Costa Rica
Costa Rica is all about nature, lush rainforests, pristine beaches, and an astonishing diversity of wildlife, everywhere you turn.
This Central American country is home to unique creatures—from blue morpho butterflies to howler monkeys and sloths, which you can see on your hike through the forest on day one. That is what we are about to do in this video.
Ever deforestation was a big issue in Costa Rica. But, currently, 26% of the country is National Park or wildlife reserve land, which forms one of the main draws for ecotourism today.
INTERESTING INFO ABOUT SLOTH
Sloths are really popular with young and adults visiting Costa Rica maybe because they are so weird and fascinating, maybe because most of us don’t see them that much in our home countries, or maybe because there are animated sloth celebrities such as the hilariously slow sloths of Zootopia or Sid the Sloth.
Let’s debunk the myth that they are lazy! Sloths have an extremely low metabolic rate. It can take them up to a month to digest one meal through their four stomachs. Also, sloths’ main predators, jaguars, and eagles, detect their prey using sight, so a sloth moves at a pace that simply goes unnoticed to avoid being identified as prey. They aren't lazy, they are stealthy. Their extremely slow movement has allowed these creatures to survive for over 65 million years, try to repeat this!
There are two-toed and three-toed sloths, and they are different, from what we have been told. One has three toes and the other two, one has long hair and the other short, and one is nocturnal and the other not.
So, they are a big tourist attraction here, and you can find the need to see a sloth being satisfied in many different forms. From eco-friendly spotting them in the wild all around you, through sanctuaries (some more like zoos than sanctuaries), to a local with a pet sloth hidden in their basement, as we have been told, who is more than happy to let tourists hold them for a photo for a fee.
And, sure, sloths are not to hug with. To begin with, they don’t really like it. Secondly, it is really dangerous because of their sharp claws. Our driver told us that the locals try to stay away from sloths themselves, and if they have to help one in trouble, they will always do it with a stick, rather than picking them up with a bare hand.
CAHUITA NATIONAL PARK
Cahuita National Park is 1067.9 hectares and conserved a large sample of flooded tropical rainforest. The marine area protects the most developed coral reef of the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica and it’s home to one of the least developed beaches in Costa Rica. This is the only national park in Costa Rica that doesn’t have an official entry price but a donation (at least on one of the two entrances of the park; at the other entrance, they charge about 6$).
Cahuita has a variety of ecosystems but is best known for its stunning beaches and crystal blue waters. Wandering along its sandy coastlines is mesmerizing as the rainforest spills onto the beach, and after every corner, there is someone adorable to observe. While walking on the trails, you will encounter raccoons, sloths, howler monkeys, white-faced monkeys, iguanas, basilisks, birds, and snakes. There is also a coral reef, with areas designed for snorkeling, where you can see a great variety of fish and developed coral structures.
About that coral reef. In 1991, Costa Rica was hit by a pretty aggressive earthquake. It was the strongest earthquake to hit the country at the time and was felt as far away as Panama. The tsunamis that it caused exposed coral reefs permanently to the outside elements. Now, up and down the entire coast of the Limón Province, dead coral line the beaches.
USEFUL INFO: The main trail through the park is a one-way route from one entrance to the other. It’s almost 9 km, and it is not a loop! Which we didn’t know, as our cab driver didn’t mention it. So, we realized that only when we reached the midway, so had to turn around to go back to our meeting point…
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