costa rica

MEGA: Make Exchanges Great Again

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A cultural exchange. A simple exchange between cultures. Some are formal and some are informal, but one thing that is certain is that they have been happening for a long time. Costa Rica Frika has been organizing them for nearly 10 years, however there are exchange programs that go back well over 50 years. When the first exchange was organized, we thought we were doing something unique. We were, to a certain extent, focusing on Costa Rica and high schools, but we’d joined an ecosystem that had to exist.

“Why tractors without violins?” This was a phrase coined by a famous Costa Rican president (the one who abolished the military). What he is saying is, what’s the point of working so hard to make advancements if we don’t take the time to enjoy life. There needs to be a balance between work and play and can’t just be all industry. That president did not coin the Costa Rica catchphrase “pura vida” (pure life), but it’s how it’s commonly described. Yes, we want to be advanced, but we’ll take our time getting there so we can enjoy life along the way.

An exchange in its simplest form is making room for the violins. Taking the time to chat with a friend, greet a neighbor etc. That’s part of the fabric of life and is why formal exchanges have prevailed for so long. Some of the longest annual exchanges have only ever been cancelled due to wars or pandemics. Ironically, instances where exchanges would be most needed to repair friendships, and get us off Netflix.

For our first exchange one of our selling points to travelers and hosts was the in person experience. You couldn’t just trust what you saw on the news or social media and make generalizations based on that. You needed it first hand. 10 years ago that was just one in a list of many benefits of participating in an exchange. Today though, I’d say that is the number one reason to participate in an exchange.

What we’re seeing is that not only is social media silo-ing us, it’s turned us off to the whole notion of needing/wanting to know more. Technology is so great that it’s really easy to isolate ourselves. I’ll be the first one to admit it. I remember a few years ago watching a video of an expedition to the North pole on my new 4k TV from my couch thinking how amazing it was that I could have this experience without having to lift a finger? They spent a month pushing a sled in extreme cold just to mark some point on the ice and I could enjoy that without any hardship.  

Obviously, this is an extreme example as there is no way I would ever do this and would much rather enjoy essentially a one hour highlight reel that cuts out all the boring stuff. Tech is so good though, I’m sure this enters my life even more than I realize. Instead of going out on the weekend, I might decline to stay home and go online. While I won’t go to the North pole, what if I decline a trip because I can just watch a video about it from the comfort of my home?

This trend is seen via the exchanges. Recruiting host families has always been the biggest task of organizing a group exchange as it requires multiple families to participate. It has always been a very popular exchange, however a non-pandemic related drop in participants was experienced last year, resulting in fewer students per school. What was surprising was that it still took just as long to recruit families. That was something unexpected and worrisome. Not so much in how it might affect future exchanges, but rather the future of humanity.  How much can a person truly isolate themselves and do they even realize it’s happening?

10 years ago this wasn’t even on our radar, but now it is and who knows what it will be like 10 years from now? Will we sleep 16 hours a day and only wake up to put on our VR headset to work, study and play?

Looking at the recent political activity and rhetoric in the United States only further motivates the push for travel and hosting exchanges.  Conflicts, tensions, and disasters flood the internet to grab everyone’s attention and push people apart while a face-to-face exchange has none of those motives. They’re not looking for “likes”. It’s a safe place that allows people to truly be people without the noise.

We took a latino friend to the US to visit a relative in January. We went ice fishing and had a great time and it didn’t matter one bit the Trump flag flying from their flagpole. He even took a picture with it. Not only was a friendship established, but that photo and story he’ll tell his friends and family back in Costa Rica will cause them to take a step back from their newsfeed.

There’s hope for the exchanges though. The day-to-day exchanges should last as long as humans do, however participating in a formal exchange should be a necessity as oftentimes it’s the only way to break out of our “silos” and invite the violins in.

Holy (Cow!) Week Traveling

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In Costa Rica, Holy week is the spring break equivalent to the United States and Costa Ricans travel like crazy. It’s nearly the end of the dry season and Thursday and Friday are public holidays (thank you non-separation of church/state) so many look to get in that final rain free getaway. In my 10+ years living in Costa Rica I’ve only made the sin of trying to travel this week twice, and the second time was just complacency of forgetting how horrible the first experience was having been so long ago. 

