Central America,  Independent travel,  Photography,  Travel Blog,  Wildlife

Birds & Paradise: Our First 24 Hours in Quepos

December 20, 2021 /

“Ahhh I see”, he says as we explain our travel philosophies, “so you’re just a couple of retired travel bums like me”.

Oh, we like that. So much so that had we thought of it ourselves, we may well have been the “retired travel bums” instead of the “hungry travellers”! Like our good friends Terrie and Charles, this guy (sorry bud, we didn’t catch your name) is from Oregon, but spends a lot of time in Costa Rica and he gushes heaps of useful advice as we sip yet another cup of fabulous local coffee. Sometimes you just meet the right people.

As we hang around in the busy and sweaty bus station ready to make our way to the coast, we feel real excitement at where we are headed, yet have no inkling of what is about to unfold.

Arriving in Quepos

Our journey from San Jose to Quepos on the Pacific coast is a near four hour bus journey at a cost of just over £6 each, and not for the first time we find ourselves discussing the ridiculous cost of public transport back in England- we can’t even travel the five miles from our house to Canterbury for £6!

Costa Rica’s beauty unfolds before our eyes on the way: rolling green mountains punctuated by white water in deep gorges steadily give way to low lying landscapes bursting with vivid and lush greenery, the dramatic sweeps of the tree clad mountains gently calming to verdant expanses as we near the ocean. 

Tropical rain

We are greeted at Quepos by two things: firstly our beaming host Reymar who meets us at the bus station, and secondly a bout of tropical rain which has even the locals running for cover. Reymar is instantly engaging: full of advice and offers of help, including, for instance, “don’t use any taxi here, if you need lift, text me. I take you”. Wow. Sometimes you just meet the right people.

Our outdoor lounge

Our apartment is, to say the very least, quirky. Perched on the very edge of the green hillside and overlooking the marina and the Pacific, only the bedroom and bathroom are indoors: our kitchen, lounge, sofas, even the TV, are all on a sheltered terrace area sitting like a natural mountainside shelf high above the sea, and all are open to the elements outside the property. The bedroom frontage is entirely glazed, affording wonderful ocean views from our bed.

Our home for 10 days

As the rain eases off we set off to explore Quepos, an instantly appealing, slightly ramshackle town with a reputation for being ever so slightly offbeat. Just 6 kilometres down the road is the renowned Manuel Antonio national park, with its incredible biodiversity, teeming wildlife, lush forests and pristine beaches. Quepos is the last Tico town before the hotels cluster around the park entrance, and according to Lonely Planet has managed to retain much of its Tico character. We really hope that proves to be accurate; it’s why we chose to stay here rather than in the more touristy section closer to the park entrance.

Respite from the rain is short lived and our first Quepos walk is curtailed as the heavens open once more, forcing us to take refuge in a rather cool bar with rather decent draught beer. Halfway down our first beer, the rain has become a raging tropical storm, with crashing thunder and unbelievably heavy rain which soon has the deep gutters of the street flowing in torrents. When we think it’s over, we dive into a supermarket to pick up provisions for the apartment, but by the time we’ve paid, the incredible rain has resumed in true tropical style: you can’t move an inch without getting drenched.

Golden bellied flycatcher

That cool bar is once again our refuge, but by the time it reaches three hours of storm and we are still stranded, we decide to take Reymar up on his offer of a lift. He arrives within minutes, eager to please, and is, to our surprise, properly animated as we climb in.

“I am glad you call, come quick”, he chirps, peering through the rain as he drives up the steep, potholed lane to home, “I have something to show you”. The reason for his excitement soon becomes clear: there are sloths in his garden, disturbed by the heavy rain.

What we see next is truly incredible, sloths are one of the animals we were really hoping to see on our treks in Costa Rica, though we know many visitors never get lucky, so to have this experience on our very first night in Quepos is simply awesome.

Take a look at what was in the garden….

The rain continues to pepper the tin roof of our lodge overnight, regularly interrupting sleep, but is gone by Saturday morning, which brings with it both hot sunshine and an intense humidity which is stifling and drenching in equal measure. Within 24 hours of arriving in this tropical area we have experienced hot sun, torrential rain, thunder, lightning and cloying humidity. Just how you would expect it to be in a country such as Costa Rica.

Sloth in the garden

In fact, Quepos and this part of Costa Rica are exactly as you would picture a location such as this: the lush vegetation is textbook tropical, reminding us of pictures in childhood encyclopaedias. Dense, impenetrable forest starts immediately behind the last houses of the ramshackle town; shanty style housing fills the dry ground between creeks; the forest reclaims every piece of derelict ground – Mother Nature, rather than Mankind, runs the show here.

Black Spiny Tailed Iguana

And it’s the natural sights which leave you awestruck. Every Costa Rica guide book and every piece of internet research eulogises the wildlife and biodiversity here, but nothing you read can really prepare you for the joy of seeing so many exotic species so easily and at such close quarters. Hummingbirds hover around our flowers, birds of prey and magnificent frigate birds circle overhead, we spy scarlet macaws and a scarlet-rumped tanager, all without leaving our lodge. A walk around Quepos brings pelicans, ibis, giant turkey-like birds at the water’s edge…and iguanas of different, shapes, colours and sizes, including this beast munching on mango…

Orange Iguana

This has been a pretty spectacular first 24 hours in Quepos. What an amazing place Costa Rica is; what an amazing trip this is shaping up to be.

  • Quepos Town
  • Quepos Town
  • Quepos Town
  • Quepos Town
  • Quepos Town
  • Quepos Town

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