Travel to Costa Rica: Undiscovered Caribbean Costa Rica Adventure

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Undiscovered Caribbean Costa Rica Adventure

			DAYS: 9 GRADE: I-II define PRICE: From $2625 per person HIGHLIGHTS: For children 12 and older Horseback riding Waterfall rappelling Zip lining Caribbean cooking class Dance class Wildlife viewing Bribri Indigenous people Snorkeling or Kekoldi Reserve Turtle walk (when in season) Sloth Refuge Maximum 16 participants ACCOMMODATIONS: Hotels/Lodges MEALS: As noted  [B-Breakfast, L-Lunch,   D-Dinner] Prices, Departure Dates and Included Services Send to a Friend Print this Itinerary

Pura Vida! Traverse the mist-enshrouded Talamanca Mountains to discover the isolated lowland rainforests and white sand Caribbean beaches of Costa Rica that are the indigenous territory of Bribri and Cabecar Indians and Afro-Caribbean residents. Want to get off the beaten path? This trip goes deep inside a region of Costa Rica where traditional life prevails and we can interact meaningfully with local and indigenous people who are mostly isolated in reservations where tourists don't venture.  This active Wildland Adventure is ideal for families and all travelers who enjoy hiking, easy kayaking and paddling dugout canoes, snorkeling, horseback riding, zip-lining through the rainforest, optional rappelling down waterfalls and looking for giant leatherback sea turtles nesting on the beach at night.  Our expert naturalist guides seek out wildlife and introduce us to local families as their guests. We support local ecotourism initiatives as we learn how to make organic chocolate, help with a reforestation project and visit the Casa de Mujeres an organized womens group designed to preserve their culture and help send their children to school by sharing their talents cooking, making crafts, using medicinal plants, growing spices and weaving their thatch roofs. We also learn to dance Salsa and Calypso! This is a Costa Rica vacation unlike any other!

DAY 1 :  ARRIVE SAN JOSE
Welcome reception at Juan Santamaria International Airport in San Jose where we are warmly greeted and transferred to the Hotel Bougainvillea, our attractive three-story hotel set in tropical gardens just 20 minutes from the airport.  Spacious rooms offer two double beds, television, and balcony, and other amenities include a swimming pool, tennis court, and restaurant.  Overnight at Hotel Bougainvillea or similar.

Selva Bananito Jungle Lodge cozy eco-style cabins are built on stilts in traditional Caribbean style.

DAY 2 :  SELVA BANANITO - LA AMISTAD PARK
We depart with our guide over the highland cloud forests of the Central American isthmus to the slopes of the lowland Caribbean coast. After 3 hours we transfer to a 4 wheel drive vehicle traveling another 40 minutes over rugged roads deep into the protected tropical rainforests of La Amistad International Park. This protected area of wildlife habitat and Indian territories constitute the largest nature reserve in Central America spanning 2.2 million acres of uninterrupted wild lands across the Talamanca mountain range of southern Costa Rica over the border with Panama.

We settle in at Selva Bananito Jungle Lodge where cozy eco-style cabins are built on stilts in traditional Caribbean style. In the afternoon we saddle up for a 2-3 hour horseback ride among local farms, through rivers and over hills with beautiful vistas. After a candlelight dinner (there is no electricity at the lodge, water gets heated by solar panels), relax in your hammock, enjoy the sounds of the jungle and take in the light show of fireflies.  Overnight at Selva Bananito. [BLD]

	Our Costa Rica tour into the rainforest with a trained naturalist.

DAY 3 :  SELVA BANANITO - WATERFALL RAPPELLING!
Grab your water sandals and hiking boots for a full day hike (5-7 hours) into the rainforest. We make over 60 river crossings, jumping in the plentiful river pools along the way, passing by a 600 year-old mahogany tree as we learn more about rainforest ecology. After rappelling down an 80-foot waterfall (optional) we enjoy a well-deserved hearty picnic lunch. This is a real, adrenaline-packed eco tour for true adventure seekers. It requires very good physical condition.  Other fun and interesting optional activities are available for those who prefer a more mild outing. Overnight at Selva Bananito. [BLD]

Plant trees to support the watershed restoration and carbon offset at Selva Bananito.

DAY 4 :  SELVA BANANITO - ZIP LINE AND TREE PLANTING
After a short hike, you experience the canopy of the primary rainforest while gliding on a zip line 100-feet above the forest floor! This afternoon we take part in Selva Bananitos ongoing reforestation project. The Stein family has planted hundreds of tropical hardwoods on part of their land originally cut down by banana plantations in the 1800s. By creating forested corridors we help provide better habitat for wildlife. Our saplings will one day become part of the tropical rainforest, contributing to the conservation of endemic and endangered species. We are contributing to the work of the Fundacion Cuencas de Limn, a nonprofit foundation that has become a regional leader in watershed protection and environmental educational programs.  In the evening one of the Stein family members or your guide will talk about the foundation and the watershed restoration project. Overnight Selva Bananito Lodge. [BLD]

	Veronica teaches us the secrets of Caribbean cooking on this tour.

