Small island lives up to its ‘nature feeds the soul’ motto
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the uncut version of the story. A condensed version of this story can be found in the March 18 print issue of the Santa Ynez Valley Star.
Linda Johansen was no sooner home from one of her trips to far-off lands than she was off again to Costa Rica with another intrepid group of adventurers from the Santa Ynez Valley. Their journey was replete with a jungle hike, an encounter with an iguana, monkeys, and alligators, whitewater rafting, traversing suspended bridges, zip lining through the jungle, torrential rain, and a soggy nature cruise … a journey not for the faint of heart.
Johansen will combine her commission from the Costa Rica trip with the March Mediterranean trip to give largerdonations to the Santa Ynez Aquatics organization as well as the Olive Crest Hope Refuge, which aids in the recovery of young sex-trafficked victims from Santa Barbara County.
“There is a saying, that ‘nature feeds the soul’ and that is so true of Costa Rica. Our adventurous trip started from the earliest bus charter ever, at 2 a.m. the morning of Jan. 17, which happened to be the day after my 76th birthday, which seems almost impossible to believe,” said Johansen. “We attacked and conquered Costa Rica from Jan. 17 to Jan. 29 with one exhilarating adventure after another. The local saying ‘Pura Vida,’ which translates into ‘the simple life,’ is far from the truth as there is nothing simple about some of these amazing adventures and challenges we all faced and conquered with joy, laughter, and so much love as we cheered each other on.”
Johansen’s clients ranged in age from the 40s to over 80, and she said they all embraced each adventure with new-found confidence and exuberance, giving her heart attack symptoms daily.
“What a wild ride of adventure we all had from torrential rains in the cloud and rain forests, to hiking in the jungles near Arenal and the volcanos and crossing eight suspended bridges in the tree canopy gasping in wonder at all of the beautiful flora, fauna, and animals we saw,” she said. “It was breathtaking, and a very steep hike up the mountainside to get there, but it was well worth the effort!”
“Costa Rica is the birthplace of zip lining, and boy did we zip through the tree canopies and jungle at break-neck speed,” Johansen continued. “There were eight challenging zip stations that had long and fast runs through tunnels in the jungle foliage. We all experienced ‘coming in hot’ meaning way too fast, but you could barely get the words or scream out before the run concluded! It was incredible that the oldest people on the trip did all of these adventurous activities and had such fun. When I grow up I want to be just like them — but then again, I think I am already right there with them.
“My point here is that age is irrelevant if your mind and body will cooperate. Some might say we are crazy or experiencing a bit of dementia, but I say, ‘Well done people and thank you for sharing these wonderful adventures with me. I think you are all awesome.’”
The group stayed three nights in Tortuguero National Park which took them almost two hours to reach by boat through the jungle waterways.
“The Evergreen Lodge was an incredible experience in the jungle and nature,” Johansen said. “We saw amazing wildlife, with slow-moving sloths, abundant in the trees, green and scarlet macaw, vibrant and beautiful species of so many birds including the Toucan distinguished by their long colorful beak.”
Johansen said that her group never saw any jaguars, but through conservation efforts, they have brought them back in great numbers, which was wonderful to hear. However, they did see huge crocodiles floating near the river banks, as well as caiman belonging to a subfamily of reptiles that are related to alligators. There were manatees in the rivers, but we never were able to see one, which is probably a good thing, since swimming with the manatee is still on her bucket list.
“We did visit the Sea Turtle Research Station and learned about the endangered green sea turtle and that they are working tirelessly to increase their numbers by identifying the nesting sites and monitoring and guarding them during hatching,” Johansen said. “Green sea turtles can lay 80-200 eggs at a time and few make it to maturity, but in the wild, they can live up to 90 years which is incredible. Costa Rica is very environmentally engaged, guarding all of their natural resources, which is remarkable for their country and for all of us who want to visit.”
Johansen explained that Costa Rica is a small country with coastlines on both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean side. While the country is compact, it takes several hours to drive between the two coasts. The Pacific side is known for its stunning white-sand beaches, vibrant surf towns, and diverse ecosystems. The Caribbean coast offers a different vibe with lush clouds and rainforests, vibrant culture, and unique wildlife. The Caribbean coast gets a lot more rain as well. Fortunately, Costa Rica is leading the way in many environmental areas, so these beautiful natural areas should be preserved for future generations to enjoy.
“We visited a cacao plantation in the Tirimbina Rainforest and learned all about the cacao bean and chocolate, ‘the food of the gods’ as legend has it,” Johansen continued. “We floated down the Penas Blancas River on a river safari and had lunch with a local generational family. We heard about their life, customs, and shared stories. The food was grown on their property and lovingly prepared, just for us, by two sisters who had never married and were very old. They greeted us with toothless smiles, but warm hugs. I loved them and we took our picture all together.
“They are happy with relatively nothing, dirt floors, spotless and hard-packed from constant sweeping, so even though the floors are dirt, you never see any loose dirt. They did have a wood-burning stove and they slept in hammocks, not beds, and still had out all of their holiday decorations including the Christmas tree at the top of the wooden stairs in the designated sleeping area. We learned that the custom is to not take down all of the holiday decorations until they have one last family gathering when they all agree, the decorations can come down. It was almost a month after Christmas when we were there and they said they had no date for a family gathering yet. They live a very simple happy life, livingoff their land along a beautiful river, very lush green and tropical.”
After all of the activities of the week, many of the travelers had spa treatments to work out their kinks while at the Hotel Lomas del Volcan.
“What an exquisite room for massages, a patio-like setting in the jungle, open to the elements, with soft raindrops lulling you to sleep. What a great way to start winding down our trip with only two nights left on the Pacific Coast at the Los Suenos Marriott located on the beach with a marina and golf course,” Johansen added.
“The hotel was beautiful with a massive pool with a lazy river flowing through the pool area. It was an amazing resort, but it was a lot more humid and very hot compared to the Caribbean coast. We all enjoyed playing LRC there at $3 per game as well as a new card game called Golf and Five Crowns.”
Their last night was once again spent in San Jose, which is the largest city and the capital of Costa Rica.
“We stayed the first night of our arrival and the last night of the trip at the wonderful Double Tree Cariari Hotel,” Johansen said. “It is a very nice hotel with a beautiful large bar area for games and drinks. Our last dinner celebration together is always spent thanking our guide in our ‘Danish’ custom and fashion with heartfelt words of praise and thanks, and singing our Danish Skal song to them. Our guide Marta loved our Skal song, all the words and card of thanks and the envelope filled with tips from the group.”
Before the excursion ended, the group had an encounter that proved the adage “it’s a small world.”
“As we were all finishing our farewell dinner and program I heard a familiar voice yelling out to me and some of my other guests,” Johansen said. “Lo and behold, heading directly to our table were good friends Mark and Robyn Massie, who lived in the Valley many years before moving out of state within the last two years. They actually knew five people at the table extremely well. What a wonderful ending to an amazing and adventurous trip to Costa Rica. Seeing our friends from Solvang gave us the urge to get back home to our way of life in Solvang, our family, and our friends. There truly is no place like home!”
Future trips available are to South America in September of 2025, and Thailand and Siem Reap Cambodia in February of 2026. For more information, email Johansen at lindyjo2003@yahoo.com.
