Crazy for Costa Rica
February 7, 2019
On our first holiday to Costa Rica we arrived at our lodge and were taken to the bar for a welcome drink. While we were stood there, cocktail in hand, one of the staff dove into a bush and came out holding a 5 foot boa constrictor. THIS is Costa Rica and an abundance of wildlife is the reason we have now been there three times, and we have even considered moving there when we stop working (we are still undecided on this). Whatever we decide this is a destination we will visit again before our Rocking Chair Fuel ‘tank’ is full.
Costa Rica is the first holiday we chose purely as a wildlife destination. It did not disappoint and prompted us on our subsequent trips to Belize, Africa and India. We’d had a taste of wildlife in both Australia, where we saw wild wallabies jumping through the bush, sharks, koala and a myriad of tropical birds , and then again in Borneo where we saw Orangutans and Proboscis monkeys swinging through the trees. But Costa Rica is definitely where our absolute love of wildlife started.
The WOW moments that make us go back.
The early mornings
There is no lying-in on a holiday in the jungle, which ultimately leads to going to bed early too – leave your “party-animal” at home. Much to our surprise on the first morning in Costa Rica, we were awoken just before dawn (5.30am for the uninitiated) by extremely loud roaring, which we automatically assumed was a Puma or some other large cat.
It was in fact, the sound of Howler monkeys giving their daily reminder that this was their turf. Shortly after this wake up call, the whole jungle wakes up and there is a cacophony of sounds from birds, monkeys and insects. There’s no option but to get up.
Just imagine at 6am, sitting on your terrace, a pair of Scarlet Macaws flying overhead, a toucan with a lizard in his mouth, sitting in the tree by your (very beautiful) jungle bungalow, while three squirrel monkeys are trying to sneak up on him and steal his breakfast. This, we discovered, is the ultimate way to wake and get-up…who needs to sleep in when there is this?
The temperature
Costa Rica for us, is the perfect heat, with daytime temperatures normally around the low 30s. Aahhh. And when you’re staying near the sea, there is an amazing breeze, meaning that air-conditioning really isn’t necessary.
However, step into that jungle and it’s a different story. We made a few mistakes regarding this. Our (again, beautiful) jungle bungalow was 201 steps down from the restaurant and bar (yes, we counted) and, unfortunately, what goes down must go up. 201 steps…not a problem, 201 steps on the edge of a jungle? Let’s just say we turned up to a couple of lunches and dinners dripping wet (despite just showering). The heat is the same, but the humidity in the jungle feels like you’ve just stepped into a steam-room. Note to self, when walking up stairs on the edge of a jungle, go slowly and pause often.
The wildlife
The Costa Rica wildlife – this is the biggest wow factor of them all and also the reason we went. I could give you a list longer than my arm of the birds and animals we have seen in Costa Rica, and we could tell you myriad stories about our encounters, but I can’t do it all in one post, otherwise this blog will be a novel (probably heading in that direction anyway…apologies). So in further posts we will delight you with tales of creepy crawlies, what to expect on a night walk and what Clark likes to call “near death experiences”.
Monkeys, Monkeys everywhere
There are four varieties of monkey in Costa Rica and we have seen all of them
(it is not guaranteed, but on all our trips we have been lucky enough to see them)
What’s so great about it? We have spent two hours sat under a troop of howler monkeys, watching and taking photos of them chilling out and interacting with one another, the young ones playing together and testing their skills at swinging from branch to branch. This sight was transfixing (hence we didn’t want to leave) and we were left by the guide to enjoy it on our own. Our luck continued when we spotted a group of White-faced Capuchin, who we followed as they moved through trees and bushes at eye level. 
What amazed us was that they were curious about us too; we had many eye to eye moments with them, especially the young ones, who would often peer out from behind a leaf or branch. Their faces and actions show so many emotions similar to ours; it’s so great to see and we will never get bored of it.
Bird watching - up close and personal
We had seen humming birds before, but always from a distance and moving so fast you couldn’t even see what colour they were, let alone take a picture. So, when we arrived at the entrance to Monteverde Cloud Forest and were waiting outside the Café Colibri (we were early and it wasn’t yet open),
we were very surprised 
when we had hummingbirds flying up to our faces and hovering right in front of us (I’m talking 5 inches in front of our faces). It turns out when the restaurant owners arrive, they put out humming bird feeders. I guess all humans look alike, and we were mistaken for staff…these hummingbirds were after their breakfast. What a great experience. I am a massive lover of birds, so to see them so close was fantastic. We stayed for ages taking pictures; once the feeders are up, they arrive in their hundreds
Dolphins in the Golfo Dulce
There’s seeing a dolphin and there’s SEEING a dolphin. We’ve seen dolphins in the distance before, swimming off the shore in Belize or Australia. Our sighting in Costa Rica was not so much a sighting; it was more an experience. We were surrounded by a school of about 300-ish Spinner dolphins casually swimming across the gulf, surfacing and then dipping just below again, travelling in a wide formation. I thought THIS was great. But there was more to come. On the way back from the mangroves, we were treated to aerial displays as the dolphins propelled themselves out of the water and did their ‘spinny’ thing. It felt like a show just for us, they were showing off. I thought THIS was brilliant! There’s more. A few dolphins were feeling playful and started swimming right in front of the boat. I had the best view as I was hanging over the front of the boat. They were so close I could almost touch them. Definitely a Wow moment – as you can hear from my (very high-pitched) excitement in this little snippet that I managed to capture.
I could go on (and on) and we will definitely come back with more about Costa Rica. We haven’t even dipped into the completely different habitats this one country provides; Rain forest, marine reserves, cloud forest, mountain ranges and even active volcanoes. And did I mention the driving? Another experience worth sharing.
