San Jose & the Cloud Forest

Following a long, but suprisingly pleasant flight from London Heathrow (about fourteen hours including a short stop for re-fuelling and to drop off some passengers in Puerto Rico) we touched down at Tobias Balanos Airport to the West of the City. As the rubber of the 777’s tyres screeched to a halt on the tarmac runway the sun disappeared behind the distant hills and dusk only fleetingly showed itself before night blacked everything out.

A sticky heat enveloped us as we stepped down the wide metal staircase and planted out feet on Costa Rican soil for the first time. After a short transit to the terminal we groaned at the swarming mass of travellers crammed into the small but modern arrivals hall. We needn’t have feared though as although it looked chaotic, the queuing system was orderly and we were through immigration and customers with the minimal of fuss, our luggage arriving on the conveyor belt with perfect timing.

Outside, in the car park was a different matter. There were legions of people milling around, all seemingly looking for their bus. We’d had pre-arranged transport to our overnight hotel and it wasn’t long before we located the tour company representative and our bags were heaved through the back window and stored carefully on the back seat.

Our first night was spent at the Hotel Alta[1], a fairly small but smart hacienda style hotel in the hills west of San Jose, on the road to Santa Ana, with stunning views along the valley. Our ground floor room at the back of the hotel was a few footsteps from the pool and, as we discovered the following morning, afforded a stunning panorama.

That night we slept well following a feast of minibar peanuts and complementary fruit, as it was late and although the hotel restaurant was still serving food, we were too tired to do anything but shower and hit the sack.

We set the alarm for an early wakening, but were woken at first light, sitting up in bed with a start. This was possibly one of the scariest alarm calls I’d ever heard. It started with a low hum that revved like a powerful chainsaw and over a period of about two minutes it peaked in a crescendo of a high pitched, ear piercingly loud screech. As my mind and body awoke and adapted to my strange surroundings, the noise started again. I ventured to the door way peering out into the darkness of the bushes opposite the room. The sun was creeping over the hills and a glorious red and yellow sky was eating into the starry blackness of the night. It quickly dawned on me that we weren’t being attacked by a madman with a chugging, spluttering chainsaw and that it was some kind of bird that was making the sound. It was later when we asked about the noise that we discovered it was actually a type of large chiclada that was making the noise. It was amazing how any insect of any size could make such a loud cacophony of sound and was, on reflection, the most remarkable welcome to the land of rainforests.

After a hearty breakfast of fruit and a first taste of what was to become our staple diet, rice and beans, we ventured out into the wonderful fresh air. The sun was now well above the hills and it was already quite hot, but up here at around 1,200 feet there was a pleasant breeze that wasn’t quite cooling but enough to make the climate very pleasant indeed.

We’d be back to this charming hotel for another night but for now we set out on a bus that would take us to Bosque de Paz a cloud forest lodge north west of San Jose, taking a right turn at Zarcero on the Pan-American Highway. It’s a long and twisting road up to the lodge, but there are some stunning views on the way, including a plethora of stunning waterfalls cascaded down densely forested green hills. We stopped at a small village halfway up the hillside to buy drinks and browse the wood carvings on offer. As we stood on a viewing platform looking out over the miles and miles of vibrant rainforest, two parrots squawked by.

The lodge itself was a wonderfully idyllic hideaway[2] and although we were only there to walk one of the many trails into the cloud forest, it looked like a wonderful place to have spent a night or two and I made a note for future visits. After a wonderful stroll through some amazing woodlands, we circled back to the lodge for a wonderful lunch of rolled pancakes filled with tasty rice and beans and chilli and boiled rice. We sat and watched the humming birds hovering as if weightless with the faint hum and vibrating air the only clue that they were actually flying. As we watched these marvellous tiny creatures appear as if from nowhere, busy themselves emptying huge white flowers of their nectar and then disappear seemingly into thin air, my eye was caught by a small creature moving around just inside the trees. As I watched it poked it’s little black and white nose out into the open, sniffed the air and then scuttled across the manicured lawn of the lodge and gorged itself on a plate of something that was clearly meant for the incumbent dogs. It was about the size of a racoon and was mostly a grey-blue colour apart from the aforementioned white snout and a white underbelly. It had a long, fluffy tail that it held high in the air and a very peculiar long, pointed up-turned nose. Someone later told me it was a white nosed Coati which is actually a member of the racoon family.

After our immensely satisfying lunch, we ambled around the lodge, sitting to drink water from the bubbling brooks, admiring the orchids hanging from the tall trees and listening to the cacophony of bird calls emanating from the forest all around us.

That evening, after a refreshing swim back at the hotel, we accepted a lift into San Jose to take a look around. As you approach San Jose you’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve just arrived in any South Western US town. The roads are multi lane highways filled with big 4x4s and American style trucks and the roadsides are lined with advertising hoardings containing the usual multinational brands. It’s only when you get to the centre of San Jose that you remember you’re in Central America and not North America. Like most latin cities, the roads are laid out on a grid system and as you drive into the city centre the run down shacks with tin roofs are slowly replaced by grander, colonial buildings. There are no sky scrapers in San Jose, not just because of the relatively low levels of wealth, but because the city has been ravished by a number of earthquakes and strict planning laws now forbid tall buildings to be constructed. Some of the old buildings do remain and are splendid examples of Latin American architecture. The Teatro Nacional is one such building on a piazza at the heart of San Jose. It’s well worth a look around and we were lucky enough to be able to sit quietly in its cool interior and listen to a very capable group of singers practicing for that night’s performance.


We escaped from the chaotic streets of San Jose as night fell and enjoyed a delicious meal at the Alto Hotel before retiring to bed early in preparation for a long trip to the jungles in the North Eastern corner of Costa Rica the following day.


[1] http://www.thealtahotel.com/hotelalta.htm
[2] http://bosquedepaz.com/index.htm