we just got back from the remote Southern Caribbean side of Costa Rica - (Punta Uva) where the jungle meets the sea, and animals outnumber humans.

it was flippin' amazing, incredible, sweltering, natural, exotic, lush, wild, breathtaking, primal, HUGE, stunning, alive...



the end.

sounds rad Jane!!!

Yep, been there a couple times. Welcome to the jungle!

If I wasn't there, I was pretty close I think (Playa Cocles). Great place - caribbean side of Costa Rica.

i dont know how to embed a video. this is a short one of guys net fishing from a bamboo raft, taken on a drive along the panama border.

i hope the link works....

net fishing from a bamboo raft (by jane)

Doesn't work for me, but then Facebook rarely works for me anyway.

all fixed!

i changed it to a youtube link. try again. also, here's a cool one of howler monkeys from right outside out al fresco (no walls) bathroom. if you listen really carefully, you can hear babies trying to howl too - they sound like lambs.

Howlers howling loudly

was flippin' amazing, incredible, sweltering, natural, exotic, lush, wild, breathtaking, primal, stunning, alive...

is that description the place or sweetjane ?

Wow! Were the Howlers your constant companions?
I have been looking at CR for years, maybe its time.
Mt wife Loves AC tho, so I will have to check it out with the boys first....

How was the travel from the San Jose to the coast?

gela - about a half hour south of Cocoles - this place was not azania bungalows - not roadside - it was IN IT! http://www.villatoucan.com

gridguy, not constant companions, but we could hear them daily from 4:30-dawn, and again at dusk, or if weather was coming. once dawn broke, the toucans & hummingbirds came out for an hour or two, followed by the parrots. everything siestas between 10 and 3, and it starts all over again. sunset starts by 4 pm year round. it was pretty cool. one thing we clearly noticed was - there was wildlife all around us, and none of it even noticed us, unless we got too close. every critter, large & tiny, are just very busy doing their own thing, and humans appear to be inconsequential to them.

ok, now, the drive from SJ to punta uva was 5 hours total (without stopping once) and brutal, to be honest. SJ itself is nuts - streets twist, people cut you off constantly, and there are no street, highway or road signs. this time we actually PAID a guy $50 to lead us to the gas station, then the highway (worth every penny). once out of the city, the road east is paved, but this paved portion was much more treacherous than the poorly paved road south. the E/W road is only one lane in each direction, and Ticos drive like insane people - very aggressive - like no where i've ever seen. the rule is to PASS everyone, at any cost, at any speed, regardless of conditions - pouring rain, uphill & around a curve, passing 3 trucks at the same time, even if someone is coming at you in the opposite direction - if you leave 8 feet between you & the car in front of you, you are fair game to be cut off. i was white knuckled for 2 hours, and bruce did great! once you get on the road south, the road surface deteriorates significantly after Cahuita but has way less traffic & is just gorgeous all the way south - beach after deserted beach with not a house or condo in sight - nothing for miles and miles. in fact, we never saw one single condo between Limon & punta uva. that part is deal-able.

that said, southern CR ain't AC, or anything near it. that would be the pacific side, like jaco, i guess. this was remote, mellow, jungle-y, more like how i picture the outskirts of punta gorda (never been) must be.

believe me, gela & laurie - i was thinking about you two taking the punctual buses instead, but we chalk it up to adventure, and would probably do it for a 3rd time too.

pics to come later today...if you're interested.

ps - and Ry - that was the closest thing to a compliment you've ever directed at me!

Next time, I recommend that you try something even more adventurous - walk across the bridge with your luggage over the Sixaola River from Costa Rica to Panama and take the boat from Finca 60 at Changiunola over to Bocas. The scenery through San San Pond Sak was some of the most gorgeous and pristine jungle I have ever seen.

I would like to be south on the Carribean side my fist time, especially after your desc of the wildlife. Thanks!

I met a dude in Boise who described staying NE and watching a lava flow in the distance from his hot-tub... Seems there is a lot to see...

Ry being nice, shocked me too!

laurie, honey, no competition here - you way beat me in adventure. i am the lazy-man's adventurer, for sure! BTW, the video above of the guys on the raft was on that road to Sixaola. the difference was, we turned around and you kept on going. i do admire you.

guy - understand that it was the HOUSE we stayed in - in the jungle canopy - that allowed the wildlife viewing from the balcony. just being clear to not give false info. our first trip we stayed just outside of puerto viejo. a gorgeous beach was right across the street, but save for a sloth that lived in a tree at the entrance, we had to go LOOKING for the wildlife. the grace was, you could just drive a few miles to see monkeys, if you knew where to look, or do a tour with a guide. sometimes howlers would be roadside mid day to nap. you have to look up all the time!

you are right, CR is diverse in eco zones - you have to research. the NW is an arid rainforest, N central is mts, agriculture & the volcano (laurie, you & gela saw that (La Fortuna), yes?), S central is remote, and Osa in the south is supposed to be wild jungle too.

anyway, it is SURELY not for everyone. for me, it was maybe the most incredible and educational trip of my life. we used field guides & at night he read naturalists' books to me. we learned as much as we could about how the earth works, from the largest creatures to most minute. about how life only exists properly when in balance. when things go out of that balance (clearing of habitat, chemical thinning of a species, change in food supply, addition of species to environ), there is a chain reaction of unbalance. we were fascinated. it makes you think a lot, and re-think a lot.

here's a sampling of the 1000 pics we took. i hope you enjoy them, and see what we saw:

the enchanted rain forest - bruce & jane's CR trip

most have captions explaining what, where or why. thanks.

Jane,

Had to stop prtway thru, but great so far! So... your house was IN the canopy?

Makes me want to go back!! Fabulous pics. I nicknamed Costa Rica "Jungle Book".

SJ, I was halfway kidding about my comment...it was actually very scary walking across that rickety old wooden bridge with luggage and traffic and a raging white water river below..but that is the way to get to Bocas.

perhaps, laurie, but you DID IT! still admire ya! it really IS like jungle book there - what a place.

yes, gridguy, we were IN the canopy. otherwise, you can see monkeys & an occasional sloth roadside, but you have to really look - all animals there pretty much ignore the humans.

so, have you all seen my pics yet??? CLICK HERE (jane & bruce's CR PICS)

Love the pics, Jane. Sounds like our kind of trip! We love to explore!

The experience over the bridge was incredible. I tried to warn LaurieMar (she's afraid of heights which I did not know at the time). I guess it was a good thing that Laurie didn't visualize our adventure beforehand.

SJ - as for "punctual bus", it was a good way to enjoy the scenery without having to drive the awful roads. Did that my first trip (Pacific side) and it was very nice to have someone else get us to our first destination. Loved your pictures, and it makes me want to go back too.