Costa Rica has so much to offer travellers who appreciate nature and enjoy adventure sports. It is refreshing to visit a country where a growing part of the economy is based on nature conservation instead of resource extraction.
by Jim Cooperman
The mysteries of the Mayan people have alwaysfascinated my wife, Kathi and I. In November 2004, we were able to explore what was long considered to be the largest Mayan settlement, Tikal. We were genuinely awestruck by the immensity of the site and the splendour of both the structures and the jungles that surround and engulf the ancient city. We were part of a small tour group led by an English-speaking guide who had just finished his studies in archaeology.
The Tikal ruins cover approximately 300 hectares on the edge of a 5,500-hectare national park, which despite some illegal logging still protects one of the largest rainforests in this part of Central America. Settlement began around 700 BC and peaked around 900 AD, when the entire Mayan civilization began to wither away. At one time, upward of 100,000 people inhabited the greater Tikal area, where buildings were constantly being constructed atop older structures.
The main plaza area was the most impressive as the temples and acropolises had undergone the most restoration. Many of the carvings are wearing away, as the limestone here is soft and decays easily. Small roofs cover the remaining stelae that contain detailed hieroglyphics that describe various historical periods. It is forbidden to climb up many of the pyramids since a number of tourists have died from falls, but we did go up wooden steps to the top of two pyramids to get a bird’s eye view of the area. The base of the tallest pyramid is still covered with jungle and after climbing the 164 steps to the top, we could only see the tops of five other pyramids in a vast sea of jungle.
That night we stayed at the Jungle Lodge and woke up very early to the loud and raucous calls of the howler monkeys outside our bungalow. In the early morning light we explored the jungle trails to the sounds of thousands of birds and managed to see a few small animals amongst the giant broadleaf cedar, cieba, mahogany and gum trees. Another highlight of the Tikal visit, were the two museums. One contains stelae and other carved stones along with giant photos taken of the ruins in the late 1800s. The other museum contains some of the many treasures found, including burial goods, carved jade, inscribed bones and shells and pottery. The Mayan artwork is incredibly intricate and colourful and provides the viewer with an appreciation of this once great culture.
Costa Rica, home to the world’s greatest level of biodiversity, is truly a conservation dream come true, where the military was disbanded nearly fifty years ago and its funding diverted to education. Although most of the country was deforested, 11 percent is now in fully protected parks, and another 14 percent is in wildlife refuges, biological and forest reserves and monuments. As well there are privately owned reserves, Indian reserves and other protected areas. A total of 27 percent of the country is fully and partially protected and includes many large pristine areas as well as restoration areas. Tourists from all over the world flock to Costa Rica to view wildlife, white-water kayak and raft, surf, snorkel and dive, hike, horseback ride, view volcanoes and relax on the beach. Unfortunately, a few coastal areas have been overly developed with huge, inappropriate resort developments. Agriculture is also a major part of the economy, but too much of the rich land is devoted to commercial monoculture such as coffee, sugar, bananas and palm oil. In contrast to Guatemala, the indigenous culture in Costa Rica is barely visible and there is far less poverty. Much of the pre-Spanish history is explained at the Gold and Jade Museums in San Jose, where some amazing ancient jewellery and pottery are on display.
We first visited Costa Rica in 2002 and travelled north and west by rental jeep. While the distances are short, many of the back roads and even the highways are in deplorable shape. But the destinations certainly made these challenging trips worthwhile, as we journeyed from mountaintop forests to dry land volcano parks, to coastal paradises and back to bustling San Jose. Everywhere we found the people to be helpful, friendly and fun loving. Some of the highlights were exploring the cloud forests of Monteverde and hiking on the continental divide, with the Pacific and Atlantic on opposite horizons. Thanks to our skillful guide we were fortunate to see a rare Quetzal bird in all its magnificent iridescent blue-green, white and red splendour. We also tried the thrilling zip-lines zooming in a harness high above the forest on thin cables and we hiked over huge steel suspension bridges that span steep canyons.
