Oso perezoso! Oso perezoso!” a park ranger shouts to us as we drive up a dirt track in the Arenal National Park. Oso perezoso? We pull over, leap out and there, up in the tree, is a brown-throated three-toed sloth, hanging from a branch without a care in the world – a lazy bear…
Before arriving in Costa Rica, I hadn’t fully grasped just how abundant the wildlife would be, yet the country is teeming with wildlife and everyone we meet is keen to share it with us. Leading the enthusiasm is Eddie Recio, our guide for the week. He’s made it his life’s mission to share not just both varieties of sloths with visitors to the country but also all the birds, lizards, monkeys, crocodiles, frogs and even ants, and to make sure we see as much of them as possible.
“Costa Rica is ideal for travellers who like to do tourism in an innovative way, as the country is a pioneer in operating responsibly,” says Eddie.
Sustainability comes in many forms in Costa Rica – and wildlife conservation is a fundamental part. But beyond the cute creatures, the country is one of the leading lights in the world for doing things with purpose. It’s impressive to see measures are both top-down – with government-led, nationwide initiatives – as well as driven up from grass-roots communities. In 2020, 99.78% of the country’s energy came from renewable resources; international companies can only lease, not own, land so the ministry of agriculture maintains ultimate control of its use.
Demonstrating the importance of preserving the rich flora and fauna is the Selva Verde Lodge & Reserve in Sarapiqui, in the Heredia Province in the north of the country. Opened over 30 years ago, it’s set within nearly 500 acres of tropical forest that was under threat from logging but now provides a biodiverse haven of rainforest.
Rebecca poses with Arenal, Costa Rica’s most well-known volcano
If an open-air breakfast at the lodge watching the toucans, woodpeckers and orioles swoop around isn’t enough to turn me into a fully-fledged twitcher, watching endless hummingbirds zip about from my hammock outside my room on the banks of the Sarapiqui River has me sold.
ADVENTURE LAND
But the Sarapiqui region isn’t just about the eco-tourism of nature reserves and primary rainforest, it’s also great for adventure tourism (which, fortunately, relies on healthy rainforests). So we head to the Hacienda Pozo Azul where we fly through the rainforest canopy on a series of eight zip lines, listening out for monkeys and toucans between our screams, first of fear but then joy, before the last and longest one flings us out of the trees and over the raging rapids of the Sarapiqui River below.
To keep the adrenaline flowing, we also go white water rafting down a grade II/III section of the Sarapiqui (ideal for our group of six mainly novices). Our guide deftly helps us navigate the boulders and falls while maintaining a running commentary of the wildlife, pointing out herons (little blue and bare-throated tiger), cormorants, great egrets, vultures and even a sloth or two.
Encourage your clients to get out of the boat and jump off the cliff half-way along, which isn’t as scary as it sounds. Floating down the river with a lifejacket on to rejoin the raft on a spit of land, where our guide has cut some fresh pineapple for us, is a real treat.
Our white water rafting ends at the Aguas Bravas HQ. In recent years it’s become a hub to support small-scale community tourism businesses, including Hormingas Town, a colony of leaf-cutter ants established by local environmentalist Leo Herra. After a tour of the 80m-long branch highways he’s created we eat a typical lunch of casado – rice, beans, salad, sweet plantain and chicken (or fish) – while a family of iguanas watches us from the top of a pink-splashed silk tree.
“The key to selling Costa Rica is to both know the country first-hand and to know your client,” says Eddie. “Because then you can tailor a trip to offer adventure activities, sustainable experiences, or culture and history, or a mixture of all three.”
Aerial view over Tortuguero national park (Credit: George Turner)
VENICE OF COSTA RICA
Managing to combine all three aspects on our trip we spend a few days in Tortuguero, a small town and national park three hours away in the Limon region on the Caribbean coast. Only accessible by boat, an hour-long water taxi takes us through the farmland that turns into secondary forest that turns into rainforest as we venture further in; the palm fronds dip into the water and every other log is mistaken for a crocodile.
Called the Venice of Costa Rica, but with waterways running through rainforest instead of palazzos, the tiny town of Tortuguero sits on a jungle-covered spit of land between the Lucky River and the Caribbean Sea. About 10 or so small hotels are also in the area – ours, the Laguna Lodge, is a five-minute water taxi from the town and the entrance to the national park.
A boat tour into the national park is a must, although entry is strictly limited by permits, creating a peaceful atmosphere in the rainforest. Thanks to Eddie and the boat driver, we see a group of four baby crocodiles sunbathing on a patch of sunny weeds, Jesus lizards running across the water, the shell of a common black river tortoise shining in the sun and howler monkeys swinging through the trees.
Back on dry land we get an insight into the lengths some Costa Ricans are prepared to go to create a sustainable future. Hidden behind bright mural-painted doors is the town’s recycling plant, set up by a cooperative of women 15 years ago. “Tortuguero wouldn’t exist without this building,” says Eddie.
Prior to this place opening, the people of Tortuguero used to set fire to their rubbish then bury it; now this enterprising group of women sort, recycle and sell over 60 per cent of the town’s waste, making a decent profit from the bales of cardboard, cubes of compressed metal and cases of glass bottles neatly piled up.
At the waterfront bar El Patio later, having an Imperial beer as the sun sets over the rainforest and the river, Tortuguero feels timeless yet also future-proof, largely thanks to the good fortune Jaritza Garcia Pavila and her cooperative bring to help preserve this delicate place for many more years.
Tabacon Thermal Resort & Spa is one of the hotels making use of the volcano’s thermal mineral water
STROKE OF LUCK
The good fortune continues at the aptly named town of La Fortuna, at the foot of the Arenal volcano, three hours to the west. Previously known as El Borio, it changed its name to La Fortuna when, in 1968, it escaped the volcano’s huge lava eruption.
Despite grave warnings, the inhabitants refused to leave their homes and their bravery has been repaid ten-fold – La Fortuna and the surrounding countryside is now Costa Rica’s leading adventure tourism destination, and the area is rich in zip lines, canyoning, white water rafting and hiking, plus smart spa hotels that benefit from the volcano’s thermal mineral water.
While Arenal might be one of the richest areas in Costa Rica, it’s still sustainable and community-focused, which is most in evidence at Vida Campesina, an organic farm, cookery school and restaurant run by the Gonzalez Barrantes family. We learn about some of the 100-plus varieties of fruit, vegetables and herbs they grow, then go out to pick a small crop from the garden and use them to cook our dinner, adding in homemade tacos and finishing with traditional coffee brewed using a device called a chorreador and a coffee sock.
The next day we take the gentle Sky Tram gondola into the rainforest, where staggeringly long zip lines run down from the top platform and there are prime views of both the volcano, gently smoking, and the lake.
But what holds our attention is the male and female pair of black hawk eagles circling overhead, resting on the branches and catching the thermals. “They’re extremely rare,” Eddie tells us and, despite working as a wildlife guide for over 25 years, his face is aglow with childlike glee.
Source : TTG
