Costa Rica , the name conjures up images of JurassicPark- waterfalls, lush green forests and an endless array of birds and other wildlife. The country is everything you expect it to be and much more. Our arrival into Juan Santamaria airport at 10.30pm was uneventful. The final minutes into the landing I was sitting there hastily trying to memorize lines in Spanish like a bad actor before a big audition-Taxi, por favor ? Me lleva para Los Volcanes hotel, por favor? After about 20 minutes of this I decided I was going to just take my chances. This was reminiscent of last minute cramming before vector calculus exams and the end result was likely to be just as bad. Id probably end up asking to get tossed into the volcano instead of being taken to the Volcano lodge where we were staying.

Next morning we were awakened to the cacophony of parrots screeching at each other outside the window. A quick call to the tour company at 6.30 am and we were all set to go to Poas Volcano and the La Paz gardens and waterfalls. The accommodations came with breakfast which was served in a lovely courtyard. A couple of women who were probably related to the front desk clerk showed up around 7.30am and whipped up a hearty breakfast of whatever we wanted (within reason) Fresh fruit (papayas, pineapples, mangoes) that literally came off the farm the day before and were incredibly delicious. Within the hour we were off to visit Poas Volcano (a dormant volcano just northwest of Alajuela) As we drove up the steep road leading up we were surrounded by verdant fields of coffee. The plantations dominate the area between 800-1000m above sea level. Every last bit of land that is not protected forest is cultivated in Costa Rica. We made our stop along the way at one of the oldest family owner coffee plantations and sampled 6 different varieties of coffee.

Off in the distance I could see a house for sale and I thought to myself this would be the life to live amidst the coffee plants and wake up to view of cloud covered volcanoes. My revere was short lived as the tour guide explained that coffee bushes were kept trimmed so they could be easily picked and the plantation had emergency staff on hand for people who got bitten by snakes (apparently this happened on a regular basis). The plantation itself would be a kids dream for hide and seek (it would be impossible to find someone amidst the towering (8-10ft high) coffee plants).

After about 1.5 hrs of winding roads that at times were just narrow enough to allow one vehicle through we arrived at the Poas Volcano. A bustling tourist center with a stream of buses and cars arriving disgorging their passengers. This was our first glimpse of the rainforest and what we could expect. Giant bromeliads and huge elephant ear plants were everywhere. Some of these leaves were easily 5 feet across and looked like you could sit on them comfortably.

As we made the short hike to the edge of the Poas Volcano we could smell the acrid sulfurous fumes when the wind blew towards us. The volcano itself has been dormant for close to 25 years. The crater is a mile across and continues to hiss and send up steam and sulfur from the fumaroles that surround the edge of the acidic lake in the center. We were fortunate enough to have a crystal clear day which gave us a good look at the crater

Its awe inspiring to stand on the edge of the crater and imagine it spewing hot lava and gases that have shaped the land. Costa Rica has 12 volcanoes and over 7 of them are active. Talk of sitting on a tinder box ready to blow ! The entire landscape is rugged, mountainous and covered with lush forests, waterfalls and farmland woven tightly into the landscape.

A short bus ride from the Poas Volcano and we were at the La PazGardens and waterfalls. A scenic walk through some of the most amazing tropical flowers and we were inside a netted butterfly park where they actually cultivate butterflies for export.From giant monarchs to tiny gossamer winged things, practically transparent butterflies flitted about all around us.

Leaving the butterfly enclosure we made our way to the hummingbird garden where you feel like you are going to be dive bombed by a dozen hummingbirds. They are literally all over the place ! Between the honeysuckle, the water holders and the dozens of other nectar rich flowers in the garden the hummingbirds were having a field day. There must have been over 10 varieties of birds that we saw in the space of about 15 minutes. The lush gardens around us made you feel like you were in paradise. Cannas of every color imaginable dotted the landscape, banana plants, geraniums, gardenias, periwinkle etc.

The hummingbird garden emptied out into a winding path that took us past a series of waterfalls along the way. The trail literally plunges hundreds of feet down the side of the mountain and the river which runs next to the trail dropped of a number of truly breathtaking waterfalls.

It was a good thing we were going downhill because the uphill climb along the trail that was frequently drenched with the overspray from the waterfalls would have been near impossible even for someone used to hiking mountains.

The trip back to San Jose took us through a variety of small villages and each time we stopped at an intersection the bus was mobbed with farmers selling the local produce, which in this case were strawberries. I didnt realize that the produce grown along the slopes was distinctly geared towards the altitude. At the lower elevations, bananas and sugarcane, a little higher up you ran into the strawberries and other local berries and eventually the coffee plantations and even above that.

We stayed a lovely hotel Lomas del Volcan and had a breathtaking view of the volcano right off the back porch of the room. The wispy clouds that hung over the crater were apparently ever present created by the rising heat from the volcanos crater and the humid air blowing in from the sea.

