Tuesday, March 21, 16 adventurers joined Sharon and Bruce Beck of Poplar Bluff for a 10 day trip to Costa Rica. The Becks have traveled in Costa Rica seven times since 1972, and have led five different small groups on "Nature and Culture" tours to Costa Rica since 2001. "Each trip is unique," Beck said, "revealing something new and exciting about this small but amazing country. This group consisted of five from Poplar Bluff, two from Williamsville, one each from Neelyville, Couch, and Springfield, Mo. They were joined by a couple from Wallingford, Conn., three persons from Austin, Texas, and one from Malta, Mont., Canon City, Colo., and Edwardsville, Ill. Their personalities and life stories enriched our experience tremendously."
Throughout Costa Rica, "Pura Vida" echoes. "To a Costa Rican," Bruce Beck said, "pura vida means 'what a life', 'life is good', 'enjoy life', 'be happy', or 'things could be worse.'The people of Costa Rica made the tour doubly enjoyable."
Flying from St. Louis to San Jose, Costa Rica, takes the better part of a day. The group left at 1:30 p.m., and arrived in San Jose at 8:20 p.m., where they were met by their driver with his air-conditioned Toyota tourist bus which took them to their hotel. The bus easily accommodated all 18 comfortably. That evening at the hotel, everyone became acquainted as they enjoyed a fine supper.
Their first full day in Costa Rica, they climbed (not physically, but in the comfort of the tourist bus) from the Central Valley to the rim of Irazu Volcano. Beck described the trip: "As we climbed from San Jose at 3,000-plus feet to the crater rim at 9,000 feet it grew cooler, almost cold. The narrow winding road passed through dairy farms and mountainside fields of tomatoes, strawberries, onions and ornamental ferns. At the top of the road were plants, animals and birds unique to the cool temperatures and mists of high altitude. As on most days, the rim and crater were bathed in clouds of moist air from the Caribbean. There was no ash activities, but the sulfur smell from the crater was strong."
Meg LaPlante of Williamsville said, "Weather was a problem the first day. We couldn't see the volcano. Still the scenery was breathtaking throughout the trip."
The group stopped for lunch at a roadside restaurant as they descended back to the Central Valley, passing homes and plant nurseries which left an impression -- Costa Rica was one big, beautiful garden. Lankester Gardens, located in the town of Paradiso (Paradise) houses one of the largest collections of orchids in the world including more than 18,000 representing over 1,000 species. The Lankester Gardens also showcase heliconias, bromeliads, tree ferns, cacti, succulents and tropical trees. There is just never enough time when visiting a garden. Eventually the group continued east to Turrialba, the Hotel Villa Florencia, and supper.
Day Two -- coffee and chocolate! The group visited another garden, CATIE -- world renowned Tropical Agriculture Research and Teaching Center. The guided tour of the cacao and coffee research nurseries ended with a taste of chocolate and coffee. The afternoon was devoted to relaxing on the landscaped grounds and pool of the hotel (Villa Florenica).
"Before breakfast at the Villa Florencia each day," Beck recalled, "most of us observed in awe the activity of the oropendola nesting colony. Tropical tanagers, orioles, flycatchers, doves and pigeons, aracari and toucans were in the trees. A mother three-toed sloth with a baby on her belly hung from a limb above the villa."
Day three was devoted to the cultural side of Costa Rica with a trip to the Guayabo National Archeological site -- the center of Costa Rica's most advanced pre-Columbian civilization, which included a visit to a one-room school in an isolated village above Villa Florencia. The group took an offering to support the school and the children; the gift of school supplies was a "scant offering," Beck said, "to listen to the young students' aspirations for the future."
Sunday, they arrived in Cartago -- Costa Rica's first capital city. The Basilica de los Angeles was crowded with pilgrims who sought healing and forgiveness. They carried home bottles of healing water from a spring beside the basilica.
They continued on the Panamerica Highway along the crest of the Talamanca Mountains toward the Pacific Coast. When they stopped for lunch, dozens of hummingbirds entertained them. Costa Rica has 50 hummingbird species, Beck explained, including the high altitude specialists such as the "Magnificent Hummingbird, the Green Violet-ear, and the Blazing Fiery-throated hummingbird.
The road to the Trogon Lodge for the next evening followed an incredibly steep road with precipitous slopes on either side and around hairpin curves to 7,000 feet in the Savegre Valley. Beck said, "The grounds are beautifully landscaped around a trout pond. Enjoying flowers along the way eased the climb to the individual cabins. After a fine supper and an extremely long day, and the thin alpine air, everyone was ready to turn in. Room heaters in each cabin and a hot water bottle for each bed were not only welcome, but necessary amenities."
"This was the second time I had been to Costa Rica with Bruce and Sharon Beck," said Cindy Bridges of Couch, Mo. "I really liked this sort of tour where everything was taken care of for you. You look at the itinerary and decide if that is the trip you want to take. There are options once there to do other things besides what is on the tour. But for me, 10 days of not having to make constant decisions was a real vacation. All I had to do was walk off the plane and Bruce and the tour guides met me and drove me to the hotel. Very stress free.
"I love the fact that Costa Rica has embraced ecotourism. The majority of the hotels we stayed in heated their water with solar and grew much of the food we ate. Even our tour bus was carbon neutral.
