
Our latest adventure! The house sitters were in, and we felt so lucky to be able to fly to what seemed like another world!

Using KLM flights, we traded cold, grey England for the vibrant colours and sounds of Costa Rica. And found warmth... although this is rain forest country so we may still get the rain!
Costa Rica was our first visit to Central America, and it is a very unique country.

It has two coastlines, one on the Caribbean and one on the Pacific. Throughout its length are high (up to 12,500 ft) volcanic mountains covered in Rain forest and Cloud forest, two different habitats that we will be visiting. It is bordered in the North by Nicaragua and to the south by Panama.
Reading the histories, Costa Rica seems to be an anomaly. The Great South American civilisations of the Incas seemed to only come as far as the Panama border, and the great Northern civilisations like the Mayans and came south to Nicaragua, but neither made inroads into Costa Rica. Even the British and Spanish colonists only dipped their toes in, although the Spanish created towns, and developed the Coffee trade, among other things. Costa Rica gained its independence in 1821.
What this meant is that the smalp l indigenous tribes continued, and much of the amazing vegetation and scenery was left unspoiled. Even better, the wildlife flourished. Successive Government's were early on the conservation trail, recognising a need to protect the natural heritage, while also developing the tourist potential. Tourism is now their largest industry.

We have wanted to come here for 18 years, and are hoping we haven't left it too late. Certainly there has been a big increase in surf and watersport centres replacing small fishing villages, adventure resorts and activities in the jungles and rivers, and mass nature tourism.
We are hoping we can find some secret places, as well as exploring some of the most popular areas.
As for the wildlife.... it sounds incredible... but honestly.. what are we doing here? The jungle is full of venomous snakes and scorpions, huge spiders, and cute frogs in pretty colours that can kill with a flick of their tongue! Plus mosquitoes of course! On the other hand, who wouldn't be drawn to try to spot a Resplendent Quetzal, an Eyelash viper, a silky anteater or a 3 toed sloth?!
As usual, I've put the trip together myself, so expect diversity, and maybe a few surprises that will certainly take me out of my comfort zone!
We landed in the capital, at San José airport, in the evening, and opted to spend night one just outside the city, before starting our trip properly tomorrow. The first thing we noticed was the lovely warmth as we stepped outside the airport, although due to Costa Rica's geography, we expect to experience a range of different weather and temperatures as we explore different regions. On our taxi drive, streets were often dimly lit, giving glimpses into small shops and houses. We often think places look a bit sinister when you arrive at night, and then reveal another story in the morning! Some crazy driving already makes me very glad we were not picking up a hire car!
We are staying at a little bnb - Hotel Vista Linda Montana, and immediately on arrival we knew we were in a different world.
It was dark but we glimpsed huge hibiscus type flowers and cacti as we walked to the room.

We went straight to bed at about 9.00pm local time, lulled to sleep by some unusual animal sounds in the garden!
Needless to say, I woke at 1.40am (7.40am UK time) and am wide awake, while Chris is snoring happily beside me! I can't wait for dawn so I can look outside!!
And it was worth it.

A view of the surrounding mountains, and the active Poas Volcano, with lush green vegetation everywhere, and beautiful birds.... all flying too fast to photograph!
We had time for a walk around the gardens and a nice outdoors breakfast - yippee - before our driver collected us for a 3 hour trip to the coast. We are using Daytrip.com again for transfers. They worked so well in our Balkans trip, so lets see how it goes hemm! See you at the next stop!
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