I recently returned from my Costa Rica trip and I feel like I came back with some real treasure. Being a third world country, there are many aspects of the country I didn't care for at all. Nature, on the other hand, offers some outstanding scenery in Costa Rica.
My biggest complaints about Costa Rica are their corrupt government and piss-poor road system, but those are to be expected in a third world country. 99% of the roads in Costa Rica have no names and there are no street signs to tell you what road you're on, so you have to navigate by landmarks. It's very easy to get lost, so having a GPS is incredibly useful if you opt for renting a car. For those who are less adventurous, I advise getting around via tourist buses and taxis. In addition to a lack of street signs, mostly unpaved and rutted-out roads make driving even more stressful.
It's not all bad though! The resort towns on the coastline are wonderful and offer lots of AMAZING food, on top of beautiful and warm water for swimming. Stay on the Pacific coast, though - the Atlantic side has lots of sharks in cold and filthy water. You can't swim there, and it's not as pretty on that side.
Tamarindo, a small surf / party town, was my first stop and least favorite part of the trip. Don't get me wrong - it was fun there - but I enjoyed Manuel Antonio and Drake Bay a lot more. Manuel Antonio has the best food and the best beaches for swimming. The resorts are all located on top of a mountain with an outstanding view of the ocean, and down below you can find a number of lovely beaches with crystal clear turquoise water. The main Manuel Antonio beach even has white sand, with hordes of capuchin monkeys hanging out in the trees at the top of the beach. The monkeys are very mischievous and will try to steal things out of your bag, so keep an eye on your stuff!
The best part of the trip, though, was in Drake Bay. After flying in to a tiny airport in the jungle with a single gravel runway, our small group was driven across a river and through extremely rugged jungle dirt roads for 30 or more minutes. We finally arrived at a beach, where our belongings were loaded into a small boat that we rode across the bay to Drake Bay Wilderness Resort. The majority of my photos (also the best ones) were taken around Drake Bay and in the nearby Corcovado rainforest nature reserve. In addition to some amazing photos in Drake Bay, I also went snorkeling. On the snorkeling tour I saw everything from dolphins to a massive humpback whale jumping out of the water.
The photo at the beginning of this blog is one of my favorite photos from the trip. It is a 75 second exposure at sunrise, 20 feet from my hotel room patio! By using a dark neutral density filter on the lens and a remote shutter release, I was able to keep the shutter open for a long time without overexposing the shot. This technique gives the water and sky a surreal, misty appearance as the movement of the clouds and waves causes them to appear smoothed out.
You can see more of the photo prints I came back with over on my photography website. Contact me if you're interested in purchasing a limited edition framed print!
