How much does it Rain in Costa Rica?

“Back home” in Arizona an inch of rain is guaranteed to be the top news story of the day. So it comes as no surprise that we are often asked by our fellow desert dwellers just how much it really rains in the rainforest of Costa Rica. When we moved here in March of 2008 until we returned to the US in mid-September, almost nightly gentle evening rains were common. Never too much, just enough to cool things off, hold down the dust on dirt roads and keep the jungle a brilliant green. There were some exceptions to this – times when it would rain during the day or even a few heavy showers, but never too much. Some neighbors even expressed concern that it was a dry year and there might be water shortages. And then we returned in November. That month brought almost constant rain – somewhere past the 42-inch mark I believe. I remember a lot of rain in December too, but after November anything was an improvement so we did not even bother to measure. In January we got to 17-inches but stopped counting. Luckily the weather didn’t hamper everyone’s spirit or activities -- the town was filled with surfers from all over the world. There was even a surf school set up on Playa Negra. Then came February -- the first couple of weeks brought us more than 27-inches of rain. A section of road over the creek that runs next to our house was washed away by the force of the water coming from the mountains (see photo). The hose that supplies water to our house runs through this culvert so we were without running water for several days. Fortunately our buckets were always full of clean rain water. We’re in mid-February now. There was a crew of volunteers cleaning up the beach this past weekend. Tourists are appearing out of thin air, smiling, taking photos, happy to be here. The skies are clear and blue, there are a million stars in the night sky, everywhere you look things are growing and the ocean is postcard perfect. Last night you could hear the rain gently falling on our tin roof in the middle of the night. I think that we are again back to “normal.” Life in paradise begins a new year.

Hot Springs Cold River

After a restful night’s sleep we were ready to start exploring the area around Boquete. First stop -- the cafeteria with 25-cent coffee and a scrambled egg breakfast with tortillas, pancakes or 2 large fried breads for $1.25. Next it was off to find the bus to the Caldera Hot Springs. It was parked by the town square with a family of 6 from Denmark inside but no driver – seems it wouldn’t be leaving for another hour or so. We were ready now so our Spanish-speaking friend, Rosalinda, ventured out and found another van driver willing to take us -- along with our new friends from Denmark -- for $20 total. The drive there took about 45 minutes with 15 or so on the highway and the rest on paved and unpaved rural roads. The countryside was dotted with a mix of large, new homes on sizable lots and long-standing picturesque ranches. We passed through the small town of Caldera and made the final turn down a winding dirt road through a construction zone for a new hydroelectric project (very controversial). We knew we would never have found this on our own much less made the hike from the bus stop in the Caldera so we convinced the driver to come back and pick us up in 4 hours. We crossed the bridge that spans the Chiriqui River (see photo) for the final 10 minute hike to the springs. The Hot Springs are on a private farm with a resident caretaker who charges $2 per person to enter. There were 4 different hot springs in all, 3 surrounded by stone walls and the 4th alongside the river – all very private as we were the only ones there for most of our visit. The approximately 112 degrees F temperature in the springs is unbelievably relaxing. Our fellow travelers from Denmark said it is traditional to follow a hot soak with a cold plunge – Gordie followed their advice and took a plunge in the very very chilly Chiriqui River (see photo). I’ve been in Arizona too long and couldn’t make it any deeper than my knees.