Finding Pura Vida in Costa Rica

              I admit it, I’m a city traveler.  London, Paris, Los Angeles, I love the hustle and bustle, and as long as there’s a gift shop I’m happy.  So, for me a twelve day vacation to Costa Rica was my test, to see if I could break free of my department store box and truly embrace what the local Ticos call Pura Vida, the Pure Life.

Within hours of landing in the capital of San Jose I was whisked off by minibus to the small but charming city of La Fortuna, at the foot of the active Arenal Volcano, four hours away.  The entire country feels vertical, and my ears popped every half hour as we drove up, down and up again the tiny one lane roads that cling to the hillsides like mountain goats. From here day-long canyoning, hiking and ATV tours are all at your disposal, but I selected a SkyTrek zipline canopy tour.  During a torrential rainstorm I flew along quarter-round steel cables as much as 660ft above the jungle below, suspended by nothing but my harness, while trading grunts with a troupe of howler monkeys.  It was incredible!  I couldn’t get the smile off my face for days.

After a few days there, it was time to move on to the Monteverde cloud forest.  Here the roads are not only vertical, but unpaved, and a drive that looks tiny on a map can take hours.  It gives you a bit of an Indiana Jones complex, and only serves to add to the adventure.  Rain here sneaks up on you, and in a matter of seconds a flawless sunny day can become a downpour, turning all the roads into muddy slip-n-slides with potholes the size of VW beetles.  The hanging bridges are not to be missed, and the hummingbird garden at the Selvatura park has dozens of species buzzing past only inches from your head.

The town of Quepos and the famed Manuel Antonio national park were my third stop, with postcard-perfect views and a relaxed beachy atmosphere.  By far the hottest and most touristy of all the cities, the park is the whole reason to stop here and is well worth it.  Our guide hauled a four-foot telescope the entire hike just to give us the best views of the two-and-three toed sloths, monkeys, birds and even a banded anteater that his well-trained eyes could (unbelievably) spot. The Rainmaker adventure forest, with it’s 190 ft high suspension bridges, is so much more fun than it looked on the Amazing Race: Family Edition, and a mangrove tour got us so close to a troupe of wild whitefaced capuchin monkeys that at one point they even jumped on the roof of our boat!  Leaving there was hard, and after a few final days in San Jose to see the stunning Teatro National and the Gold Museum (and shop), it was back to reality. 

Costa Rica surprised me in many ways, from the diverse climates to the awesome animals, but most of all the incredibly welcoming people.  It leaves you with the warm glow of adrenaline-and-sun fueled enjoyment, combined with the faint scent of coffee. Pura Vida.

- As originally published in the Vancouver Province

Tags: BlogSherpa, city tour, Costa Rica, monkeys, museum, national park, published, rainstorms, volcano, zipline