Cano Negro lived up to its name of one of the most populous locations for birds, caimans, monkeys and other wildlife. The mix of vegetation and water was essentially irresistible to the range of animals and water fowl that inhabited the river banks. The caimans were a thing of wonder, their coloration blending with the yellow muddy river and the rotting tree stumps that stuck out of the water.

Our tour guide was an invaluable asset on the trip. His eagle eyes would pick up the sight of a baby caiman 20 yards out on the bank when the rest of us were busy gawking at the howler monkeys above us.

A family of Capucin monkeys decided they were sick of having touristas in boats gawking at them all day long and proceeded to scream at us in monkeyasking us to take our sorry @&*$#$* out of there.

As the boat putzed along the river an occasional Jesus lizard would make a sprint literally running across the water on its lightly webbed feet between logs, an amazing sight to behold. Birds of every shape and color flitted above us in the trees along the banks.

Our journey took us all the way to the Nicaraguan border where an empty shack with a fading Nicaraguan flag was the only sign of the border and a faint reminder for the more troubled days of the Sandanista regime.

Apparently, back in the days of Manuel Ortega, armed guards with orders to shoot at sight patrolled the river crossings, where it was not uncommon for escaping Nicaraguans to attempt an underwater swim across the border.Lets not forget, this is a murky river filled with caimans !

The water was too tempting to not try something we both wanted to, swimming at the base of a waterfall. Leaving our backpack on a rock we jumped into the water for a swim. The water was icy cold but that didnt stop us from swimming across the pool to clamber in behind the waterfalls. It was a surreal experience ! Sitting behind the falls enveloped in a fine mist of rising water and watching the greenery through the falling water.

After two hours of lounging around the waterfall we decided to call it a day. The cabbie who had assured us he would be there in couple of hours was nowhere to be found at the entrance to the park. By this point it there was raining cats and dogs as it was apt to do in a rainforest and we were soaked to the skin (you would have thought that after the first experience we would have packed an umberella ? But noooowe had to just chance it ) . Walking down the road which by this point had turned into a muddy rivulet, it felt like being back in India in the monsoon.

The following day we decided to head out to the cloud forest of Monteverde. Rather than taking the prosaic bus route we decided we would take a boat/bus ride across lakeArenal. The boat ride across the lake at the base of the volcano gave us breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside. The glass like lake surface was an ideal place for kayakers and a truly tranquil spot for anyone who just wanted to spend a few hours by the placid lake. Our boat disgorged us on the far side where a bus that clearly had seen better days awaited our arrival.

If you thought DTC or PTC buses and roads in India were bad, you need to see this one ! What a ride !The trip to Santa Elena, the gateway to the cloud forest, was an experience in itself. Meandering through the mountainous terrain, the road was one giant pothole with an occasional strip of gravel between them usually when you made it through a village. Nevermind that it was barely wide enough for the bus.Jeeps, minivans with off-road tires careened down the roads at breakneck speeds! As the lush green landscape sped by us we occupied ourselves with hanging on to the window rails and laughing all the way to town. At one point the entire road had been washed away by recent storms so we trucked along behind a road grader that was remaking the road at 0.5 miles an hour. If you are apt to get queasy in winding roads, this is not the route for you.

Santa Elena is a backpackers haven. We ran into people from all over the globe, literally. Sitting on the stoop at a Pension Santa Elena, a little backpackers hostel run by an American and his Costa Rican wife, we chatted up a storm with people from the Ukraine, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina and Finland, all in the space of an hour. The beer flowed freely and stories of where people had been made for an entertaining evening.

The highlight of our visit to Santa Elena was the zip line at the cloud forest. The zip line is not for anyone with a fear of heights. Why? Because you are hitched up in a climbing harness and hooked on to a high wire that stretches across the valley and you literally fly across the valley in a pulley. Oh my God ! What a rush, is about all I can say for the experience. Being a professed adrenalin junkie I loved every minute of it. You go through a series of trips some longer, some faster, and some higher, but is a high wire act that is unparalleled. Not quite like sky diving but certainly the feeling of being hitched onto a fast moving pulley traveling hundreds of feet above the valley floor at 10-20mph (feels like 70) was a once in a lifetime experience.

Our trip came to a rather abrupt end as the little bloke developed an allergic reaction to some bug that bit him while we were out in the forest. Nevertheless the excellent (and I might add inexpensive) medical care that we received from the local doc proved to be better than anything we could have hoped for in the remote corner of the world. I dont think Ive ever had a doc give me his home telephone number, cell phone and call me at 10 pm to find out how we were doing. And for a reward for this unpleasantness he got to go on the docs ATV for a joy ride around the town. What more could you ask for ?

We barely scratched the surface of everything that Costa Rica has to offer. We never made it to the pristine beaches or to some of the other famous national parks in the country. What a country ! Great people, great food, spectacular scenery and inexpensive to boot, whats not to like !