DAY 5 :  COCLES BEACH - COOKING AND DANCING CARIBBEAN STYLE!
We leave Selva Bananito for the drive to Cocles Beach (1 hr). After checking in we hop on our local style banana bikes for a short ride to the town of Puerto Viejo where we learn about the amazing history of the Afro-Caribbean descendents of escaped slaves and rail road workers who settled along this isolated coast. With one of Puerto Viejos matriarch cooks, we learn to cook Caribbean-style and then enjoy a delicious lunch including patacones (fried plantains), coconut rice, fish or chicken, with Caribbean style-sauce, and fresh fruit shakes. The English language spoken here is called Patois in which many a phrase begins with, Let me tell you whats been happening.

In the afternoon we have an opportunity to see some Soca, Salsa, Merengue, Hip Hop, Calypso, and African music, and learn to dance from an instructor with more than 20 years motivating Caribbean youth to take pride in their culture and heritage. Proceeds from our visit go to benefit the local youth dance group Olaba. Dinner is served at a local restaurant. Overnight at Hotel Cariblue or similar. [BLD]

The women teach us how they prepare organic chocolate.

DAY 6 :  TALAMANCA - BRIBRI NATIVE WOMEN'S GROUP
We spend today at Yorkin, a small town located in the Talamanca-Bribri indigenous territory, only accessible by a 1-1/2 hour motorized dug-out canoe on the spectacular Rio Yorkin. There is plenty of wildlife to view along the way so keep your binoculars handy.  This is also one of the best places to see organic cacao and banana plantations, learn about medicinal plants, and interact with indigenous people of the tropical rainforests of Costa Rica.  Through personal interaction with the Bribri Indians they share their culture, local customs, typical food, mythology and history. We sit down for a typical Bribri style lunch at the Casa de las Mujeres, part of an association of indigenous women dedicated to developing new sources of income to preserve their culture such as farming, organic cacao production, and ecotourism. Our visit helps send their children to school. Save room for dessert because the women share their secrets of chocolate making! After a fun-filled day of eating, dancing and learning, we board our canoe and head back to Bamb and overnight in Cocles at Hotel Cariblue or similar. [BLD]

	A prehistoric cycle - a leatherback turtle lays her eggs. (photo: Neil Osborne)

DAY 7 :  WILDLIFE OF THE CARIBBEAN - TURTLE WALK OR KEKOLDI RESERVE
Depending on the time of the year we feature any of these adventures:

KAYAKING-SNORKELING AT MANZANILLO AND TURTLE NIGHT WALK AT GANDOCA
March through September (best time for snorkeling)
March through May (turtle nesting season)

We head south for an adventure on the reefs off Manzanillo Beach.  After basic instructions, we paddle out on sit-on-top kayaks with snorkeling gear to a beach at the Gandoca Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge, part of a 10,000 acre protected reserve with miles of coral reef along the coast. We leave our kayaks and snorkel over underwater coral gardens. Watch for parrot fish, angel fish, snappers, groupers, grunts, blue tangs, jack fish and species swimming amongst the sea fans, brain coral, boulder coral, fire coral, and elk horn corals. Lunch is served at Maxis a local restaurant with a real Rasta vibe!

Late afternoon (March through June) we head to the beach at Gandoca to look for Leatherback sea turtles nesting in the sand at night to lay their eggs. You will actually be standing a few feet away from a massive 1,000 pound Leatherback Turtle while she lays 80-100 eggs, covers up her nest, tosses sand to throw off predators, and finally returns to the sea after more than an hour.

KEKOLDI RESERVE AND OBSERVATION OF RAPTORS
August through November and February to May

The Kekoldi Reserve is home to approximately 230 people of the BriBri indigenous group who live on 2,000 hectares of land along the Atlantic coast.  Most of the reserve is threatened by squatting, hunting and forestry activities, and they are making big efforts to purchase an additional 500 hectares that originally belonged to them.  The land has been managed sustainably by the BriBri for generations and the Association Kekoldi Wak Ka Koneke seeks to maintain a sustainable lifestyle while providing income opportunities for residents of the Reserve. 

Throughout the hike we encounter and learn about medicinal plants used traditionally by the local indigenous residents as well as plants and wild edible fruits that have been part of the indigenous diet since ancient times. It is possible to run across a coati, an armadillo, a sloth, or a monkey, or even the tracks of a wild cat. An abundance of birds are always around; toucans, magpies, aracaries, tanagers, hummingbirds, and parrots. Look for colorful poison dart frogs too! We share a traditional lunch with a local indigenous family and learn about local efforts to protect the endangered green iguana. In season, we climb a tower above the forest to observe the raptor migration which takes place just twice a year: from September to November and February to May.  During the peak of the season there are thousands of birds of prey in a single day. Overnight at Hotel Cariblue or similar.  [BLD]

	Three toed sloth chilling in his private treehouse.

DAY 8 :  SAN JOSE - AVIARIOS DEL CARIBE (SLOTH SANCTUARY)
We are off to visit Aviarios del Caribe, a sloth refuge where we learn about these shy and amazing creatures and the research, educational and conservation program designed to protect them.  Return to San Jose.  Farewell dinner and overnight at Hotel Bougainvillea Santo Domingo or similar. [BLD]

DAY 9 :  DEPARTURE
Transfer to the airport for return to the USA or extend your Costa Rica vacation. [B]

Questions? Ask Our Program Directors.

. C o n t a c t Grettel Calderon 1(800)345-4453