Costa Rica - Ribbit in the rainforest

July 30-31

Hello everyone!

Costa Rica sits within the tropics, just under ten degrees north of the equator. This can result in some rather sticky weather, which is perfect for little critters like these…

Red eyed tree frog: fun!

Strawberry poison frog: dangerous!

The red eyed tree frog seen above lives in rainforests across Costa Rica, with this one residing in an area of moisture-laden, vivid vegetation called Sarapiquí. It is home to many species of flora and fauna, resulting in a sensory riot when you sit still. Until the howler monkey roars, which slightly spoils the moment. Be lucky I didn’t get that cacophony on video.

Pink banana, it can't be eaten by humans
due to the number of seeds inside 

Many things grow in the rainforest. One thing that certainly doesn’t is coffee. Don’t fret, there are plenty of other places in the country that help to produce your morning brew! We visited one such cooperative, called Mi Cafecito, on our journey from the volcano to the rainforest.

Coffee was Costa Rica's key export in the nineteenth century

The tour shows their processing methods

We were given an interesting tour of this place, which groups together over a hundred coffee-making families and helps them to sell their beans. Coffee here is classed and separated by machinery into three ‘qualities’. The top is sold as ‘high quality’ and the ‘second quality’ is dispatched to international companies such as Nestle and Nescafe, who otherwise wouldn’t have enough coffee to sell worldwide.

Coffee trees will produce quality beans for up to 30 years

Our guide was 20 years old - her grandfather
has a coffee farm with the cooperative

One concern they will need to address is the fact that their youngest coffee farmer is 68 years old. Young people don’t see it as their game. Maybe if they switch the focus to selling the coffee liqueur we tasted, they might bring in more youthful help…

Tasting just like Tia Maria, this is made
using the goo that surround the coffee seed

This is a medium roast coffee - 50% caffeine, 50% flavour.
I didn't know until this tour that light roasted coffee has the most caffeine.

Soon after this we descended into the rainforest. Not jungle - apparently they’re slightly different. Sarapiquí is an example of an ecosystem which is teeming with wildlife. Over half of the earth’s known living things are found in tropical rainforests across the world. They are colourful, dense…and heavy.

Sarapiqui's protected reserve is about 700 acres 

There was often cloud cover to increase the mugginess

Humidity can’t go above 100%, though I feel that Sarapiquí could have put that to the test. Humidity is the amount of water vapour in the air. At 100%, no more water can be absorbed by the air. It meant that paper and playing cards became flimsy, and probably explains why the clothes I used for white water rafting seemed just as wet 24 hours later. 

The river is a tributary of the San Juan river,
which flows into the Caribbean Sea in Nicaragua

White water rafting is the reason that Sarapiquí isn’t quite as off-the-beaten-track as it could be. Once again, money came into the decision-making process - I chose to spend $68 to raft on class 2 and 3 rapids, rather than blow over $100 on adding a class 4 rapid. To ask for almost half of that again - $30 - for photos seemed insane. The rapids were fun, generally gentle enough to enjoy but with a few spins, drops and dips to satisfy an adrenaline need.

We were regularly soaked by our guide and also spent
time floating down the river next to the raft

The river is filled regularly by intense rain. Rainforests often receive over five metres of rain each year. It is this wetness that allows some weird and wonderful animals to call this area their home.

Northern cat-eyed snake

A moth which landed on our trip leader's face

A long-legged spider, not sure on the species

The pair of frogs in the second photo below were very interesting. Camouflaged on a leaf, there was actually a bit of discussion as to exactly which species they were as they looked similar to so many. Eventually it was decreed by our guide the following morning, after perusing his book, that it was in fact a pair of reticulated glass frogs. Whatever it is, the fact that you can see the eggs through the translucent skin is absolutely fascinating. Imagine if that happened with mammals!

Ghost glass frog

The yellow spots aren't the eggs - they're hidden from view here

One of Costa Rica’s icons is the red eyed tree frog. It has many other colours as well, as you’ll see from the pictures. The first one we saw on a night walk decided to show off a bit…

It has blue legs!

Another Costa Rican celebrity is the toucan. After spotting these on a run near Arenal volcano, our group was regularly visited by a variety of toucans. These funky-looking birds, which are in reality cold-blooded assassins who sometimes eat the eggs of other toucans, were often perched proudly on branches higher up in the canopy.

The keel-billed toucan, also known as 'Froot
Loop' as it was the basis for the cereal's mascot

Waaaay over there is an aracari, a different-styled toucan

An internet picture of the collared aracari

There are other symbols of Costa Rica found outside the dense rainforest. Next time I’ll tell you about what I found at the beach. For now, whilst it’s a shame to leave behind such beautiful frogs and birds, I’ll be glad when my clothes finally dry!

Bull frog

Very inappropriately dressed for a night walk!

Hasta luego, my colourful froggy friend

Love you all,

Matt

Costa Rica - Needing La Fortuna

July 27-29

Hello everyone!

