Why a Costa Rica Adventure is What We All Need Post-Pandemic?

On February 22, 2021February 22, 2021 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Central America10 Comments

Today we are featuring a post from our friends at POC (Pacuare Outdoor Center) who provide guided adventures in the amazing country of Costa Rica.

With a year of being locked up and spending more time on our couches and opening our refrigerators than any other time in our lives, the one thing we all want to do is travel! Costa Rica is a close and comfortable destination to get us back into our groove. Costa Rica is a country that has grown over the last 30 years with a model of ecotourism and adventure for all levels.

Location

First, Costa Rica is far enough away but at the same time close enough to be a big trip but nothing too crazy. In most hub airports, you will get direct flights into San Jose (SJO) or Liberia Airport (LIR). The flight times from NY are slightly under 5 hours, and the best part is if you are flying from North America, you will not have a drastic time-zone change. Even those who have traveled a lot need to get back into our rhythm at the right place, and taking our first trip in a similar time-zone will have its benefits.

The People

The second is the people. There are fewer countries on the planet that you will find to be as friendly and inviting as the Costa Ricans. While some of us might be experts on cultures and immersing ourselves in other countries, we have to remember we have been sitting on our couches for a year. As mentioned above, we want to make things easy for us, and traveling around Costa Rica is like being in a country that everyone is your friend. It’s a great place to get our international social skills back in tune.

Adventure

Finally, this is probably the most important reason why we think Costa Rica is what everyone needs post-pandemic. Costa Rica is pretty much all open-air, no matter where you go. Visiting Costa Rica is about getting outside and enjoying the natural wonders it has to offer. Along with its natural beauties, Costa Rica is a top adventure destination for many different sports like rafting, SUP, canyoneering, MTB, hiking to volcanoes, and the list goes on.

We lost a year of jolting our mind into the “awe-moments” we refer to when traveling. We need a few good awe-moments on our first trip back, and adding some adventure to the itinerary is a great way to make it happen. Costa Rica offers adventures for all different levels, from those looking for a high adventure to a more relaxed birding tour and everything in between.

Your local adventure experts in Costa Rica are Pacuare Outdoor Center. This is a team of adventure and nature-loving guides that operate set date adventure for small groups throughout the year. You can also customize your own tours, and they will design a package tailored to you and the type of adventure you are looking for.

So there you have it. Your post-pandemic cure for 12 months of not traveling. If you are looking to not change time-zones but still want a big trip then Costa Rica is not too far but located just far enough. Also, we have never been locked up for 12 months before so our social skills might be slightly out of tune in which case the easy option is to travel to the overly-friendly country of Costa Rica, and finally, it’s probably time to get active and involve some adventure in your itineraries and Costa Rica is filled with options for everyone.

The Weathered Buildings of Panama City, Panama

On January 15, 2021January 15, 2021 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Central America, Photo Challenge4 Comments

Living in a tropical environment sounds like it would be an amazing experience, but with all of the rain, humidity, and wind, it is a constant battle to keep buildings from decaying. When we were in Panama City in Panama, we visited the historic old town area known as Casco Viejo and we spent several hours over a few days walking the different side streets of the town. Obviously the desire is to keep the historic buildings the same as their original construction, but the older materials are not as resistant to weather as new materials are. It makes for an interesting effect to see the buildings in different states of decay and there seemed to be ongoing repairs throughout the old town area.

Colorful and Beautiful Despite the Decay

Seeing Wildlife in the Country of Panama

On October 22, 2020October 22, 2020 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Central America6 Comments

Although Panama is a narrow country, it is also a very biodiverse country with oceans and rainforests. There are so many fascinating animals that live in Panama and we were fortunate to see many different varieties during our time there. Seeing animals in their natural habitat is certainly a highlight of visiting any country like this and we took several tours specifically hoping to see some of the nation’s wildlife.

We kept our eyes on the tree limbs above our heads to see the different varieties of monkeys, sloths, and birds. We also saw a tree-climbing anteater as well as a somewhat cute rodent called an agouti. The tarantula spider that climbed out of the tree above our heads when we stopped to eat lunch was interesting and yet creepy at the same time.

We have been fortunate enough to see a wide variety of wildlife in various parts of the world, but we have to admit that Panama provided us some of our most interesting encounters. It is important to have your camera handy and having a telephoto lens often helps too, but when you get as close as we were able to get, it isn’t required.