It’s our last day in Monteverde and this means our Costa Rican adventure is coming to a close. We fly to Canada in 3 days and we cannot wait. Costa Rica has been an experience. We have travelled Coast to Coast, experienced a variety of incredible native wildlife, explored various National parks, punched a raccoon in the face (accidently), travelled on more public busses than I care to share, met some awesome couples to share our journey with and cooked the entire way keeping budget friendly. It’s been a wild ride.

Today was really a day of not doing a whole heap. We got up this morning and were treated to chocolate chip pancakes and fruit – my abso fav breaky here and from there we worked, packed, tidied up and then wanted to get one last dose of wildlife in before heading back to San Jose tomorrow.
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We have read about the frog parks in Monteverde and to be honest the reviews are a maxed bag ranging from it was ‘the best experience of my life’ to ‘I’d rather die than go there again’… we were torn as we do like reading reviews before we go anywhere. However, I wanted to see the frogs so we opted for the ‘Selvatura Reptile & Amphibian Exhibition’ as this one looked slightly newer and a bit more professional as after asking, the creatures are cared for and monitored by the permanent onsite biologist.

It costs $16USD pp to get in which is pricey, but I was still keen and after cooking for 3 weeks straight to save money, we deserve to see the frogs! A bit about the park – it includes frogs, lizards, geckos, snakes and many other kinds of reptiles and amphibians from more than 30 different species found throughout Costa Rica and is the only Herpetarium…(I had no idea what it meant but later found out it’s and exhibition of both reptiles and amphibians together) in the area.
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It’s small, hot, humid BUT enjoyable. It doesn’t take long at all and you can use the same day ticket in the evening to visit after dark when most of the wildlife appears as they are all nocturnal. I managed to snap some epic shots of the poison arrow frogs, snakes, lizards but during the day no luck on the red eyed tree frog, which means we had to return in the evening! 

The night tour was epic! We saw a lot and the vipers especially were really active...AND...I got to see my tree frog! However, it’s not for everyone, I know this, but for us on a windy rainy day in the forest it was a great way to pass some time and learn some new and interesting facts about the native wildlife here. As we are heading back to San Jose tomorrow for 3 nights, I will be taking a break from the blog until Canada and until I have something semi-interesting to wrote about, so for now enjoy the wildlife spam below and chat soon!

I will start off by saying, today was awesome! Waking up early, getting some yoga in, a beautiful breakfast made by our lovely host Johanna, a stunning rainbow overlooking the forest and then with our newest couple friends we decided to go and explore the ‘Santa Elena Cloud forest’.

We have read in many blogs that the Monteverde cloud forest is FULL of tour groups and very busy compared to Santa Elena bur the only real differences are the price (Monteverde being more expensive) and the fact they have a cloud bridge which brings with it an influx of tourists. Not being a fan of tourists we opted for the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve.
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The Santa Elena Cloud Forest is actually higher in elevation than the other at a whopping 1600 meters but also has at least 12kms of hiking trails which, for us is exactly what we love to do. Getting there was easy as we had a car and it takes about 20minutes from town as the roads are awful. From there you park up, pay the entrance fee of $16USD pp or $12USD if you are a student, grab a map and off you go.

​Immediately, we were amazed with how green, lush and vibrant this forest was. It is so dense and filled with mysterious mist and cloud that it was truly stunning from the get-go. We opted to do the 2 main tracks in the reserve – Cano Negro (4.6kms) and Encantado (3.6kms). Both trails are wonderful, in the sense that the forest is overwhelmingly beautiful, and we stopped a lot along the way to experience the serenity and peacefulness…and to take a whole heap of epic pics!

Now, it is muddy and as it is a cloud forest it is constantly wet as you are walking primarily through clouds and mist. We all wore closed toed shoes, has ponchos/waterproof jackets and a good amount of drinking water and even though its cold, you can pick up a sweat if trekking the larger routes.
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We were lucky enough to see a bunch of spider monkeys on the Encantado trail which was awesome, but apart from that not much other wildlife. However, we didn’t mind as the past few weeks/months we have been SPOILT with the amount of incredible nature we have seen and experienced.

