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From monkeys to sloths and macaws to toucans – Katherine Lawrey finds a wealth of wildlife at every turn during an escorted tour in Costa Rica with Explore
It’s the closest I have come to flying like a bird. Suspended from a wire, I travel forwards on my torso, skimming a green canopy that extends in all directions until swallowed up by the mist.
Flying this way on a zip line is called the “Superman”… and the exhilarating half-mile ride when it’s just me, the treetops and the swirling mist leaves me feeling superhuman.
This zip-line experience in Selvatura Park in the Monteverde cloud forest is a high point of my nine-day Highlights of Costa Rica tour with Explore, which also takes me to Manuel Antonio national park, the volcanic crater at Poas and Arenal national park.
We are lucky with our panoramic view of Poas’s smoking crater, but the clouds refuse to shift for the three days we are in Arenal and its symmetrical cone remains a mist-covered secret.
This teasing pattern is fairly typical of our tour. In his introduction, our guide Olivier Esquivel warns us to set our expectations low. He says animals, birds and reptiles are fickle and their appearances for the tourist paparazzi are very much on their terms.
Even so, my hopes are high – Costa Rica covers 0.03% of the world’s surface but contains 6% of its biodiversity, making it one of the 20 most biodiverse nations in the world.
We are on the road for nine days, which presents our group of 16 Brits ample opportunities to spot a fascinating range of wildlife. We crane our necks to see sloths, the furry mammals that live high in the rainforest canopies of Central and South America. We see white-faced capuchin monkeys scampering along branches, spiders encased in huge webs and iguanas basking on logs. We snap selfies with crocodiles that skulk in the water inches from our boat.
A non-venomous snake grips our attention while it slithers across our path, and on a night walk a deadly green viper provides chills and thrills in equal measure.
With the exception of Osama, a 5ft crocodile, it’s not so much the size of the animals that provides the wow factor, but their bright colours.
The toucan is a poster bird for Costa Rica and its multi-coloured beak outshines any beaks in the wilds of Britain. In stark contrast to the drably camouflaged frogs that inhabit our gardens, their poison-dart cousins have been blessed with a statement wardrobe. A strawberry poison dart frog (also known as blue jeans) is very good at posing for us. An amorous pair of green and black poison-dart frogs less so. But given the activity they are engaged in, it’s not surprising they want to evade the cameras.
Every sighting demands attention from the group. Cameras are trained on the specimen in question while we make excited exclamations. The biggest oohs are reserved for a pod of dolphins that appears during a sunset cruise, but we have had a few of the barman’s finest mojitos by that point. These encounters don’t just take place in national parks on well-maintained trails. We’re driving along the highway between towns when eagle-eyed driver Oscar spots monkeys in the trees. And a toilet stop at roadside services has an unexpected sideshow – a tree crowned with 10 scarlet macaws.
Pictures of wildlife use the most memory on our cameras, but Explore’s tour informs more widely about Costa Rica too, with a visit to a traditional farmstead and a hands-on chocolate-making tour optional parts of the itinerary. Olivier has a vast bank of knowledge about his country and entertains us with stories about politics, history, family life, the school system and conservation efforts.
Oscar becomes as much a part of the group as Olivier. His careful driving makes us feel relaxed on the long drives and they both join us at the table for group dinners.
With a friendly leader at the helm, our group quickly gels. Out of the 16, there are three couples, two pairs of friends and the rest are solo travellers. It doesn’t feel cliquey and no one is left out. I put that down to the group having a similar outlook – it’s made up of well-travelled, sociable people who are genuinely interested in learning about Costa Rica.
It helps that there’s flexibility in the itinerary, and we’re not in each other’s pockets 24/7. Evening meals are not included in the overall cost of the trip, and although there are occasions we all eat together, there are a couple of nights when people break off to do their own thing.
The same goes for activities during the day. Some are included and their costs are already covered, but there is at least one activity per day that’s additional. While this does give people the flexibility to opt in and out, it does inevitably bump up the overall cost. I don’t have much change from the £600 cash that I brought with me to cover meals and activities.
The food is generally good value for money – you can pay in either Costa Rica colones or US dollars. Local menus don’t get much more exciting than chicken or beef, with rice and beans, but the tourist hubs offer more choice. And to help you ease the concerns of nervous travellers, Costa Rica is a safe place. Roads are good quality, public bathrooms are clean and tap water is fine to drink.
There’s an optional unguided beach extension for the Highlights tour and our entire group chooses this, bar one person. Our beach base is Tamarindo, a popular backpacker’s town on the Pacific Coast. When Explore’s tour resumes next month, the beach extension will be Dominical. It’s definitely worth adding the beach for three slower-paced days at the end of the itinerary – and the west coast sunsets are on another level.
Staying by the beach also gives us a chance to dry off. In Poas, Arenal and Monteverde, the rain at times is relentless and three of our guided walks are sodden from start to finish. Granted August is in the middle of the May-November “rainy season”, but in the mountains that divide the country the heavens can open at any time.
Summing up, Olivier admits the weather can be unpredictable and commends our stoicism: “I was impressed,” he says. “I didn’t hear one single moan about the rain.”
“What do you expect, we’re British!” is our response.
The guarantee of rain makes wet weather gear essential on Explore’s “what to pack” list. In many cases, cheap plastic ponchos outperform the more expensive branded gear. Comfortable, closed tour-walking shoes are another vital piece of kit, as is a camera with a good zoom. It’s the only way you will catch that sloth curled high up in the tree or the toucan 500 metres away.
My own recommendation is packing superman pants and a can-do attitude for zip lining – everyone needs to feel superhuman at least once in their life.
Book it: Explore’s 11-day Highlights of Costa Rica and Beach Extension costs from £1,599pp, including return flights; hotel accommodation on a B&B basis; transport and the services of a tour leader, driver and local guides. In 2016, there will be departures running January–April, July–August and October–December.