If you attempt to travel the first or second weekends of Holy week you need to be very strategic. One hour trips turn into 4 hour trips and 4 hour trips just aren’t worth taking at reasonable hours. Last year, I had a ferry ticket for 12:30pm and left my house at 9am for the typical hour and a half drive, a little earlier than normal as I was expecting more traffic. I didn’t make it to the ferry till 4pm and by then the only ferry that had space wasn’t leaving till 8pm. 

It was absolutely nuts. We hit traffic just outside our city limits and at first we assumed there had been an accident. Traffic snailed along and we thought at each corner we’d see the wreck and traffic would open up. After a couple hours of this we realized it was just bumper-to-bumper for miles and miles. We ended up pulling off the road for the sake of our mental health. Even though I’m more of an “it’s more about the journey than the destination” type of person, this was over the top. 

parking in San Ramon
These are actual parked cars. Our situation was no different.

I struggle more in these situations as I’m accustomed to well-built highway systems, and just can’t believe how the roads here have not kept pace with the amount of cars that are on the road. That is my first stage of “road grief”. The second stage is when I start scolding myself for getting in this position in the first place. I seriously considered turning around and going home and had it not been for the more accustomed Costa Ricans I’m sure I would have.  

Fast forward a year and I was not making the same mistake twice. In a perfect world I’d just vacation on a different week, however our travel is limited due to school and jobs so I had to really plan for our trip. First off, never travel the entire week. We made plans to travel Saturday (gulp) and return on Wednesday to avoid the even larger crush of traffic Thursday to Sunday. Three months before, I secured our accommodations and a month before I bought ferry tickets. Thankfully, the ferry system sells some tickets online so you can arrive knowing you have a spot reserved. However, getting there on time is key. The earliest ferry departed at 5:30am and we were on the road by 2:30am.

There was very little traffic and my plan was going perfectly, so perfect I almost wanted to kick myself for not waiting till 3am to get a little extra rest. The only shock was pulling up to the ferry and seeing a massive line of cars. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one with this idea. Cars with their roofs packed with luggage, tents, canoes, bicycles etc. I think I even saw some people tailgating. The one big difference between me and them though was that I already had my spot reserved. These people were waiting in line in hopes that there would be enough space for them to get on the ferry. If not, they’d have to wait till 9am for the next one.

My heart briefly skipped a beat seeing the line, however we were able to drive to the front and were one of the first ones on the ferry. I was traveling with my 2 dogs and therefore I was able to stay in the vehicle with them. At 5:30am the weather was comfortable and refreshing and I had the best 1.5hr nap, windows down, fresh sea breeze, and the light waves lulled me right to sleep. It was actually the heat that awoke me from my slumber as the inferno starts almost as soon as sunrise is complete. 

From there everything was bearable. Roads from the ferry to our destination were still horribly inept to handle Holy week traffic. There was a bridge that collapsed over a dry creek bed and their solution was to close the bridge and just have everyone off-road through the creek bed.     

We were at our destination by 9am and pretty much zonked out all morning. That was the plan though. I’d much rather crash poolside in a hammock than be stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic fully conscious. 

I was proud of myself for this careful calculation and outcome.  Every time a friend would message about the traffic they were in or the news would report on the miles long traffic jams, I’d just take a deep breath and try to sink deeper into the recliner or sofa, so glad to be able to enjoy a peak vacation period without all the traffic. We didn’t leave our destination till we returned home. All we did those days was pool, beach, food, nap, repeat. That’s all I’m willing to put myself up to for Holy week vacations. 

Most years, Holy week and spring break weeks aren’t the same, but traveler beware if they ever coincide. That’ll be the year I charter a helicopter from my backyard.

Sunny tropical beach
The lengths I’ll go to for this…

Hosting an Exchange Student is a Full Immersion Experience

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Resilience. That’s the word that came to my mind when I sat down to write this. I was thinking back to where I was a year ago. The heart of the frustration phase of the pandemic. Where I’d been home so long that the novelty had worn off. Our organization had pivoted, but virtual everything was taking its toll, especially with our Wisconsin-Costa Rica exchanges. Instead of a hosting exchange, we implemented an ambitious virtual exchange only to realize we had out-sized expectations. As much as we hyped it, we ended up hitting a virtual wall where even the teachers agreed that it was overkill with everything else being digital.