​Overall, we loved this reserve – I personally found it quite expensive as essentially it is a walk in a forest for $16 USD pp BUT the scenery blew my mind and the sheer density and lush greenery made it worth the $$. 

​I can hardly believe it, we are nearly at day 120 and have reached the last location on our Costa Rica Adventure. It’s crazy how fast time has flown but also incredible to look back at all the memories that we have made in this fantastic adventure so far.
We left Manuel Antonio via ‘Expressbus’ which cost $49USD pp and takes about 4 hours – the alternative was 7 hours and 4 public busses, so we chose to spend the extra as I couldn’t deal with 4 publics and the heat! It was great ans as you can see below, Leo had HEAPS of room to spread out in!
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Upon arrival here, we checked in to ‘Casa Linda Vista’ – it’s a small Air B n B pretty close to the heart of town and is lovely. There are three rooms I think but a good-sized kitchen and nice bathroom etc, so we are fairly happy and at $35NZD per night with breakfast – it’s a great deal. 

Now, we have been to MANY cloud forests on this trip, but we did want to explore both coasts and the forest while in Costa Rica, so here we are. Lonely planet describes Monteverde as, ‘Strung between two lovingly preserved cloud forests, this slim corridor of civilization consists of the Tico village of Santa Elena and the Quaker settlement of Monteverde, each with an eponymous cloud forest reserve. The cloud forests are premier destinations for everyone from budget backpackers to well-heeled retirees’. We arrived at night so only managed to see the supermarket and cook a delicious backpacker cheapo meal before passing out.

​This morning we had breaky at 7am which was pancakes and fresh fruit – OMG, Johanna our host knows how to cook up a good pancake! She also serves these with chocolate chips and peanut butter…I could have kissed her! From there we made our way to ‘100% Aventura’ the adrenaline park for some canopy zip lining above the clouds. We have done so many canopy tours and zip lines over the years, but this one stood out as it was for 1 very VERY high up, but also, we were able to do the ‘superman/woman’ which was, emm... new. (I definitely we a little/ a lottle scared)

​This is where you literally superman pose through the clouds, with the biggest zip line being over 1mile long!! It was pretty scary to be honest. Between that and rappelling down massive trees, we had a wonderful time and to top it off was a mega Tarzan swing at the end which Leo of course jumped at the chance…and I did not.

Next on the adventure list was a visit to the ‘giant Ficus tree’ located about 2km’s from where we are staying. Essentially, it is a large tree that you can climb inside and the view from the top overlooks MonteVerde. The activity itself is free and we met an awesome couple at our accommodation, so we all set off on a mission to climb the tree. So, a bit about Ficus Trees. They are also called “strangler trees’’, where they grow next to a host tree and then take over it. The other tree dies, and you’re left with vine-looking branches on the outside and a hollow inside – totally unique experience and highly recommend it.

​Man, we have had one hell of an awesome first day here. The weather stayed great primarily for the most part and the sunset tonight was out of this world good!

We couldn’t come this far without venturing to the National park. This National Park has been described as having ‘one of the top beaches in the world’ as well as being the most visited due to its varied fauna with ‘109 species of mammals and 184 of birds’. Pretty much tropical paradise so we were itching to go!
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The National park is open Tuesday- Sunday 7 AM to 4 PM and the entrance fee is $16USD. There are buses that run from Quepos to the national park entrance all day long and they make stops on the hill, which is super handy even though the couple at our accomo gave us a lift (I would recommend the bus over cars anytime though). The bus costs 340 colones pp and you can get off at the last stop and walk to the park entrance. If you drive, be prepared to be stopped by HUNDREDS of asshole guys pretending they work for the park and have great places to park your car for $20NZD a day – these guys are SCAMMERS…just drive straight past them and try and get a space at the Hotel near the park. The parking rates are much cheaper and safer for your vehicle.

​Now, to the park – we decided despite the heat, and our obsession with hiking to do every single trail in the park itself. We may as well as we are here for 1 day and the weather was pretty good. The park itself is small and without a guide we still managed to see 3 types of monkeys – Squirrel, Howler and Capuchin, agouti’s, a curious coati, raccoons (funny story to follow), iguanas and so many crabs. As much as a guide is great, we personally saw HEAPS without one.

