We arrived at La Cusinga Rainforest Lodge after dark, and all that could be heard were the waves crashing below and the sounds of night. Here there is not only the wildlife you hope to see, but a variety of insects unimaginable. There are huge praying mantises, bright green grasshoppers, and lots of other unidentifiable creatures.

La Cusinga’s range of initiatives in sustainability include construction that fits well into the natural landscape, built with natural materials including the wooden lampshades, solar panels for electricity and water heating, extensive contribution to conservation and support to local schools, organic food grown onsite, and efficient water and energy conservation.

 
Our first walk in the morning greeted us with an abundance of wildlife. Only a few minutes onto the trail that leaves right from the outdoor dining area and main viewing deck, a family of howler monkeys were hanging lazily in the trees. They didn’t move an inch and let us watch them for quite a while and take pictures. The call of these small black monkeys can be heard, especially in the morning, in the distance and it sounds like a bunch of angry gorillas. When you see how small they are it is surprising that they can make such a loud, growling noise.

Next on the way we saw the rare and endangered green and black poison dart frogs. They are tiny but beautiful creatures. They even stuck around for us to take more pictures on the way back.

Down the trail towards the waves crashing on the rocks, our young guide told us he sees turtles every time he comes to this spot. We waited a few minutes, and sure enough, we saw the round brown shells just under the surface, and then a couple of heads pop out just enough to make it easier for us to see them. You can’t get close up to them here as they are down below swimming around the great big rocks but knowing that they are there and getting a small glimpse is exciting enough.

We ventured down another trail that led us to the beach which is part of the 800 acre nature preserve that makes up La Cusinga’s property.  The beach is wild, no amenities or development of any kind. Just you, the dense forest as a backdrop and the big, warm, waves.  We crossed through a cavernous tunnel under the rocks to a smaller cove to take a dip in the almost hot ocean waters.

On our way back the monkeys were still hanging about, not wanting to move in the heat we figured.

Then we were off for lunch, and we ate at a nearby cooperatively-owned ecolodge called Canto de Ballenas (Call of the Whales).  I have a friend who works there so he got the kitchen to whip us up a filling and tasty lunch of flavorful vegetables, rice & beans, and my favorite, garlic fish fillets.  Of course we had frescos of banana, pineapple and orange juice and fresh, strong coffee.

 
After lunch we continued down the road to the entrance to the National Marine Park, and “whale’s tail” where the long stretch of beach goes into a point shaped exactly as a whale’s tail. Pretty coincidental considering this is the part of the country the hump-backed whales visit each January and February as they migrate up the Pacific Ocean.  We walked along the beach to the end point where we sat down to take in the beautiful sunset.

We capped off our last night at the best restaurant in the region, called Citrus. It is absolutely beautiful, with luxurious details, outdoor candle-lit tables, mozaic tiles, pre-Colombian inspired art, not to mention delicious food and surprisingly good prices. Oscar, our great driver and I both had fish ceviche in coconut milk and cilantro, Jim and Usha shared a hot goat cheese salad and an eggplant lasagne and we toasted with a glass of wine to a wonderful week in Costa Rica.

- Kelly Galaski

- Kelly Galaski

Today we arrived in another rural area of Costa Rica, the Alexander Skutch Biological Corridor. It is named after the ornithologist (bird biologist) that lived here on 100 acres of pristine rainforest for 60 years, with his wife, studying the birds and writing books about the nature he was surrounded by and the birds that fascinated him. Dr. Skutch is author of Birds of Costa Rica, the book carried by avid birdwatchers that visit the country. Today his home is preserved inside the Los Cusingos Bird Sanctuary which is open to the public for birdwatching tours and to see the ancient petroglyphs that lie deep within the forest.

The “Corridor” is so called because it is a designation given by the Ministry of Environment for areas that are between two protected nature reserves – in this case the Las Nubes cloud forest and Los Cusingos – which has the goal of increasing the total forested area to create one larger forested area for species to have a broader range of habitat.

The communities within this corridor mostly have sugar cane, coffee farms or pasture and therefore the forested areas are fragmented or separated by open spaces which means that species cannot move easily throughout the area. This necessitates initiatives such as the community-run tree nursery which grows and sells trees to farmers to dispurse throughout their coffee farms to create more sustainable shade-grown coffee. This also creates a need for incentives for the people to plant more trees, therefore there is a need for more demand for shade-grown coffee, more awareness on the benefits the tree cover can provide, and for more tourism to the area so that they can benefit monetarily from preserving the private forested farms.

 

Our first stop on our trip to Costa Rica is Savegre Mountain Lodge in San Gerardo de Dota, a little valley among the mountains and forest. As you drive through the winding roads from San Jose, you go higher and higher until you reach the clouds. Literally. All of a sudden the clouds are passing by the car and you know you have arrived in the cloud forest. The cloud forest is different from the rain forest in the sense that clouds hang between the trees at the mountain tops almost all day every day.

 

It’s cooler here up at this elevation, 2200 metres (6400 ft) almost feels like the mountains in a temperate climate. This makes for an interesting forest because there are pine and oak trees, among moss covered rubber trees, vines, bamboo, lichens, bromeliads and millions of other plants.

This morning we (our guests Usha and James, and I) woke up early and went for a birdwatching tour through the forest with Melvin, our funny and knowledgeable guide. At one point he heard 6 different birdsongs and could identify them all simultaneously and he can spot something in an instant. He would set up his spotting scope (looks like a telescope to find birds that are hidden from the human eye below the treetops) within seconds of a bird flying by so that when it landed we could get a close-up look.

This area of the country is one of the best places to see the Resplendant Quetzal. It is one of the most spectacular birds I have ever seen, and judging by the amount of people with their expert cameras with massive telescopic lenses out on the search with different guides, it is a popular bird to add to your list.  We were lucky enough to see no less than six today!  We saw two couples along the road and then another couple inside the forest on the trail. First the female arrived, so we knew the male would be close by (It’s mating season). While the females are beautiful, the males are spectacular, with green spiky soft feathers on their heads, red bodies, and teal green backs with long plumage that is whispy in the wind.

In the afternoon, we decided to take part, at least in observation, of the procession along the road to the church for the easter celebration of the “stations of the cross.”  Usha, being from Africa is very interested in all of the cultural differences between where she grew up, where she lives now (the US), and Latin America. So we walked along as people from the small community here in this forested valley sang and prayed on this the most important day of the year for Catholics.

Tomorrow we are off to see the whole process of coffee, from bean to cup.  This region is famous for its coffee, as the best coffee grows at high elevations. It should be another beautiful day in this special part of the country.