Costa Rica Countryside
Rexanna Savannah,
Savannahnow.com
Whether you want to play Tarzan
in the forest, climb volcanoes,
surf big waves or float in a
pool sipping drinks with
umbrellas, Costa Rica offers
adventures and relaxation in a
stunningly beautiful
countryside.
Horses also allow you to ride
into areas that are inaccessible
by auto and tough by foot.
The big airport is San José. I
arrived at the small Liberia
airport near the west coast
without a rental car
reservation, but a crush of
people at the airport exit offer
hotels, cars and tours.
The big decision is two- or
four-wheel drive. Destination
and season make a difference.
It's the rainy season along the
Pacific beach, but friends said
I could get there without
four-wheel drive, so I rented
the cheapest car available. ($35
to $40 a day) I bumped along on
the excruciatingly pocked,
cratered and gullied road to
Nosara. I later rented a
four-wheeler (at twice the
price) to head into the
mountains. Although I never used
the four-wheel drive, several
times I was happy to be high off
the ground. The road leaving
Nosara had washed out in one
spot, and the locals were
standing around the gully,
staring.
Ruts, speed bumps and animals
along the way
Driving in Costa Rica requires a
sense of adventure. Signs are
sometimes confusing or
nonexistent, and one-way roads
can pop up quickly. You'll be
tootling along on what is marked
as a major road, and in the
middle of a town traffic turns
against you.
The first time it happened, I
came face-to-face with a woman
wagging her finger at me. The
second time, I was quick to
observe the traffic headed
toward me. The third time, I
managed to see the sign that
said something like, "Wrong way,
idiot."
Major roadways can also grow
speed bumps in the middle of
town with no warning.
Buses are cheap but look like
converted school buses.
I circled several cities looking
for ways to get back on the
right roads. On one of those
circles, I shared the road with
two oxen pulling a cart. The gas
station attendants are helpful.
Along the roadsides are
chickens, geese, horses, goats,
pigs, dogs, roseate spoonbills
and iguanas that can cross in
front of you.
During one drive, dozens of
coatis paraded across the road
in Nosara.
The Brahma cattle seem to be the
only critters well contained
behind fences.
The advantage to driving is
being able to pull off the road
when you're high in the
mountains around Lake Arenal or
when you come across a
magnificent labyrinth and
topiary garden along the side of
Highway 4, between La Fortuna
and Upala.
Rafael Arguedas has created a
wonderland of green creatures
with a tree house built in a
huge almond tree where you can
watch people try to make it
through the hibiscus labyrinth.
He'll send a youngster across
the street to find Javier Arias,
a young man who will translate
explanations.
Hanging sloths and lava fields
Those with an aversion to the
creepy-crawly should move with
caution.
Opening a laptop, you're more
likely to find a bug crawling
across the computer than in it.
A scorpion found refuge in our
beach bathroom.
Nature walks are around every
corner where you can spot
monkeys and colorful birds.
Biological reserve hikes and
turtle-area preserves are a
treat with cooperative weather.
One trek can lead to another. We
signed up for a kayak tour.
American guide Joe Davis said
the water was too high, but he
would take us on a hike to a
waterfall.
He also played in a couple of
bands and at dinner we listened
to Willy Royal on a jazzy
electric fiddle and Bill
MacPherson on six-string guitar.
Davis also sent me to the La
Carolina Lodge, a remote
mountain outpost where I stayed
one night for $30, and that
included dinner and breakfast.
It didn't include much
electricity. While one socket
enabled me to plug in my
computer, the lighting was
candlelight. The communal
bathroom was across the living
room.
But the reason to visit La
Carolina, is what's outside. A
sloth hung from a tree, and an
amazing array of birds feasted
on bananas attached to trees. I
didn't have time for the horse
ride to the cobalt blue river.
The zip line canopy tours are
ubiquitous, fun and give a
perspective of the beautiful
countryside, but they are no
substitute for great hikes
through the forests and lava
fields.
Miss Sky Adventures in Nosara
will strap you into a harness
and send you sailing through the
trees on steel cables for $55.
Another $10 will get you up the
mountain and back if you don't
have four-wheel drive. Check
guidebooks for info on others in
Monteverde, Arenal or further
south.
The hanging bridges tour near
Arenal Volcano hikes across 15
bridges where tour guides point
out snakes, frogs, lizards,
monkeys, tarantulas and
vegetation that twists, rises
and blooms in gigantic
diversity.
Costa Rica is full of friendly,
helpful people. Internet cafes
and some WiFi help keep you
connected.
Coffee and nuts are the easy
souvenirs. My favorite finds
were music on the Papaya Music
label and scarves made by a
Costa Rican men's cooperative.
You can get by without changing
money. Everyone takes dollars.
You might get slightly better
prices if you convert to colones.
There is so much I didn't see -
Monteverde, Manuel Antonio, the
Caribbean coast - many reasons
to revisit Costa Rica.
Tour guide Davis quoted Anthony
Bourdain: "There are tourists
and there are travelers.
Tourists don't know where they
are. Travelers don't know where
they're going."
You don't have to know where
you're going to love Costa Rica. |
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Rafael Arguedas climbed onto his albatross that he
created from a ficus tree in Costa Rica.Photos by
Rexanna Keller Lester/For the Savannah Morning News
(Photo: Savannah Morning News) |
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