​After all the hiking and wildlife spotting, we went beach hopping. The two main beaches inside the park, Espadilla Sur Beach and Manuel Antonio Beach are about a 30-minute hike from the main entrance of the park. Playa Manuel Antonio is best known for its spectacular views, but if you’re looking to escape the vast floods of tourists, venture a bit further down the main trail to Playa Espadilla Sur where we spent the majority of the afternoon. Highly recommend option 2! Much nicer beach, less people, great to swim and heaps of iguanas!

​On Manuel Antonio beach we saw so many Capuchin monkeys and how playful/ aggressive they get as they stole a child’s sandwich right out his hand – hilarious but the wee boy was devastated. Leo then went for a swim and this is when the raccoon story happened. I was sat eating my sandwich and next minute a raccoon hopped over the fence and into Leo’s bag! Leo watched the whole time from the sea as many people were shouting ‘there’s a raccoon in your bag’…I didn’t know what to do as I didn’t want it to bite me…so, naturally I hit it. Right in the face. With my bag. Essentially, today I punched a raccoon. Another phrase I never thought I would say.

​Overall, cracking day! The park itself, I would rate a 7/10 as Cahuita was a million times better as for us personally, the vendors and sheer overcrowding ruined it to an extent. It is still beautiful and scenery wise - awe inspiring but over-touristy for sure!

BUT, if you are here, definitely go to tick it off the list.

When we read up on Manuel Antonio, we read there was not just the National park to explore, but the surrounding areas are beautiful, full of wildlife, stunning walks, waterfalls and regional parks…what they didn’t say is that to get to these you need a car!!

However, at our accommodation we met a lovely couple who had a car and when Leo suggested the ‘Nauyaca waterfall’ they seemed keen so MISSION ACCOMPLISHED – we had a ride and some new friends.
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Situated about 45 mins South of Manuel Antonio lies the Nauyaca waterfall which is arguably one of the best waterfalls in Costa Rica. Upon arrival at the office you sign in, pay the entry fee and decide how you would like to face the falls walk. We of course walked as we have legs, but I have added the options below as there are three ways to get to the waterfall from the office. You can hike, go on a truck or go horseback riding.

• The entrance fee for the waterfalls is $9 USD per person (6800colons), and 1700colons for the car if you would like to park at their car-park (DO IT…saves 2kms of walks extremely rough/steep terrain on a dirt road)
• The horseback riding tour is $70 per person and you need to make reservations beforehand.
• The 4×4 truck is $28 per person and they have schedules at 7 AM, 9 AM, 10 AM, 11 AM and 12 PM. They bring you back two hours after you arrive at the waterfall. We saw these passing with happy tourists, but we would total recommend walking as its 4km in and out (8kms round trip)

The walk itself is amazing, it’s beautiful, shaded in most parts and easy if you are moderately fit. It’s roasting hot however regardless as you are in Costa Rica so be prepared to sweat your body weight and be a drippy mess by the time you arrive. The walk took us 45 minutes and when we got there, OH MY GOD, this waterfall is impressive!

There are 2 areas of falls, #1 and #2, with number 1 being more for awe inspiring photography and number 2 being the one you can swim in. Even though we were hot, sweaty messes we opted for number 1 as we knew that it would be the quieter of both upon arrival. We were right! Only 1 other family was there so we had the falls practically to ourselves to take some awesome photos before making the descent down to the second set of falls.
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The second waterfall has a massive pool for swimming and was PACKED when we got there, but it was still really refreshing to hop in after the sweat fest we had just experienced. Leo managed to climb up the waterfall and bomb in from about 15ft as well so that was an experience – which I wouldn’t recommend to everybody, but he loved it. 

SIDE NOTE
In the afternoon we wanted to check out an activity in town called the ‘zip coaster’ which can be seen here. Many have written this is an accident waiting to happen…but we loved it. Yes, it’s scary and a little dangerous but for $12USD pp…what a bargain!
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From there we went to watch the sunset and Barbaroja which I highly recommend! It has a great 2 4 1 happy hour and even though the prices are a little expensive, for 1 drink and great views it was totally worth it.

