After accidentally walking right past the immigration shack in Panama, and across the muddy street that serves as the border, we were in Costa Rica. The friendly locals immediately steered us back in the right direction and helped us sort out the right bus connections, then we sat down at a 'soda' for our first 'casado'. The huge plate of meat, rice, beans, and salad which qualifies as the general definition of traditional Costa Rican food, cost about $2. Thankfully, it was delicious, as we would be eating it at the little local restaurants called 'sodas' nearly every day for the next couple of weeks. On the bus heading north up the Pacific Coast, we immediately found ourselves surrounded in dense tropical forest, the humid air occasionally cut by a cool breeze, and in a few hours we were standing on long dark stretches of beach. Ahhhh, "Pura Vida", as the Ticos (Costa Ricans) say. Pure Life. The Good Life.

We started our Costa Rican travels on the stretch of Pacific Coast between Uvita and Jaco. Jaco is the largest town in this area and many think that it is overdeveloped or too touristy. But we had a feeling that we should see for ourselves and we were glad we did. Sure, Jaco has many North American tourists, international restaurants and hotels, but we found the restaurants to be good, the hotels peaceful, and the tourists concentrated on the one main street. West of the main street, the beach was wide, clean and quiet and on either ends of town, the atmosphere was very tranquil. We loved that so many hotels had pools for us to stay cool in, whether we were by our suite at Hotel Canciones del Mar, swimming under fountains at Arenal Paraiso Hotel or chilling out with the surfer staff on the patio at Hotel Kangaroo. Monkeys, squirrels and iguanas climbed in the treetops above, and the occasional ripe mango crashed down with a thud. After chatting with the helpful travel agents at Solutions, we learned about Esterillos Beach, a very secluded tiny village where we could have relaxed for ages. We stayed in a fantastic apartment-like suite at Hotel La Dolce Vita, where we could walk right out onto the deserted beach and have a quiet outdoor dinner at one of the only cafes in town. Further south, we checked out the town of Dominical, where we were greeted by a sloth crossing the dirt road to get back to his tree. The main village consisted of little more than a handful of cafes, hotels and cabinas erected on muddy roads in front of the small unkempt beach which is very popular with gringo surfers. Though there were not many bodyboards and flippers for rent, Brad found good equipment at Salsa Brava Surf Shop and got to sample some of the waves that Costa Rica is famous for. We then found an unexpected treat just outside of Dominical - a fantastic hostel in the great little town of Uvita. We spent hours reading in hammocks, eating home cooked meals, and chatting with staff and travelers at Hotel Tucan, then walked around the entirely rural area, 20 minutes up to a secluded waterfall and swimming hole, then 40-minutes down a country road to protected, pristine beaches, where we met our first two stingrays. Gotta shuffle the feet!

Just like everyone else, we'd come to Costa Rica to see beaches, jungle and animals, and so far our expectations had been fulfilled. But the real prize was yet to come - the Quepos area and Manuel Antonio National Park. In Quepos town, we found Iguana Tours, who took four of us paddling through the mangrove swamps in kayaks. Our guide was a master at spotting wildlife and pointed out birds, lizards, bats, crabs, white-faced monkeys and a rainbow boa constrictor. We were then treated to a huge traditional lunch at the one of the guides homes in the hills ... awesome! We learned more about the jungle at the Kids Saving the Rainforest shop at the Hotel Mono Azul, where we stayed for two nights on the tropical mountain road that leads to the national park. And if we hadn't already seen so many animals already, at Manuel Antonio National Park, we spotted another sloth, a huge family of white-faced monkeys, the very rarely spotted anteater, and a deer that walked right up to us to say hello. The national park's forest trails were a delight to walk through and the beaches were the most beautiful we had seen in Costa Rica. Traveling here in the beginning of the wet season meant that we had to do lots of our activities early in the day, but also ensured that the foliage was greener, the crowds were smaller and that many of our hot days were cooled off by afternoon rain showers.

Travelers Tips:
**Unless you are on an international bus, when you cross the Panama/Costa Rica border, you will have to make an effort to find the immigration offices on both sides. Ask around for "Bin Laden", a friendly English speaking Panamanian guy who can show you all the procedures, or ask another local where to go to get stamped in and out.

**When taking local buses up and down the coast, always ask several locals about the bus schedules and pick-up locations as the times listed in guides are never complete.

**For those who would rather not fuss with local buses, Costa Rica has two great shuttle service companies, Interbus and Greyline. Both companies will transport you door-to-door between major cities in air-conditioned mini-buses for around $25 (depending on distance). Book at a hotel or local tour agent.

**You can use dollars in Costa Rica, though you will usually get your change in colones. Always check the exchange rate. Tipping is not expected!

**SURF: Lots of fantastic beach breaks along this part of CR. In particular, Playa (beach) Dominical, Esterillos, Hermosa and Jaco. Other than in Jaco and Salsa Brava in Dominical, there are not many quality board rental shops, so bring your own equipment if you can.