One chill January morning as we bundled into layers for our four mile predawn walk, Larry said, “we need to go somewhere warm!” I think he meant Florida, but in the absence of specificity, I took the challenge and ran with it. And that’s how we ended up a few weeks later, blinking in the bright sunlight as we stumbled off a Delta flight in San José, Costa Rica. Five years earlier, we’d spent a fabulous week with some of our kids in this tropical central American country, riotous with colorful flora and fauna and fowl. It was time for a redo.
Summer 2019. Too cool for school. Ready to zip-line.
Larry and I are not lie-on-the-beach vacationers; tropical beverages and sunshine sound lovely but we need to be active to be happy. Ideally the ratio of nature to throngs of people is weighted heavier towards nature. I am our resident trip planner and this time, my research led me to Hotel Three Sixty, a boutique resort which checked every box! Located along the pacific coast in southwestern Costa Rica, the resort is literally perched on top of a mountain, overlooking rainforests, mountains and the ocean. For 360 degrees, everywhere you look, there is a photo waiting to happen (thus the name).
It was after dark when we ascended the crazy steep, unpaved, bumpy road to our weeklong home, so we got our first glimpse of paradise the next morning. From the comfort of our balcony overlooking the forest treetops and the gentle ocean waves, we watched the theatre that is dawn. This theatre was resplendent with an accompanying orchestra of birds, whose sharp calls were unfamilar to us. Our Cornell Lab Merlin Bird ID app told us their names: Tinamou, Bright-rumped Attila, Streaked Flycatcher, Mealy Parrot, Three-wattled Bellbird, Laughing Falcon, and many more.
Sunrise is my favorite time of the day, no matter where I find myself.
Breakfast beside the infinity pool. Why yes, I will take a second cup of that aromatic costa rican coffee.
This was the most exquisite pool situation that I’ve ever experienced.
I was so excited capturing a pic of this Great Kiskadee as he came by for a drink from the pool. Later I noticed that I got his mate flying by as well. This pair had claimed Hotel 360 as their home. Most any time they could be spotted or heard near the pool. We loved locating them whenever we sat down.
I’ve never seen such a plethora of blooming shrubs and exotic flowers! I was that person snapping away and then identifying them on my PictureThis app. Here are a few faves.
False Bird of Paradise
Shining Bird of Paradise
Red hot cat’s tail
Bleeding heart vine.
Burmese Fishtail Palm.
Bananas.
I loved the shape and scale of this Butterfly palm against the azure sky. And yes, there were butterflies fluttering everywhere. They never sat long enough though to be photographed. We saw two of those brilliant blue morpho ones.
The next morning we were ready at 6:30am for our taxi ride to a touring company for Corcovado National Park. We were handed two steaming to-go cups of coffee by the attentive staff as we exited. Our taxi driver was determined to clock the shortest time down the rugged mountain road, potholes be doomed. With coffee sloshing and burning our hands, (forget about taking a sip!) Larry and I got the giggles. I asked him if he thought it would be okay to roll down the window and chuck everything out. Sometimes laughter is the only appropriate response.
We embarked from this beach on a boat and waved good bye to the swaying palms.
Our 1.5 hour long boat ride included a brief encounter with a group of dolphins leaping out of the water around our vessel.
The pristine beach of Corcovado National Park. This reserve on the Osa Peninsula is considered one of the world’s most biodiverse regions. It is filled with birds, animals, insects and plant life. Here are a few highlights from our guided tour through the jungle. And yes, poisonous snakes are plentiful during the rainy season. Remind me not to visit then!
Scarlet Macaw perched in a tree. They are large birds!
Jesus Christ Lizard - so named because it can appear to walk on water.
Scarlet Passion Flower.
Puma footprint.
Birds and the Bees. And this, dear children, is where new coconut trees come from.
We saw spider monkeys and howler monkeys high up in the jungle canopy. My favorite video was on the beach upon our return. These are howlers. And they were right beside a tree with a sleeping sloth.
Sunset is my second favorite time of the day.
When the fruity beverage colors match the hues of the setting sun, you know that it is a good vacation.
Mostly we ate dinners at the resort. The food was great (and we are a tough audience sometimes). Who knew that taco boards were a thing?! This one featured tacos with cheese, chicken, pork, and beef. And plantain chips for the guacamole.
There were several uninvited dinner guests.
I guess they like al fresco dining as well.
Several days we did walks in the jungle around the hotel.
One afternoon as we were heading on foot up the last steep hill, I caught a flash of yellow out of the corner of my eye. We stopped and watched, with mouths open, as a dozen yellow throated toucans noisily made their way through the trees. I’ll never eat fruit loops the same again.
Sometimes in the evening, white faced monkeys would swing through the trees around the open hotel lounge.
Early one morning, we walked through the forest to the yoga deck for a sunrise workout.
We were distracted by a pair of three-wattled bellbirds, who are often heard in that area but are more elusive to spot. They danced in the trees all around us, mating and warbling. We felt like we had been given a gift to witness such a thing.
There was another early morning birdwatching session at a family owned property. We saw a lot of birds, but after three hours, I realized that I am not such a dedicated birder. I will pay attention coincidentally while I enjoy another activity, but I am not patient enough to crane my neck just to see a quick flutter by.
I cannot say enough about the attention to detail at Hotel 360, including the attentiveness of the staff. They knew our names, they had a cold glass of water by our lounge chairs before we even knew we were thirsty, they seamlessly made arrangements for the guests. One afternoon I smelled a strong floral scent in a certain area. One of the staff told me it was from the flowers of the Ylang Ylang tree, which is the scent of Chanel No. 5 perfume. He couldn’t find any flowers low enough to pick. On our last evening, as we watched the sun set from the vantage of the infinity pool, he came by with one of these flowers for me. I buried my nose in that intoxicating aroma and thought, “what a fitting farewell to such a beautiful place!”
For Larry and I, the parrots were the true quintessential symbols of our Costa Rican experience; morning and evening, when the birds were most active, we would scan the sky and the trees for green parrots. All would be silent and then suddenly, the trees would come alive with squawking and wings fluttering. The birds had been there all along, surrounding us, but camouflaged in the foliage. We learned to pick them out as flying dots in the distant sky, because of their distinctive flight profile. Mealy parrots look like flying bowling pins with propellor wings flapping rapidly. With childish glee, we daily made fools of ourselves as we tried to spot the parrots.
One of the challenges of being a mature age is not giving in to cynicism; you’ve been around the block a few times and life has landed some hard punches. Becoming jaded, guarded and cynical is the easy default. I realized near the end of our glorious vacation that we were still looking for parrots, literally and figuratively. The world is a beautiful place and I hope to always have eyes and an open heart to take it in.
Mealy parrots in flight.
