I visited Costa Rica between June 17th and June 30th, 2024. During this two-week tour we traveled through five of the country's seven provinces. Most of Costa Rica's colonial-era or historical architecture has been destroyed over the centuries due to earthquake activity, so the main focus of travel to the country is based on its natural wonders. This was primarily an ecotour. Costa Rica is a small country, with just over five million inhabitants. It borders the Caribbean Sea to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west; Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south. Within its relatively small 19,760 sq miles of landmass is a fascinating world of varying ecosystems with amazing biodiversity. This was a physical trip. During our visit we hiked through small sections of rainforests and dry forests and even an area referred to as a transitional forest. We river rafted on the Rio Sarapiqui that runs down from the mountainous central highlands. We zip-lined above the forest canopy near the Arenal Volcano. In Puntarenas, in the central Pacific coast, we paddled outrigger canoes along the shoreline to a protected cove where we swam in the Pacific and enjoyed a picnic lunch. In Guanacaste we rode horses through the forest to take a dip at the foot of a small waterfall; and later that day went up into the mountains to soak in thermal pools. We went on two separate river boat cruises -- one on the Rio Frio and the other on the Rio Tarcoles -- to witness some of the country's unique wildlife (including crocodiles!). We also toured organic cacao and pineapple farms to learn how they are grown and processed. Along the way we met many people and learned a little about the local culture. It was a very fun, if exhausting, tour. I hope my pictures and journal will be able to capture it all for you.
My photos will be grouped by the provinces we visited. For the sake of organization they will not be in exact order since we sometimes had to cross back and forth between provinces. But, as always, I will have captions to explain what you are seeing. Once all the photos have been posted you can just scroll the cursor over the Costa Rica icon and a drop down screen will appear, then just click on whatever province photos you wish to see. The journal, when finished, will be posted on the Journal section of the website.