From the Pacific to the cloud forest

Our flight is six hours late—so our plan to drive to our first lodging while it’s still light out goes out the window. We drive three hours through mist-shrouded mountains and jungle in the dark to Arenal Lodge. In the morning, we wake up, look out the panoramic window—and there stands the Arenal Volcano in all its glory, with almost no cloud cover.
The lodge has its own rainforest surrounding the house, with plenty of wildlife, beautiful gardens, and a pool. We visit the La Fortuna Waterfall, cross suspension bridges in the rainforest, and go on a wildlife safari at dusk—we see howler monkeys, toucans, and sloths. In the evening, we drive to the Hotel Tabacon Thermal Resort & Spa: volcanic springs, a great pool bar, hot enough that we don’t know if it’s relaxation or punishment. To us, howler monkeys sound like old men with shortness of breath—they wake us up at 5:30 every morning.

On the map, Arenal to Monteverde is just a stone’s throw away—in reality, it’s a three-hour bumpy ride over the mountain, with a top speed of 30 km/h between the potholes. The reward: a beautiful wooden house in the middle of the forest, where coatis regularly stop by, always hoping for something to eat.
Three days, three activities. On the first day, the Sky Adventures combo: a Sky Walk across suspension bridges through the treetops, followed by a visit to the herpetarium with snakes, lizards, spiders, and birds. On the second day, the El Tigre Waterfall Hike—on paper, 8 km with four waterfalls and nine bridges; in practice, an endurance test: 100% humidity, 30 degrees, a few hundred meters of elevation gain not mentioned anywhere in the brochure, and our water bottles empty way too soon. Suspension bridges alternating with natural log bridges, interspersed with the roar of the next waterfall.
On the third evening, we go on a night safari in the cloud forest: frogs, spiders, scorpions, snakes—and finally a sloth high up in the branches.

We drive six hours to the southwest of Costa Rica. It’s a beautiful route with plenty of scenic views—and we cross the famous bridge with the giant crocodiles swimming beneath it. We find it impressive and awe-inspiring.
Upon arrival, we receive the bad news: Corcovado National Park is closed due to COVID-19. What now? Our super host is also a guide and knows a lot of people. He organizes a kayaking tour for us through rivers and the ocean—we keep our eyes peeled for sharks, crocodiles, and dolphins, and we actually get to see some of them.
In the dark twilight, we take a magical swim in the Pacific: the bioluminescent plankton makes the water glow blue as soon as we move. Since the park is closed, we drive off the main roads, far from the nearest village, to secluded Pacific beaches—miles long and deserted. Instead, we have the company of various monkeys, who roar and watch us just as we watch them. And a flock of macaws settles in a tree right next to us—what a sight.

We continue on to Quetzal National Park. We stay in a small mountain cabin in Providencia, at an elevation of 2,200 meters. Up here live the quetzals—the shyest and most iridescent birds in Central America, and a national symbol of Costa Rica. Early in the morning, we’re out on the trail, breathing in the thin mountain air, always on the lookout for the majestic bird. Then we spot a green-turquoise-red glimmer in the branches—and actually catch a glimpse of it.

We’re heading to the Caribbean beach on the east coast—Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Cocles Beach. After the mountains, we find ourselves in a whole new world: reggae playing in the background, alternating black and white sandy beaches, and coconut palms right at the water’s edge.
No sooner have we spread out our towels than the police arrive—they’ve closed the beaches because of COVID-19, too. Whether that makes sense, we’ll leave open to debate. We head to the nearest beach restaurant and order cocktails and burgers. Since no one else is out and about because of COVID, we practically have a private chef all to ourselves. He sits down with us, asks what we like—and whips up the best burger ever, which he created just for us.
The next day, a local takes us to his secret spot: a beautiful forest with a river and waterfall on his private property, admission for a small fee. Unfortunately, we found the doors closed at the Jaguar Rescue Center.

Since our Caribbean accommodation isn’t exactly ideal and it’s unclear what will happen next with the border closures, we head to San Jose a day early and check into a cool treehouse in Heredia—complete with a whirlpool tub and a giant swing attached to the house.
While we’re getting everything ready for our flight home, we get the news: our scheduled return flight is the second-to-last flight allowed to leave the country. Good luck or bad luck? We’re getting home, but two more months in Costa Rica until the borders reopen wouldn’t have been half bad either.