Visiting Costa Rica
Goodbye snow and cold!:
For ten days anyway. Next week I am heading to Costa Rica! It is somewhere I have always wanted to visit. We started planning this trip a year ago with another couple. I can’t believe it is only one week away!
For the first 3 nights, we are staying in the capital of Costa Rica, San Jose at the Xandari Resort and Spa. We decided luxury would be best :) :
Can’t wait! Then comes the adventurous part. First we take a puddle jumper, (small aircraft), to a boat that will take us to our tree house for the week! We are staying at the Copa De Arbol Beach and Rainforest Resort:
Copa De Arbol Beach and Rainforest Resort is a luxury beachfront eco-resort set among 70 acres of pristine rainforest reserve. We are located in Southern Pacific Costa Rica on the Osa Peninsula, perfectly situated between Drake Bay and the Corcovado National Park in an area known as “Caletas” (small coves). This area of the Osa Peninsula is accessible by boat only and is one of the most remote and untouched places on Costa Rica’s entire Pacific coastline. The luxurious Drake Bay resort sit near the ocean, immersed in the rainforest for an experience you won't forget.
During your stay, you will be surrounded by the diverse melody of the tropical rainforest and peaceful rhythm of the ocean. White-faced monkeys swing from the trees while toucans and scarlet macaws circle overhead. Endless small coves and beaches, fresh-water lagoons, and miles of hiking trails that wind through the rainforest make this the perfect spot to simply relax all day or embark on an eco-adventure experience second to none.
One of our day trips we are taking is to Corcovado National Park. Established in 1975, the 105,000 acre Corcovado National Park is widely considered the “crown jewel” in Costa Rica’s extensive system of national parks and biological reserves. With13 different types of ecosystems in such close proximity supporting an abundant and stunning variety of wildlife, it has been named by National Geographic "the most biologically intense place on Earth”, and has been featured in numerous wildlife and nature shows and documentaries. Corcovado containing one of the few remaining virgin, coastal, tropical lowland rain forests in existence, is an unrivaled, species-rich, botanist’s and biologist’s dream, and a keystone for science, education and ecotourism, attracting scientists and researchers from all over the world.
We will be with a guide of course! Hikers may come across include endangered and iconic species such as the Baird’s tapir, jaguar, puma, scarlet macaw, and squirrel monkey, as well as toucans, howler monkeys, two-toed and three-toed sloths, agoutis, giant anteaters, black hawks, spectacled owls, hummingbirds, golden-orb spiders, numerous types of butterflies, coatimundis, spider monkeys, capuchin monkeys, crocodiles, peccaries (wild pigs), 4 species of turtles (green, Ridley, hawksbill and leatherback), snakes, lizards, and insects. If you’re lucky, and depending on the season, you may even see dolphins and/or humpback whales during the spectacular boat rides along the coastline to and from the park.Wow! So excited! I can’t wait to share pictures when I get back. Has anyone been to Costa Rica? Any hints or tips? Here is a link if you would like to see more pictures of the resort here and the Corcovado National Park here.