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Costa Rica 2023
  • Gina Steiner
  • Gina Steiner

Costa Rica 2023

Et 21-dagers eventyr av Gina Les mer
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  • Gina SteinerCosta Rica 2023Reisende

    Selvatura Park, Monte verde

    30. september 2023, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    This morning I took the bus to Selvatura Park to walk across eight suspension bridges 🌁 through the jungle 🌿🌴🐸.

    This is a private park whose owner has been buying former pasture land and restoring it for several decades. A beautiful secondary tropical cloud ☁️ forest has now emerged there, in which the flora and fauna can be observed through the suspension bridges at all heights.

    You can tell that it is a private and not a national park, everything is much more profit-oriented, but the park continues to grow because parts of the profits are invested in land purchases. I don't think the concept is bad at all, it's better than farmland and the people here all have a good job.

    And I found my first tarantula! 🕷️❤️🕸️ I call her Thekla 🤣, it’s a girl 💅🏽🤪.    Les mer

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  • Gina SteinerCosta Rica 2023Reisende

    El Trapiche tour

    30. september 2023, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    El Trapiche tour (which is the Spanish word for sugar mill) is run by a local family whose mission is to teach not only about sugar cane but also a little more about Costa Rican culture. The tour demonstrates how coffee and chocolate is produced and how sugar is produced out of sugar cane.

    It was not in season but if, you have the opportunity to pick coffee and ride in a traditional ox-cart. I made chocolate and sugar candy to take it home and in the end we visited the family house for a local snack with homemade lemonade and coffee.

    The beautiful farm is located two kilometers outside of Santa Elena and the tour takes about two hours. On clear days there is a spectacular view of the Gulf of Nicoya but this afternoon it was rainy.

    So all in all a very touristic action but you get a good hands-on overview and quite some knowledge.    Les mer

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  • Gina SteinerCosta Rica 2023Reisende

    From Monte verde to Samara

    1. oktober 2023, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Another 3.5 hours by shuttle 🚌 from the mountains 🏔️ to the sea 🌊 .

    I didn't know this route yet and there were four of us until the break. It's a beautiful route along the slopes, but more of a slalom run. One of the three Costa Ricans didn't tolerate the serpentines and potholes very well and his face turned pale 🤢. I recommended that he look at the horizon and open the window. He made it to halftime and then changed shuttles.

    I'm always very happy that I grew up with serpentines ⛰️ and spent a lot of time on the ship ⛵️.

    During the second stage there were only two of us and I had extra leg room again. The second stage wasn't as spectacular, but it was easier on the stomach 🤮🤣.    Les mer

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  • Gina SteinerCosta Rica 2023Reisende
    2

    Arrived in Samara

    1. oktober 2023, Costa Rica ⋅ 🌩️ 30 °C

    When I arrived in Samara I couldn't check in yet, so I just put down my suitcase and went on a discovery tour 👣.

    I didn't explore the town itself, I just drove through it by bus 🚌 when I arrived. But I'm very glad I didn't take a hotel 🏨 there.

    I have a hotel outside with a view over the horse 🐎 meadow to the sea 🌊. So I went to the sea before the monsoon 🌧️🌩️⛈️ came.

    At this end of the beach ⛱️ the locals are milling about, packing loads of food 🌮 and kids for having a picnic - today is Sunday after all.

    There are also fellow Costa Ricans who set up a hammock in the shade. Great, I feel comfortable here!

    I immediately discovered a nice soda 🍲 and snacked on a papaya 🥭 and pineapple🍍 smoothie.

    Now the monsoon can come!    Les mer

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  • Gina SteinerCosta Rica 2023Reisende

    Samara

    2. oktober 2023, Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Samara is a small village on the South Pacific 🌊 with a reef and a very long and wide sandy beach 🏖️.

    Here you can walk almost forever on the beach or ride 🐎 along. It's also great for snorkeling 🤿, kayaking 🛶 and surfing 🏄. Along the beach, beach bars and beach cafés can be found, thus there is also sufficient liquid and fruits.

    Now in the post-season is not much going on and the beach looks very empty - I like that very well!

    That's what I want to do here, stroll along the beach 🏖️, watching birds 🦜, other animals and fishermen 🐟 and sit in a beach cafe, drink a pineapple 🍍, papaya or mango 🥭 smoothie and paint 🎨 or write 📝 postcards. Life is easy ❤️.    Les mer

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  • Gina SteinerCosta Rica 2023Reisende
    1

    Beach horses

    2. oktober 2023, Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    🐎🐴🐎

  • Gina SteinerCosta Rica 2023Reisende

    Puente de La Amistad de Taiwán

    3. oktober 2023, Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Today I'm driving to La Fortuna by shuttle, I want to hike a bit at the vulcano and do some boat trip, maybe I can watch crocodiles or caimans 🐊.

    It takes about 5 hours and until our stop the shuttle was almost full, 8 of 9 seats were occupied, Samara seems to be a famous weekend trip for people from San José.

    On my way I drove over the Puente La Amistad de Taiwán (Taiwan Friendship Bridge). It spans the Tempisque River, on National Route 18, in Guanacaste.

