Sunday 31 August
2008, San José, Costa Rica
No Shoes Required
By Jan Butsch -
travelgirl
As I was hanging
hundreds of feet above
firm ground, dangling by
two pieces of steel and
preparing to plunge
myself into the treetops
of a Costa Rican
rainforest, I thought of
a former co-worker.
During a company
retreat, I had been
stunned to discover that
this New York City bred
guy had never walked in
the woods, or even
stepped outdoors without
shoes.
Although I was raised in
the city of Atlanta, our
neighborhood had plenty
of creature-filled woods
and creeks for catching
tadpoles, and shoe-clad
feet were a rarity in
the summer. But the
truth is that in our
car-obsessed,
air-conditioned,
skyscraper-covered
society, it is possible
to live your entire life
with feet that never
touch the earth.
But for many of us, a
close relationship with
the natural wonders of
our planet is a craving
that must be satisfied.
And that is why places
like Costa Rica are
adult playgrounds,
spawning a tremendous
boost in eco-tourism. A
trip to Costa Rica
brings a heartfelt
reminder of why we
should focus on saving
this amazing planet.
Other worthy
destinations have surely
risen in the eco-tourism
ranks, but Costa Rica is
one of the "original"
spots, and despite huge
growth during the last
20 years - from 329,000
visitors in 1988 to 2.1
million in 2008 - it
still maintains its role
as a leading example of
a place where nature and
tourism have found a
happy marriage.
My first-ever trip to
Costa Rica turned me
into a devoted
eco-tourist, as I flew
through trees, covered
my entire body in warm,
drippy mud, watched a
butterfly emerge from
its chrysalis, visited
an active inner crater
volcano, and smelled
fresh-picked coffee
beans on a plantation.
But let's start with the
leather diaper.
BLAST OF SPRING WATER
AND A SMEARING OF MUD
Blessed with a wacky
sense of humor and a
possibly overblown
willingness to embarrass
myself, I willingly
donned a leather diaper,
a close-fitting inner
tube and a helmet for a
ride down the mountain
water slide at Buena
Vista Hot Springs in the
Guanacaste area of Costa
Rica.
After a hike up a wooded
mountain trail in our
fashion-violating
attire, we were
instructed to take a
seat, one by one. When
my turn came, I was
hyper-propelled down the
mountain by a blast of
cold water on my back.
Just as I was imagining
that this is what an ice
cube must feel like when
it comes out of the
chute in the
refrigerator, I hit the
water at the bottom,
where I simultaneously
tried to snort the water
from my nose and yank my
bathing suit bottom out
of where it had become
firmly wedged.
No time for fashion
readjustment, however,
it was time for our next
adventure - the thermal
springs and mud bath,
one of the more popular
attractions at Buena
Vista. After taking a
leisurely horse-drawn
tractor ride over hilly,
rocky road we
disembarked and walked a
short way down to the
thermal springs. First
we were instructed to
enter a small sauna and
bake our bodies - this
was apparently the
proper preparation for
the messy business to
follow. Next, we
gathered around large
vats of warm, oozing
brownish mud, which we
were then instructed to
scoop up in our hands
and apply to ourselves.
It felt a little
naughty, this blatant
violation of all those
childhood instructions
to "Stay away from that
mud!"
After piling the mud on
every exposed surface of
skin, we walked to a
small platform where we
pleaded with the sun to
make its way through the
canopy of trees to warm
up our now chilling
bodies while we watched
the dark wet mud slowly
turn pale as it dried.
After washing off our
mud-caked bodies in
freezing cold showers,
we made a beeline for
the nearby stone-lined
pools of warm springs.
Although there are no
proven health benefits
of mud baths, a
"therapy" that dates
back to the days of
Cleopatra, the
experience is relaxing
and my skin did feel
smoother.
We had traveled to Buena
Vista from the luxurious
Hilton Papagayo Resort,
located in Guanacaste, a
province in the
northwest section of
Costa Rica, on the
Pacific Ocean. The
Papagayo Peninsula is
the home to a collection
of luxury hotels and
condominiums, with more
being added to handle
the rapid rise of
tourism. Travel has
gotten easier with the
recent renovation of the
nearby Liberia
International Airport.
THE DAY I DISCOVER
VOLCANOES HAVE "INNIES"
Our Costa Rican
adventure kicked off
with a night in San
Jose, the economic,
cultural and geographic
center of Costa Rica. We
spent our first evening
in the Doubletree
Cariari, where we
enjoyed an hour or so of
lounging by the pool
followed by a decadent
steak and martini dinner
at Curime Restaurant.
The next day we headed
to one of Costa Rica's
favorite tourist
attractions - an active
volcano. There are eight
that are classified as
active, and Poas Volcano
National Park has one of
the most accessible
ones, making it a
favorite for tourists.
(Note: Don't expect to
dodge rivers of molten
lava! The definition of
an active volcano is one
that is currently
erupting, has a record
of having erupted, and
is likely to erupt
again.)
Located about an hour
north of San Jose, the
park has an inner crater
volcano that can be
viewed from a platform
high above after a short
hike. Blessed with an
unusually clear day, we
had a glorious view of
the volcano, which
looked like a large
green lake. Even though
our lookout post was
several hundred feet
above the steaming pool
of lava, a few people
nervously asked about
eruptions. We were
assured we were at one
of the safest volcanoes,
with the last eruption
10 years ago. My only
previous experience with
a volcano was biking
down Mount Haleakala in
Hawaii, so this was my
first experience with an
inner crater volcano.
