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By the third tree I was flying through the air with the
ease of, well, Jane.

The kids had a blast and the platform tour was fun for
all, but it’s not a learning experience. If you’d rather
see the animals than act like the animals you can take
a canopy tour by tram or sky-walk the suspension
bridges and platforms while learning about nature.
Another way to see the rain forest’s flora, meet the
monkeys and three-toed sloths is on horseback. Our
trail guide, a French ex-pat named Dominic, was an
accomplished rider who selected specific horses to
meet each of our needs. Chelsea got a little painted
Indian pony with short legs and albino blue eyes.
Jack rode a huge stud of a horse, and Joe got the
bolter. As a non-rider (and a little scared of horses, to
boot) I got the gentlest horse of the bunch, but still
got a little hysterical at the first open run.

The horse trail took us to a grove of little creatures
called white-nosed coatis, long-tailed members of
the raccoon family, who were happy to run around
between the horse’s legs and beg for food. The kids
were thrilled to feed them bits of fruit provided by
Dominic. We also saw some white-throated capuchin
monkeys, cute little guys shaking the treetops and
unafraid to show us their sharp teeth.
When the horses were at slow pace, Dominic told
us interesting facts that made Costa Rica sound like
Central America’s jewel: 27 percent of Costa Rica is
conserved through a national park system; there are
850 bird species, 220 reptile species, 1,000 butterfly
species, 9,000 plant species, 34,000 insect species
(which I tried not to think about); elevations go from
sea level to 12,529 feet; and there are 112 volcanic
craters. She said that Costa Rica is so diverse, we
could hike a smoking volcano, raft the rivers, surf the
ocean waves, visit a butterfly sanctuary or go on a
jungle safari during our week there.
We passed up the volcano and the butterfly park but

Opposite: Lush Costa Rican tropical rainforest waterfalls. Top:”Roca
Bruja”, Santa Rosa National Park and Boca Barranca beach. Middle:
Rainbow beaked Tucan .

Wine Dine & Travel Spring 2014 81