Costa Rica - the wrap up- back home

In wrapping up our Costa Rica trip, I’ve put together a few of my favorite images; some are repeats, with couple of new ones. 

Finishing up the Costa Rica trip concludes our planned travel for the year.  Costa Rica was on the list when we started planning at the beginning of the year but we just couldn’t put it together until now. W, unfortunately, don’t have any trips on the horizon, but, we’ve still got about 6 weeks left of this one, so who knows what the next weeks will bring…. (well, maybe our credit card does!)

I’m finding that I’ve been feeling a bit melancholy since we returned. It could be that this now is the end of our travel for a while, and both of us like to travel.  We’re working on ways to keep going. But, in searching for the reason, I keep coming back to how I feel about Costa Rica and its people.

First of all, it’s a beautiful country.  Obviously, since it’s a rainforest, it rains a lot and is very green.  We were told that in the dry season, while it is still green, it’s less vibrant.   I’m sure that it’s still quite stunning.  The constant 72-78 degrees is very nice, and only at the higher elevations did we feel cold. The humidity is very high, but my skin and joints love it. We both thoroughly embrace the open-air homes that most homes have.  Very few have AC or heat, and several that we stayed at didn’t even have windows in the larger common areas.

We laughed and joked many times in our travels there that we were the only tourists in all of Costa Rica. We traveled to some remote places that were off of the ‘normal’ tourist path, staying in the Airbnb’s and a B & B, and going off to explore some little rocky road.  We cooked many of our own meals, purchasing food from small tiendas and pulpurias along the way.  The few times we did eat out, quite often we were the only guests there.

I was pleasantly surprised that my recollection of my Spanish hadn’t faded away over the past few months. While Mexican Spanish is quite different than Costa Rican Spanish, I was able to have discussions and talks with several people.  Everyone we met was kind, pleasant and helpful. Even with our hosts that spoke no English, we were able to communicate and accomplish whatever the conversation required – a guide, a local store or a need in our room.

Most of the people we were in contact with were our hosts, and birding guides.  All of our hosts were interesting people.  One or two of the homes were incredible, and on wonderful pieces of property.  A couple of them were modest, yet warm and welcoming.  I can’t think of any that we wouldn’t return to.

The birding/naturalist guides are mostly energetic about what they do.  With several of them their passion for the birds was bubbling out of them. They were a good match with Toms excitement and his passion for the birding.  We definitely recommend using a guide whenever possible.  He or she has local knowledge about the birds and animals, so you’ll be able to see more. 

The second thing, that should probably be the first thing, is the connection the Ticos – Costa Ricans- have with their communities, the land and country.

Many years ago, the government wanted the county to be as independent from other countries as possible. They didn’t want to be dependent on other countries for food, and resources.  Because of that, the people have a very strong tie to their own community and plots of land. Most of the food we ate and purchased was organic and locally grown, and full of flavor!  

We were in several of the top birding spots in Costa Rica, and had based our itinerary on these locations. While we didn’t stay at the higher priced lodges and resorts, we visited several of them and talked to the owners or staff.  The Ticos are realizing how big birding is and just what a resource they have.  They are understanding how important the birds are to their forests and ecosystem and learning what they can do to continue the trend.  

More than one property owner had purchased land that had been grazed by livestock or cleared for farming or coffee.  Almost everyone has taken steps to bring back native plants and forests, second or third growth, but forests nonetheless.  They are planting native plants to bring in the birds, insects and mammals.   These, in turn, spread the seeds and pollen and continue the process in some other new forest area.

Near Uvita on the Pacific Coastline, it took over 35 years to decide to pave the road or not. They were trying to determine how to handle the migrating crabs, shorebirds and other critters that cross from the water to the forest edge across the highway (a two-lane road).  Several areas along the now paved highway are raised, or large ‘migration’ tunnels have been built.  Unfortunately, not all the animals got the memo about these crossing areas, but that’s where locals volunteer to help slow traffic down to allow safe passage. Regardless, it’s the awareness, at the upper levels of the government, of the land and animals in relation to the people that was refreshing to see.

Perhaps the reason that I feel so melancholy since returning is that I see such a big disconnect between Americans, our government, the land and our food, and how we care for it, compared to the Ticos.  We’ve had an amazing year of traveling to some great countries, and through many US states.   Many and most countries that we visited are aware and more connected to the land than America is, but I don’t think as much as the Costa Ricans. 

Maybe another reason is the speed of life here.  It’s always jarring to come back from a place where life moves slow.  One can easily be overwhelmed with traffic, sensory overload and choices.  Who really needs to have 35 different laundry soaps to choose from, or 75 flavors of salad dressing?  When I opened a carton of eggs at the market the other day, I didn’t see any feathers on any eggs, only little ‘stamps’ on each one.  I miss the feathers!

Anyway, it’s now time to put this dialog to rest.  I have thousands of photos to edit and catalog   from this Beyond the Big Left Turn journey.  That is, if I can refrain from searching for our next adventure!

Thanks for sharing this adventure with us!