Fast forward a year and while I wouldn’t say we are back in business, we are making strides. Jan/Feb hosting exchanges are returning and it’s a welcome stress of relief as I’d much rather be pitching the opportunity to host a student. Virtual exchanges have their place, however the face-to-face opportunity is incomparable.

cheesehead model
Let the sports indoctrination begin!

Hosting is a full family immersion experience. You are hosting, but you’re having an immersion experience just as much as the exchange student is. This time of year I’m in full host family recruitment mode and therefore talk with many families. The biggest concerns I get from families is not knowing what to do with exchange students on nights and weekends and that they think they are too busy to host. Those sound like valid concerns, however it has never stopped a family from hosting.

A lot of people don’t factor in that, for the visitors, EVERYTHING is new and will likely take them 3-5 times longer to do things. Could be due to a lack of understanding, uncertainty, or just plain shock/awe. The Costa Ricans are super observant and will point out differences that you’d have no idea existed. 

I’ll never forget the student that shared that his host family had a lower drawer freezer and an upper door refrigerator. It seemed so mundane, but the more I thought about it I realized I had never seen a lower door freezer/refrigerator in Costa Rica. Or the one that slept all night in his winter jacket because he didn’t realize he could sleep under the covers (in Costa Rica it is so hot that the comforter is decorative and people sleep on top of it with a light blanket at most). 

Those first few days going through the basics and discovering these inconspicuous differences fuels the host’s curiosity. This is when families get “cocky” and develop a “Oh you thought that was impressive, wait till I show you this…” attitude. This is also when they get “selfish”. 

tubing
Teens + Snow for the first time

The best quote I’ve ever heard about hosting was when a host mom told me that hosting “…forced her family to do fun winter activities”. When she realized everything was a new experience for their guest, she took advantage to relive old family experiences.  Sledding, ice skating, family game night etc. This mom “selfishly” leveraged the situation to bring her family together and do things they hadn’t done in years.

To families concerned about being busy, I say it’s impossible to be too busy for an exchange student and in all honesty the busier the better. The families that have 4-5 kids of their own and offer to host multiple students are special. I can only imagine the stimuli overload an exchange student would have and how much they’d learn from the experience.  

Since every experience is new, it doesn’t matter how mundane or boring the activity might seem, for them it will be captivating. Students have gone to practices, games, tournaments and attended club meetings. Running errands is special as they are the best car riding companions. So many things to observe and take in. How are people driving? How do they drive in the snow? What music is on the radio? I’ll never forget when I took my wife on the interstate for the first time and passed a car going uphill. She didn’t realize it was a passing lane and thought a car would come over the hill and hit us head on. 

Just because these experiences are completely new for them, doesn’t mean they won’t be able to relate. The culture is different, but not earth shattering and have a lot of similarities. We’re not comparing smartphones to rotary phones, but rather Coke to Pepsi or the Vikings to the Bears. Playing sports/video games, listening to music, eating (a lot), sleeping in etc. describe teenagers no matter what country you are in.

One year later, our patience is paying off and I’m now more excited than ever to bring students and families together. Exchange programs are some of the oldest and most resilient programs in the world. It literally takes a pandemic to shutter them, and even then virtual options still exist. This winter’s exchange will be extra special for families/students and it will be one that I’ll always remember because of the road taken to get there.  

If your family would like to host a student or teacher for 2 weeks in the Muskego/Mukwonago area Jan 13-27 contact dustin@costaricafrika.com or visit bit.ly/hostingexchange

Looking Back on How a Travel Experience Became a Permanent Lifestyle Change

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There’s an exclusive club I belong to in Costa Rica. It’s the club for ones that have come to Costa Rica, had an amazing experience and followed through on their promise to return. So many people exchange, volunteer and immerse themselves in a foreign country as a GAP year or a once in a lifetime experience, but few ever make it back to visit and even fewer make the experience a permanent part of their life like I have.

At the end of my first experience in Costa Rica, I was enthralled. I had lived with a wonderful family and made many friends in town. As my stay was coming to an end I started telling everyone how I would definitely be back to visit. Most were supportive of my statement, but they also let me know that that is what all the previous volunteers had said too, but had never returned.

