Into the Clouds in Costa Rica

By Shelley Snowdon

I remember going through my sister's photographs of her Central America trip a few years ago and stopping at a picture of her and her boyfriend in sweatshirts and shorts posed in a misty, lush forest. "Where's that?" I asked, curious to know about this photo that seemed so displaced from all her beach ones. "That's Costa Rica," she told me. My reply was, "But I thought Costa Rica was all about beaches."

Every once in a while, the name Costa Rica surfaces and the same questions are asked. "Where's that? What's there?" I'll tell you what I found out: It is about beaches if you want it to be, but there's a whole lot more to this country squished into the little stretch of land between North and South America.

During the days of Christopher Columbus, Costa Rica, whose name means Rich Coast in Spanish, was rumoured to house fortunes in gold. The rumours were never proven, but the country soon become a growing haven for bananas, sugar and coffee, among other things. Although it lies beside the politically volatile Nicaragua, Costa Rica has celebrated more than 100 years of democracy and actually abolished its army in 1949, making it the safest and most tourist-friendly place in Central America. The only battles today are between those who want to develop beach areas and those who want to push ecotourism instead. And while the sun setting across the ocean is always a glorious sight, if you choose the latter, the rewards are as rich as the country's coffee.

ECOTOURISM

The interior of Costa Rica is filled with lush, tropical cloud forests, national parks, bird sanctuaries and magnificent volcanoes. Monteverde is probably the ecotourism spot most frequented by tourists, and it's not hard to see why. When my friend and I arrive at the small village outside the park, it's unremarkable, though curious, with it's little wooden buildings piled against each other set along two muddy roads. We drop our bags and tour the village, looking for both food and information on the nearby cloud forest. Maybe it's the pure mountain air, or maybe we're just losing it, but my friend and I quickly sign up for Sky Trek – a canopy tour with an adventurous twist. After a short jaunt above the treetops on rope bridges, we will be able to zip across the valley, above the trees on high wires, explain the brochures. We need no prompting; the tour sells itself.

The new day dawns and we set out for our adventure. First we go in for our fitting. We need sized harnesses and work gloves for the zip line part of the tour. The first part is easy. Our guide shows us orchids and various tropical jungle plants along a damp pathway up through the forest. Then, after a couple of small rope bridges, we come to the first zip line. It's a short one, our guide tells us. It may be short, but it's still high, I think to myself. I push my friend forward when he asks which one of us wants to go first. After all, it's survival of the fittest in the jungle, as I've always heard. She casts me a look that screams out, 'you coward,' but I just smile and wave goodbye, ignoring her insinuation as our guide hooks her up to some small, shaky little wheel contraption attached to the wire. He shows us how to bend our knees and lean back, so that we zip across the wire in the most efficient manner. If we are to stop before the end, he instructs, we only need to put one hand over the other and pull ourselves along the wire until we reach the other side. I suddenly imagine myself frozen in terror, dangling high above the treetops. But when it comes to my turn, I barely have time to picture this scenario before the guide pushes me out over the jungle. All I can hear is the wind whooshing past my ears. When I look down, the scenery is fantastic. I can see up the whole valley and down onto the tree tops. The guide's assistant waits for me at the other end. Holding a long rope attached to the wire, he slows me as I come speeding toward the giant tree to which the wire is attached. Phew. That was the most exhilarating feeling and now I'm happy we have seven more wires to go before the end of our one-hour tour through the cloud forest.

This particular tour was something we did for fun, but the area was also filled with marked hiking trails that you could explore on your own, without risking your life swinging through the jungle. With the help of foreign governments, Costa Rica has set up an excellent ecotourism industry that attracts large numbers of nature lovers, birders and hikers. I was told by locals and tourists alike that the areas offering tourists views of the best wildlife are on the Pacific Coast, near the border of Panama. Places such as Corcovado National Park and Parque Nacional Piedras Blancas supposedly see less tourists, making it much easier to spot more wildlife.

