Wildlife, amazing beach destinations, rainforests, and Pura Vida – literally translated as pure life. Why are you waiting to visit Costa Rica?
When I was a young child, I remember looking at pictures in books of beautiful places and exotic people – women with rings on their neck, men dancing in brightly colored costumes. I know where the passport ink for blood came from for me, I have always wanted to travel. Stick with me here. Costa Rica was one of those “maybe… someday” places for me.
What made me take the leap and visit Costa Rica and its amazing beach destinations and rainforests? Hang on, here we go.
The saga begins
About 15 years ago I remember being on a horrid date, where my not-so-gentlemanly companion took me to a sales pitch for property development in Costa Rica.
I ditched the horrid date and put a visit to Costa Rica at the top of my bucket list.
When the day came that Papa Joe and I were looking for a tropical destination for an anniversary trip, it just seemed like a logical decision to head south. But what kind of Costa Rican experience did we want? There are tropical beaches, mountainous volcanoes, wet and dry rainforest, city or rural – you get the picture. There are literally 101 reasons to visit Costa Rica. Or more…
Deciding to visit Costa Rica was easy. Deciding what we wanted our Costa Rican adventure to be was a totally different story.
We decided on an immersion trip.
The best way for us to do that was to rent a house, which we did through HomeAway. We used our usual search criteria (on the beach, pool, no smoking, no pets), jumped on a plane, flew to San Jose, and there we were in Costa Rica. Our final destination? A small fishing village called Tarcoles and our rental house Casa Sammie. The rest is history.
We did our normal research and made a few unusual decisions for us.
- Research indicated that following traffic laws is just a “recommendation”. We chose to pay for transportation instead of renting a car. At that time, Papa Joe always rented a car for vacations, so this was unusual.
- Dining is inexpensive if you eat the “Tico” style, which is rice and beans. Add some salsa and fresh fruit, and you just described our diet for most of the stay. We added fresh shrimp and empanadas for variety. Yum! The unusual piece here is the lack of variety. Luckily we like shrimp, rice, and beans.
- There are poisonous snakes – I got a little freaked out by that one, but that didn’t slow me down much. It just made me jumpy when we were walking down the dirt road at night. And on that thought, don’t even get me started on the spiders.
Now, the budget is always a consideration for me, and I like to pass on discounts when I can find them. This might be a great resource for you – Find and save on Things to Do around the world
Tarcoles isn’t for most people, but it is Pura Vida at its finest.
The unassuming (sleepy) little town of Tarcoles lies in the North Puntarenas area of Costa Rica. One of the most charming things about this location is how close it is to wildlife, both wet rainforest and dry rainforest, and close to Jaco’s beaches.
Tarcoles consists of a modest string of houses set alongside a series of dirt roads. This quiet little town and its surrounding area are mainly visited by bird watchers and hikers. The Rio Tarcoles mudflats lie just beyond the village, offering birding opportunities, hiking trails, and one of the tallest waterfalls in the country. Birders – I will get to you in a minute, and you are guaranteed to enjoy it.
Most tourists on this side of the country stay in Jaco or in the Manuel Antonio National Park area, which is likely where we will for our next Costa Rica vacation. For this trip, Tarcoles fit the bill perfectly.
The local wildlife was spectacular.
Casa Sammie had several charming features. First was the note left on the refrigerator by the owners, instructing visitors that geckos in the house are considered good luck. Casa Sammie must have been very lucky as there were several permanent gecko residents.
See the gecko over the Casa Sammie sign? This is just one of the guys that kept us company during our stay. They didn’t bother anybody and kept the insect population down.
Next were Papa Smurf, Mamacita, and Ziggy, the resident family of iguanas that sunned on the pool deck every day. We enjoyed watching their head-bobbing antics and found that the more rum we drank (hang on, there is going to be a theme here), the funnier they were. Ziggy was an absolute riot! We absolutely enjoyed our resident wildlife.
My favorite local wildlife were the scarlet macaws.
Tourists came by the busload from the cruise ships to a viewing spot a few houses away from Casa Sammie to see the scarlet macaws. All we needed to do was stretch out by the pool.
