Costa Rica & Nicaragua

Costa Rica & Nicaragua 2015/2016

The Land of the Rich Coast and the Ecologically Diversity!

I am fortunate enough to have had several opportunities to visit Costa Rica and Nicaragua during my undergraduate career as a student. The first time was with a group called CMERA for a Marine Ecology travel course, and the second time was with my university for a Tropical Biology and Conservation travel course. Now, I'm all for a relaxing vacation but, to me, it was more beneficial to go to these two countries through education means. There is so much here, so many environmentally important aspects and so much knowledge to be gained, that I really got more out of it with that "learning" component attached. Both places were unique in their own ways so it's only fair to write about them in two separate sections, keeping in mind that I spent more time in Costa Rica than I did in Nicaragua.

Nicaragua

Costa Rica and Nicaragua were the first developing countries that I went to as a traveler and they taught me a lot about the human "world". I think, as a person from a first world country, it is important to go to these developing countries because it shows a different way of life for people. This kind of knowledge is extremely important to have because you get to see humanity from a different perspective. What is normal for one nation, may be completely unnatural for another. To grow as a person, it is imperative that you get to see the many different faces and lifestyles of people from all kinds of countries and places. Not only to develop a sense of awareness, but to also appreciate the kinds of things and opportunities that you have from your home country.

Windmill Farm

Lake Nicaragua

Nicaragua was such a fascinating country to visit in terms of ecological diversity and human lifestyles. Nicaragua has everything from active volcanoes and freshwater lakes to tropical beaches and coastline. It is the largest country in Central America, but on the flips side it is one of the poorest. Despite being the poorest, a lot of energy in Nicaragua comes from the windmills posted around parts of the country (as shown above) and they are actively growing in the "renewable energy" category. They also have one of the largest freshwater lakes in Central America, which is coincidentally home to many bull sharks when mating season comes around.

This land is beautiful and I am happy to say that I got to spend the 2016 New Years here on the beach with a fruity drink in my hand. I will say, however, that I wish I had more time to really travel around the country. There is a lot to see and a lot to learn from this ecologically diverse landmass and hopefully one day I can go back and see more of what it has to offer.

Costa Rica

In Spanish, "Costa Rica" means "Rich Coast", and that is exactly how I would describe this place. With both trips combined, I spent approximately 4 weeks in C.R and between those two trips, I have been to pretty much every major area (and a handful of secluded areas) around. Between the breathtaking beaches, the delicious food, and the downright awesome wildlife, this place has just about everything packed into one small country. Costa Rica has a ton of different habitats from marine tide pools all the way to "temperate-like" cloud forests.

 If you're the type of person that loves biological and ecological diversity then you should start planning a trip to Costa Rica. During my trips I came across quite a few "National Geographic" type animals that blew my mind. From sloths, monkeys, and sharks, to bats, tarantulas and snakes, there was a bit of everything roaming around.

 Another fantastic (and delicious) fan favorite from Costa Rica was the domestic cuisine and exotic fruit we had for our meals. For instance, I've been a vegetarian for about 6 years now and I was blown away by the copious amounts of fresh fruit that was readily available all the time. Fruit aside, the cultural dishes for lunch and dinner were to die for. These two trips really made me realize just how great cooked plantains are, and if I could, I'd make a special trip back just for those!

While I am on the topic of food and cuisine, I just want to mention how astounding the coffee is here. Coffee beans are one of C.R.'s top producers and I have to say that they may be the best in the whole world at making and roasting coffee. As a former barista, I have to say that I was outdone by their amazing coffee but I am honored to have been able to taste this liquid gold!

During the combined four weeks in C.R. I had plenty of time to do lots of fun things. For instance, I got to try zip lining for the first time and immediately realized I absolutely hated it. Heights have never bothered me but something about dangling hundreds of feet in the air really didn't sit well with me. But zip lining isn't all I got to do, I tried surfing for the first time, white water rafting, hiking, and even soaking in the volcanic hot springs. All of those things really gave me a new perspective on the meaning of "fun".

 However, there was one particular activity that I fell head-over-heels in love with, and that was the SCUBA diving. I was already a certified diver when I left but while I was there I was able to take the "AWARE Shark Conservation" certification class. To me, that certification will always be one of the more special ones just for the fact that the course was so much fun and because I got it while I was there it holds that sentimental value. It was also the first time that I ever dove with sharks and being able to see them up close in their natural habitat was such an amazing experience.

  One of my favorite cities to go in C.R. was Monteverde, solely because of it's location to the cloud forest AND the fact that you could literally go to restaurant in a real tree! The place was called Restaurante Tree House and they had the best drinks to boot. What could be better than drinking an adult beverage in an actual tree house? Not much, I can tell you that.

 Switching gears slightly, I want to touch a little bit on the humanity side of my time in C.R. As said previously, this was the first time that I visited a developing nation. I still remember stepping off the plane and seeing the city and thinking "this is nothing like what I saw in Japan" and looking back on it today, I realize that there was so much I have learned since than. Costa Rica may be one of the "richest" countries in Central America, but it is still a developing nation in the long run. I admire the hard work of the citizens in doing all they can to take care of their land all while building their country. If there is one lesson to be learned it is that every civilization on earth has their own way of doing things and their own way of life. It is a very beautiful thing to behold and incredibly amazing to see just how different us humans can do things.

~RMW