I did end up being an exception to that statement, but looking back on those conversations from 15 years ago and having seen countless students and volunteers come and go to never return, it hits me how hard you live the experience in the moment. An immersion experience ties you so much to the local culture that you never imagine yourself giving it up completely, especially with communication being so easy nowadays.

The other day I was visiting a host family from my first experience in Costa Rica. They always remind me of my inaugural experience. How I fumbled my words, who I had a crush on, and how I couldn’t hold Costa Rican moonshine. They reminded me that on Fridays I would get a bus out into the country, get off, and then walk an hour just to get to their home and be able to hang out with them for the weekend. I was behaving and acting like any other 20-something year old Costa Rican that went to the city to work/study and then returned home each weekend to visit.

volunteer with family
One of my first families I met in CR

I was living the experience and keeping my word. At some point though, I stopped doing those things as work, life, and other responsibilities began to take up my time, however I do remember it dawning on me when my normal changed. It went from always spending a night or two with them, to day visits and now I have to make it a special event to get out to visit them. It was a bit sad, but others have moved on too. My family’s children, who I met when they were teens, now send me wedding and baby shower invites. People I met with dark hair, now have gray hair and the moonshine now tastes like sh*t (or maybe it always did?)

Now, my family looks at me differently too. I still get the “you’re so skinny” and the blue eyes remarks, but my cultural innocence is gone and more often than not I’m asked about things that previously I’d be unqualified to speak to. Now we swap information on places to visit, apps to download, cars to buy and even the occasional investment opportunity. I can even debate the best way to drink coffee, which I only started drinking a few years ago and completely amazes them as they remember me as the guy they’d always have to make juice for when everyone else would drink coffee.

If there is one thing they have instilled in me though, is the sense of paying it forward. They’ve been so kind to me over the years and it is always a battle to return their favors, but I recognize that I’m now in their position when I receive travelers. I think I do a good job as it’s not uncommon for me to have to dry tears at the airport and say everything is going to be OK while they are wailing and swearing they’ll be back as soon as possible. It breaks their heart, but brings satisfaction to me knowing they had a great experience.

While I did prove all the naysayers wrong, it is truly a difficult experience to end which is why I feel blessed that I can still enjoy it to this day. It is natural for relationships to change as other commitments and opportunities come into our lives, but those that are young and dedicated have as much of an opportunity to join the club as I did. And last I checked, anyone is allowed to join. Just don’t encroach on my turf 😉

Without A Routine, Time Stands Still in The Tropics

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It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost a year since I was last in Wisconsin. With the pandemic either shutting down international travel or requiring so many restrictions to discourage any non-essential travel, I find myself remembering the little things that I took for granted being able to travel home as needed. One thing that was nice was that the weather could give you a good idea as to what the season/month was. If you awoke from a coma and had no idea what season it was you could just look out the window to get a good idea.  That’s not really the case in Costa Rica though.

When people ask me why I like Costa Rica so much, one of my first responses is the weather and, in particular, not having to deal with winter. Where else can you get low 80s and sun every day on planet earth? Growing up in midwest there was always a point during the winter where I would literally lose my cool and say “This is enough, I can’t take the cold/snow/ice etc anymore. Get me out of here!”

There wasn’t much I could do about it until I got to college and decided to take spring semester off to go somewhere warm. Well, it was actually to immerse myself in a Spanish speaking country, but I’d be crazy to not have taken advantage and gone to a tropical Spanish speaking country.

After escaping that first winter, and prior to permanently moving to Costa Rica, I always got creative to come up with some kind of excuse to get me out of the midwest at the most atrocious time of year. I could never quite escape the whole winter though.  My breaking point came after going to Costa Rica for two weeks in January, only to return to negative temps and frozen pipes.  

After making the move and getting into a routine, things were perfect. Now, I only had to deal with rain or no rain for weather forecasts.  Instead of using the weather to help remind me what season/month it was, my work schedule dedicated it. I knew summer was coming because an exchange group was set to arrive. I knew it was fall because I would be in the US visiting schools or attending conferences and I knew winter was here when every week I’d be at the airport to pick up travelers that were as white as the snow from where they came from. That all changed with COVID though.

