To break up the three hour drive back to San José, I had plotted out some different waterfalls that were sort of on the way. All of them had entry fees that were in the vicinity of $20. One actually charged $48 because in addition to the waterfalls on site, it also had a zoological park. While this seemed like a lot of money, we also were left wanting a bit more from our animal-spotting inabilities the day before. Perhaps it would be good to see some of Costa Rica’s fauna up close in a controlled setting, even if that meant peering at them through plexiglass.
So it was settled. We drove for about two hours on very windy roads, climbing as high as a mile above sea level when we reached the view above. We stopped to take a few pictures before continuing a few km up the road to the actual site of La Paz Waterfall Gardens. I used my limited abilities in Spanish to ask for two tickets. Perhaps my accent was convincing enough because we got charged the local/resident rate of $25. It pays to Duolingo.
The place is even bigger than we expected. It’s like a theme park of waterfalls and animals. We wound our way through the reptile areas, where we hoped to see the red-eyed frogs, but the gardens boastfully stated on their signs that these frogs were essentially “free range” and that we should just keep our eyes open. We didn’t see any. We did however see a poison dart frog — only because it was behind plexiglass and labeled. It was also extremely small, which is maybe our issue with the red-eyed ones. I had to put on my 350mm telephoto zoom lens to take its picture from two feet away.
From there we continued on a trail that took us to multiple waterfall viewpoints. There is a series of waterfalls at the site that all sort of cascade into one another.
According to some tripadvisor reviews, this place would normally get extremely busy — with the steps filling up with people and major backups leading up to the waterfalls. We encountered two people at the first waterfall and then never saw anyone else at any of the waterfall stops. It was . . .nice, but probably not ideal for the site’s finances.
The waterfall hike kept leading us further and further away from the main park area, but there was a shuttle bus that came to take us back to the entrance where we could visit some more animals. Nicole was itching to see some of the big jungle cats. There were ocelots, margays, jaguars, and pumas. Usually when I visit a zoo, I find the animals to be passed out in a corner. Not so at the La Paz Gardens, where the cats were very rambunctious. I don’t know if it’s the time that we caught them, but it’s like they were all hopped up on cocaine.
We were also the only people there, so perhaps the cats were just enjoying the lack of dozens of prying eyes and could be themselves. We did however hear one of the pumas growling eventually, so we gave them their space.
We continued on to the aviary to look at some of the birds. It had a indoor/outdoor setup that allowed most of the birds to fly freely while staying inside a large mesh dome.
It was very noisy inside. Some of the multi-colored macaws were more enclosed, and I think it was to protect the other birds who kept taunting them. Despite this incessant squawking from all around the dome, we saw two sleeping sloths. These were different than the sloths we saw yesterday. The ones in the trees we spotted yesterday were the three-toed variety which are actually more common. Today we saw a pair of two-toed sloths.
They had more of a frown than the three-toed variety is known to exhibit, but the energy level of both species seems to be fairly equal. At one point, one of the sloths yawned, which was the most active thing it did for the time we were observing it.
The gardens weren’t a bad way to spend our afternoon. I think it was worth it to see some of the animals that we were unable to see in the wild. If we had more time, I would have favored going to another national park or something in hopes of seeing them in a more natural environment, but one does not always have these options.
The mist began rolling in while we were in the aviary, so we thought it best to get to some better shelter before the rain hit us. It is a well-done park, but I am sure it is suffering in these times. I think in the past they catered to tour groups or day trips from San José, many of these would have a lunch buffet added on.
Things are a bit quiet right now, however. While it’s good to avoid people (and buffets) during a pandemic, it was also a bit eerie. It was like zombies had taken over Costa Rica and we (and the sloths) were the last to find out. We set out in our car into the fog for an hour and a half crawl back toward San José. Between the fog, some slow trucks, rush hour traffic, and nonsensical Costa Rican traffic signals (what do you do when you encounter a green light and stop sign at the same time?), it made for some slightly stressful driving. I’ve had worse for sure. Costa Rica hasn’t adopted too many traffic circles because they’re you know . . .civilized.
We checked back in to the Hilton Garden Inn where some truffles awaited us. Nicole is a Hilton Honors Gold member, if I haven’t mentioned it. That’s totes important and puts her 15th in line for the Royal Throne between Eugenie and Beatrice. I very awkwardly ordered a pizza for pickup from a nearby place. The guy didn’t speak any English, and after some fumbling we figured out that he wouldn’t be able to call me because of my non-local cellphone number, so I told him we would just walk over in ten minutes. My pits were sweating. We enjoyed our pizzas and focaccia back in our room with some Bohemia beers while watching the US women’s soccer team beat Canada through the use of some VPN trickery. Nothing is ever easy, but sometimes that makes the accomplishment seem more worthwhile. That being said, we have to get standby seats on a plane tomorrow, so I would very much like that experience to be easy.
passports & pepto bismol 