Costa Rica

Andrew Griswold, Director of EcoTravel
35 Pratt Street, Suite 201
Essex 06426
860-767-0660
Fax: 860-767-9988
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A Traveler’s Review:

Costa Rica Adventure

Hatsy Moore, Connecticut Audubon Traveler

Once again Connecticut Audubon provided the ingredients for superb service and unforgettable memories of Costa Rica. Even with a 25 pound baggage limit, I promise, you don’t need much in a country where humid temperatures range in the 90’s.

Our diversified group, none of whom had been to Costa Rica before, consisted of some good birders as well as those curious about tropical rainforest flora and fauna. There was lots of walking and hiking , but the pace was leisurely. Bird, animal, insect, and plant species mounted rapidly. Even if you chose to remain at the lodge for a morning or afternoon break, there was more than enough wildlife to keep you busy and to ask our local guide Charlie Gomez about later. He is master of identifying bird, bat, or plant given even my most rudimentary descriptions. With great skill he was able to bring into view the most sought after bird of the trip, the resplendent quetzal.

While the goal of the trip was identifying and appreciating birds, one could not help but to fall in love with the biodiversity of the rainforest. Costa Rica is a plant and animal melting pot with approximately 850 species of birds, and thousands of plant and insect species. We reveled in the discovery of the world of trogons, becards, manakins, puffbirds, wood and honey creepers, and the keel-billed toucan, “Toucan Sam” of the Fruit Loop cereal fame. In the evening, Charlie would rattle off exceedingly long lists of what we had seen or heard that day.

The itinerary was chosen to include the world’s best known cloud forest. The Monterverde Cloud Forest Preserve is one of the most outstanding wildlife sanctuaries in the New World tropics. here we found the resplendent quetzal as well as coati mundis and agoutis, not to mention abundant tree species and orchids. Then we headed southwest to the hot Corcovado National Park adjacent to the Pacific Ocean (swimming was the best). As we ambled along the vast beach to our lodging, we were accompanied by scarlet macaws and spider monkeys. Some of us were hoisted by the local young men for a morning of spectacular close up views of the rainforest canopy.

Our last leg took us along the northeast Caribbean coast to the Tortuguero National Park. We traveled through mazes of canals and back waters to see toucans, parrots, shorebirds, howler monkeys, caimin, and two and three-toed sloths. And yes, even rain one day! All of this and we didn’t see another group!

Accommodations? Everyone raved! Food? Superb! We came home with fantastic memories, a passionate desire to help preserve the rain forests of the world, and bottles of Lizano Salsa. I lugged home a duffel that felt like a bag of cement!

My favorite bird you ask? Impossible!