Costa Rica Frika was hit pretty hard and fast with all the lockdowns and I lost nearly my whole routine. I didn’t notice it right away, but I also lost my internal compass. My work was no longer able to keep me up to date. With the weather as consistent as it is, it was getting hard to tell what month we were in, what day it was, and even if it was a weekday or weekend. Everyday felt the same. 

This year, I spent the whole month of January in Costa Rica for the first time in 5 years. One day, I got a message from a teacher saying today would have been the day they would have arrived for their yearly trip to Costa Rica. When I got the message, I had to open my calendar as I really didn’t believe that it was actually that date. Normally, we’d be going crazy getting ready for them. The lack of activity and routine just didn’t match up with what we were reminiscing about. 

Usually, I’m freezing my butt off in Wisconsin for a few weeks in January, but this year I hung a hammock out on my deck for afternoon siestas and if it weren’t for my editor reminding me to write this article I probably would have forgotten about it. Heck, if he hadn’t mentioned how bitterly cold it was, I probably would have written about something else.

I’m sure I’m not the only one this has happened to as the pandemic has rearranged a lot of people’s routines. I’m also not complaining about not having the change of the seasons to keep up to date. I’ll take that minor inconvenience to avoid the cold. 

Due to this realization, I’m incorporating other methods to help me remember seasons and months. I’ll watch football in December to see the snow and remind me it is winter. Whenever the Costa Rican weatherperson says we’ll be getting a cold thrust (their words, not mine) I’ll know it’s Jan/Feb. Likewise, if they mention tropical waves then I’ll know it is at least June. To keep up with the days of the week, I’ll just listen for the garbage truck to come by and then I’ll know it is either Tuesday or Friday. 

Those cues should be enough to get me through until the routine picks up again. To be fair though, I should treat those two week January trips to visit family and friends back home like I used to treat my two week escapes to Costa Rica. Windburn for sunburn, snowblowing for lawn mowing and of course, Spotted Cow for Imperial. 

What’s fair…
Imperial on beach.
… is fair.

Capital City Tour not Worth Your Time Unless You Have the Time

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Did you ever think you could spend 2.5 hours on a walking tour that only covers a few blocks?   Of all the places in Costa Rica, the capital city of San José is the last place I’d imagine doing this.

If you look up things to do in Costa Rica, touring San José is probably outside the top 30.  A lot of visitors don’t realize that in comparison to other Latin American capitals, this one really doesn’t have anything that competes with alternate activities such as the beaches or the rainforests.  Or so I thought.

I dread San José.  Traffic, pollution, crime etc. Everything that happens there is so exhausting.  When I go, it’s usually for paperwork, which just involves more standing around, waiting in line, and trying not to get sunburned or rained on.  I had been on tours of San José before, however when I heard about a free walking tour with round trip transportation from San Ramon I decided to give it a try.  At least I’d learn something while walking and standing around in San José.

SJO vive.  Translation: San José lives.  That is the slogan designed to bring the city back to life.  I have no doubt it “lives”, however I’m sure there are many ways to interpret that.  They could be referring to a bar/restaurant district, a theater and arts area, or maybe the rat and cockroach population?San José slogan

After enduring the traffic we arrived outside the national theater, where the tour would begin.  The national theater I think exists as merely a meet up point. Without addresses, people rely on landmarks to get around and this building sure sticks out.  Whether due to its elegance or the enormity of pigeon droppings, people know the place. It has never been a big conversation starter on any tours I’d been on and my eyes glazed over for most of this explanation, except when the guide told us if we go inside to the cafeteria, order something and then ask to use the bathroom, they’ll let you into the theater as that is the only way to access the bathrooms!

From there we walked across the street to “Chinatown”.  The only thing chinese about the area was an oriental arch to mark the entrance of the plaza.  There we’d see a Catholic church, a statue of John Lennon, and our guide told us he would give $50 to anyone who saw a chinese person.  The only thing newsworthy about this plaza was apparently when they put it in they eliminated a city street which sparked criticism as it added further to the city’s congestion issues.

