Trip to Costa Rica, need advices about equipment/locations

[emmanuel_rondeau]

<p>Hi all,<br>

I decided to go to Costa Rica in November, something like 17 days, from the 1st to the 18th. I'm going to spend a week with a Guide in the Corcovado National Park and this is for now the only thing I know about my trip.<br>

Questions:<br>

1) Do you have any good locations for wildlife and landscape (beside of the Corcovado NP) ?<br>

2) About the equipment, for wildlife/landscape, I'm mainly using a Canon 17/40, Canon 70-200 f/4 IS, Canon 500mm f/4 and Canon 100 Macro, along with 2 bodies (5D II and 40D). Everything fits nicely in my backpack but make it of course very heavy. I've never been to such forest and I'm a little bit concerned about this backpack being too heavy for a long hike in the tropical forest. In the same time, I don't see myself leaving my best lens (500mm) at home for this trip.<br>

3) About the security, I read here and there that leaving anything in a car was a big mistake, what is your opinion on this ?<br>

4) Have you used a Guide ? and if so how much were you paying ?<br>

5) I guess I should also plan something for preventing the equipment to get wet like this [http://www.thinktankphoto.com/products/hydrophobia-300-600-rain-cover.aspx]<br>

Thanks !<br>

Emmanuel.</p>

[gene_gross]

<p>Emmanuel<br>

I have been to Costa Rica a few times. Sounds like you are taking quite a bit of equipment to carry around. With a 500mm lenses, did you include a tripod as well? Many of those areas, especially in the rain forests, available light/shade will be a consideration. If you don't mind shouldering all that stuff, go for it, Other places to consider photographing would be Manuel Antonio National Park,(lots of monkeys!) Arenal Volcano area and Tabacon Hot Springs.<br>

Bon voyage<br>

Gene</p>

[emmanuel_rondeau]

<p>Thanks Gene.<br>

No I usually don't mind carrying around this equipment, but I'm usually doing that in our NP (hiking trails), not in the middle of a tropical forest. Yes, I'm using a Gitzo tripod and a Wimberley sidekick for the 500.<br>

Thanks for sharing the locations, will see what I can found on the web to give me and idea of how it looks.</p>

[gary_c4]

<p>I came back 3 weeks ago and whilst I was not where you are going I can say two things. First you are going to the best part as I am told by the locals that the Corcovado National Park has the best opportunity to see wildlife. However it is also the place in Costa Rica that has the highest rainfall so expect it to be very very wet. If you get the opportunity to travel visit the Monteverde Cloud Forrest which is unique. Also try Ostional if it is full moon as you can see thousands of Olive Ridley turtles if you are interested, check with the locals as the turtles only come in for a 4 day period at each full moon, its a spectacular sight and starts before the sun goes down so there is an opportunity to get some nice photo's </p>

[emmanuel_rondeau]

<p>I really appreciate the advices Gary ! Monteverde Cloud Forrest and the Ostional wildlife refuge sound (and look, I've just googled them) amazing.</p>

[greg s]

<p>I've been 2 CR 4 times and had a long tele (500mm f/4) on the last 3 trips. What worked out best for me was hiking with a 300mm f/4 and saving the 500mm for specific locations where wildlife/birds were plentiful (but not for general hiking). But it definitely is a must to have a 500mm for taking photos of the toucans, tanagers, etc. Sometimes you will be surprisingly close to some mammals depending on how accustomed to humans they are.<br>

I will post a few locations later. Be aware that it can still be wet in Corcovado and Monteverde, so either boots or a pair of junk tennis shoes (to save your other shoes) is a good idea. I have always wished for a pair of boots in Nov/Dec when in Central Am but they didn't fit into my weight budget... but I always did want them sooner or later. :)</p>

[stemked]

<p>Costa Rica is a popular destination and I think a quick search here will find you several other answers in addition to those noted above:<br>

http://www.photo.net/nature-photography-forum/00U4B4.<br>

Most places we were you HAD to take a guide. It might be helpful to ask around for specific guides because in my experience there was a pretty diverse background with guides.</p>

[emmanuel_rondeau]

<p>Greg S, thanks for this useful feedback about your equipment. About the rain, I'm planning to use a "rain-poncho" and my usual hiking shoes. My plan was to bring the very minimum number of clothes.<br>

Thanks Douglas, I had missed the thread you pointing to.</p>

[seancrane]

