A Hiker’s Paradise: Rincón de la Vieja’s Dry Tropical Forests

The misty rainforests, draped thick across most of Costa Rica, are justly famed for their pristine wilderness. But adventurers who seek to penetrate their muddy understories must come prepared: Guides are almost always required to identify birdcalls in the fog, while rubber boots—or better, hanging bridges and canopy tours—are recommended in the slippery rainy season.

Hikers in search of drier trails, however, with clearer views and no need for guides (though they can be arranged) could consider visiting easily accessible Rincón de la Vieja National Park instead, less than an hour from and the international airport. The huge volcanic massif, sometimes called the “Colossus of Guanacaste,” dominates northwestern Costa, covering 14,084 hectares (34,800 acres) and rising to 1916m (6286ft). Most of the volcano is covered with dry tropical forest, Central America’s rarest biome because it is so easily explored—trails are easily negotiated and wildlife clearly visible, particularly in summer months (December through May) when many trees lose their leaves.

Birders in particular will appreciate Rincón de la Vieja’s prodigious fauna, including several species of parrots, parakeets, trogons, and hummingbirds, as well as urracas (magpie jays), bellbirds, toucans, woodpeckers, and perhaps even quetzals at the highest altitudes. Spotting monkeys (howler, spider, and capuchins swing through these trees), pizotes (coatimundis), and kinkajous is almost guaranteed; luckier hikers may find two-toed sloths, armadillos, anteaters, dantas (tapirs) or even big cats. Butterflies flutter in colorful clouds between the buttressed roots of enormous matapalos (strangler figs), while the park’s varied bouquet includes stands of guaria morada orchids, Costa Rica’s national flower.

There are two entrances to the park, about 30km (18mi) from downtown Liberia; many local hotels run shuttles, which take about an hour on the unpaved roads. There is also lodging closer to the top. Both sectors have ranger stations with potable water and shady campgrounds, complete bathrooms and grills, still a rarity even in this outdoorsy nation.

The Santa María Sector is a good choice for people who want to visit Los Azufrales, simple, cement-lined hot springs about 4km (2.5mi) from the ranger station. The majority of trails, however, begin in the Las Pailas Sector, where most shuttle drop you off; the entrances are connected by a little-used, 9km (5mi) trail through the rolling, forested volcanic skirts, primarily hiked by wildlife watchers.

The most popular trail is a relatively flat, 4km (2.5mi) loop past a variety of volcanic features: simmering fumeroles, boiling lakes, bubbling mud pots, popping sulfur vents, and even a sweet little volcanito (small volcano) where iguanas often sun themselves. We recommend saving this trail for the afternoon, if you plan to visit to one of the two picturesque waterfalls as well.

Both waterfall trails run about 4.5km (2.5mi) from the Las Pailas ranger station. Catarata Cangreja is the slightly easier trail (though still challenging), and is perhaps the lovelier cascade, dyed that celestial volcanic blue. Visiting Catarata Escondida requires a much steeper hike, and is the smaller fall. But, as the majority of hikers are put off by the climb, you may have the “Hidden Cascade” all to yourself. Either way, pack some snacks and enjoy a swim in paradise.

Serious climbers will want to take on the very steep, 12km (8mi) trail to active Von Seebach Crater, a simmering acid lake surrounded by a 5-kilometer-wide, barren lunar landscape, a compound caldera that most recently spewed forth lava in 1998. The hike takes all day, and the last two kilometers are extremely steep, and can be slippery and dangerous. The peak may be entirely enveloped in foggy rain even on otherwise sunny days, which will not only obscure your volcanic view, but may even necessitate turning back. You’ll be rewarded, regardless, with views across Guanacaste and to Lake Nicaragua, well worth the trip.

Rincón de la Vieja National Park is open Tuesday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.; entrance is US$10 for foreign visitors. Day trips can be arranged from Los Sueños and Jaco; many offer the option of a canopy tour at Hacienda Guachipelin, with decent lodging, horseback tours, and more. Much plusher accommodations can be arranged at Blue River Resort Hotel or Borinquen Mountain Resort and Spa.