​In my last post I mentioned that I thought we may enjoy it here, well after sleeping like babies and waking up at 5am so I could do some early morning yoga and get in some work hours, I can say I LOVE IT HERE! We have a deck overlooking the jungle with weights, a TRX and yoga mats so getting in some early morning exercise really made my day.

From there we made the call not to hit the National park today as it’s the weekend and overcrowded but instead do a 6km loop of the nearby beaches, Biesanz and Espadilla. Our host Fernando wass luckily leaving just as we were so offered us a lift to the beach which would cut out al least 2km walking in the heat, so we jumped aboard that offer. He mentioned a fantastic hotel by the beach called ‘Shana’ which is WAY to expensive for backpackers like us, but he said if we bought a drink then we can use their facilities as well as their private track to the beach. 

Well we walked in, pretended we were staying there and before you know it we were sat in the back of a golf cart being driven to the start of the walking trail. HAHA, we couldn’t believe it, but just went with it, because WHY NOT? Arriving at the beach we were taken aback with how small the area of beach itself was and the amount of deck chairs already lined up ready for rent. However, we found a great shady spot, dropped our stuff, made a picnic and had fun splashing around and getting hit by the crashing waves. Overall, we would give this beach a 7/10.
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Next, we headed back up to our ‘hotel’ and kept walking to where you can turn to start the trek to the next beach. I should mention as I have never read this in any blogs, but Manuel Antonio is SO STEEP and full of hills. The town itself is situated about 2km up from the beach so be prepared to walk a lot unless you want to pay for transport.

​We arrived about 40minutes later, a little more sweaty and gross than I would have liked, but it was worth the walk. Espadilla beach is the largest public beach here and it was pretty busy but being large we still managed a peaceful walk along the beach and found a spot to have a quick half hour tanning sesh before heading home for lunch (and before the afternoon rain hit…the joys of traveling in rainy season). Loved this beach but it was packed and had quite a lot of vendors which I hate so I would give this beach a 6/10 overall, but 8/10 for being simply stunning!

​We had planned a serene sunset walk tonight to grab a beer and reminisce about our wonderful day, but the rain hit around 4pm and MY GOD did it hit. It didn’t stop until 7pm and by that time it was dark, so we made use of Netflix and my wonderful cheap as chips cooking and had a night in.

After a 5-hour bus journey back to San Jose, a dickhead taxi driver who ripped us off and got the full force of my rage, a bitterly average room in Hotel Otoya…I was ready to explode. We loved Puerto Viejo and were gutted to leave but at the same time I was secretly excited to get back to my fav hotel in San Jose, eat beautiful food and have a night of relaxing before heading to Manuel Antonio.

However, arriving in SJ, it was raining so we hopped in a cab for the 1.6km ride which should have cost no more than a few bucks. To our surprise the ASSHOLE WEASEL of a driver told us the roads were ‘closed’ so we had to go an alternative way. WELL…after hiding the meter and then attempting to charge us $15NZD upon arrival I blew up. Leo took a photo of his regi plate and then the driver blew up, shouting some pish about calling the cops etc etc… so we had a huge argument on the street and after many words and a highly pissed off Scottish chick, he dropped the price to $10NZD…which is still way more than expected but I was too over it to argue any more.

After he disapeared, we checked into our room and another surprise was they put us in the shittest tiniest room in the hotel that was noisy, cramped and no TV. NOPE…just nope. I complained and to our surprise we got moved to a much nicer room and all was well again in the world. I was so over it, but then we sat down to dinner and it was fantastic! I love the food at Café Otoya and this time round they really made an effort (probably to reduce the chance of a terrible review by me) but it was an awesome way to finish the night.

​In the morning after a great sleep, awesome breaky, we hopped in an UBER (highly recommend) and made our way to Tracopa bus terminal for our midday bus to Manuel Antonio. $12NZD a ticket and 3 hours later we arrived in the small town of MA. Manuel Antonio is one of the most popular destinations in Costa Rica due to its National park, teaming wildlife and beautiful beaches.  Mum and dad made it here a few months back (before dad snapped his collar bone and was flown home) but before the chaos, they seemed to like it so we had to check it out. 