We returned in mid-November 2004 and opted for travel by small planes rather than driving the rough roads. Our primary goal was to visit Corcovado Park, a magnificent 42,469 hectare rainforest reserve that protects eight distinct habitats in the south of the country. After landing on a small airstrip in the middle of vast groves of palm trees, we travelled there by riverboat alongside thick mangrove forests, past an island where the film Jurassic Park was shot and into the Pacific Ocean through a channel between two small rocky islands. About an hour later we transferred into an ocean speedboat for landing on the beach and then on to the lodge “limo,” a wagon pulled by a tractor for the final short journey up the steep paved trail to the jungle lodge. Over lunch, the staff explained to our small group about how to avoid the dangers posed by the many types of poisonous snakes that inhabit the wild jungle surrounding our bungalows.
The next morning, our very capable and knowledgeable guide, Carlos, led us through the jungle along a very muddy trail up and down, over, under and through thick vegetation, giant ferns, vines, roots, and trees of all sizes and shapes. We were all on the lookout for wildlife and we were not disappointed. Kathi was the first to spot the Trogon, a colourful bird similar to the Quetzal, and we also observed spider and howler monkeys and the rodent-like agouti. After enjoying a swim under one of the many waterfalls, we headed to the ranger station, where we joined with other tour groups to enjoy our picnic lunch. While we waited for the tide to go down to cross one of the rivers, we enjoyed watching a flock of scarlet macaws feasting in some guava-like trees. These trees are also an important part of the local leaf cutter ant’s ecology. Leading from the trees was a well-worn, narrow trail in the grass created by the many thousands of ants that carry bits of leaves back to their nest where they use them to grow the fungus that is a major part of their diet.
The next day we joined up with a new group on a cruise out to Cano Island, which is also a park reserve that protects the habitat for over 140 endemic species of plants and animals (found no where else in the world).
We enjoyed snorkelling amongst the exotic tropical fish, especially the humorous looking polka-dotted puffer fish and the long tapered needlefish. After lunch, we hiked to the top of the island to see some of the region’s mysterious granite spheres. No one has yet come up with an explanation for why the pre-Columbian indigenous people carved these stone balls that range is size from two metres to a few centimetres in diameter and are found throughout southern Costa Rica. Adding to the mystery is that the source of the granite used has not been located. A few of us knelt down to grasp one of the half-metre diameter balls and convinced each other we could feel vibrations in our hands! On our return across the ocean, we were thrilled to see a humpback whale and calf surface and blow near our boat and a pod of dolphins that jumped out of the water in graceful arcs.
On our last day we hiked with another couple along a trail that led us to a biological research station owned by a woman from BC, where students and researchers live and study. That afternoon, we enjoyed some ocean kayaking out to some small rocky islands. After chatting with some of the guides, we learned more about the Corcovado wilderness and its amazing diversity, including the large lake and lagoon that few people have ever seen and is off limits to visitors. This large body of water is surrounded by sharp thorn vines and is home to crocodiles and rare fresh water sharks. One of the major threats to this incredible park is from gold seekers, as gold (and even oil) does exist here but the government forbids exploration and development.
After another night in San Jose, we returned to the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula. Because of its relative isolation, this remarkable region is only recently experiencing rapid tourism growth. We spent half our time at a lodge a short beach hike away from Montezuma, an eclectic, counter-culture town with many expatriates in an idyllic setting. One day we hiked through Costa Rica’s first park, Cabo Blanco. When created in 1963, this 1,272-hectare park was mostly cow pasture, but already it is thick forest and well on its way towards restoration. After over an hour of hiking, we emerged at a rocky beach next to a stand of towering bamboo and a few olive-like trees with poisonous fruit and sap. We watched a giant iguana resting in the sun on a large tree trunk and on our return, a troop of howling howler monkeys were in the trees near the park entrance.
Our last three days in this region were spent on the panoramic Santa Teresa beach enjoying the surf. The nearby Mal Pais beach is quickly developing with shops, lodges and restaurants as young surfers flock here from around the world.
Costa Rica has so much to offer travellers who appreciate nature and enjoy adventure sports. It is refreshing to visit a country where a growing part of the economy is based on nature conservation instead of resource extraction. Yet there is a growing debate between those who prefer to preserve the country’s ecological integrity and those who want to build more mega-resorts. Canadians can take home lessons from this supposed third-world country about how to sustainably market and conserve biodiversity. It is no wonder that Costa Rica’s often-heard catch phrase is Pura Vida or ‘pure life.’
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