Costa Rican Holidays

The most important event on the Costa Rican religious calendar isn’t Christmas, as some visitors might expect. Though that revered family holiday is certainly sacred, the date you’ll need to plan your trip around is Semana Santa, or Holy Week—the week preceding Easter Sunday.

Chocolate bunnies, colored eggs, and special Catholic Masses are just the beginning: Semana Santa is serious business in Central America. If you’re thinking about enjoying your spring break in Costa Rica, or anywhere in Latin America for that matter, you need to start making plans now. In 2011, Easter comes on April 24, but travelers should start making reservations for travel beginning April 16 (Palm Sunday).

The entire country begins to shut down the weekend prior to Easter, as just about every Costa Rican with the means is already planning their escape to the beach. Hotel rates along the coasts rise in every category—and that’s if you can find a room. Many Ticos (Costa Ricans) simply bring hammocks to the beach, or sleep right on the sand. One wonders if the whales and sea turtles consider it a natural migratory event, and plan tours around the massive annual influx of humans.

Inland, particularly in San José and the Central Valley’s major cities, smaller business begin shutting down on Monday, while almost all non-essential services are closed on the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday preceding Easter. Most buses stop running on Thursday and Friday as well—if you don’t have a rental car, make sure that you’re where you want to be. Alcohol sales are forbidden Wednesday through Saturday, but if you speak a bit of Spanish, you can usually find bars and private vendors willing to part with a bottle or two, at premium prices.

If you’re willing to work with the wild ruckus surrounding Semana Santa, however, you won’t find a more authentically Costa Rican fiesta. The beach parties are wild, and you’ll almost certainly be invited to toast the holiday with inebriated locals (though it always helps if you bring your own libations). And, if you’re interested in more traditional events, most major towns and cities offer more serious observations of the Holy Week.

More religious Costa Ricans, particularly the older generations, believe that driving, swimming, drinking alcohol, and eating meat (other than seafood) during Semana Santa is sinful. Rather than heading to the beach, they enjoy a quiet week with their families and church congregations.

Catholic churches, most notably in Cartago and around the Central Valley, organize elaborate, costumed processions on Good Friday, depicting Jesus Christ’s last day before the crucifixion. Called the Via Crucis, or Via Dolorosa (literally the “Way of the Cross” or “Way of Sorrows,” and very similar to the Passion Play), these follow a representation of Jesus, sometimes portrayed by an actor dragging the cross, or more often a carved statue carried on a litter by volunteers.

The Via Cruces stops at each Station of the Cross, where other actors perform key Biblical events, such as Simon of Cyrene being ordered by the Romans to carry the cross for a struggling Jesus, and Saint Veronica wiping Christ’s brow with what is now, according to tradition, the Shroud of Turin. All are invited to follow.

There are dozens of other more typically Tico traditions associated with Semana Santa, however, not all of them sanctioned by the Church. For instance, in many towns, Judas the Betrayer is burned in effigy on the Saturday before Easter, accompanied by lots of fireworks. In Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, local gentlemen capture a live crocodile with their bare hands, and keep it in a pen (with the blessing of MINAE, if not the Vatican) as part of the Lagarteada, a celebration that almost certainly predates the Spanish Conquest.

Visiting Costa Rica during Semana Santa can be the best of times, or the worst of times, depending on whether or not you’ve prepared. Still up for it? Mead Brown still has luxury villas, homes and condominiums available right on the beach, and just an hour from the most elaborate traditional festivals in the Central Valley. Contact us as soon as possible to make your Semana Santa memorable for all the right reasons.

Costa Rica is known for its lush rain forests and pristine beaches.

In a report released Saturday, the group ranks nations using the “Happy Planet Index,” which seeks countries with the most content people.

In addition to happiness, the index by the New Economics Foundation considers the ecological footprint and life expectancy of countries.

“Costa Ricans report the highest life satisfaction in the world and have the second-highest average life expectancy of the new world (second to Canada),” the organization said in a statement.

