Costa Rica trip

Hi all -

The family and I got down to Costa Rica May 12-22 and there was one place in particular I'd like to recommend for a visit. We rented a house in the La Fortuna area, near a village called Chachagua. A few km east of La Fortuna is a place called EcoCentro Danuas. Very cool place. It's about 5-6 acres that have been allowed to regenerate from farmland for the last 15 years or so. The results are pretty striking. There's a lagoon with caiman and waterbirds and some nice trails that wind through the woods. Lots of pumilio dart frogs (got some nice pics of an adult carrying tads) and birdlife. We also saw a kinkajou and a young three toed sloth.

The most striking thing is when you get to the borders of the property and peek through the hedgerow, there's nothing but plowed farmland all the way around, but you would never know on the inside. I asked if they planned on trying to expand, but they said the costs of trying to acquire more land from the big farm owners is too prohibitive. I'll post pics when I get through them all.

A few years back I spent about a month in Costa Rica. It really is a beautiful place.

(Sorry for the poor quality)

Iguana (There were also a BUNCH of Black Ctenosaur running around)


Basilisk


American Crocodile


Some sort of Crab


Deers


Sloth


Roseate Spoonbills


A Wasp hive (I think they were Wasps) inside a hollowed out branch...




I went to the beach at night and saw an enormous Leatherback Turtle laying eggs. I was observing her from only a few feet away. When they lay eggs they appear to be in some kind of trance and didn't notice me at all .

I took a picture the next morning of the tracks she left on her way back to sea...


Here were some recently hatched eggs...



I also saw Howler Monkeys, Tree Frogs, Toucans, Parrots...I mean literally anywhere you looked you would see some type of animal.

That's what I love about Costa Rica, it just seems that the wildlife is very accessible. I've always seen something new down there.

From the looks of it, you were on the Pacific side?

Originally Posted by WJS Herps

That's what I love about Costa Rica, it just seems that the wildlife is very accessible. I've always seen something new down there.

From the looks of it, you were on the Pacific side?

I was all over the place. I stayed by both the Caribbean, as well as the Pacific (that was actually the first time that I ever saw the Pacific Ocean). I had a map somewhere which showed exactly where I went during my little Costa Rican adventure . I just spent the better part of an hour trying to find it so I can scan & upload it...no luck though .

I have other pictures which would give you an idea of where I was (based on the landmarks) however, I'm unorganized and have no clue where they are either . I'll keep looking for everything...when/if I find it I'll post it here.

Even though I spent a month there, I was never at one place for more than 3 days or so...there was A LOT of traveling involved. Although Costa Rica looks like half the size of Louisiana (from an aerial view), if it were to be "flattened," then Texas would be a better visual comparison. The terrain is mountains upon mountains...it takes a while to get around.

Just like the wildlife, the people and towns were unique everywhere I went. The closer I was to the Nicaraguan boarder, the dialect was distinctively different. The people on the Caribbean coast were very dark skinned, where as on the Pacific side I saw blond haired blue eyed Costa Rican's walking around. Then you have the difference in wealth within each region. One town would have multi million dollar yachts docked in the harbor, and another town would have hand built canoes.

However, no matter where you go, the people are wonderful. Tourism is one of the largest economic sectors in Costa Rica...so you can get around with no problems even if you don't speak Spanish. They are also very ecologically conscious, and it shows! Most of the places that I went were pristine...the volcanoes, the jungles, the beaches...etc... Costa Rica is definitely a place that I'd recommend visiting.

Did you spend most of your time in & about Chachagua?

This was my seventh trip to CR and we decided to stay in one general area. We stayed at Chachagua and hung around there and the Arenal area. The great thing about that area is the number of activities. We also stayed a couple of night in a town called La Garita closer to Alajuela.

A couple pics -

Arenal volcano:


and a pumilio with tads: