An Anxious Traveler’s Guide to Costa Rica

*Text by Mari Rizzuto, EPI's Participant Experience Coordinator

I am an anxious traveler and an overpacker. I don’t get out of the country much, and I get SUPER motion sick on planes. Despite all of this, I found myself on a flight to Costa Rica in the middle of March. Here’s how it went:

It’s hard to take in anything in the dark, so naturally I couldn’t appreciate the bustling streets of San Jose on my 2am blurry-eyed journey to the EPI office where I would be staying. Waking up was a whole new experience: birds I had never heard of giving award-winning performances, warm breeze tickling the treetops, and the sunrays warming the balcony to a perfect temperature.

Breakfast on the balcony

Every morning at the office I ate my breakfast on that balcony, totally at peace. I spent my first three days in Costa Rica exploring the surrounding cities and hanging out with my lovely Tico coworkers.

I learned about Costa Rican mall culture, how the locals start drinking coffee at the age of five, the government and historical buildings, and ate the best almond croissant I’ve ever had. The beginning of my trip had eased my anxiety significantly and was shaping up to be a great time.

On the fourth day, I was picked up on the side of the road by the EPI bus carrying 11 kids and 2 chaperones from Oregon. I was nervous to spend a week with unfamiliar people, in an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar bugs, and without any comforts from home. My worries quickly resolved in the boisterous laughter of the group and the beautiful scenery passing by.

After a 4-hour bus ride, most of which was spent on a winding mountain pass through the highland rainforest, a 15 minute boat ride through the canals teaming with wildlife, and a lovely encounter with a crocodile, our group finally made it to Pacuare Reserve, in the Caribbean coast of the country.

Pacuare is truly its own little community. Research assistants living and working 9 months out of the year, eco tourists and EPI student groups always rotating in and out, and of course, the ever-present wildlife, all coexist in harmony.

Speaking of wildlife, one of my biggest concerns on this course was the bugs. I am overall not a fan of creepy crawlies. Naturally, one of the first things I saw in the Pueblito where we would be staying was a spider the size of my face. Spider-haters rest assured, it was not poisonous and was content to stay where it was high in the rafters outside. The giant golden silk weaver was fascinating. Rather than backing away scared, I found myself transfixed by the patterns and colors decorating its (massive) body.

Something I would come to learn is it’s hard to be in a rainforest surrounded by animals and feel scared. Lulled to sleep by the song of the frogs and cicadas and being awoken by the (extremely loud) howler monkeys, you really start to feel like you are just another organism finding your place in the forest.

Sleep doesn’t last long when you’re doing a sea turtle census from 12am-4am. Dragging myself out of bed to trudge along the beach made my body feel like lead. Sleep is uber important in my life and I am not afraid to admit I can be grumpy when I don’t get my 8 hours.

Walking quickly on sand in the dark is not easy. Expansive networks of vine-like seaweed did their best to ensnare our ankles as the group moved quickly and quietly through the night. Once I got over the initial shock of exerting myself instead of being cozy in bed, I began to look around. There was no moon, but the stars filled the void. Listening to the gentle lapping of the waves and feeling the mist on my face was just what I needed to keep trekking along.

An abrupt stop snapped me out of whatever frivolous thought I was having, and excited pointing let me know we had come across our first leatherback turtle. Every minor discomfort I was feeling melted away after laying eyes on the turtle.

Research assistant during a leatherback turtle census

Seeing this magnificent creature is not an experience I can put into words. It felt like looking into the past, or even another world. If I laid down next to her, I couldn’t tell you who would be bigger. We watched as she camouflaged her nest, a process that took almost 15 minutes, before marking the location for researchers to dig up the eggs in the morning. The beach walk seemed miniscule after that moment; I didn’t care how much farther we had to go. That is until I tripped over a branch and faceplanted into the sand, but that’s on me.

After three nights of searching for turtles and learning about the forest ecosystem by day, we departed Pacuare for our next stop. With less rustic conditions and more trails to walk, Lapa Verde Reserve promised new animals to be acquainted with and more room to run around for the excitable high schoolers. Inquisitive and intelligent, they convinced an instructor who researches killer whales in Costa Rica to present his findings to them, later citing this as one of their favorite parts of the trip.

We ventured into the rainforest to explore both by day and night, and came across a red-eyed tree frog, different species of birds, as well as snakes (luckily not the infamously dangerous Fer-de-lance). A more relaxed environment meant time to recuperate and reflect on all our experiences on our conservation journey.

All too soon it was time to head home. I said my goodbyes to the group, gave a big hug to my new instructor friends and set out for the airport. Getting on the plane at 1am loaded up with Dramamine, I started the journey home.

Turns out everything I was worried about wasn’t as deep as I had previously thought. Although there was some discomfort at first, I learned I can do hard things. I will say after eating rice and beans for two weeks straight I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into some pad thai and call it a day.