By Jim Moerschel

Costa Rica is a land of so much diversity that one trip to this tiny country
Is not sufficient for the photographer to capture all of the essence of its culture,
Wildlife, national parks and its people.
Our greatest concern when planning our trip was whether it was a good idea to
Rent a car and do the driving and guiding by ourselves. Many guide books warn of
Very poor roads with huge potholes and there are hardly any sign posts throughout
the country. Despite all these warnings the yearning to be able to have the freedom

To stop and shoot pictures when we wanted outweighed the “tour bus” system.
There are very few, if any, automatic shift cars here, so I spent 10 minutes getting
some practice on a side street before entering the main highway just outside
The airport in San Jose. Then it was off into the mountains and the adventure began.
Our first hotel was the beautiful Buena Vista Hotel, situated high up on a cliff
overlooking the central valley. What a view!! This hotel is a great place for the
beginning and the end of a tour of Costa Rica. It is close enough to the airport,
Yet up into the countryside away from hustle and bustle.
From here we spent a day touring and visited Poas Volcano, a butterfly farm
And the National zoo. Poas Volcano is active and the lookout gives
the viewer a great spot to capture awide-angle scenic. The steam given off may one

minute obscure the view, but with patience it will subside.
Besides some birds, you will find a stunted cloud forest which has a nature trail through it.
This region around the town of Alajuela gives the traveler a nice “jumping off”
Place to get used to driving and learning about Costa Rica.
The roads in this area near San jose are quite well maintained even by American standards and we had no
Problem getting around. We did not go into the city of San Jose
though due to traffic congestion and no road signs, so it is very easy to get lost.
Four days later we headed up into the mountains past the town of San Roman.

 
Andre, the manager at Buena vista drew us up a map and gave good
directions using landmarks for turns (no street signs) and we made the long drive to our next
Lodge. The Villa Blanca lodge is located right in the cloudforest and is a great place
for bird watching and photography. I spent several hours at the hummingbird feeders
that are placed in the forest behind the main building. The tiny birds are
Here in full force and there seems top be non stop activity of several species of these

 
Shimmering creatures.
The lodge also places fruit onto wooden trays to encourage many different species of
birds in and Toucans are always a favorite to see. There is a nice church

On the grounds plus horses grazing in fields nearby. The scenery is great here too.
There are several small villages to visit and we stopped at various crafts stores

 
To purchase a few craft items and sip a chilled fruit drink. The roads in the back country
did have some large potholes, but they are easily avoided since there are
Very few cars away from the city. The primary roads are black-topped so rain
Is not a problem for getting stuck, but some jungle roads are dirt and here if it pours a
vehicle may get bogged down. We were traveling in March, the dry season

So we had very little rain in the regions we were driving.
Other areas of interest in this region would include Lake Arenal, where wind
Surfers from all over the globe come for excellent conditions for their sport and
Not far away is the Arenal volcano that can be viewed nicely from Arenal Lodge.
Tabacon Hot springs resort Spa is a great place to relax for a day in the thermal pools
and a must is to sit beneath a waterfall in one of the natural streams that flow through the
property and feel the hot water on your back. This water comes directly from
the volcano “pre heated.” Very relaxing.
Along the road there were lots of wildlife to see and the Coatis will jump out

 
Near the side of the road and beg for food. We had some snack crackers and where
There is one coati there are many. Soon we were surrounded by these long tailed
Critters that resemble raccoons. They were very
willing photo subjects aslong as we kept up the reward.
Most of the lodges were set amidst either rainforests, cloud forests, mountains,
Lowlands or dense jungle and wild creatures were easily seen and even
photographed right on the grounds or nearby.
From Arenal we ventured south toward Manuel Antonio National Park near
The tiny seaside village of Quepos. This is one of Costa Rica’s most well known and most visited
National Park. It is best to visit here during the week as the beach can become
very crowded on weekends. We spent 4 nights at Villa Teca lodge nestled

Onto a hillside right in the jungle. The gardens of this small, family owned hotel
Are lush and beautiful, luring lots of birds, monkeys and sloths to pay a visit.

The owner sets out bananas to feed the Squirrel monkeys and white
faced monkeys that migrate through each day heading down into the rainforest
of the national park and back again to their nesting areas.
This lodge has two nice swimming pools to cool off in after hiking the trails of the forest.

