I had only 14 full days in Costa Rica so time was short. I chose the destination partly because of the manageable size so I would be able to visit a few different places. I did no real planning beforehand, but I had my mind set on visiting both costs and to see as much nature as possible.

After a night in San Jose I headed straight to La Fortuna to see the Vulcan Arenal. La Fortuna is of course very touristy being the main base for visiting the volcano, but it’s still quite small and laid back.

Vulcan Arenal in cloud cover

La Fortuna and Santa Elena - the Northern Highland

Next day I rented a motorbike and drove the 17 km to the Parque Nacional Vulcan Arenal. A two km dirt track off the main road leads to the park entrance. Following the track takes you around the impressive volcano and from time to time you hear the loud rumble from the deep. From inside the park there are excellent views of the cone where you can see pieces of lava rolling down the sides. As the night falls the red glow of the lava can easily be seen.

Cloud forest, Santa Elena

My next destination was Santa Elena and Monteverde. It’s high country with farmland and large protected areas of primary cloud forest. In order to preserve the area there are no paved roads. Transportation is by 4WD or horseback and it takes for ever to get around the winding dirt tracks.

The cloud forest of Santa Elena is about 1700 meters above sea level witch makes for a very special climate and fauna. Everything is covered in mosses and epiphytes witch gives the place an almost magical atmosphere.

Nicoya Peninsula - the Pacific Coast

From Monteverde I headed for the pacific coast. I took the bus to the port of Puntarenas and the ferry onwards to Paquera on the Nicoya peninsula. From here it’s a couple of hours driving to Montezuma - a sort of wannabe mini Goa. While the place is nice in it self it also makes a good base for visiting the nearby nature reserves of Cabo Blanco and Curü.

Beach, Cabo Blanco

Cabo Blanco has only one trail that leads to a magnificent beach full of fishing pelicans. I saw several species of monkey there and some kind of anteater. Curü has a lot of trails. Of course I had to pick the most difficult one that went from the main beach inland over a high bluff and down on the other side to a small secluded beach. I took me 4-5 hours to walk the 3 km there and back, partly because I had to clear the track from a massive amount of spiders’ web infested with hand-sized nasty looking spiders.

In Montezuma I found out that the Corcovado national park had reopened after being closed for some time due to the mysterious death of large number of animals. I made a quick decision and got up 4 am the next morning to catch the 4.30 bus to San Jose where I got a plane same day to Puerto Jiminez.

Osa Peninsula - Corcovado National Park

In Puerto Jiminez however I realized that next day was Christmas and everything would be shut down. It was - but I managed to rent a kayak and went with a guide up a small river into the mangrove where I saw many species of bird. I also managed to buy some toast bread, cheese and sausage so I didn't have to starve on Christmas.

Pacific Sunset, Corcovado

Next day I went to Carate to stay a few days in a camp with large walk-in tents and 3 set meals a day just outside the Corcovado national park. I had however met some people on their way into the park and I decided that I would go too. I had no tent or food and no reservation for camping inside the park. Luckily the manager of the place was willing to lent me his personal one-man tent and also set me up with some crackers and canned tuna from the kitchen.

Empty beach, Corcovado

At the Leona park office I managed to get a reservation for camping one night at the Sirena station so I was all set. The hike to Sirena took about 8 hours with plenty of breaks on the way.

Corcovado is truly a magnificent place with vast empty beaches between the rough Pacific Ocean and the jungle wilderness. I saw monkeys, anteaters, Coatis, many species of birds and even crocodiles. A Canadian guy insisted that the large prints we saw several places on the beach were from a panther. From Corcovado I went back to Puerto Jiminez with aching feet and muddy clothes.

Cahuita - the Caribbean Coast

Next day I flew back to San Jose and headed straight to the Terminal Caribe to catch the bus to Cahuita. I spend the whole next day in the small national park at Cahuita.

Terminal Caribe, San Jose

It’s a much visited park, but I still saw a funny looking anteater and large groups of white face monkeys and howler monkeys. I also encountered a huge amount of merciless mosquitoes that did not hesitate to eat me alive even though I was practically covered in DEET repellent.

The same afternoon I got on the bus back and ended at Tranquilo Backpackers in San Jose with a beer around 9.30 pm.

Costa Rica is definitely recommended for people interested in hiking and wildlife watching and I could easily have stayed a couple of week more.

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