The amazing Costa Rican Pasos
15 or so years ago I visited southern Costa Rica when it was still wild and unspoiled. There were no luxury resorts in sight and transportation was not easy – in fact the only way I got to Corcovado was a plane, then a riverboat and then local motor boat that dropped us on the beach. The food wasn’t great, the humidity drove me nuts – my clothes were always damp and my hair was bizarre – but it was wild and unspoiled, green and humid, with monkeys and plenty of birds to see. In the intervening years it seems half of Costa Rica has been up for sale, and a great deal of it bought by Americans who have built starter castles, condos and golf courses. This time I decided to go to the north into the province of Guanacaste, my reason for going was of course horse riding and I will say that the horses- Costa Rican Pasos – were exquisite.
Horse Riding
I was there in the dry season, March, so it was a bit dusty on the trails. The horses at the Finca were absolutely lovely, they breed their own Costa Rican Paso Paints and truly care about them. They are beautifully trained and the tack was in excellent condition. I did trail rides seeing massive mango trees, birds and of course monkeys; had a course in natural horsemanship and even took some entry level dressage lessons in the large outdoor arena shaded by Guanacaste trees, with howler monkeys overhead. My week culminated with a canter along a white sand beach – a magical experience as all beach rides seem to be.
Dating back to the Spanish conquistadors horses have been very important to the Ticos. The Costa Rican Paso is a registered breed, the result of careful and selective breeding influenced by Iberian Andulasions and Peruvian Pasos, with some Berber, Arabian and even thoroughbred. The heritage is apparent in their noble faces, stamina, gait and beautiful coats.
An advantage to saying at a Finca, where you can ride, is you get to see more of the local way of life. I was fortunate to be able to attend a local Fiesta on the last night of the bull riding which was quite fascinating: never before have I seen so many men in the arena being chased by the bull, or a bull being let out of the wrong chute and running wild in the crowd. There were huge Iberian stallions patiently standing amongst food vendors surrounded by balloons and chaos, it was fascinating. I was also fortunate to be there on the full moon when one of the local villages there was hosting a Tope. All the local cowboys and cowgirls congregated as the sun set for a nighttime ride. On their high-stepping Spanish horses, holding their beers, with a band following them in the back of an old truck, they set out to take a ride around the countryside before returning for a barbecue and festivities. We didn’t join as one of our horses wasn’t able to be ridden – he’d been bitten by another horse without us realizing and we couldn’t saddle him. However, it was quite magical to see all the men, women, children, small and large horses gathering to have fun: I certainly have never seen that before.
The particular Finca I stayed at is definitely worth visiting to ride their magnificent horses and have the chance to experience local customs with the owners.
Food and other activities:
The food in Costa Rica is not particularly fascinating it does not have a long history of culinary expertise the way Mexico does, and like much else in the country seems to have had an American influence, though there is evidence of the Caribbean in many dishes still. That is not to say the food is unpleasant, it’s actually fresh with lots of fruit, plantains, chicken and rice, at the beach fish is available. You will not go hungry neither would you feel the need to take a Costa Rican cooking class or seek out a Costa Rican restaurant when you return home, there’s a reason why there aren’t any!
The beaches are lovely and there are many places to surf. The reason Costa Rica is so popular with Americans is there is nothing intimidating about it, you can drink the water, drive the roads, the you feel safe and it is clean. It’s a great place to take children, and a good first overseas trip for Americans, especially if you wish to spend your vacations at a resort popping out to see an eco lodge or a forest but scampering back to your Resort.
In summary: If you want to go to Costa Rica to ride or learn to surf, again I think it’s a great destination. But outside of those two if you really are adventurous and you are seeking indigenous peoples, different landscapes, history and culture, brilliant cuisine, I think there are more interesting destinations, so I’m not sure I would put Costa Rica at the top of my priority list of countries to visit.