    The total length of the bridge is 780 metres with eight supporting pillars and a 80-metre-high pylon. The bridge was completed in 2003.

    The bridge was financed and designed by Taiwan and built primarily by an Taiwanese company with participation of Costa Rican engineers and workers.

    It has a particular importance for the province of Guanacaste for it facilitates transit from the capital city of San José. Prior to the construction of the bridge, this route required the use of ferries to cross the Tempisque River, or long alternate land routes.    Les mer

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  • Gina SteinerCosta Rica 2023Reisende

    Lake Arenal

    3. oktober 2023, Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    On my way to La Fortuna I drove along Lake Arenal, which is a pretty big lake.

    It is situated in the northern highlands of Costa Rica. It is currently the largest lake in Costa Rica at 85-square-kilometre. Its depth varies between 30 and 60 meters seasonally.

    The town of Arenal was relocated to higher ground when the lake was expanded in 1979. The old towns of Arenal and Tronadora now lie abandoned at the bottom of the lake, with the new town of Arenal existing to the northeast on the lake.

    Lake Arenal was tripled in size with the construction of the Arenal dam in 1979, which exists at the eastern end of the lake. This hydroelectric project exists at the western end of the lake and is strategically important to Costa Rica, initially generating 70% of the country's electricity, now closer to 17%, and was also a driving force behind Costa Rica's green energy policy.

    From November through April the strong, dependable winds attract windsurfers and kite surfers to its western end. So you can also find some wind turbines in the area. Many consider Lake Arenal one of the world's foremost windsurfing and kite surfing areas. Wakeboarding is gaining popularity and also Stand up paddling and kayaking are popular activities.

    I just drove by but thought if I would have had more time, I would have stopped for some days…    Les mer

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  • Gina SteinerCosta Rica 2023Reisende
    2
    22

    Arrived at Casa Luna

    3. oktober 2023, Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Well, well, well... things go different... actually I thought about checking out La Fortuna (the village) after arriving in the hotel.

    But my room has a view on the volcano 🌋, they have a nice little trail to a small river 🏞️ inside the hotel area and from the jakuzi 🏊 you can observe vultures 🦅, kolibris 🐦 and butterflies 🦋....

    I think I stay in the jakuzi and wait for the monsoon 🌧️🌩️⛈️❤️    Les mer

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  • Gina SteinerCosta Rica 2023Reisende
    2
    2

    Along Rio Frio in Caño Negro

    4. oktober 2023, Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    The Caño Negro wetlands are located about 1.5 – 2 hours from La Fortuna (where my hotel is) in the northern part of Costa Rica near the border with Nicaragua

    So today I went there to go on a boat 🛥️ trip along the Rio Frio 🏞️, which flooded the wetlands. There are a large number of birds 🐦, howler monkeys, 🐵 spider monkeys🐒, iguanas 🦎 and freshwater turtles 🐢. Also ocelot 🐆, puma, margay and jaguarundi live there but rarely can be seen.

    But this is not the reason why I wanted to go there. I was interested in caimans 🐊 and crocodiles 🐊. And I found some 😊❤️.

    I thought about bringing one as a present 🎁 for my boyfriend because he is annoyed by all the dogs 🐕 and cats 🐈 shitting in his garden and killing the wild birds 🐦 living and raising their children 🐣 there. We think that a little caiman 🐊 could solve that problem. Well if it is ok, that the cats kill the wild birds in our garden we think that… but that’s another story… 🤣

    But I skipped that idea, the suitcase is still not big enough... 🤪    Les mer

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  • Gina SteinerCosta Rica 2023Reisende

    Arenal volcano

    5. oktober 2023, Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    After looking at the volcano 🌋 from a distance for two days, today I did a bit of hiking 🥾 at the foot of the mountain. This morning the summit was still clear, but when I hiked there in the morning, clouds ☁️ gathered around the summit - which then disappeared 🌞 again towards the end of the hike - probably it didn't want me near it 🤪🤣.

    Arenal Volcano was Costa Rica's most active volcano until 2010, and one of the ten most active volcanoes in the world. It has been studied by seismologists for many years.

    It is an so called active andesitic stratovolcano and lays in north-western Costa Rica around 90 km northwest of San José, in the district of La Fortuna.

    It measures at least 1,633 metres high. It is conically shaped with a crater 140 metres in diameter. Geologically, Arenal is considered a young volcano and it is estimated to be less than 7,500 years old.

    The volcano was dormant for hundreds of years and exhibited two craters at its summit, with minor fumaroles activity, covered by dense vegetation. In 1968 it erupted unexpectedly, destroying the small town of Tabacón. Due to the eruption three more craters were created on the western flanks but only one of them still exists today. Arenal's eruption from 1968 to 2010 is the tenth longest duration volcanic eruption on Earth since 1750. Since 2010, Arenal has been dormant 😴.    Les mer

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  • Gina SteinerCosta Rica 2023Reisende

    On my way to Tortuguero

    6. oktober 2023, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    This morning I left at 5:30 and this time I had the shuttle to myself 😊, at least during the first stage.

