A Spontaneous Adventure
Posted on 12/6/2022 12:00:00 AM in Traveler Spotlight
As a bird lover, Elena spotted several new species in Costa Rica, including several types of colorful hummingbirds.
By Elena Cunningham, 16-time traveler & 6-time Vacation Ambassador from Palm Coast, FL
My first trip to Costa Rica happened almost by accident. Some things had changed in my life and it felt like just the right time to plan something new and exciting. I decided to check out O.A.T.’s Last Minute Deals. Never having done this before, I wanted to see if something grabbed my attention. Well, something did indeed!
I saw O.A.T.’s Last Minute Deal on Costa Rica: Natural Parks & Tropical Forests trip. The itinerary looked fabulous and the price was certainly right, so I called right then and there to speak with an O.A.T. representative for more details. After looking over the itinerary in more detail, I decided that very day to sign up! When the rep told me there were just 39 days until departure, I caught my breath. Heavens! What had I done? I hadn’t done anything this impulsive before.
While I was very excited, I wondered if I would wake up the next morning and think that I had been too impulsive. Maybe I made a mistake. Nah! Nope! I woke up feeling even more excited. I was going on a brand new adventure! Hooray! Turns out I was very happy about my decision. And, what a wonderful decision it turned out to be. The trip was one of the best I have taken. I loved every minute.
Elena, with Arenal Volcano in the background.
For me, the adventure started soon after I arrived in San Jose. Right at my hotel, I began seeing beautiful birds in the trees. While I waited for others to arrive and for our first meeting, I was watching the local birds—all new to me—and feeling so excited to be in Costa Rica for the first time. The group met in the hotel lobby later that day and everyone seemed really nice. We had our first group meeting the next morning and introduced ourselves to one another. There were 11 fellow adventurers, ready and anxious to embark on our new adventure.
As we left San Jose headed for the mountains, we had no idea about the many wonderful things we would soon be seeing. I was honestly amazed every day at the wildlife and birds we encountered. We saw several sloths, both two-toed and three-toed, and in the most unexpected places! One sloth was actually living in a tree in the parking lot of a grocery store where we stopped to get a few things. Another was living in a tree alongside a road we were traveling on. Somehow, our driver spotted it. He was an amazing person! He could drive and spot birds and wildlife at the same time. We were constantly amazed at his ability to do this.
We saw coatimundi, agouti, raccoons, white-faced Capuchin, and Howler monkeys. There was also an abundance of reptiles to be seen. While taking a boat excursion, we observed caimans and beautiful lime green basilisks. At various other places, we saw iguanas and one afternoon, we walked out onto a bridge which overlooked a river teeming with American Crocodiles. Some were huge! That was so unexpected!
And, I haven't even gotten to the birds we saw yet! I have always wanted to see macaws in the wild and I actually got to see them a couple of times on this trip. What an absolute thrill it was! At our first lodge there was a huge tree that stood out alone where a scarlet macaw lived. This was right behind our rooms! I would hear him at various times of the day and knew when he was there. It was so exciting to listen to his loud squawk! There was no mistaking that voice. We also happened to see two other macaws, probably a pair, sitting in a tree in close proximity to the lodge. It was also here that I saw the quintessential toucan, the one with the huge yellow beak. Another enormous thrill for this birder! What a gorgeous place it was! In fact, every lodge we stayed in was set among spectacular grounds and scenery. I was so impressed with the accommodations on this trip. You could see birds and wildlife right from the lodge public areas or even your room.
While in the Monteverde Cloud Forest, we saw our first quetzals. Again, so totally exciting! Especially knowing how difficult they are to find and see. We watched for quite some time as this gorgeous couple took turns hollowing out a nest in an old, dead tree. How lucky were we? And, we had no idea then that these would not even be the only quetzals we would see! We watched and photographed another very cooperative one for a very long time on the grounds of yet another lodge where we stayed. Were we lucky or what?
Aside from the quetzals and toucans, there were so many other gorgeous, colorful birds everywhere we went. And if you are a hummingbird lover, this trip is definitely for you. There were hummingbirds everywhere. Amazing colors in their feathers: deep, royal purple, bright turquoise, emerald green, brilliant red. I could not take enough photos of them. Depending upon the light, their colors would shine like iridescent jewels. I was completely mesmerized by them all.
While we were walking in Manuel Antonio Park, we encountered some white-faced capuchin monkeys, but they were a bit shy, and taking decent photos was problematic. But, little did we know that once we were down at the beach, all the wild creatures would be right there, trying to steal belongings from the beach goers. No shy critters here! We were all able to get close up photos of the capuchins as they hung out in the trees right beside the picnic tables. Then there was the pack of raccoons that ran through the beach area looking for food. These four young raccoons acted like they owned the place.
Up in a tree above the picnic tables was yet another sloth! And roaming around in the underbrush, a coatimundi and an agouti—wow! We hit the wildlife jackpot here! Several of us did not go into the water while we were there and thoroughly enjoyed just observing all the resident wildlife and taking pictures. It was a beautiful beach with turquoise blue waters, fine, white sand, and tropical flora. A true paradise!
One of my favorite activities on this trip was traversing the hanging bridges. We did this in the Monteverde Cloud Forest and it was thrilling! The bridges are high enough off the ground that you can look over into the tops of some of the trees and down into others. For most of the bridges, I could not see to the ground below. This was mostly due to the layers of trees. There were perhaps seven bridges, varying in length and height. For example, Bridge 5 was 774 feet long and 164 feet high! This was certainly one of the highlights of my trip. Walking across those bridges, being up in the trees, and looking right into tree tops was a true adventure.
Of course, there were so many memorable and exciting moments on this trip that it is difficult to list them all. Suffice it to say that it was a fabulous, incredible adventure, and I was honestly amazed at the amount of wildlife/birds we saw. For lovers of all kinds of nature, it is definitely worth taking.
Discover Costa Rica’s unforgettable wildlife with O.A.T. during our Costa Rica: Natural Parks & Tropical Forests adventure.