They “also have an ecological footprint that means that the country only narrowly fails to achieve the goal of … consuming its fair share of the Earth’s natural resources.”

The Central American country, tucked between Nicaragua and Panama, touts its lush rain forests and pristine beaches. Its president, Oscar Arias Sanchez, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for trying to help end civil wars in several Central American countries.

This year’s survey, which looked at 143 countries, featured Latin American nations in nine of the Top 10 spots.

The runner-up was the Dominican Republic, followed by Jamaica, Guatemala and Vietnam.
Most developed nations lagged in the study.

While Britain ranked 74th, the United States snagged the 114th spot, because of its hefty consumption and massive ecological footprint.

The United States was greener and happier 20 years ago than it is today, the report said.

Other populous nations, such as China and India, had a lower index brought on by their vigorous pursuit of growth-based models, the survey suggested.

“As the world faces the triple crunch of deep financial crisis, accelerating climate change and the looming peak in oil production, we desperately need a new compass to guide us,” said Nic Marks, founder of the foundation’s center for well-being.

Marks urged nations to make a collective global change before “our high-consuming lifestyles plunge us into the chaos of irreversible climate change.”

The report, which was first conducted in 2006, covers 99 percent of the world population, the statement said.

Expats turn your Costa Rican siesta from lame to lavish.

Casa Mono Loco in Los Suenos Resort & Marina, Costa Rica

If you’re planning an escape to Costa Rica this year, be sure to check in with Mark Mead and Michael Brown of the eponymous Mead Brown, a full-service, vacation rental marketing and property management company specializing in the country’s Central Pacific Coast. The company is widely regarded as one of—if not the—best for travel to Costa Rica, a hard-earned distinction for its two founders. After all, Mead and Brown gave up fast-paced careers in the United States to set up shop in Costa Rica, where they drew on their own experience as tourists to create one-of-a-kind vacations for a market that had, in their eyes, gone uncatered to, or at least insufficiently so.

“After rewarding careers in the US, we knew we wanted adventure and to live abroad,” says Brown. “Several visits as tourists to Costa Rica illustrated the need—and business opportunity—for a professionally managed vacation rental company that could deliver to the expectations of North Americans. After a year of research and planning and the investment of hundreds of thousands of dollars into the best systems, we opened for business.”

The result was Mead Brown, which now boasts a diverse collection of privately owned beachfront villas, houses, condos, and fincas in the Jaco, Playa Hermosa, Herradura, and Los Sueños areas. Mead Brown has also become the preferred vacation rental provider for the Los Sueños Resort & Marina, where clients enjoy lavish condominium accommodations and leisure, sporting, and spa privileges.

Mead Brown also offers complete concierge services, meaning clients can craft the ultimate vacation package. Spa services, championship golf, world-class sport fishing, horseback riding, sea kayaking, and flora-and fauna tours are among the wishes and whims the outfit’s dedicated guest services staff can fulfill. There’s also the placement of private chefs, as well as air- and watercraft charters, housekeeping, and transportation.

“Service is what sets us apart from most of the vacation rental companies in Central America,” Brown says. Even when the most hedonistic at heart come calling, Brown, like a seasoned hotelier, has the answer: “We will do virtually anything to meet our guests’ needs, expectations, and wishes,” he says. “This is a promise not easily fulfilled in a developing country, but we give it our very best and we typically deliver.”

So how are these American expats adjusting to life in this business? “It’s been really gratifying and rewarding for us,” Brown says. “When [guests] leave, they tell us that they’ve never been so well taken care of. It seems a bit odd to us . . . it’s not as though we are peeling their grapes.” Maybe so, but we have a feeling that this hospitable pair would be happily willing to do just that.—Lindsay Lambert

Mead Brown’s accommodations range from fully equipped three-bedroom condos from $300 per night to seven-bedroom villas at $7,500 per night; all properties include daily housekeeping. For more information or to make a reservation, visit www.meadbrown.com or call 866-567-1516.
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