    We went into the sunrise and the morning mist and after two hours we had breakfast for an hour in a restaurant with a beautiful flower garden and the bus was changed there.

    The next stage was two hours along a gravel road through the banana plantations of Del Monte.

    The bananas are treated like raw eggs here because they are intended for the US market and have to be exactly the right size and any flaws are an exclusion criterion. People from Nicaragua come here to pick and live in huts provided by Del Monte - so it somehow reminds me of asparagus...

    The closer we got to the Caribbean Sea, the more pastureland there is. The pastures are fenced in with "living fences" , which I think is very cool.

    I then completed the third stage by boat, it took me another 1,5 hours, so in sum it was quite a trip but since I started early I arrived around lunch 😋.    Les mer

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  • Gina SteinerCosta Rica 2023Reisende

    Tortuguero national park

    6. oktober 2023, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    So I completed my third and final stage by boat 🛥️.

    That was necessary because I stay in the Tortuguero National Park, in a hotel which lies between the lagoon and the Caribbean Sea and I can only get there by boat.

    Tortuguero National Park is a national park in the Limón Province of Costa Rica. It is situated within the Tortuguero Conservation Area of the northeastern part of the country.

    Due to its remote location it is reachable only by airplane or boat. The park has a large variety of biological diversity due to the existence within the reserve of eleven different habitats, including rainforest, mangrove forests, swamps, beaches, and lagoons.

    I think it's worth the travel...    Les mer

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  • Gina SteinerCosta Rica 2023Reisende

    Mawamba Lodge

    6. oktober 2023, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    So this is my home for the next four days, I assume I will enjoy 😁.

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  • Gina SteinerCosta Rica 2023Reisende

    Hatching sea turtles 😍

    6. oktober 2023, Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    They 🐢 are so fast 🌬️, it's almost not possible to photograph them 😂

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  • Gina SteinerCosta Rica 2023Reisende

    Tortuguero

    7. oktober 2023, Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    This morning I visited the Tortuguero village which has an entrance to the national park and like I already wrote in another post, can be reached only by boat or airplane.

    Formerly they hunted for turtles, jaguars and so on here, because of their skin, but nowadays it is sustained almost entirely by eco-tourism.

    The population is estimated at around 1200-1500 and the word "Tortuguero" can be translated as "Land of Turtles". The village is situated on a sand bar island, separated from the mainland by Tortuguero River and bordering the Caribbean Sea. Tortuguero is renowned for its navigable canals that run through the rainforest in the national park, and has such earned the nickname of "Central America's Amazon".

    So this afternoon I will go through this canals by boat.

    The beaches around Tortuguero are key nesting sites for four species of sea turtle, including two critically endangered species. The ocean here can be dangerous to swim in due to rough surf and strong currents.

    So no swimming neither in the canals due to the crocodile nor in the sea due to the the strong currents...    Les mer

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  • Gina SteinerCosta Rica 2023Reisende

    Gliding through Tortugero canals

    7. oktober 2023, Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    This afternoon I went with the boat through the channels of the national park. It was very peaceful and although animals were rather resting at this time there was almost everything to watch.

    Howler Monkeys, Spider Monkeys, Caimans, Northern jacanas, Anhingas, Boat-billed herons and many Tucans. Except for sloths everything was there.

    But especially I liked the general mood and the reflections 🪞. I believe that's how you feel gliding on the Amazon ❤️.    Les mer

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  • Gina SteinerCosta Rica 2023Reisende

    Vultures

    8. oktober 2023, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    I observe them almost every day: the vultures here in Costa Rica - especially the black vulture.

    Unlike birds of prey, black vultures are not equipped with sharp claws and beaks because they normally do not hunt. To locate rotting carrion, they rely on their excellent eyesight and keen sense of smell. They may seem a bit clumsy on land. As soon as the vultures circle in the sky, they show off their majestic side. I ❤️ to observe how they circle.

    If they find a carcass, a large number of their own species usually become aware of the feast and gather around the carrion. They play an important role in biological hygiene, by cleaning large areas of dead bodies, they not only eliminate bad smells, but also help prevent epidemics. So after three days carcasses are gone here.

    The black vulture has a body length of 56 to 74 centimeters, a wingspan of 133 to 160 centimeters and weighs 1.1 to 1.9 kg. Its plumage is shiny black, its head and neck are bare. It has very broad, relatively short wings and a short tail. The outermost five primaries are light on the underside and are therefore easy to see in flight.

    It is sociable and feeds primarily on carrion, but also preys on its own when the opportunity arises. As a waste eater, it is often valued as a beneficial animal, but is also seen as a pest by livestock breeders because it sometimes preys on newborn livestock. They lead a strict family life, are monogamous and look after their young for up to eight months. They build their nests on the ground.

    Quite interesting animals I would say ❤️.    Les mer

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  • Gina SteinerCosta Rica 2023Reisende

    Hammock is the best place for monsoon

    8. oktober 2023, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Finally some monsoon again this morning - already this night I heard the rattling of the rain on the roof.

    I didn't even have to hang my hammock, there is one hanging in front of my room - protected from rain under the canopy. So it was an hour of swing and rain music meditation. 🧘‍♀️❤️Les mer

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