It was interesting to hear the guide put the focus on the oddities, or failures of the city,

weird park sculpture
This isn’t odd?

which might give more context to why it’s not touristy.  We went outside the National Assembly building where lawmakers allowed graffiti artists to paint the walls, but then got upset when they drew a former president to look like a monkey.  We went into an enclosed, glass dome with a stone sphere in the middle that had some sort of healing or meditation purpose, but I couldn’t hear the whole explanation as the smell of urine forced me to exit early.  We visited a Jade museum that is normally $18 to get in, however they have one free exhibition room which of course is where we went and got plenty of information.

Granted, this was a free, gratuity only tour so I didn’t have huge expectations, however I was more drawn to these outlier stories than the straight up, traditional tours I’d gone on in the past.

At the end of the tour I was shocked that we hadn’t gone into any museums or visited any markets, but I still felt like I got a lot of value out of it.  To walk so little in so much time says a lot about the guide, as there isn’t a lot to work with. I remember doing a night tour of the rainforest and the guide took us about 200 feet in two hours.  That was impressive, however I thought this guide got even more creative.

Still, unless you are spending more than a week in Costa Rica, don’t prioritize the city.  As much fun as it is to observe the endangered bicycle rider using the bike lane you’re still better off at the beach or rainforest.

angel wing girl
San José gives you wings!

Wild ‘glamping’ Trip Brings Rainforest Back to Life

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We were on a rural gravel road going through the rainforest when my aunt and cousin heard what seemed like a dinosaur roar and saw the trees shake.

“Dustin, Dustin! Can you stop and go back?”  I mean, sure why not.  Jurassic Park was only filmed in Costa Rica.  They didn’t really bring dinosaurs back to life, right?  

Howler monkey with mouth open
Howler Monkey

I slowly pulled to the side of the road and we began to crane our necks up toward the rainforest canopy to see what was going on. It turned out we had stumbled upon a pack of howler monkeys that really do sound like a T-rex. 

At first, I didn’t even want to get out of the car, as it was just another pack of monkeys in the trees, but my aunt had never seen monkeys in the wild. Thanks to her literally starting a conversation with them, we learned there was more than one pack, they were much closer to us than we thought and they had babies!

I rarely encounter wildlife this far out from civilization, but when I do it’s special.  With humans roving into all parts of the planet it was really cool to see monkeys that roar at you like they are trying to communicate with aliens. It was so far out, it felt like we were on another planet – or that I was in Jurassic Park, expecting a dinosaur at any moment.

We never did see any dinosaurs, of course, but I know have a new favorite Jurassic Park moment, courtesy of my aunt. She showed me new ways to experience the rainforest, only a couple of months after I wrote a column about how it no longer excited me.

Because she and my cousin were visiting me on vacation, we had decided to to find some of the most isolated and pristine beaches in Costa Rica, and that meant pushing the envelope. We took a ferry from the former port town of Puntarenas to the tip of the secluded Nicoya peninsula and hopped on a windy, two-lane road going into the mountains.

Aside from a few small towns or “bumps in the road,” as my dad would say, all we saw along that road were vast expanses of farmland, national reserves and the occasional breathtaking view of the ocean.

Eventually, the road ended and we came to the property. I call it that because we had rented a house, but it was nothing like what I expected. The jungle was amazingly manicured, and the “house” lacked doors and windows.

This place had it all, minus the doors and windows. There were pools, gardens, a pool table, a private beach, and of course, plenty of bat droppings. There was a waterfall a five-minute walk from the property on yet another secluded beach that we would have visited more if we didn’t already have our own private beach to enjoy.  

beach panoramic
Our view and beach below…

I was informed this kind of vacationing was called  “glamping.” and it’s something I would never have chosen on my own had I known what it was.  I’m a sucker for peer pressure though and my aunt, who fears no risk, was in charge. She brought me a hammock with a built-in mosquito net so I could sleep on the balcony overlooking the sea.  

The first night was incredible, as a thunderstorm ended up putting us to sleep. I had envisioned myself dozing off to a music on my phone, but nature was too intense not to take it all in.

Crab in the brush
A crab from our night walk, during the day

One night, we drove to a nearby beach and were truly amazed. We hadn’t realized while walking along the tide line in the darkness, that we were right at the bottom of a cliff. When we started to hear waves coming from the shore we became so puzzled until we turned to see the sound was actually reflecting off the cliff we’d been walking along the base of.  The water reaches the cliff during high tide, so this was really a treat, to see the underside of the sea and the caves and creatures that live there.

