Costa Rica: Living Up to the Hype
“We are going to Costa Rica,” I would say when asked where we will be vacationing. “Oh I love Costa Rica” a friend we’ve known for a decade would reply, “my second cousin’s mother-in-law’s best friend's daughter lives there. And of course I went for two weeks three years ago and never mentioned it until now.”
So the conversation seemed to go with everyone about our upcoming trip.
Costa Rica was building up some pretty high expectations. As we sipped beers during our layover in the most expensive airport in the country, we pondered whether any country could live up to it. We were pleasantly surprised and more than impressed by the time we returned.
Jungles, rainforests, beaches, spider monkeys, sloths, sea turtles, tasty food, happy people, the Caribbean, drinks on the beach, a widespread (and infectious) dedication to sustainability. Costa Rica is a glowing example of a country that seems to be doing so many things “right”. No wonder so many Americans retire and travel in this small country with so much to offer.
The least of which is baby frigging sloths! Below are some of the cutest pictures we have ever taken. Warning: high pitched noises may occur as a result of viewing them.
Our original plan was to explore the eastern half of the country, starting with a visit to the remote island national park of Tortuguero (separate post to come). After, we would while away a few days on the black sand beaches of Puerto Viejo, an expat hippy town on the Southeastern shore. We would round it all out with a stop in Cahuita National Park, a few miles up the coast to the north.
We never made it to Cauhita. The beach was just too alluring for a pair of landlocked Denverites.
It turns out that reports of CR’s biodiversity are not exaggerated: there were animals everywhere, all the time. We woke up to howler monkeys and went to sleep gecko… noises. Walking into town, you’d see pelicans and great blue herons. Walking through the hotel parking lot, there’s a sloth family. On our first day, our public bus driver pulled over to point out a sloth slothing along a barbed-wire fence on the side of the road. There was truly an overflow of diverse life throughout the country.
Which, by the way, is a pretty great place to visit.