"I am an avid birder," Bridges continued, "and so, seeing birds was high on my list of things I wanted to do. This was not a birding trip, but I saw close to 150 species. Many of the birds we see here in the summer spend their winter in Central America. Not everyone in the group were birders. But I think by the end of the tour almost everyone understood the fascination. One of the most sought after species was the Resplendent Quetzal. It is found in the cloud forest and was once considered a sacred symbol by the Mayas and Aztecs. The guides were up before 6 a.m., and had encouraged everyone else to be out to see this bird. Not everyone was enthused, but they figured since there were people from all over the world there, something significant must be going to happen. After an hour and a half of nothing, suddenly, this iridescent, breathtaking blue, green, and red bird flew out, trailing over two foot long tail feathers.....and there wasn't anything but stunned silence.....most people there had no idea something like that even existed.....I don't think anyone there could forget the experience of being deep in the mountains of Costa Rica, in a cloud forest along the beautiful Savegre river and seeing this incredible bird."
Beck said, "Our group, consisting mostly of gardeners, was becoming a group of birders!"
Leaving the Savegre Valley, the group climbed back up to the Panamerica Highway following the crest of the Talamanca Mountains, passing across the Cerro de Muerte, the highest point on the highway, at 11,000 feet. It was cold above the tree line and vegetation was drawfed and tough. Within two hours, the group reached the Central Pacific Coast where it was hot and dry -- the end of Costa Rica's dry season. Huge trees in full blossom on the mountain slopes -- yellow, pink and orange. Brahma cattled grazed and there were extensive groves of African oil palm. Beck noted, "The oil palm replaced former plantations of bananas after disease decimated the crop that made Costa Rica one of the original 'Banana Republics.'"
Along the way they spotted a pair of Scarlet Macaws perched in a shrub, a living fence, beside the coastal highway. The group reached Jaco before six, which was just in time to watch the sun set over the Pacific. "Tropical sunsets over the Pacific are dramatic," Beck said. "quick, followed by an instant yellow-green flash before almost immediate nightfall."
The group spent three nights in Jaco with access to a pool and the beach and no end to food. During this time, members of the group optioned for side trips: a Crocodile Safari by boat up the Tarcoles River, then down the mangroves where the river enters the Pacific. They encountered American crocodiles, basalisks and iguanas, roseate spoonbills, tri-colored heron, boat-billed heron, purple gallinule, black-necked stilt, gray-necked wood-rail and southern lapwing to name a few; hiking through the Carari National Park's dry tropical forest. Giant strangle figs were tremendously impressive in size and form. Dozens of unique tree species filled the forest. "A stick thrown from above," Beck said, "alerted us to white-faced capuchin monkeys. Then, a pair of Great Tinamous tried to sneak by, and an agouti sneaked away from us in the undergrowth."
LaPlante recalled, "I enjoyed the aerial tram up the mountainside. As the driver took us up to the tram, he would spot birds and pull off on the side of the road so we could see them. So many birds - macaws were beautiful! I wasn't a birder before, but I am now! The tram which had individual train cars went straight up into the sky.
"I especially enjoyed the walks through various forests," said Dr. Sam Christy, of Poplar Bluff. "I was not aware of how mountainous the country is. I also found the people very friendly. It was an enjoyable trip."
As the trip was coming to an end, the group drove back to the Central Valley, stopping at roadside fruit stands on the way to try some fresh tropical fruits -- mangos, papayas, pineapple, cashew fruits and nuts to name a few. The air grew cooler as they climbed to about 3,000 feet in the Central Valley only to face the stifling traffic of San Jose. About half of Costa Rica's population of four million, Beck explained, live in the Central Valley. The climate is temperate and it is relative free of mosquitoes. San Jose has grown and is modern with skyscrapers, medical facilities, universities, and manufacturing. In Costa Rica, health services are excellent and inexpensive. Many tourists schedule health and dental appointments, while enjoying the restorative pleasure of the tropics. It's also good to know, Beck said, the drinking water is safe everywhere -- unique in all of Latin America. There are beautiful parks, museums, and the famed National Theater/Opera House. "And," Beck pointed out, "it is all crowded into a valley where space for roads is limited. Congested traffic has been their price for prosperity.
As the tour drew to a close, the group visited Sarchi, the home of the colorful oxcarts that first carried coffee to the coast, and crafts of paintings, fine woods, leather and bright clothing are made. There was time for a visit to the Santo Coffee Plantation. The cultivation of coffee beginning in the latter half of the 19th century finally made Costa Rica a truly rich country. Many in the group bought coffee to bring home. Finally, they visited the mountain town of Zarcero with its central park of topiary and surrounding field known as the breadbasket of Costa Rica. Saturday, folks headed home or on to other places.
LaPlante, who has traveled extensively, said, "The tour was very professional and well planned. Each day was exciting. The scenery was breathtaking and the choice of local tour guides was excellent."
This was the first trip outside of the United States for Faye Smody of Neelyville. "I was impressed with Costa Rica. They have spent a lot of money on water -- even in the rural areas, so that everyone has good water. Very ecological minded. The people are friendly and the country is trying hard to cut down on its foot print on the Earth." Smody is thinking about going back to Costa Rica in the fall because, as she said, "You can see the baby turtles making their way to sea."
Plans are already underway for another trip to Costa Rica in 2018. Group reservations need to be made at least a year in advance. Next year, the Becks will travel the Caribbean side of the country to experience lowland rainforests, hanging bridges, tropical canal lines with raffia palms, egrets and crocodiles, plantations of pineapple and cacao, a jaguar rescue and more. If a visit to Costa Rica intrigues you, contact Bruce or Sharon Beck at 573-785-3871 or email them: beckbugs@mycitycable. com