This text is part of the special Pleasures notebook
Not yet disfigured by mass tourism, but offering infrastructures well adapted to the comfort that Western visitors expect, Costa Rica is a destination to put immediately on your list of next trips. Especially since with its unique biodiversity in the world, this small state in Central America keeps all the promises made to lovers of nature in its purest form. One thing is certain, the country does not usurp its currency, Pure life !, that its inhabitants decline in all sauces, as well to say “hello” as “how are you?” », “thank you very much”, or even “that’s okay”!
By landing in Liberia, the large city in the North, a stone’s throw from the border with Nicaragua, the entire northwest of the country opens up to visitors. This region offers them the opportunity to experience a wide variety of experiences in a small area.
The Arenal volcano, star of Alajuela
First stop, the village of El Castillo, on the banks of Lake Arenal. Three hours by car from Liberia, enough to realize that the province of Alajuela oscillates between mountains and plains. Volcanoes also feature prominently. We observe several of them in the distance, before at the bend of a bend, while the road has been running alongside the magnificent Arenal Lake for approximately an hour, the volcano of the same name jumps out at us.
We will not lose sight of him again until we leave the area. This giant – it rises to 813 meters – surrounded by petrified lava fields and hot springs is the great natural wonder of the surrounding area. Even though the regular eruptions have stopped, it remains a real adventure playground. Hiking on the trails, swimming under the waterfalls and, for the lucky ones, observing sloths in the forest. The others will fall back on the howler monkeys – whose first contact is made at dawn to the sound of their hoarse cry -, the coatis and all kinds of more or less venomous vipers. The soundtrack also consists of a multitude of bird songs: toucans, macaws, momots, callistes, hummingbirds, but also the variegated penelope, which looks a lot like a large turkey. We also hear the American anhinga, a fishing bird whose body undulates in the water like a snake, or the black vulture, hovering high above people’s heads.
At night, the frogs take over. The services of a guide are essential to participate in a night hike. We go there to meet tarantulas, snakes, ants – including the famous Paraponera with its particularly painful sting – and frogs, including the little red-eyed tree frog that we find on all the country’s marketing objects. Cherry on the sundaethe same birds observed during the day, but this time in a ball, asleep, in the hollow of a tree branch.
Monteverde, in the clouds
As the crow flies, the town of Monteverde — and its iconic cloud forest — is no more than 50 kilometers away, but no direct road leads there. The option of crossing via Lake Arenal is therefore the best and will give the opportunity to contemplate the volcano from another angle and observe the hunting of kingfishers in the wake of the boat.
Located on the slopes of the Tilaran mountain range in the province of Guanacaste, the region encompasses a vast mosaic of villages – including Monteverde and Santa Elena, which rise to 1,400 meters above sea level -, nature reserves and national parks. It is the reign of virgin forest bathed in mist and crisscrossed by waterways and the domain of mossy lianas and ferns. To discover them, hiking — with a guide is even better — remains ideal. The suspension bridges option, which allows you to walk at the level of the canopy, is also interesting. And for thrill-seekers, several companies offer ziplining over this nature.
If the biological reserves of the Monteverde and Santa Elena cloud forests are the two most visited, there are a myriad of them in the heart of which life abounds just as much. There are reptiles, butterflies and other insects, spiders, amphibians, birds, but also mammals, with the presence of agoutis and coatis on the ground and white-headed capuchins passing from branch to branch.
Relaxing in Montezuma
Leaving Guanacaste for the province of Puntarenas, the tropical forest and volcanic relief open onto the Pacific Ocean and its simply perfect waves in the south of the Nicoya Peninsula. Montezuma, Cabuya, Mal Pais, Santa Teresa are all chic hippie enclaves where surfers and families rub shoulders on beaches that are sometimes rocky, more often sandy. A free swim from the shore, or by taking a boat to the offshore island of Tortuga, will reveal all kinds of fish — chestnuts, angelfish, porcupines, needlefish, etc. — as well as moray eels, rays and many other tropical beauties.
But above all, this is the domain of relaxation, in the shade, snuggled up in a hammock with a collection of books within reach. Above all, forget about the surrounding animals in order to observe the monkeys, butterflies, iguanas, parrots and pelicans one last time. The earliest travelers take advantage of all these beauties even as the glowing sun rises… these little magical moments imprinted forever in our memories.
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.