonderful everything—fruits, juices, vegetables, fish, etc…and always vegetarian options.

Each day there were wonderful excursions; a three hour hike in the rainforest, another to a beautiful waterfall, certainly not for the faint heart. I was the oldest person in our group of 9 (plus our guide) and I did have the distinct impression that people were making sure that I did not kill myself. I didn’t, happily. On those hikes we saw scarlet macaws, pelicans on the rocks at the shore, a sloth with a baby swinging high up in the trees, howler and spider monkeys, and many amazing birds, trees and plants, all wonderful. There was also an hour long boat ride to Cano Island where we snorkeled, hiked, snorkeled again, and then rode back to the beach near the lodge for an outdoor barbecue. On the rides there and back we saw dolphins, which the captain finds by sighting brown booby birds who hover above the dolphins and compete with them for food. On the ride back we were also incredibly fortunate to sight and spend about half an hour watching a humpback whale and her baby. The baby was about 15 feet long and the mother about 50 feet, according to our guide. The baby was clearly frolicking around in the sea. It was just a wonderful sight to behold. There was also a nighttime insect trek with ‘the bug lady’ where we saw a huge parade of leaf cutter ants, amazing spiders and their nests, several types of frogs, and where I learned an amazing fact—that almost all scorpions are fluorescent! So at night you can easily spot them simply by shining a UV lamp (I have one in my lab and I actually use fluorescence in my research, but you can buy one in pet stores). Not that we have to worry about scorpions in the northeast….

I’m not usually that fond of guided tours, but the things that our guide was able to spot and point out to us, and the deep knowledge of the forest that he shared, has really made me rethink my typical read-and-go-it-alone approach. The Palomo-Eco Lodge provided a truly special experience from start to finish.

Costa Rica is Pura Vida… a common phrase here, almost a motto in Costa Rica, and while its direct translation is pure life, it’s used very generally to mean ‘no worries, everything’s cool.’ I am naturally skeptical of these Pollyanna sayings and mottos in general, but honestly, pura vida is not a cliché, it seems to be a national attitude. My journey here in Costa Rica turned out to be exciting and relaxing at the same time. I will return.

Costa Rica, an extraordinary destination…