One of the most spectacular, and more popular tours you can do in Costa Rica is visit Arenal Volcano, near San José, the country's capital city. The volcano has been continuously active since July 1968, when it killed 78 people and destroyed three villages. From far away, one can view the lava streams and grey sulphurous clouds spurting from this perfectly conical volcano. It is best viewed at night when the streams of red hot lava light up the volcano, and the movement is accompanied by loud rumbles of the spewing beast. Some tours will take you to the hot springs at night, so you can watch the volcano from a hot steaming outdoor bath.

If you don't have time for Arenal, it takes less than a day to visit Volcan Poás from San José. You can get a local bus up from Alajuela, the ancient capital of Costa Rica, almost to the top of the volcano. From the information and coffee house, there are two hikes you can do. One for the intrepid mountaineer and one for those who want a stroll in the park. Both bring you through cloud forest to the edge of Poás, a fantastic crater filled with jagged rocks and a dazzling blue-green lake. When the smoke from the still-active volcano clears, you'll be able to snap a spectacular photo. On a note of interest to nature lovers, this area has the only true dwarf cloud forest in Costa Rica and the 1.5 km-wide crater is said to be the widest in the world.

BEACH LIFE

Volcanoes, cloud forests and jungle treks are great, but we northerners all dream of a little time relaxing on a warm sandy beach while the rest of our friends suffer cold winter conditions back home. If that's the case, then Costa Rica is still the right place to be. With the Pacific Coast being Costa Rica's biggest, most of the beach activity happens along this shoreline. The Nicoya Peninsula, near the Nicaraguan border, is fast becoming a holiday hot spot for sun seekers.

My friend and I chose Tamarindo, on the north-west bit of the Nicoya Peninsula, for our first beach of the trip. It's a wide stretch of sand with a village of low-to-high-range hotels and restaurants behind it. Sunsets were spectacular and, judging by the number of surfboards slung across the backs of young tourists, the waves were no doubt excellent. Tamarindo is the place to come if you want a bit of nightlife and a real beach scene during the day.

Further along the peninsula, toward Panama, is one of Costa Rica's best kept secrets. If you're looking for unpopulated beaches and a real taste of Costa Rica's sea life, then Mal Pais is the place to go. This tiny village lined with virtually empty stretches of beaches, tidal pools and excellent surf is best described as paradise. There are a range of hotels and restaurants here as well, but it should be noted that Mal Pais is not easy to get to, which is probably why it remains unpopulated. The nearest town is the touristy Montezuma, another surfer haven. Travelling to Mal Pais from Montezuma along bumpy roads in shoddy buses is not for the faint of heart, but if you're looking for a place away from the typical resorts to unwind and settle in for a week or so, the trip is worth it. However, if you opt for Montezuma, you still won't be disappointed, as there are plenty of excellent sights within reach of this village. Cabo Blanco reserve, for example, is 11 kms from Montezuma and contains pelicans and other marine birds, along with monkeys, anteaters and kinkajou. There you can also bathe in the sea or under a small waterfall.

In the very centre of Costa Rica's Pacific Coast are more beach options, still. Perhaps the most popular is Jaco Beach, which is a large stretch of sand used mostly by resort holidayers. And don't forget, no matter which beach you choose, Costa Rica is very tourist friendly and small, making it possible to combine a beach trip with a bit of volcano viewing and cloud forest hiking.

FOOD & CULTURE

Lastly, the things about Costa Rica that make it such a worthwhile experience, are the friendly, laid-back locals, the juicy fresh fruit and the rich, savoury cups of freshly ground coffee. You might try some of the local dishes, which include rice, beans and fried plantain, served alongside meat stews. Because Ticos (as Costa Ricans call themselves) are mostly of Spanish decent, any indigenous culture you might find in one of the other Central America countries, such as colourful dress, is lacking, but Costa Rica is not without it's charm. It should be said, however, that, unless you're a die-hard museum fan, the cities in Costa Rica aren't worth spending time in. Cities here are modern with not much to see as earthquakes wiped out most colonial buildings. So, stick to the coast and countryside of Costa Rica, for they are spectacular.

For more information on the numerous ecotourism and adventure activities, and beach life in Costa Rica, check out centralamerica.com/cr.