Costa Rica

On the beach

17-20 September 2012

We were a bit tired after crossing through El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua in 5 days so we started our visit to Costa Rica with checking out a few beaches. In the picture below, Frida is beach camping in Montezuma – or Montefuma as the locals call it….a place for those who would like to smoke joints and drink beer and watch soccer on TV… We camped outside a very friendly small hotel, directly on the beach, but the beach was full of big dogs and within 15 minutes we had both stepped in a dog shit! Lonely Planet has Montezuma as one of the “highlights” of visiting Costa Rica…maybe they should revise the chapter a bit and add a note about the drug dealers.

We continued up to Samara Beach, where we found a nice camp site (Coco) right on the beach. Here we met up with Thomas, Nadine and their daughter Lily to discuss the shipment of our cars from Panama to Columbia and to drink a beer and enjoy their good company.

Driving through the countryside

21-22 September 2012

Driving up to Lake Arenal we decided that the normal road was too boring (and full of trucks) so we took this dirt road through the hills instead. It was very rough in places! But the views were worth it. 

We did not meet any other cars driving through the hills, only people on horseback or walking.      

We passed a few farms along the road.                   

 

 

Almost back to civilisation, we passed a large finca/plantation with some unusual decorations on the wall. 

Coffee fields.                                                                        

Frida parking in the mist after a long day of driving. 

On the Nicoya Peninsula from Montezuma to Samara, we tried to take a short cut but instead we ended up driving forever along small dirt roads, crossing rivers and jumping potholes. However, the countryside was beautiful and very green from the recent rain.                                                                                      

 

 

Tortuguero – Turtles, Crocodiles and Caribian Cuisine

23-25 September 2012

Tortuguero is a remote village on the Caribian coast of Costa Rica. Tortuguero literally means the place of the turtles and it is rightfully famous for the thousands of large sea turtles that come up on the beach each year from May to October to lay their eggs. The village can only be reached by plane or by boat but it is well worth it! We spent a couple of days there, canoeing on the river and watching the 100 kg heavy turtles laying their eggs on the beach in the darkness. Magical!

Again….paddling! Torro Seduto exploring the jungle in Costa Rica.

The wife is enjoying. Unfortunately there were not enough paddles for everyone…

A beautiful quiet morning on the river.                    

The jungle in all possible shades of green.                

Deeper into the jungle and into the narrow tributary rivers the water turned brown…this was the home of the crocodiles! See photos later.

Iguana pretending not to be there.                            

Bird pretending not to be there.                                  

Not there…                                                                         

Baby crocodile pretending not to be there.                

And the mother!                                                                

Close-up of mother crocodile.                                       

We also came up very close to a group of small white-faced capuchin (monkeys) eating breakfast in a big tree by the river but this was in the middle of a big thunderstorm with the rain pouring down so there are no pictures! More distant, we heard the howler monkeys and saw the spider monkeys messing around in the tree tops. But it was not only on the canoe trip through the small tributaries in the jungle that we saw wild life. On our way from Tortuguero to the mainland we saw 3 big crocodiles taking sun on the sandy beaches along bends in the river.             

Sailing with the small clic-clic water taxi up the river. 

Tortuguero beach. Every night, May to October, 50-100 large sea turtles come up on the beach to lay their eggs in the sand.  

A turtle track in the sand – a bit faded after the rain but when they are new it looks like a small tractor drove up the beach. 

Tortuguero by night.                                                      

 

Manuel Antonio National Park – a sloth heaven!

28 September 2012

Smiling sloth relaxing in the tree top!                      

Check out all the scratching on the next pictures!!! Sloth life is good!

Scratching the back…                                                    

Scratching the chest…                                                  

Scratching the shoulders…                                            

Scratching the arm…                                                     

And scratching the other arm…                                 

Scratching the hands…                                                  

And then off for a good rest somewhere in the tree tops!

Lizard in camouflage.                                                     

Crab, not in camouflage.          

Iguana on the beach.                

Raccoon on the beach.              

Woodpecker.                                 

 

Solo Para Aventureros!

The most beautiful Land Rover in Costa Rica (“Maersk Blue”) – Dedicated to Alfredo!

Cerro Chirripo

Walking, walking, walking…and then finally a summit!

29-30 September 2012

Cerro Chirripo is the highest peak in Costa Rica at 3820 m. It is located in the Cerro Chirripo National Park and is reached through a lovely but looooong walk through cloud forest and alpine terrain. From the start of the trail to the summit there is an elevation difference of 2300 m and a distance of about 20 km. Total elevation gain for the round trip is 2650 m. It is advisable to stay overnight at the Base Crestone Hut at 3395 m, especially if hiking during the wet season from May to November when one can expect rain from around noon. It rains some 5000 mm = 5 m per year here, mainly from May to November!

Marco on the trail under the rain.

Cloud forest.                                

The Base Crestones hut at 3395 m.

The peak of Cerro Chirripo, 3820 m high. Not a spectacular peak but the view from top is fantastic.     

Sunrise from the summit of Cerro Chirripo, 30 September 2012.

View to the Carribbean Sea down below.          

The mountains of the Talamanca Range, which runs like a spine through south-central Costa Rica.

The summit picture! Yes, it was cold!                  

Erupting Volcan Turrialba in the far distance.

View to the Carribbean Sea.                                 

The rising sun is casting the shadow of Cerro Chirripo on the misty valleys to the west.