<p>Hey Emmanuel, I just posted a response but I don't think it went through, so if it posts twice I apologize. <br>

I've been to Costa Rica several times. Corcovado is a great area. I had the pleasure of photographing a puma there early one morning, as well as several tamandua anteaters. My favorite place, however, is called Tiskita. It's a family owned lodge/fruit orchard that seems to have more animals around than any other place I've been to in the country (perhaps attracted by all the exotic fruit in the orchard). I saw kinkajou, paca, agouti, sloth, howler monkey, squirrel monkey, capuchin, poison dart frogs, hummingbirds, macaws, etc. Plus it's a very pleasant place to stay with nice accommodations. It's in a town called Pavones. You can fly there first and then make your way over to Corcovado. They are both in the south western part of the country. Tortuguero is also a great place, in particular for red eye tree frogs. I've used guides as well as hiked on my own in all these locations. This is probably bad advice, but I always seem to see more animals when I'm on my own. Plus I enjoy the experience more. Check out my Costa Rica gallery on my member page (or the gallery on my website seancrane.com). As for equipment, I always carry two cameras and a 200400 zoom, a 70-200 zoom and a 17-35 (plus plenty of plastic bags in case it rains). VR or IS is definitely helpful as the forest can be dark (or a tripod, of course, although it can be more cumbersome to hike with and set up when all of a sudden a monkey jumps onto a branch right in front of you.) Good luck.</p>

[greg s]

<p>Tiskita < sounds nice, I will remember that place! :)<br>

Hi Emmanuel, Some locations I have enjoyed:<br>

1) Hacienda Baru : nice trails, plus some 'guide only' trails. Good for capuchins and birds.<br>

2) Villa Lapas : has a beautiful trail with suspension bridges. Good for bird photography along the small river. There are Scarlet Macaws in the area that travel in and out of Carara NP. Also good for basilisk lizards, or at least it used to be. I saw parrot snakes there the last 2 visits. And green and black poison dart frogs.<br>

3) Savegre : one of the best places for seeing/photographing quetzals in the country. There were several pairs in the avocado orchard the morning we were there.<br>

4) Hacienda Inocentes : I like this place especially for the Collared Aracaris. They have a feeder with fruit and watching the aracaris is very cool. Besides other birds there are also Magpie Jays which are gorgeous.<br>

5) La Quinta : rainy, but beautiful. Good for blue jeans posion dart frogs and other frogs in general. They have feeders and just about anything can appear out of the forest. Last time I saw several Rails... totally blew me away! :) There are other great hiking spots nearby. Ask the locals.</p>

[emmanuel_rondeau]

<p>Very interesting inputs from both of you, I guess I have to do my homework now. I went to your website and enjoyed what I've seen Sean, congrat ! It may belongs to another thread but what about the backup, were you guys using a Laptop, netbook, stand alone backup system ... ?</p>

[seancrane]

<p>I don't bring a laptop, I usually bring a portable storage device (I like the Sanho Colorspace UDMA). I actually bring two of them for safety. I've also used the much more expensive Epson and had it fail on me. </p>

[emmanuel_rondeau]

<p>I was actually thinking about getting the Sanho Colorspace UDMA but at 300$ (body only + HD) I can get a very decent eeePC Asus 1005HA-P with something like 9 hours of battery, in addition, I just have to add an external HD (say 60$, instead of another 300$ for an additional Sanho system) to have the redundancy we are looking in a backup system.</p>

[larry h.]

<p>Emmanuel, I have only been to Costa Rica once, in 1998 during Hurricane Mitch, actually. My family is going back in the spring. We will be using the same guide my wife and I did back then: Federico Grant. We were so happy with his skill we looked him up again. I actually got his name in 1998 from a recommendation on photo.net. His email address is <a href="mailto:cr_ecoguide@yahoo.com">cr_ecoguide@yahoo.com</a> if you'd like to contact him.<br>

We will be going to the southern Caribbean coast, Volcan Turrialba Lodge, Hotel Savegre (mentioned earlier) and Corcovado. I have been to none of these places but the things I have read are great. But if you'd like to hire one guide for the entire trip, contact Federico. -- Larry</p>

[steve_wagner1]

<p>I was staff photographer for the Tropical Science Center and the Monteverde Preserve for several years and authored the official photo book. Don't even think about going there in October unless you bring a kayak with you. To say that October is wet and rainy is beyond an understatement. Ditto for Corcovado. You need major preparations and a guide to go to Corcovado this time of year, and I would never do it with all the gear you have. There are lots of other great destinations but MV and Corcovado would be last on my list in October.</p>