No lie. I swear.
There isn’t any exaggeration here – the macaws spent their days in the almond tree over our pool. When we weren’t watching them, they would break off a small branch, drop it on us (me), and then start playing when we looked up.
Seriously – Swear on a stack of bibles! Check out these pictures of them playing right over our heads. I was actually stretched out on my pool-side lounger taking this photo. Like who gets to do that!
Crazy cool stuff. I think Papa Joe liked the lizards on the roof sliding into the gutters too, but he would have to tell you about that.
I absolutely loved Casa Sammie – check out others’ reviews here.
So having the Casa Sammie charm was a trade-off right? City versus sleepy town? I doubt we would have scarlet macaws perform for us in the city. The macaw experience – priceless.
Other benefits of staying in Tarcoles.
Of course, there were. Jaco is an incredibly popular beach destination and was less than 30 minutes away, as well as numerous other activities in the area. If you want to be near the wildlife, rainforests, and your beach destination, Tarcoles may be the answer for your visit to Costa Rica.
The Tarcoles River runs along the outside of Tarcoles. It has the highest per capita population of American Crocodiles in the world. Crocodile tours (Jungle Crocodile Safari) were fairly inexpensive and offered knowledgeable guides. The tour goes to parts of Costa Rica tourists would never see. I was able to fill my wildlife craving in a major way on this visit to Costa Rica!
Horseback riding through the mangrove forest was also an interesting activity. Seeing how far the horse’s hooves sunk into the ground and watching the critters slither and crawl across the ground and up trees… I was happy to be on horseback to do that sightseeing.
So about that waterfall.
Manantial de Agua Viva is located close to Tarcoles. Did you ask about waterfalls?
At 200m high, it stands as one of the tallest waterfalls in Costa Rica and the view near the top is breathtaking. From the entry point at the middle point in the trail there is a steep climb down to the valley and then an even steeper trail up to the rim. To put it simply, the trail is uphill both ways. Usually, that would be an exaggeration, but not in this case.
Along the rainforest, the trail has plenty of resting points. The landscape is draped in serene beauty and you might even come across an occasional scarlet macaw or the beautiful but the oh-so-deadly poison dart frog. Papa Joe says there were snakes on the path too, but I will take his word on that – too much of the wrong kind of wildlife for me.
Don’t let any of that deter you. My advice is to take plenty of water, wear sturdy walking shoes, and dress for the tropical rainforest. We didn’t take enough water and paid a dear price for that mistake.
Wildlife and Pura Vida
Shout out for Costa Rica Nice N Easy – Gino was phenomenal! Our day with Costa Rica Nice N Easy was a full-day tour that started on Gino’s fishing boat. We sailed to a private beach where we hiked back into the rainforest where Gino taught us different bird calls (toucans really sound a little like tou-can) and monkey calls. When we were done hiking Gino showed us a primo snorkeling spot, then back to the private beach for a lunch of fresh-caught lobster.
Fresh caught grilled rock lobster never tasted so good!
Gino pointed out wildlife for us too. Toucans, several kinds of monkeys, and ant trails. Unfortunately, all the critters were just far enough away that our camera (or camera operator) didn’t get any good video. After lunch, back on the boat for a little fishing, and then a catered meal by Gino’s wife Maria for supper. A great day was had by all.
Well, maybe not such a great day for the lobster.
More wildlife the next day
Carara National Park was 3 km down the road from Tarcoles. Since we were hiking anyway, we decided to walk there. Down the international highway #1. Now I can say I’ve been on it outside the US.
This is a beautiful rainforest park with well-manicured, mostly concrete trails. We heard lots of birds and monkeys. Here’s a tip – we would have probably seen more if we had hired a guide instead of wandering around by ourselves.
But we are kind of like that. We like to wander and see things at our own speed. It is a challenge for us to see how many monkeys and birds we can identify, and after a day with Gino, we didn’t do half bad.
