Costa Rica Next Time

Hey Philip, I spent three weeks in Costa Rica this summer an trust me, one of the most beautiful places I have ever been is Volcan Cacao in the mountains of Guanacaste. I fyou want to find it on a map the closest town (if you want to call it that)/is Cibrada Grandi. definitely like the page.

Your article was good. I particularly enjoyed reading about Monteverde and Corcavado since I was there, too.

I spent some days in the eastern shore of the Golfo Dulce and took a 4-hour guided boat ride up the Rio Esquinnes. Our guide was Joseph who was extremely knowledgeable. We stayed at the Buena Vista Lodge (7 rooms) which was on the beach and surrounded by jungle. Lots of noisy animals sounds at night.

Hey great page! I just spent a month backpacking around Costa Rica. I must say it was the ones of the best days of my life! Its a quite safe country qith friendly people.Let me give you a tip. Don't miss the off-the beaten track village of Montezuma, a paradise surrounded by national parks! With its share of desert beaches, curious white-faced monkeys, the friendly locals. Its a place for young travellers eager to party when the sun goes down

On my first visit to costa rica, I found the many treasures of the people and places remarkable. The true beauty of costa rica is found in the back roads of the country side, such individuals who seek out this land from beyond the eye of a camera will be amazed. As a young child this visit instilled a inner warmth of this land that has remained in my heart will continue to burn vivid memories of this great land. I would recommend bringing children to this wonderful land of adventure. One instance of the warmth of the people is that one day along my long walk down to the town all alone, a old man riding on a horse who was going in the opposite direction offered me a ride back to the village, in return he would ask for nothing but a smile. Later another old man stopped my father and my father asked where is the Costa Rican Army? The old man replied " we don't have a army only our children who will continue to spread peace. Costa Rica is the central america version of the Alps with the addition of a little extra sunshine! enjoy it and preserve it, for our childrens children to enjoy and love.

Visited Cano Negro in May, 97. Excellent birding up the river but impossible for shooting except river scenics. Cano Negro was bone dry - horses and cattle grazing in the "marsh". Suspect that you'd have to go in July-Aug to get any water in there.

Selva Verde Lodge between Chilamate and Puerto Viejo has excellent trails thru primary rainforest and well maintained grounds full of wildlife from poison dart frogs (2 species) to bats, birds and small mammals. Worth 3-4 full days there. Feeders really pull in the birds here.

Guaranteed quetzals at Rio Savegre Lodge (aka Cabinas Chacon or Alberge de Montana Savegre)at km80 on the Pan Am Hwy south of San Jose. Spectacular oak forest with understory of palms and bamboo.Great hospitality, too.Shootable quetzals with 400mm lens plus flash.

Finest hospitality in CR (?) at Rancho Naturalista, east of Turrialba in premontane forest. Outstanding birding esp for hummers. Feeders galore against forest backdrop.Hummingbird bathing pools, too? Ever seen a snowcap hummer? Iridescent maroon with a white cap - awesome. This is my favorite place to decompress at the start of a CR trip.

My next spot for lengthy exploration will be Rincon de la Vieja NP NE of Liberia. Visted twice previously (day trips) but want to spend 4-5 days. Rich primary forests loaded with unique plants (plants are my thing).

Has anyone ever stayed at Buena Vista Lodge, Hacienda Guachepelin or the Rincon de la Vieja Lodge ?

As a costarrican that likes to tour his own country when he can (non-beer drinker and doesn't throw trash randomly) I'd like to suggest that if you do come again to Costa Rica you take a least a couple of days to visit the Rincón de la Vieja national park and volcano. It's really an amazing place, with everything from pailas (boiling mud) to the crater itself, which is almost directly out of a lunar landscape.

I first visited Costa Rica on my honeymoon a few years before the trip that Philip describes here, and I've been following the comments added to the Costa Rica section of photo.net since its inception. I've returned to Costa Rica several times and watched it change from an undiscovered jewel into one of the most popular destinations for tropical travel in the world. Sometimes the advent of all-inclusive mega-resorts, the development of previously sleepy villages, and the encroachment of US pop culture on everyday Tico existence saddens me. Then I look at a map of Costa Rica and realize that the tourism colones are helping to conserve thousands of square miles of unique environments, provide thousands of jobs, and that the impact of tourism are very localized. I suppose that locally negative interactions between the residents and extranjeros are inevitable, but maybe it's for the best overall?
Ray Krueger-Koplin
my travels in Costa Rica

www.arenalvolcano.com

Arenal Volcano Hotels

www.arenalvolcano.com --------------------------------- Arenal Volcano is the most active volcano in Costa Rica and one of the most active in the world with its daily eruptions. This makes the area of Arenal Volcano and La Fortuna a fascinating tourist destination for foreigners as well as residents of Costa Rica. This site will give you all the necessary facts about the Arenal Volcano and provide you with information about hotels and lodges in the Arenal Volcano and la Fortuna area. www.arenalvolcano.com