Like the fer-de-lance, a lot of wildlife in Costa Rica hides remarkably well. But because the birds you do see are usually so colorful, watching them can quickly develop from a casual hobby into almost an obsession. It had that effect this spring on our elder daughter, age 10,
as she realized that even birds native to New England develop more colorful feathers once they migrate south.
Besides the occasional venomous snake and wide variety of birds, this lush country offers misty cloud forest, active volcanoes, and pristine beaches.
We started visiting Costa Rica about 10 years ago, and in that time ecotourism there has developed noticeably. One can now eat gourmet organic dinners near the cloud forest preserve of Monteverde, and drink sunset cocktails while overlooking the Pacific Ocean near the lovely beach park of Manuel Antonio. But wilder locations still exist, and many can be reached by families.
We were attracted to Corcovado National Park because it houses one of the best remaining Pacific coast rain forests, with some eight distinct habitats, according to the Lonely Planet guidebook.
The park is immense. Two young men staying at our lodge said they had hiked through the park in 10 days; the Moon handbook says it can be crossed in three. Since we were also traveling with a second-grader, we opted for short excursions with a maximum of swimming and variety.
There are a number of rain forest lodges nearby that cater to those who want to see the park without camping. We opted for the northern edge, on Bahia Drake (Drake's Bay), because it is close to both the mangrove sanctuary of Sierpe and an island reserve with good snorkeling.
After a day's drive from San Jose to the remote banana town of Sierpe, we boarded a small passenger ferry to the lodge. The trip took us through spectacular mangroves and out along the coast. As the river met the ocean at some volcanic rock outcroppings, the boat literally had to surf the waves to make it to open water; after a brief ``airborne'' stint, we rode another half-hour along the coast before we reached the lodge.