[steve_wagner1]

<p>Sorry to be discouraging, it's just if you have 17 days and your goal is to photograph wildlife I would definitely not spend 7 of them in Corcovado. In May sure, but in November, no way. You're going to be struggling with rain and mud the entire time, and managing all that gear is going to be a nightmare. There are all kinds of amazing destinations that are a bit drier and easier to deal with. Arenal National Park, seldom visited, has spectacular low elevation primary forest. Vocan Irazu has amazing plants and flowers and insects. Tortuguero, Palo Verde, and Marino Ballena are awesome for birds. Cerro de la Muerte has amazing birds and incredible forest. Rincon de la Vieja is spectacular.</p>

[steve_wagner1]

<p>You don't need a guide to visit the vast majority of places in CR unless they are small private operations, which you should avoid anyway - if your goal is to really see the country and its wildlife you should go to the national parks and major preserves. If birds are your thing it will be much more meaningful if you have one.</p>

<p>As far as security, it's safer than most Central American countries, but never leave valuable in your car. As far as flaunting your lenses, that is not a concern unless you're in a bad part of San Jose. Stay out of the bad parts of San Jose in any case. Hiking alone in the National Parks is fine. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Do make sure your gear is insured.</p>

<p>As far as footwear rubber boots are standard for wet places and can easily be purchased for $5 at a local shop. They will make your feet sore for a day or two and then will most likely be comfortable, and are indispensable. Shoes or hiking boots wil not suffice in Corcovado in the wet season,. you have to have rubber boots.</p>

<p>Gear tip - In 12 years of intensive field work in CR tropical wet forests, I've found that two of the most useful tools for tropical rain forests are a good flash and diffuser setup, and extension tubes. Diffused fill flash is the key for insects, small amphibians, flowers, and many plants.</p>

[emmanuel_rondeau]

<p>Hey Brett,<br>

I actually replied to your posts at work but then I got called for a meeting and I forgot to submit ! damn.<br>

So thanks for spending time to share your experience, I really appreciate it. It's true that your posts are a bit discouraging but this is the kind of information I'm looking for. Actually a friend was there (Corcovado) last year in November and the weather wasn't bad, that why I thought it could be ok, but of course your experience of CR is way deeper than his.<br>

For insurance, any way to insure the gear for just a short period of time ?<br>

I also have questions about how to get from a place to another. Would you recommend bus, renting a car ?<br>

About the housing, I saw a lot of luxury lodge but It's not what me and my wallet are looking for, any recommendation ?<br>

Thanks again for your time.<br>

I got a 580 EX II and a diffuser.</p>

[steve_wagner1]

<p>I would just check with your guide and tell him you want a realistic idea of how wet it's likely to be in Corcovado Park this November. Also try to get some current rainfall reports and follow them. Typically it's pretty darn wet this time of year. Monteverde is extremely! wet in October.</p>

<p>For insurance you can put equipment on your homeowners insurance, usually like $100-150 year for $7-8k worth of gear, lot of variables though. There's also photographers insurance packages out there, can Google that. Don't know about a short term option.</p>

<p>For transport you can rent a car but it's expensive and many companies have restrictions on where you can take it, i.e. Monteverde and Corcovado. It's about 5hrs by bus to MV from San Jose, 10 or12 to Puerto Viejo depending (a miserable ride though). If you get buses out of San Jose, be careful if they leave from the Coca Cola district, a very sketchy part of town that has a big bus depot.</p>

<p>With 17 days I would aim for maybe 4-5 sites. It's a very small country but getting around can sometimes be slow. I've been in rural areas where you drive 5ph max because of roads, so going 30k can take hours.</p>

<p>Buses in CR are generally good. Get the luxury buses, pretty comfortable and still very cheap. For housing, in MV there is a hostel in Santa Elena that every body on a budget uses, then you get a 20 minute cab early in the morning to the preserve. If you go to MV be sure to do a couple night tours. In Puerto Viejo there are cheap hotels.</p>

<p>Have fun, it's a little harder eeking good images out of tropical rain forests, but I'm sure you'll come back with a lot of good stuff. BTW I really enjoyed the "Point Reyes between the Fog and Owls on your blog," really nice stuff.</p>

<p>Emmanuel you can see the MV book on my site at www.wildnorthwest.org, in the books section</p>