Our visit to Costa Rica
Comments. Considerations. Questions.
by Kenneth and Barbara Bagnell
Costa Rica – in English it’s Rich Coast – is set in the waters of the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, a tranquil country nestled between Panama and Nicaragua, almost sedate in atmosphere and inhabited by a diverse population of four and a half million. Its landscape spreads from farms and fishing villages to a large metropolitan capital, San Jose, set in the palm of a mountainous region. (Given the country’s small size, you can go anywhere from San Jose within a four hour drive.)
A few weeks ago, we chose a brief visit –- too brief in fact — settling in a hotel on the Pacific’s edge, an immaculate hotel of almost gigantic size, a member of the huge Spanish Riu chain. Its size means it never seems crowded, its atmosphere calm and quiet, with numerous dining spots, all, in our experience well prepared interesting cuisine and service that was what we all hope for: efficient and gracious.
Naturally, the local tourism agencies have staff unobtrusively in the lobby area with a variety of tours, the one we took together a four hour cruise in an open motorized boat over a slender, winding river, Palo Verde, lined by lush green trees and rich in its history and the life of both jungle and water. Crocodiles, alligators, iguanas and various birds were all accompanied by the commentary of a young guide whose knowledge was obviously part of his own education. The natural life of the river that was suddenly revealed on both the treed shore, or surfacing the earth colored waters, was unique, a once in a lifetime experience. As he put it, “Nowhere will you see the variety of what you are now seeing…..”
As my years go by, my travels are more passive than active. I read more than anything else. So, wherever we now go, I’m accompanied by three or four books which are read beneath the trees of the always sloping beach and sand. (For those who care, all three were theological, by authors Ross Douthat, Marilyn Robinson and the insightful thus ever enduring George Buttrick once minister of New York’s Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church then Chaplain of Harvard.) My wife Barbara, whose life is more varied, is still exploratory in our travels — as we both were in our past. Moreover she also has a skill with providing what you want to know and doing it with concise clarity. So, for today here’s her contribution to our seven days in pleasant Costa Rica.
Well, I did want to see something besides the swimming pool so on booking the trip I committed us both to the river tour, figuring I’d find something more adventurous for myself when we got to our hotel. As for the boat tour, it was pretty tame and the above reader of theology went along for the ride.
As for me, as I sat down with the young man selling Nexus tours, I started by saying “No horseback riding, no zip lining, no hanging bridges”. He agreed to the first two but told me I’d have to make it over at least two hanging bridges if I wanted to do the “volcano adventure day trip” which was how I found myself walking over rather worn boards held together by wire, on a hanging bridge about as long as a city block. Below me was the roar of one of Costa Rica’s plunging rivers – plunging to a dramatic waterfall I’d see if I made it over that bridge. I did, and a second one a little longer.
Other than the bridges, this “walk in the rainforest” which had a kind of poetic ring to it in the brochure proved to be a non-poetic and strenuous hike and I really should have packed my walking stick and hiking boots. The reward at the end of our day was the crater of Mirvalle volcano, one of many (estimates: between 60 and 120) in this small Central American country. There I could dip in a pool of hot volcanic water and, had I chosen, I could have dipped in chocolate brown volcanic mud and improved my complexion. Others did, but I was contented to circumnavigate the crater once on paths past billowing steam from the furnace of the earth below me.
The two trips allowed me a quick look at many of the sights of Costa Rica. We spotted the beautiful blue butterflies, we heard the howler monkeys and the smaller breed of monkey swinging from branch to branch in the tree near our balcony. Yes, I did some reading, too. I read about the murder of D’arcy McGee in a first novel by Canadian Filmmaker Gordon Henderson, Man in the Shadows: a little Canadian history to complement the leisurely crowd and the theology reader in the next reclining chair.
Practicalities: Cost of air and all inclusive accommodation – about $1,600 each in early January. Price increases sharply after that.
Best dinner: the seafood brochettes at the Ocatal dining room. Pool conditions: crowded. Beach – coarse sand and small pebbles, flip-flops needed just to get your feet in the ocean. Drives to tour beginnings can be as long as three hours. Road are paved but narrow. Wifi in lobby only but good service.
All past blogs are archived on my website: your comments are welcome there: www.kennethbagnell.com.