​So far we love it. We checked into our accommodation, another Air B n B stunner- Jungle Cabanas which is costing us $38NZD a night for out own little room in a jungle lodge. It’s brilliant, the room is great, facilities are fab and there is a yoga station, weights and a full kitchen to use. I am in heaven. 

​We explored the town for 1 hour after arriving to get our bearings and saw a sloth, spider and Capuchin monkeys, a whole heap of toucans, hummingbirds and that was on the road to town! I reckon we will really enjoy this place, but I will keep you updated! Right now, I need sleep and a glass of wine!

Today, the words ‘’There’s a racoon on the beach’’ came out my mouth. We have now travelled pretty extensively across the world in the past few years, but today we can hands down say that Cahuita National parks was one of the best places we have been to.
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After a few drinks last night with friends from home we arranged that the 4 of us would make this epic mission to spend the day adventuring in the National park. Costa Rica is known for its bio-diversity, ecotourism and national parks. Staying in PV has been wonderful as it’s the perfect gateway to Cahuita National Park situated a mere 16kms North.

 It has been voted as one of the most amazing parks in the country so when we read that we knew it had to be on the list of ‘to do’s’. A bit of history for you; It was created in 1970 as a National Monument to preserve the coral reefs off the Caribbean coast, but later, the area was reformed as a national park. Currently, it relies on donations and does not charge an admission fee. Yes, we couldn’t believe it either…a free National park!
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You can easily catch the Limon bus from PV costing 860Colon (about $2NZD) which will take 30 minutes and drop you about 5minutes from the parks entrance. From there you can sign in and make your donation or simply walk on through depending on the level of wealth you are currently facing. 

​From the second we entered the park – ‘WOW’, ‘HOLY SHIT’, ‘THIS PLACE IS INCREDIBLE’ were all thrown around and justifiable so. Through the 8km track from the entrance to the main exit there is apparently a wide variety of animal life that can be seen including sloths, white faced capuchin monkeys, howler monkeys, northern tamanduas, pacas, white-nosed coatis, raccoons and agoutis. 

​Truly incredible. We also had the chance to get up close and personal with a full group of Capuchin monkeys as they thought we had food and came swinging down from the trees nearly crashing in to us multiple times. On top of all this wonderful nature, the park is teaming with beautiful places to stop and relax on the beach.

​The busiest is Playa Blanca, the first beach reached from the Kelly Creek entrance but our fav was Punta Cahuita until it became busy with other tourists, so we spent the arvo in a deserted Playa Vargas. Overall, this day was awesome, we all came back on cloud 9 (knackered) but simply amazed with the true natural beauty that Costa Rica has to offer. If I lived here, I would visit this park weekly for sure. Please put this park on your Bucket List!

As soon as we knew that Costa Rica was on the list I knew I wanted to visit the Jaguar Rescue centre! Situated only 5km’s from Puerto Viejo, The Jaguar Rescue Centre is a temporary or permanent home for ill, injured and orphaned animals. With a focus on birds, reptiles, amphibians and small primates including SLOTHS AND MONKEYS (my fav animals), the JRC aims to provide veterinary services, round-the-clock care and comfort to animals that would otherwise be unable to survive in the rainforest or the sea of the Caribbean. I had read a lot about this centre before we arrived and base don the upmost care it seems to provide to the animals I wanted to visit, 1 to see them for my selfish reason of getting close to a sloth but also to learn about the animals.

​They run 2 tours per day, a 9.30am and an 11.30am. As it was pissing it down again this morning we opted for the 11.30am tour, so we walked into town, caught the bus for 300 colons pp and 5 mins later we were at the centre. **NOTE, the busses run at weird times, so we ended up being an hour and a half early for the tour but it’s worth it to get your tickets as it’s SO BUSY! Oh…and did I mention HOT? Yes, its bloody hot here as well so bring a lot of water!

