Tag: Costa Rica

Costa Rica’s Capital & Caribbean Crown, Cahuita

Posted on by Schalonda

San JosÉ

After Monteverde we headed to San José, Costa Rica’s capital and largest city, as well as the transportation hub for anywhere else in the country you want to visit.

We arrived, hungry, on a Sunday evening when not much around our hostel was open. Our search for food provided an opportunity to explore the neighborhood and that’s when I was taken by a feeling of familiarity, which unexpectedly provided a sense of comfort. Walking the streets of San José felt kinda like home. Im not sure how to explain it other than to say, for the first time in a while, it didn’t feel like I was in a foreign country, it felt like an unfamiliar city in the US.

My pre arrival research listed Costa Rica as the most expensive country in Central America so I really didn’t want to stay long and genuinely hoped I wouldn’t fall in love and want to make it my forever home. San José and I didn’t make a love connection but I had a terrific time on our date which included, among other things: a self guided sightseeing trot around downtown, an info packed guided tour of the famous National Theater, followed by a light bite at the Alma de Cafe, a cruise through the presidential quarter and its street art covered boundary walls, an introduction to brutalist architecture and a taste of Calle 33/Barrio Escalante, San José’s trendy food & drink street/neighborhood.

At first I was disappointed to find so many points of interest closed on Mondays, but it quickly became evident that less was more. Fewer options makes it easier for two people to agree on something. Additionally, i’m grateful for the time I spent outdoors enjoying the architecture, street art and weather. Had I spent the day strolling through museums, I’d likely have missed out on what I enjoyed most about the city.

 

Im compelled to mention the most striking piece of art to catch my eye in the capital city, the Jenaro Valverde Marín Building. Generally it’s churches and colonial architecture that move me to dig out my good camera, but this time it was the Brutalist architecture of Alberto Linner Díaz that held my attention throughout the day. This building continues to light up my imagination with ideas of a concrete dystopian future despite the fact that it was built in 1976. Anything that inspires me to act, to research and find out more, brings me joy and appreciation. Thank you!

 

Cahuita, Costa Rica

Our final Costa Rican stop was Cahuita, a laid back village with an island vibe on the southern Caribbean cost. A tropical paradise with warm water and beautiful black and tan sandy beaches, Cahuita is home to a dazzling sea side jungle and national park. With protected, biodiverse marine and land ecosystems full of indigenous inhabitants, the park has no admission fees and relies exclusively on donations for its maintenance, making it yet another unexpected and budget friendly surprise.

Once in the park, it didn’t take long to spot capuchin and hear howler monkeys. The racoons are not shy at all! I noticed the first one when its wet nose touched my leg and another when I caught it going through my back pack, which I absentmindedly left open, while I took a dip in the Caribbean Sea. Plenty of insects made an appearance as well but my favorites were the spiders and leafcutter ants. Im pretty use to seeing lizards but not skinny green snakes. Finally, with the aid of someone else’s guide, I was able to capture a pic of the illusive, superstar sloth catching some z’s in a tree. 

Mini Memories of Monteverde

Posted on by Schalonda

Monteverde Costa Rica

Santa Elena

It’s challenging to consistently write about my experiences while steadily on the move. I traveled with my big beautiful journal, a collection of colorful pens and a camera for the purpose of documentation. It’s the job of these tools to record thoughts, emotions and observations in a given moment and they do that job exceptionally well, when used as directed. I bring this up now out of pure frustration. It’s been a formidable task remembering Santa Elena, in part because I neglected my tools. My journal entries are scarce, my photos are inadequate and Im sad about it.

Of this I am certain, I was not alone as I explored. What began with me tagging along on a day trip, transformed into a full blown travel duo as we departed Ometepe, Nicaragua. Our first stop after crossing the overland boarder from Nicaragua into Costa Rica, unscathed and without proof of onward travel, was the city of Santa Elena, located in the mountainous region of Monteverde.

I chose to head inland instead of the beaches of the Pacific because, ultimately, I was aiming toward the Caribbean and overland boarder crossing from Sixaloa, Costa Rica into Panama. I chose Monteverde because I thought it was gonna be an exotic place where you could get up close and personal with giraffes. Yes, it’s a little sad but it’s also 100% true.

The place turns out to be @ 4,600 ft above sea level and is renowned as an ecotourism destination since its home to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve, which also happens to be one of the world’s most visited cloud forests. What do you know, an opportunity to see things from a giraffes point of view. Except, I didn’t actually visit the Monteverde Biological Reserve. I think we picked the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve instead, hoping it would be less crowded, have better visibility and more opportunities to see wildlife.

I’d say traversing the cloud forest suspension bridges by day and traipsing through a private reserve in search of nocturnal critters on a night walk tour was an incredibly exotic adventure, no giraffes needed.