costa rica was unexpected. a tiny country being sandwiched between two of the most notorious nations, panama and nicaragua, the country surprised with its peacefulness and feeling of gender equality. in short, there was none of the macho behaviour one would expect to be subjected to in a central or latin americas. now this might sound prejudiced or blue eyed, and maybe it is, as my observation is purely based on a small section of the country along the caribbean coast, but still, at least for this part of the country it is true. and as if this alone was not enough on the unexpected scale then the fact that this tiny nation at the skinny bit of the americas does not have an army would certainly add value. no army and no soldier in sight, now how cool is this? costa rica is simply a peace maker, a relaxed little eco friendly country, that realised that there is more money and more quality of life in conservation, eco tourism, and national parks than there is in drug trafficking :d wonderful.

so you can imagine that i was most thrilled that renate had chosen this country to go to holiday together, and not just to costa rica, but to the selva bananito lodge as well. selva bananito is a wonderful eco lodge located in the foothills of the caribbean coast, just an hour inland from cahuita. if you like nature pure go bananita :d beautiful bungalows, lots of bird life, no power, peace and serenity, that is what you get, and i loved every second of it. and the wildlife was amazing! i had never been to the americas and so everything was new, the poison arrow frogs, the tucans, the sloth, and the capuchin monkeys that i only knew from my childhood heroin pippi longstocking films :p

renate and i flew into the capital san jose were we had a transfer waiting to bring us to selva bananito lodge. the trip brought us through the volcanic mountains and the cloud forest to the western coast. the lodge itself is only accessible by 4-wheel drive.

selva bananito comprises a large area of pristine rainforest, and a small farm area which’s open farmland provided the most wonderful opportunity for bird watching. the entire lodge has no electricity; instead one gets little petroleum lamps in the bungalow and the restaurant area. the effect is one of utter oneness with the surrounding nature, a real pleasure to leave the hustle and bustle, noise and glare of modern life behind and to emerge oneself into ones natural environment, yet without having to forgo the comfort we are all used to. the bungalows are simply delightful, large wooden structures, with full length windows that open to a balcony and let one awake to the rising sun and the song of the birds.

while at selva bananito i went on several walks, some short ones around the lodge and a long one to the waterfalls upstream, where we abseiled through the gushing waters to descent the steep slopes. every walk brought eyelash vipers, poison arrow frogs, and talamanca and red-eyed tree frog, while the early morning bird watching walks enabled us to see a huge variety of local birds, including trogons, oropendolas, humming birds, and emeralds as well as chestnut-mandibled toucans.

the remaining of the time i spend on various horse riding excursions and a day trip with renate and our guide jose to the cahuita coastal national park. the walk along the coast of the park was amazing and gave us ample opportunity to observe the someone different wildlife. we saw a lot, white throated capuchin monkeys, mantled howler monkeys, three and two toed sloths, introduced north american racoons, green iguana, a vine snake, large golden eyelash vipers, and my favourite the basilisk.

in short the trip was amazing, and i loved every minute of it. leaving selva bananito was heartbreaking, but it was wonderful that jose offered to drive us to san jose, as talking to him on the trip gave me the feeling that our stay there was someone extended. i am still dreaming of lying in the hammock on my balcony watching the birds across the meadows of selva bananito, and i would gladly return to the place any time, it is a place where nature is still given the respect it is due, and where people live with nature, and that is as rare as it is amazing. a place to love.