On our way back, it started to rain a bit, and when we arrived, the jungle was alive and well. The sounds of the crickets, frogs, and the combination of the tap-tap of the water falling through the canopy made it jungle-spooky.  

It was just quiet enough for one errant sound to provoke sheer fear and… thankfully, no dinosaur sightings. But I had to get out of the car to open the gate, and at that moment I could have sworn I was in the movie.

Looking back, I can’t get out of my head how wild that trip was.

Next weekend, I’m traveling to the beach again and I am disappointed already knowing my lodging has doors and windows. It will be a relaxing, fun time, but it will quickly blur into all the other typical trips I’ve done to the beach.

This one will stay with me, and the stories will probably get better over time. However, unlike that one time I almost caught a humongous fish with my uncle, I have video proof of my aunt talking to monkeys.

It’s hard to be amazed as a jungle connoisseur…

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What’s about half the size of a hippo, but not aggressive?

Tapir looking for food
A hippo-anteater hybrid: The tapir!

That would be a tapir, and some people might want to punch me in the face if I said I went to the Corcovado rainforest and this was the only thing I thought worth mentioning.

Corcovado National Park is isolated in the southwest corner of Costa Rica and is one of the most biodiverse places in the world. I had read a lot about the park and finally decided it was time to see it for myself.

To get there, you boat through canals on what could pass for the set of Jurassic Park, then hit the open ocean to make a beach landing on one of the few primary rainforests left in the world.

For most any visitor, this would be the trip of a lifetime and I was hoping for a great experience.  But honestly, I’d be pressed to remember much of this visit because I’d done and seen most of it before.

Our visit started out traversing the ocean, which could be an experience in itself. Though I had never been in that much open water in such a small watercraft, I wanted to avoid seasickness, so I daydreamed, studying the coastline for jagged rock formations, to take my mind off the rolling waves. I’d seen many similar coastlines up and down the pacific side of Costa Rica before and this was nothing special.

There was no dock at the beach, so we had to jump in the water barefoot to get to shore. It was an exotic beach with the rainforest right at the edge, but it was familiar to me as it reminded me of the beaches in Manuel Antonio and Samara.

coati running
This is a coati!

Even when we saw a coati looking for food as we approached the ranger station, I didn’t bother taking my camera out. I’d seen these in La Fortuna many times before.

We started hiking and encountered a beautiful group of red scarlet macaws, each with a mate and a few with children. They were having a lively conversation while eating their lunch in the trees and gave us many photo opportunities.

Of course, these things fly all around Jaco and the Carara National Park, all places I’ve been.  This would be the equivalent of taking a picture of a squirrel.

That’s when it hit me. In a way, I’d seen it all. That’s why this trip been so ho-hum despite all the adventure it had taken to get to this point.

I recalled going to other national parks and being intrigued by everything, but Corcovado just couldn’t turn the switch for me. We’d go on to see a spider monkey, sloth, herron and some capuchin monkeys, but it was so “been there, done that” for me.

howler monkey hanging out
No big deal, it’s just a monkey..

I was actually disappointed we didn’t see all four types of monkeys that are in the park. It felt no different from Tortuguero, a national park in northeast Costa Rica I visited two years ago.

The most drama on the trip was me forgetting things and Mother Nature making me pay, like getting sunburned and drenched (only in Costa Rica can you get that combo that quickly) on a 1.5hr hike without a change of clothes.

I’ve been dumb before, and I’ll be dumb again so thank goodness I saw the tapir to have more than just a funny story to laugh about in the future. But even at that, the reality is watching the tapir was as about as exciting as watching a cow graze.

All this is not to say Corcovado isn’t a great place to visit. I just have higher expectations for my forests now that I’ve been living in Costa Rica since 2013.  I can’t believe the non-effect it had on me. A first-time rainforest visitor would fill an entire scrapbook.

I’ve really been spoiled by rainforests though, and they really have to work hard to amaze me. I still have a few parks on my list left to visit, and I hope one of them will spark some excitement.