From our perch high in
the mountains we could
see the equally amazing
view of both Costa Rican
coasts: the Caribbean
and the Pacific Ocean.
In addition to being
beautiful and powerful
displays of nature,
Costa Rica's more than
200 volcanoes contribute
to the variety of birds
and wildlife species.
Volcanic eruptions
create fertile soil,
which supports the
approximately 500,000 to
1 million plant and
animal species found in
this country that's
roughly the size of West
Virginia!
Another Costa Rican
natural standout is the
La Paz Waterfall
Gardens, where many of
those species are
viewable. There are 27
types of hummingbirds, a
snake house, parrots,
monkeys, tamarinds,
toucans, a butterfly
house and a frog
exhibit. I could have
spent a week nestled
deep down in this
rainforest garden, just
communing with the
wildlife and watching
the waterfalls.
Lined up like colorful
jewelry in a market, the
thousands of chrysalises
in the butterfly house
were in various stages
of rebirth. Fascinated,
we watched as
butterflies slowly
emerged from their
milky-white translucent
cocoons. They hang
10,000 chrysalises a
week, of which 5,000
hatch to fly around the
house, representing 20
species.
Lucky guests at the
Peace Lodge located
inside the gardens can
view the wildlife at
their leisure. We got a
peek at one of the
rooms, all of which
feature Jacuzzi tubs
with seven-foot
waterfall showers.
Picture Thurston Howell
III with his own suite
on Gilligan's Island.
Rates start at $265 per
night.
MORE MONKEYSHINES AND
TREE FLYING
"When we saw crazy
gringos taking photos of
monkeys, we knew we
could boost our
tourism," joked our
guide Adrian, who took
us around the Puntarenas
section of Costa Rica,
providing a sure hand
behind the wheel and a
humorous look at life in
his country. He told us
that the adventure in
Costa Rica begins with
the ride. "On these
rocky roads you get a
bus massage. My butt is
like an aspirin from
these roads - flat with
a line down the middle."
When someone asked if
one of the many
single-lane bridges we
were crossing was safe,
he responded,
"Sometimes."
Puntarenas is the
largest of the country's
seven provinces, and is
located on the Pacific
Ocean. Our first stop
here was Turu Ba Ri
Tropical Park, where I'd
fulfill one of my life
goals: to soar through
the trees on a zip-line.
If you think 4-year-old
kids ask a lot of
questions, try going
with a group of women
who are zip-lining for
the first time. Our
ever-patient guides
didn't let on, but I'm
sure we set records for
most questions asked.
They answered every
query, demonstrated how
the zip-line works and
even let us each try a
test on the short level
version before we
entered the forest for
our first leap off a
platform.
I have no fear of
heights and once they
told us that each of our
two cables could support
1,000 pounds, I was even
more confident. So,
helmeted, harnessed in,
gloved and psyched for
an adventure, I climbed
to the platform to
confront my first
surprise - the space
between platforms was
way longer than I
expected. I had pictured
a short little leap, and
"poof!" you're on the
next platform. Instead,
each slice of jungle
stretched dozens of
yards, and the last one
was a half-mile long.
But I made it through
the course and happily
checked one more item
off my personal
things-to-do-before-I'm-too-decrepit
list. After riding the
tram back to the main
entrance, we were taken
to a spring-fed pool
(available for group
rental), where we were
entertained by local
school children in
colorful outfits,
performing a native
dance.
Like these dancing
children, it seems
almost everyone in this
country of 4.3 million
wears a smile. Perhaps
one reason is that Costa
Rica has a lot going for
it as a place to live.
It has the highest
literacy rate in Latin
America, with a school
in even the tiniest
village. Funding is
helped by the fact that
the army was abolished
in 1948, giving it the
nickname Switzerland of
the South and making it
one of the safest
countries in South
America. Compared to its
neighbors, it has a
relatively high standard
of living and low
unemployment rate. And
in case you're
wondering, you can even
drink the water.
At one time, the economy
relied primarily on the
exporting of pineapples
and coffee. Dr. Oscar
Arias Sanchez, president
from 1986 to 1990, and
president again since
2006, saw the potential
of his native land to
attract people and began
the tourism effort
during his first
presidency. By the late
1990s, tourism was the
country's number one
source of income.
Sanchez is also credited
with attracting
investment from foreign
companies. Hewlett
Packard and Intel both
have large offices in
San Jose. Ever the
visionary, this Nobel
Peace Prize-winning
president announced in
2007 that Costa Rica
will be carbon neutral
by 2021 - possibly
making it the first
country in the world to
reach that benchmark. It
may have a head start,
as one-fourth of the
land is
government-protected.
There is so much more to
do in this beautiful
country - take a tour of
a coffee plantation,
hang glide, snorkel and
explore the reefs.
Tourists looking for a
beach experience
primarily visit the
Pacific side, although
there are some lovely
beaches on the Caribbean
side, as well.
In Costa Rica you can
get in touch with the
sky, the earth and
thousands of species of
wildlife. The experience
is a reminder that the
Earth is an incredible
stomping ground. And for
many of the activities,
no shoes are required.
(For more savvy travel
info, pick up the latest
issue of travelgirl
magazine or visit
www.travelgirlinc.com.)
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