So I was off to the environmental heaven of Central America on Contiki’s Costa Rica Unplugged tour.
With a population of almost 5 million people, one of the most interesting things about Costa Rica is that the country has recently become 100% dependent on renewable energies – Take note, Australia!
I was set to explore the beautiful nation from coast to coast, tip to tail, starting in the capital of San Jose.
Busy, slightly grimy, and with some evident poverty, the city itself was not what I expected from Costa Rica – where were the waterfalls and rainforests?
But travel only for an hour and you’ll find yourself at sights like Poas Volcano and National Park – where I saw little part volcano crater, huge part fog.
I also saw a squirrel – which I was insanely excited about, to the amusement of others.
On the National Park rainforest walk, I also had my first education into what I now dub ‘the Costa Rica slipskin’ – any walking surface that becomes slippery due to rain, becomes slippery like you’ve never known before.
If you’re walking in wet weather in Costa Rica, it’s not a case of simply walking carefully, like back in Australia – it’s a case of hold-onto-the-rail-or-closest-stable-object-or-you-will-slip-and-fall-at-some-random-stage-and-you-will-not-see-it-coming walking.
Give it a try.
It’s kind of like a fun amusement park ride.
But not.
