Traveling the world one color at a time.
Need to escape? Looking to be whisked away? Itching for travel inspiration?
Look no further than sunset at Arenal Volcano in central Costa Rica. We were lucky enough to get a full view of the volcano during the day, but even with a bit of cloud cover in the evening, the sunset was stunning.
Need to escape? Looking to be whisked away? Itching for travel inspiration?
Look no further than Tenorio National Park in Costa Rica, a hard-to-reach destination that rewards visitors with a multi-colored river, powerful waterfalls and natural hot springs.
When my dad and I traveled to the Arenal region of Costa Rica earlier this year, one of our primary goals was to hike … a lot. That’s exactly what we did. During our one-week trip we spent:
* A full morning hiking in the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Preserve.
* A night exploring the forest in Monteverde under the darkness.
* A day hiking on private land near San Luis.
* A afternoon wandering the national park trail along the Rio Celeste.
* Nearly a full afternoon exploring the area around Arenal Volcano.
Let’s just say that we did a lot of hiking.
Despite the differences in our variety of hikes, there were similar needs for every one of them. If you’re thinking of spending a lot of time hiking in Costa Rica as we did, here are a few things I suggest you consider and pack in order to make your trip as enjoyable as possible:
Expect rain. I was told that Costa Rica has two seasons: wet and very wet. Prepare for rain regardless of the season by carrying a rain jacket or windbreaker. It also helps to have a hat or hood to keep your head dry.
The entire Arenal region of Costa Rica is focused on Arenal Volcano, one of the country’s most famous volcanoes. Until 2010, this was the most active volcano in Costa Rica, and it continues to smoke on a frequent basis.
Near the base of the volcano, a touristy (and relatively pricey) little city has popped up to feed the fury of travelers who want to bask in the volcano’s shadow. Hot springs and spas, tour groups run by just about everyone in town and kitschy shops selling sarongs and keychains have made the town a fairly unattractive one. And, yet, there is a way to enjoy Arenal Volcano without immersing yourself in too much of the touristy crap that has spread out along the base of this otherwise impressive natural phenomenon.
While visiting the Arenal region, we decided to spend a day at the Arenal Observatory Lodge, which was the best decision we made in the area. Arenal Observatory Lodge is a hotel that sits on a nature reserve, so it is void of any of the tacky stuff found on the southern and eastern sides of the volcano. The hotel itself has 48 rooms, but the property is what makes it particularly attractive. Near the lodge are short trails leading through the woods and past gorgeous bushes and trees filled with flowers. Beyond the immediate vicinity are primary and secondary rainforests, waterfalls and seven miles of hiking trails as well as opportunities to spot wildlife (we saw both a coyote and a kudamundi), several species of birds and great views of the volcano.
During our one single week of traveling in Costa Rica we didn’t cover much ground, but that was a conscious decision. We knew that trying to do to much in seven days would be frustrating, especially given the road conditions in the country. With that in mind, one of the places we decided to focus on was Monteverde, where we spent the better part of three days.
Located on the southeastern side of Lake Arenal, Monteverde tends to be a place that travelers pass through on their way to and from La Fortuna, a more touristy town to the east. Though we visited both Monteverde and La Fortuna, we much preferred Monteverde for a few reasons:
> We’re outdoorsy people, and there were many more opportunities to hike in Monteverde.
> People didn’t seem nearly as pushy in Monteverde. In La Fortuna, it felt like everyone was trying to push their tours.
> People were much more genuine and interested in chatting with us about themselves and their lives.
> The pace of life in Monteverde felt slower. We were encouraged to explore and ask questions.
> The quality of our experiences were much better, and it felt like the money we spent on activities was a much better investment.
When we arrived in Monteverde, one of the first things we did was stop at the Monteverde Welcome Information Center (the website and the blog), which is located on the dirt road going into Monteverde coming from San Jose. It’s not actually in the city proper, where you’ll find lots of other people hawking tours and cheap rooms. Instead, the Monteverde Welcome Info Center is run by Carlos, a local entrepreneur who speaks exceptional English.
We are eternally grateful that we happened upon Carlos on our first day in the area as he was an exceptional resource and extremely knowledgeable about everything in Monteverde. He asked us about our interests and helped us plan an itinerary that best fit our needs. Carlos is clearly excited about promoting the Monteverde area, and though he was able to answer most of our questions, he openly admitted when he didn’t know the answer to one of our questions.
My very first suggestion to anyone heading into Monteverde would be to stop by the Monteverde Welcome Information Center and find Carlos. He was absolutely instrumental in our awesome visit to this part of Costa Rica. In addition to helping us choose activities, he took care of all of the payment details in one transaction, and all we had to do was turn in vouchers for the rest of our Monteverde stay.
While in Monteverde, we visited a variety of places and participated in a slew of activities. We packed our days and had a blast. Here are the highlights …
The Santa Elena Cloud Forest Park is privately held and belongs to the local high school. The kids there learn about its value and many, like Carlos and our Santa Elena guide, Jose, go on to educate others in order to preserve the park. Though you can walk around the park on your own, I highly recommend you go with a guide. (Here are a few more tips for visiting a Costa Rica rainforest.) Jose pointed out things we never would have seen and explained the biology of the rainforest. The guided hike through Santa Elena Cloud Forest was about two-and-a-half hours, and we spent some time strolling around on our own, though we weren’t nearly as successful as Jose in finding tiny frogs and itty-bitty flowers.