It costs $20USD pp to get into the centre and this money goes directly towards the care of the animals as it is independently owned and operated by a couple and their love for wildlife. The primary goal of the JRC is to rehabilitate animals and reintroduce them back into their native habitats. Monkeys, birds, sloths, snakes and more are brought to the JRC, and treated by professional veterinarians, caregivers and a hard-working team of staff and volunteers.
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We discovered that the main cause of sloth death here is by electrocution from the power lines, dog attacks and then being hit by cars crossing the road. What was so sad to hear was that sloths can actually die from stress alone, so it is super important not to be a dick and try and take selfies with them. They don’t move fast so being close to a human terrifies the shit out of them. 

Some of the other wildlife we got to learn about was their wild cats, monkey, crocodile and bird programme, but for me the highlight was of course the sloths and the CUDDLE PUDDLE of babies we got to meet. Of course, we weren’t allowed to touch them or even get close but my god they are cute!

​On the way out, the centre we spoke to our guide Luna who is a volunteer there, she said it’s the best job she has ever has an I believe her! The centre accepts volunteers of any age over 18 for a minimum of 4 weeks commitment and each Monday have new volunteers join the gang. I have added the link below if this sounds like an experience you would like to get involved in: http://www.jaguarrescue.foundation/volunteering/

OMG I nearly forgot, Leo’s highlight of the day and 1 of mine for sure was spotting this little poison arrow frog, I couldn’t believe how tiny they were but they were on out list of bucket list animals to spot in Costa Rica so we were stoked!​
Overall, apart from it being very busy and pretty expensive we highly rate this centre. It’s a fantastic job these guys do in order to help save and protect the local wildlife and I’m glad our money goes directly into helping the work they do.

After the HOTTEST bus journey of our lives we made it to Puerto Viejo and checked into our ‘Hidden jungle beach house’. Getting here was a dream, minus the heat, we left Hotel Otoya and hopped in an Uber to MEPE Bus terminal where we caught the local bus heading to PV. It takes 4.5 hours and costs around $15NZD pp which is much cheaper than the private shuttle which will skin you $75NZD each!
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As much as it was super hot, the bus was comfortable, and we got here on time, so I would highly recommend this option if you are looking to save some $$. Back to our accommodation…it is amazing! It is by far the most unique yet as it is the third floor of a tree-house with our own balcony in a garden of sloths, racoons and a whole heap of ‘jump for joy’ wildlife. I clearly picked this one for the wildlife alone and I am glad we did. It’s costing around $60NZD per night but Amy our super host is incredible. She has the kitchen stocked with everything we need to cook and there is a shit ton of snacks to help ourselves too throughout the day. If you are coming this way, book this place!

Since we have opted to cook the entire 5 nights we are here I won’t have any amazing food pictures to show for ‘PV’ so I am hoping this time round the location speaks for itself. With this said, I am STOKED to be back in the kitchen again and making us both healthy, cheap meals and not spending half our budget on food every day.

After a good night’s sleep filled with the sounds of the jungle and me having a mini heart attack when I found a lizard in my bag we woke up nice and early and started our adventure. If you have read my previous blogs about Colombia, then ‘PV’ would be best described similar to Palomino, but 10x better. Maybe because we are in Costa Rica but it’s cleaner, safer and the beach vibe here is awesome.
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There are heaps of cool things to do here including visiting the Cahuita National park, the Jaguar rescue centre, beach hopping and the Gandoca Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge…all of which we intend to do in the next few days. Today's mission was beach hopping, however after a full morning of downpours we didn’t have high expectations. When 9.30am hit however, the sun broke through and we were off!

​Playa Cocles was our first stop which was about 5kms from PV and tbh was ok but didn’t even marginally live up to the past few beaches we have been to. I guess at this stage we are spoilt. We then followed for another 2 km’s to Punta Cocles which was much more impressive with nicer areas to swim, sandier beaches and a nicer atmosphere. However, on the way we managed to see a sloth, various howler monkeys as well as a little opossum, so many spiders and insects and some weird nuclear looking caterpillars. 

On the way home, we spotted a Portuguese man of war jellyfish chilling on the beach, the 4th most deadly jellyfish on the beach and apparently there are heaps – I GUESS I WON’T BE SWIMMING that’s for sure.​

​Another massive day of exercise, this time hitting 14km’s so by the time we made it home, it was an afternoon of chilling, clothes washing and looking back through the awesome pics from today.