Ziplining was also on the agenda. Rain Forest Adventures transported us, provided narration – who knew there were dry rainforests and wet rainforests? The view above the canopy was absolutely incredible. And again, a true taste of Costa Rica wildlife and Pura Vida.
Tarcoles was a great home-base
All of these activities were within 45 minutes of Tarcoles, but the town does have its downside. Costa Rica has the reputation of having incredible beaches…
Costa Rica does, Tarcoles does not – this would not be perfect if you are yearning for a beach destination. But Manuel Antonio National Park more than made up for Tarcoles. In addition to being a great beach destination, Manuel Antonio National Park is also home to plenty of monkeys, sloths, and other wildlife. Clear blue water and a beautiful beach – as a matter of fact, our website banner uses our Manuel Antonio beach photo.
Yes, it is that good. I consider Jaco and Manuel Antonio the prime beach destinations in Costa Rica and am happy to return and check out more beach destinations if I am wrong.
More Costa Rica wildlife and Pura Vida. I think you are catching what I am throwing down here…
Costa Rica is full of contradictions
When the world economy took a hit a few years ago, building projects stopped. Just stopped. It was not unusual to see a multi-story concrete shell stand where a resort should be. Or an ornate gate with no road or property developed inside the gate. But those properties that are developed are incredibly beautiful, and the local artisans are very talented woodworkers and tile makers.
Infrastructure was not as stable as other areas of the world – we were told to not be surprised when the electricity went out. So it did, and we weren’t. The Internet was slower than what we are accustomed to but functional.
What did I really think of Costa Rica?
This story used to be called “C is for Costa Rica – the ABC’s of Travel”. Believe me, I didn’t mean “C” as in average. I meant it as in a nursing term – the necessities of life are A-airway, B-breathing, and C-circulation. You know, those things absolutely necessary to live. I see a visit to Costa Rica in a similar way. For the opportunity to experience wildlife, Pura Vida, beach destinations, and rainforests all in one destination, a visit to Costa Rica is as necessary as breathing and circulation.
Or, in more simple words, one could say the “C” here was for charming. Curious. Creative. Captivating. Oh – and carefree. Pura Vida!
Oh yeah, and Pura Vida literally translated means pure life. This really is the attitude of Ticos, the Costa Rican society. Laid back, life will just be life, r-e-l-a-x. Pura Vida is a lifestyle, not a choice, and as a lifestyle, it is somewhat intoxicating.
What lessons did we learn?
- Well, some people are allergic to certain white fish if the fish isn’t chilled immediately after being caught. Allergies that cause flu-like symptoms. Yep, that was Denise. At first, we thought it was the bottle of rum that disappeared the first night, and then again the next night. And then again in the back seat of our driver….. with no puke bags, only souvenir bags.
- Driving – we will probably try it next time, but getting the lay of the land first was a good call. We were happy to have a driver in San Jose, that would have been miserable. The deposit for rental cars was pretty expensive when we went – $1000, but it’s a deposit, so you get it back. Right…..sure.
- If you are the tourist sort that likes people around, Jaco or Manuel Antonio are better choices. Jaco is famous for its beach destinations and surfing. Manuel Antonio was larger and busier than Jaco but seems to also have more wildlife. Both were safe and accommodating for travelers.
- Do your research before going. I would have been better prepared to carry water when hiking, and we probably wouldn’t have stayed at Casa Sammie. Here is a great resource for travel planning tips.
What else?
The sunsets were amazing. The sunrises were awesome. Rum was incredible. The wildlife was unbelievable. All these are VERY nice words for “amazing”.
In other words, I think Costa Rica can be summarized very simply. The country is amazing.
I think half of the population is ex-pats. The country treats visitors well enough that visitors want to stay or come back for extended periods. I live by my words. We have visited twice by now, and are seriously considering another visit. Costa Rica is THAT good.
Is Costa Rica Worth Visiting?
If you like the tropics. Wildlife and Pura Vida. Fresh seafood. Beach destinations. If you like to blind the groundskeeper while skinny-dipping. Go. Just go. The country is incredible and truly an experience that can’t be described in words, it just has to be experienced.
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