If you believe in this kind of thing, there are four classical elements. I’ve spent time with water on the Pacific, pounded the earth in San Jose, and risen into the air in Monteverde. Time to bring the fire…

La Fortuna Waterfall, in the background, is 70 metres tall

Arenal Volcano

Literary licence, here. That is a gross exaggeration, bordering on a lie. There was fire here a while ago, coming from that volcano you see in the picture above. It hasn’t erupted properly since 1968, however, and stopped steaming a few years ago. Still, there was fire…

Officially, 87 people were killed.
In reality it was probably more.

Volcan Arenal sits in the northern central area of Costa Rica. It dominates the skyline along with the ‘Sleeping Indian’ hill nearby. A perfect cone, its top is generally shrouded by clouds, making any clear blue sky an opportunity to snap a wonderful photo. Most towns, such as the main hub of La Fortuna, have a great view of the hulking rock.

It is also easily accessible within a few hours from San Jose, the capital

View of the volcano from La Fortuna.
The 'Sleeping Indian' is on the left.

La Fortuna was spared damage in relation to other
villages, meaning it became the hub for future visitors

After an intense, incredible few days, I’ve used my time in La Fortuna to recharge rather than doing some of the innumerable activities. From horseback riding to rappelling, Costa Rican cooking to mountain biking, there are options for everyone. If you have money to burn, that is. Most of these activities are pushing - or over - $100 each. 

The picture shows a variety of
activities offered by this one agency

An example of a wildlife activity

I knew Costa Rica was going to be expensive before arriving. I had made a point of telling people that I was going to return to El Salvador very happy but broke. I didn’t expect it to be this expensive, however. The cheap places where locals eat, called sodas? You’re still looking at $6 for the most basic meal. Even the supermarkets seem expensive, with a yoghurt I buy back in El Salvador for $1 costing $1.50. This was brought into sharp focus on our trip across from Monteverde, when we stopped at a place selling bags of crisps for nine US dollars.

The notes are colourful - $1 is about 550 colones

Ugly name, ugly price

Our journey was interesting as it showed different sides of Costa Rica, that extortionate pack of crisps being one. Another was the sheer number of cows. Apparently there are 1.4 million cows in the country of just over 5 million people. Sometimes there isn’t enough space…

Minor diversion needed

Cows also accompanied us on a later walk around the volcano

There is space for wind turbines, though, of which we saw plenty on our drive down to Lake Arenal. Renewable energy is a big deal in Costa Rica, with our guide telling us that 99.98% of the energy used in the country is from renewable sources. I reckon there’s one family of climate deniers out there, making sure that they don’t get to 100%. Quite a good record, anyway. 

There are nine large wind farms in Costa Rica

The drive was very scenic, with rolling hills reminiscent of the UK

Then there’s the lake itself, the largest in Costa Rica. Artificially created in 1979, the lake’s dam meets up to 40% of the country’s energy needs. If you have a car, you have to circle the lake. If you get buses either side, you can have a lovely boat ride across, with the volcano looming large in the distance. Spectacular.

After the 1968 eruption, the volcano's height increased by almost 400 metres 

The village of Arenal, destroyed by the eruption, is under the lake

We were here for three nights. What to do in La Fortuna on a relative budget? Plenty, it turns out. One is to go for a run, if nothing else to work off some of the rice and beans from previous days. Not any old run, though. This one involved seeing two species of toucan and spending time chilling in a river. Well, after swinging into it Tarzan-style…

We saw yellow-throated and keel-billed toucans.
The latter are also known as the 'Froot Loops' toucan.

The swing and water are collectively called El Salto

You can go to other rivers as well. The difference is the temperature. The one above was fresh. The one below was like taking a bath, the water being warmed from the earth. Magma is still swirling around below La Fortuna, creating a variety of hot springs. Though there are many health spas which will charge you a fortune to enjoy them, you can also walk 50 metres down the road and find a lovely spot.

Geothermal is another renewable energy utilised by Costa Rica

Of course, there’s fun to be had on the reason for being here: the volcano itself. Though you can’t hike to the summit (I’d have paid to do that) for safety reasons, you can ramble around in the foothills of the volcano. The trails are short but offer some wonderful views. Most of the area is privately owned with some places, like Mirador El Silencio, being cheaper than others.

Arenal spouted steam and lava almost daily after the 1968 eruption until 2010

Volcanic soil is very fertile

This lake is actually green due to the algae on top of it

You can also do a bit more wildlife spotting. In addition to those toucans on the run, we passed a group of white-nosed coati on our bus from the lake. They are in the raccoon family but are longer, slimmer and lighter. They were very cute!

Once a dominant male is accepted by a clan, he
will breed with every female...then return to living alone!

One thing worth investing in is visiting La Fortuna Waterfall. Not just because it is amazing, as you’ll see below. The money from the entrance fee is invested in the town, building car parks, a small shopping centre and the park in the main square. Better value than a packet of $9 crisps.

It is part of the Fortuna River

Walking the 530 steps to the bottom is thirsty work!

It is a popular spot and became overcrowded by 11am

You don’t need a fortune to appreciate La Fortuna, though setting some money aside for things like rappelling would probably be a good idea (I was told it is incredible). I’ve been more than content swinging into rivers, spotting toucans and watching the clouds drift across the majestic Arenal volcano.

Fire, water...

...earth...

...and air.

Love you all,

Matt