The guidebook said to buy knee-high galoshes in town before venturing out to the trailhead in Tenorio National Park on the western edge of Lake Arenal. We drove through the sleepy town of Bijagua, and I rolled my window down to ask a police officer for clarification on directions in extremely broken Spanish. We didn’t see any stores that even looked open, so after a game of charades in which we roughly figured out how far we had yet to drive, we continued down the road.
After spending hours on a decently paved road, the turnoff onto the heavily potholed road bumped us back into our Costa Rican reality. We crept along for several kilometers at a slow 10 MPH before turning into the grassy lot at the entrance to the park. Twenty dollars changed hands and, after attempting a failed pantomime act to ask about the status of mud on the trail, we headed off in tennis shoes.
Unlike the trails we’d walked in the Monteverde area, which were moist and shaded by rainforest cover, the trail to the Rio Celeste was lined with different kinds of vegetation. We passed people early on the walk, inquired about the status of mud (there wasn’t any) and continued on our way, happy to finally stretch our legs in a new part of the country.
Within a short while, a second trail dropped off to the left. The rocky stairs leading down were steep, and I held on to the flimsy rope to guide my steps.
At the bottom was a waterfall unlike any other I’d seen before. Brilliant aquamarine water poured over a rocky ledge. I realized that every waterfall I’d seen in Costa Rica had been different, and this one was no exception. This water was the color of a teal crayon, a bright ballet costume, an Easter egg. It wasn’t the color of any water I’d ever seen before.
While traveling in Costa Rica, we stayed in hostels in Monteverde and La Fortuna, but neither is necessarily worth rehashing for your reading pleasure. However, on our last night in the country, we returned our tired rental car and caught a ride to Alajuela Backpackers, and that experience is definitely worth sharing.
We made reservations before leaving the United States at Alajuela Backpackers for a few reasons. It’s located in Alajuela, which is actually closer to the airport than San Jose is, so we didn’t have to worry about a long commute to catch our flights. Also, there is a shuttle bus that runs from the hostel to the airport several times a day at no charge, so we were able to drop off our car the night before and get to the airport without any hassle or stress. It wasn’t until I made our reservation that I realized one other important thing: The people working at Alajuela Backpackers are incredibly helpful. I corresponded with them several times before arriving in Costa Rica for clarification about transportation, location and facilities, and they answered quickly and with good English.
When planning our trip to Costa Rica, my dad and I waffled briefly over whether to splurge on a rental car or get around by public bus. Ultimately, we decided to rent a car and drive ourselves around the country. This was the right decision for us, but we definitely learned a thing or two about renting a car and driving in Costa Rica. If you’re thinking of doing the same, we’d like to pass along the following tidbits of wisdom:
Rent a 4WD vehicle.
Unless you plan on sticking near San Juan or any specifically established city, you will need a four-wheel-drive vehicle. We were originally just going to rent a basic car, but when we mentioned that we wanted to head up to Monteverde and La Fortuna (heavily traveled areas), the guy at the car rental place strongly suggested we go with a four-wheel-drive vehicle. I’m really glad we listened to him.
If you suspect a road might be unpaved, it will not only be unpaved but is very likely practically impassable. Log truck roads in the United States are in better condition that a few of the roads we drove on. For miles on end, we drove over boulders and avoided potholes the size of small cows. I read a description for one of the roads we drove that strongly suggested those with neck and back problems avoid using it.
Simply put, without a 4WD, your options for getting around are limited.
It takes a long time to get anywhere.
These underdeveloped roads combined with windy, one-lane roads mean that it takes a long time to get anywhere. What you think might be a two-hour drive can easily take five or six hours. Always give yourself plenty of time to get to your destination, and don’t try to cram too much into a single day unless you’ll be staying within a very limited area.
“We want to take the night hike,” I said, handing the credit card over to the tour operator who was booking our activities in Monteverde, Costa Rica.
“There has been a lot of activity lately,” he said, “but you should know that there’s never a guarantee that you’ll see anything.”
“We’re willing to take that chance.”
***
We arrived at Santamaria’s about 15 minutes before our night tour was set to begin. I was layered up in a sweatshirt and windbreaker, and though it wasn’t cold, I had eerie goosebumps creeping up my arms thinking about the critters we could potentially encounter in the dark forest. I knew that the majority of animals (particularly the snakes and larger mammals) were nocturnal, and I wasn’t quite sure how I’d react when I saw them.
The actual definition of a rainforest has to do with certain environmental conditions, which I won’t go into here, but suffice to say that Costa Rica has a lot of public and private land that could easily be classified as such. From hiking the dense vegetation of the old growth ground forest and marveling at the way the light hits the trees in the misty environment of the cloud forest to swinging across the canopy from hanging bridges, there are many ways to explore and enjoy the rainforest in Costa Rica.
On a recent trip to the Arenal region of the country, I learned a few things about exploring the rainforest that are worth noting. If you have plans to visit in the future, keep the following in mind:
Prepare for rain.
We were incredibly fortunate and experienced just a couple drops of rain the entire week we were in the country, but I happen to know that Costa Rica’s weather tends to be a bit on the damp side. When I asked about the seasonal weather patterns, I was told that the two seasons are wet and wetter.