The park itself is a gem. The forest covers the hillside right down
to some of the most beautiful beaches anywhere. The water is great. Bring a bathing suit,
Snacks, drinks and don’t forget the camera. Here you can lounge on the beach,
Swim in the ocean, and then walk 50 feet back and you are
swallowed up in the jungle. We saw White faced monkeys here that follow the hikers around hoping for

A snack. Bring a few bananas with you and you will have lots of little friends
hanging with you all day. Just don’t make the mistake of leaving your camera bag
Unattended or else you’ll see your $900 camera
making its way through the canopy
Of the forest.
Black Iguanas are easily seen here too. I was fortunate to have one
come out into the open and he posed for just afew seconds before bolting beneath a log. Tiny

Bats were found on the side of a tree and were almost invisible to the naked eye.
Lots Of smaller lizards scampered around the forest floor as we
hiked the trails, while birds fluttered above in the tree canopy.
Just North of Quepos is the Targoles River, where there is a large bridge.
We parked our car just past the bridge and walked back onto the span.
Below us were several huge crocodiles, some cruising the river and several basking on shore.

I used a long telephoto with a tele converter to make a decent enlarged image. The
Tripod was necessary for this shot. There is a boat tour from this town where one
Can get lots of close shots of the crocs from the boat.
Following our 4 nights at Villa Tec lodge, we were to head 20 miles
further south to the town of Dominical. Our lodge would be The
jungle lodge Villas Rio Mar. Set on the banks of the Baru River
and only 500 yards from the beach this lodge is surrounded by thick jungle.
The lodge resembles a native village with thatched roofed cabanas nestled
in tropical gardens. The restaurant is a huge thatched building made of local
hardwoods and has an open aired ambiance where
We were able to look oput into the gardens while eating. The huge freeform pool

  
Was a real treat to cool off after jungle activities.
But first we had to get there. The coast road from Quepos to Dominical was
Mostly unpaved when we were there in 2002. Everyone thought we were crazy to
Drive this coast road as it is bumpy, gravel in places and clay that can turn to mush
If it rains. This was the dry season and the day was bright and sunny so we took
On the adventure head on. What we didn’t know was that there are 31 small
Bridges that cross creeks and some larger streams along the way.
We found the road entrance just north of the town of Quepos, opposite of
The direction we were going and the road passed the small airport and then we

Found ourselves driving through dense jungle. Then the paved road quickly ended
And it was gravel and dirt the rest of the way.
There were several small villages along the way and many old buildings

Typical of plantation life a century ago. They were still in use today.
At the first bridge we stopped and I got out to inspect the small wooden and iron span. The
Creek was about 50 feet wide, but the bridge was missing a few boards. Just then
A car came from the other direction and crossed in first gear sending one of the planks flying.
If he made it we could and just before getting back in the car I read the sign
Next to the creek. It read “Beware of Crocodiles.” Setting the gear shift into first
Gear we carefully made the crossing. Indiana Jones would be proud.

30 bridges later our dust covered car crossed the Baru River and we entered
the grounds of Villas Rio Mar. The free form pool was fantastic and
we jumped right in after getting our thatched roofed cabana.
Over the next 6 days we took a tour in the jungle that had a series of
rope bridges strung through the towering forest canopy. At times we were crossing

The jungle gorges 150 feet up on a swaying cable walkway. This gave us a different
Perspective of the tropical forest and lots of great pictures too.

Here we saw Toucans quite frequently, Sloths hiding in treetops, crocodiles in
The Baru river, monkeys, hummingbirds and plenty of Butterflies
to name a few. We hired a guide by the name of Pedro, who took us deep
into the jungle one morning. We saw lots of birds, several lizards
and he found a termitenest attached to the branch of a small tree. The trees

in the tropical rainforests form huge buttress roots
because theirfeeder roots don’t go deep here. All of the forest

nutrients are within a few inches of the surface and the huge buttress roots are
Essential to keep the tall trees from toppling over.
On a night jungle walk during the week we saw the creatures of the night.
Lots of tree frogs, a colony of leaf cutter ants carrying their booty back home,
and several snakes. One was the feared Fer de
Lance, one of the most toxic snakes in the world. The night walk was an exciting
highlight of the trip and enriched our jungle experience.
Costa Rica is a wonderful and exciting place to visit. If anyone is not
comfortable in driving around the country in a rented car, then a tour company

Excursion would be right for them. I could say that Orbit travel company in
San Jose, Costa Rica has a bus plan that takes travelers to a lodge then
after a few days would come and take them to another lodge of their choice. Check this out by
Typing in Costa Rica Lodging Orbit for a internet search. This will take you to the
Orbit Travel Network website. Check out their lodging, busing and restaurant tips.