Costa Rica? Count me in! Part:1 Wildlife
As weird as it sounds, I can honestly admit that Central America was never really on my radar for places to visit despite incredible landscapes, rich culture and abundant wildlife. I don’t know why. All I know is that I should’ve gone earlier because I was clearly missing out on something special.
A last minute change by (an unnamed and inconsiderate) airline meant that we were given a credit flight that, of course, needed to be used with the same inconsiderate airline. Upon searching where we could go, the usual uninspiring suggestions were put froward (and I am by no means suggesting that these locations are not worth visiting…they definitely are), places like Edmonton, St Johns or New York. Although New York would be interesting, big cities are generally not for me as I prefer escaping the rat race and heading into nature. As I scrolled down the list one destination popped out to me: Costa Rica.
Costa Rica? That’s somewhere I hadn’t considered before so I decided to look into it. Nestled between Nicaragua and Panama it’s relatively safe, has high biodiversity and Caribbean and Pacific coastlines. After about 20 minutes, it was decided that this was the destination for us. Trying to see the entire country in 3 weeks wouldn’t be enjoyable so we decided to stay in the North and Northwest part of the country. Within those 3 weeks, we stayed at two coastal locations (Playa Hermosa and Paquera on the Nicoya Peninsula) and two mountain/jungle locations (Monteverde and La Fortuna).
3 weeks flew by and I can honestly say that I will be going back. It’s a fantastic destination with so much to see and do. Some sunrises I had the entire beach to myself. Even though we went at the beginning of the wet season (April - May) , the rain was easy to work around (it often rains later in the afternoon which leaves the morning good for activities). I don’t speak Spanish, but it was easy enough to get the message across.
I thoroughly tested my camera equipment to the limit. Dark jungles, very high humidity, torrential downpours and my inability to not drop my polarizer filter in the sand almost on a weekly basis all tested my gear, but I managed to pull through. There is a small selection of some of the 7,500 images I took below. Please enjoy. This section on Costa Rican wildlife is Part 1 of a 3 part series. Part 2: From the ocean to the sky is focused on landscapes and Part 3: Hummingbirds don’t hum they buzz is a celebration of the incredible hummingbird diversity seen in Costa Rica.
Safe Travels and happy shooting,
Rob
