Reflections on Costa Rica



20140313-192055.jpg Lucy I loved my grandma and grandpa coming to visit. They played games with me. I sat in the back of the truck with grandma when we were driving.

20140313-192217.jpg I have also met the Dutchies and Dunya their lovely dog, the queen of the dogs. I also met Petra and liked going in her truck. I also liked playing with Alex and Mire again.

20140313-192351.jpg I like all the shells on the beach and while looking at them I found some crab claws. I have really liked learning about the rainforest. I know the different levels, the forest floor, the understory, the canopy and the emergence. I have also learned about what lives in the forest and how plants make oxygen. Oxygen is very important. This is a picture of the coconut trees at the beach.

20140313-192517.jpg Alisha My grandma and grandpa came to visit. We made shortbread, chocolate cakes and bought chocolate chip cookies for them. We traveled around the country with them which was fun but we had to go down from the mountains as grandpa got altitude sickness and therefore I only got to use the jacuzzi at the lodge once. I had wanted to use it more. I really liked seeing my grandparents.

20140313-192710.jpg We saw lots of birds including a hummingbird in its nest. We also saw Scarlet Macaws at the beach.

20140313-192914.jpg I also liked going in the sea and love splashing in the waves. I also like meeting other people who are traveling like us.

20140313-193102.jpg Gilly Over a decade ago in Moscow I hit a particularly low note. I was using the short window of time between the snow melting and the summer break to take my students out to the local forest to try to survey the different species there. It was when one of my innocent eleven year old students who was desperate to increase her minuscule species list, held the tattered remains of an old condom and asked if it was a type of fungus, that my heart sunk. As much as living in Moscow gave us, for a start we would have found it a lot harder going on this trip without our time saving there, a rewarding time in nature wasn't one of them. I started to think then; as a Biology teacher where would the best place to work be? Where could I get a job where field trips could involve looking at hundreds of species not just a small handful. I started to dream...in the end I pumped for Costa Rica with its rich biodiversity. Unfortunately that's all it stayed as, a dream. However I've now fulfilled that wish, admittedly my class is rather small, just two, but it has been fabulous to teach the girls all about the unique flora and fauna in the rainforest.

20140313-193219.jpg Steve Gilly and I had visited Costa Rica 18 years a go and thoroughly enjoyed it so we were looking forward to spending time here again. The country is much more developed, more touristy and more expensive than its Central American neighbours. Whilst it is a small country it packs in a lot of diversity from beaches to jungle rain forests to cloud forests, to mountains etc. Nature is everywhere and it makes a fantastic country to have a holiday in. It is also very easy to overland in as it is pretty easy to find somewhere to stay for the night. There are also an increasing number of expats living here and I could see the attraction of that as the quality of life would be fantastic and the infrastructure is well developed. Living here would not be a bad option. The people here both the locals and the expats have been incredibly friendly and helpful and traveling around the country has been easy. It has also been really nice to have my parents visit us and spend some time with us. It was great to see them and we all really appreciated the effort they made to come out and see us.

20140313-193411.jpg All in all we have had a great time in the almost 4 weeks we have spent here and have enjoyed the many different environments and sights that Costa Rica has to offer.

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3 thoughts on “Reflections on Costa Rica

  1. We loved Costa Rica too for its diversity, but agree that it is definitely more expensive and touristy. Looking forward to reading about where you guys go next. Happy travels!

  2. Oh, Gilly, I’m laughing out loud at the sweet story of the meager rewards to be found by budding biologists in the Moscow forests! Love the picture of you and the girls on the canopy walkway.

    xoxo

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