For the next morning Alvaro took us on a nature walk. Now, this is deep in the Costa Rican jungle at the Caribbean coast, so calling this a "nature walk" doesn't do it justice. Helliconias grew in outlandish variety, each more extravagant than all the others, with other plants even more exotic.
[Photo 8: Helliconia in the forest]
Big Howler Monkeys and Spider Monkeys, both endangered species, filled the trees. The Howler got their name from their call, deep, loud, like a bass drum in a primate; it can be heard for miles.
[Photo 9: Howler monkey]
We found tiny frogs with wild colors. One, the "blue jean" frog with blue hindquarters and bright red front, was poisonous, used by indigenous folk for their arrows.
[Photo 10: Poisonous Blue Jean Frog]
Deep inside was a pond covered in vegetation, filled with beautiful birds. It was like encountering another planet--and we're from subtropical southern Florida!
[Photo 11: A Heron in the Pond]
That afternoon, Alvaro took us up river in the Center's boat, and the scenery was again gorgeous. We saw no crocodiles, and that was probably just as well. He somehow located a bar in the forest where we enjoyed a local beer and chatted with the bartender. The Costa Rican accent is about as pure as one can find among Spanish-speaking countries, and I had little problem following him.
That evening, we again joined the researchers in a beach hunt for Leatherback Turtles laying their eggs--this time we found three, after walking for several miles. We slept soundly that night.
We keep coming back to Adventure-Life for custom tailored, out of the ordinary, non-touristy trips and they deliver the best every time. The trip planners know how to put together just what we are looking for.
Judith P. NYC
1 month ago
We have been working with Adventure Life for 5 years now and it is very easy to plan out our trips. Our holidays include customization of activities and side trips along with the standard packages available on the Adventure Life website. Kevin, Jess, Mary Rose and their teams have many recommendations that have enhanced our travel.
Joe
1 month ago
We had a great experience- they were very helpful in trip planning and making sure we got to do all the activities and see the places we wanted. There were some things we couldn't do/see due to the time of year being the rainy/low season and they steered us away from those. We had never been to Costa Rica before and it gave us a good overview of this lovely country.
Jody Dice
3 months ago
Jess was terrific and patiently guided us to make what we feel will be a wonderful family adventure.
David Herr
3 months ago
Jessica was extremely helpful and generous with her time. She was very responsive to our questions and comments and in a very timely fashion. She worked with us in partnership to plan a trip specifically for us and our wants and needs.