I now know what guides and rangers must feel like. Our guide spent over an hour tracking the tapir and was noticeably excited when he spotted it.  At least now, he’ll have something to want to talk about at dinner.

Benefits of Being an Early Riser in Costa Rica

| vivitronv

If there is one thing I could do in my sleep, it would probably be driving to the airport.  I don’t do much driving, but when I do it’s usually the 45min trip into the airport to drop someone off or pick them up.  I’ll do it anytime, but in particular I prefer to go early in the morning, the 5am or even 4am departures. I never imagined I’d willing type those words and stand by them, but a lot of things in Costa Rica actually facilitate and benefit the early riser.

One of things I dreaded most about growing up in Wisconsin was waking up in sub zero temperatures in the pitch dark.  I’ll never forget working construction over winter break in college, wearing four layers of clothes and working the first hour of the day in darkness before the sun would even rise.  How could someone will themselves out of their toasty bed at that time? That just goes against human nature. I don’t think any amount of coffee should convince scientists that early rising helps your health under those conditions.

Based on that trauma growing up, I never imagined I would embrace it in Costa Rica.  However, if you remove the temperature variable and give me a little bit of dawn to work with, I’ll make it the most productive moments of my day.  

Honestly, to really get anything done in Costa Rica efficiently, you should really complete it before 8am.  I learned this one day going to solicit internet service. I arrived at 11am and was directed to take a number and waited almost 45 minutes just to talk to someone.  Unfortunately, I was missing a document and was instructed to return the next day. The agent, seeing the look on my face as I glanced over to the line that would surely await me the next day, said the following: “If you can get here before 8am, there is almost no line and we can help you right away.”  Sure enough, the next day I was in and out in less than 10 minutes. I was hooked.

Speedy service was one thing, but there are other enhanced features rising early in Costa Rica.  For one, we can get some amazing sunrises over the mountains and the birds are so pleasant. Even in the city where I live, if you’re up early before the transit soundtrack starts, you’ll hear sweet melodies from a variety of birds in the area.  I have this beautiful yellow breasted bird that arrives every morning on the power line outside my office window just a chirpin’ away. If you live in the country or forest you’re in for a real experience with exposure to crickets, frogs, and infinite birds.  My favorite bird sighting was that of a red scarlet macaw that I saw at 6am.

Daylight is a precious commodity in Costa Rica.  Situated near the equator we only get about 12 hours of daylight and sunrise happens usually by 5:30am.  Even if you sleep in till 8am you feel like you’ve wasted an important part of your day. Especially in the raining season where it might start raining at 2pm and be dreary and cloudy the rest of the day.  Visitors are a little shocked to find out schools start at 7am, but it’s really a good idea to not waste daylight.

Crab in forest
                         Another early riser

I think the best part about getting up early though are the adventures you can have.  When I go on vacation, the best part is being in the habit of getting up early. Just recently I had the opportunity to sleep in a hammock just steps from the beach.  Every morning I had a chance to explore the beach and the nearby forest at its calmest. I paid attention to the crabs scouring the rocks for food. I spotted a squirrel high up in a tree that normally I wouldn’t have been able to spot and I heard the howls from the monkeys off in the distance.  It’s also a huge benefit as the weather is cool and fresh. By 8am you can feel the sun bearing down on you and the humidity begins to suck the energy out of you.

Early rising is much more enhanced in Costa Rica.  I could early rise in other countries, but I wouldn’t be very happy about it.  Here though I can’t seem to lose setting an early alarm. I’ve always wondered why Costa Rica wouldn’t just shift their clocks one hour ahead.  Wouldn’t it be amazing to have daylight till 7pm? When I take Costa Ricans to the United States during the summer, they have all kinds of problems where they don’t eat dinner till 10pm because they are accustomed to eating dinner after the sun sets.  

Needless to say, I don’t drive to the airport in my sleep, despite the early trips.  Our guests are often embarrassed to have us drive them at odd hours, but it’s really preferred.  Whether avoiding traffic, lines, weather or taking advantage of the calmness, wildlife, and sunrises the early riser always wins.  This doesn’t even include the coffee and gallo pinto that are also best enjoyed in the early morning.

turtles coming onshore
                     Rarely seen after 7am