February 2008 – Southern Sky Fiesta & Volcanoes
This was a 13-day package offered by TravelQuest, a US-based tour company who specializes in astronomy tours, especially solar eclipse tours. I selected two back-to-back 1-week tours. The Southern Sky Fiesta tour was focused on observing the southern sky that is visible from Costa Rica. The Volcanoes and Rainforest tour took us to see two volcanoes and several types of rain forest.
Both tours had subject experts along:
- Gary Seronik a contributor to Sky & Telescope magazine, and a dedicated observer of celestial objects in the night sky.
- Stephen O’Meara an astronomy and volcano expert who contributes to National Geographic and Sky & Telescope magazines (among others) and dedicates himself to improving volcano prediction.
Itinerary
- Victoria to San Jose – flying to Costa Rica from my home in Canada took a day.
- La Ensenada “Star” Lodge, where we observed the night sky, rode horses, took a tractor ride tour of the working ranch, went on daily Nature Walks (at the Lodge and Carara National Park) and a boat ride to a nearby mangrove swamp to observe wildlife.
- San Jose to La Ensenada Lodge
- Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 (Carera Park), Day 4
- La Ensenada Lodge to San Jose
- Sarapiqui River region
- Poas Volcano & Sarapiqui Rainforest – Poas volcano in the clouds, and we see some bats at Tirimbina
- Rainforest tour at La Selva
- Sarapiqui River rafting and then onward to Arenal
- Arenal Volcano – the volcano up close, and relaxing soaks in volcanic pools
- El Silencio – Arenal to San Jose – my first cloud forest
- Costa Rica to Canada – the trip home from San Jose took two days through Houston and Seattle
If you just want to see my photos for the whole trip, browse this gallery.
How it started
I enjoyed my first visit to Costa Rica back in 1995, and after rekindling my interest in astronomy in 2003, I was keen to combine my love of travel and astronomy. The TravelQuest Costa Rica Southern Skies Fiesta tour appeared ideal, and when a couple of my friends who are also interested in astronomy booked the same tour, I decided these arrangements were for me.
How it evolved
Booking airline tickets to Costa Rica from the west coast of Canada is always a bit of a challenge. It is unwise to fly routes which go through the east coast of the USA in winter, since being stuck in those airports because of storms happens often. I find an acceptable route with flights having good connections through Seatac and Houston on Continental Airlines, although the flights will be a marathon of some 20 hours elapsed time. The return flights use the same routing, and take even longer!
The Southern Sky Fiesta tour was focused on observing the southern sky that is visible from Costa Rica. Since these arrangements are only for 7 days, I also book the back-to-back Volcanoes and Rainforest tour, which takes us to see two volcanoes and several types of rain forest, adding another 6 days to the trip. So my escape from our cold weather is in place!
Costs
The two tours along with international flights cost CA$6,800, which works out to $525/day. Speciality tours such as these tend to cost more than standard vacation arrangements since there are experts along to enhance the experience. I’m also paying a single supplement to I have a room to myself.
So was it worth it?
I enjoyed observing and photographing the dark Costa Rican skies from La Ensenada “Star” Lodge, which is rustic, but a wonderful place to stay. Since TravelQuest’s astronomy group takes over the place, we get special treatment with early dinners, coffee available all night for those of us who want to stay awake to observe, tours of their ranching and farming operation, being treated to Italian Mama’s fresh antipasto snacks along with cold beer and soft drinks on lookout hill, and lots of bird watching. Observing from 10º north of the equator gives us a chance to appreciate some of the celestial wonders only visible from the southern hemisphere – a special treat.
The second week in the mountains and jungle was a fascinating contrast to the first week, where we experienced volcanoes up close, and flora and fauna in the jungles and cloud forests. Costa Rica is a small country, but offers so many strikingly different ecosystems!