Holidays in Costa Rica during the rainy season
3.7.2017
Translation: machine translated
How and with what our travel blogger Ellen Gromann braved the rainy season in Costa Rica and why her trip was more than worth it.
"You must be crazy! Costa Rica in the rainy season, how can you?" How many times did I hear these two sentences before we left? Countless times! Yes, we wanted to travel to the Central American country of Costa Rica, fully aware that June is the rainy season. We were convinced that it is still possible to travel to Costa Rica during this time. It usually only rained for a few hours a day and then mainly in the evening and at night. We were also well prepared in the event that it did rain during the day: For me, preparing for a trip like this means packing carefully. This helps me avoid unpleasant surprises and unnecessary searches while travelling.
Protection for bag and pack
The money and document bag from PacSafe kept me organised and safe. It not only protects my passport as well as my cash and credit card from being slashed thanks to an in-built wire mesh, but also shields the RFID chips from unnoticed identity theft. This means that my most important travel documents are always neatly stored and optimally protected from thieves. I have all my important documents to hand at the flick of a wrist. [[productlist:6281126]]
My Adventure Duffel travel bag from PacSafe is also equipped with a slash-proof material. I can close the zips with an additional TSA-certified lock and then carry the bag carefree with the rucksack straps on my back. Despite the built-in wire mesh, it is very light, which is particularly important when travelling by plane.
Skilfully defying the wet
But now back to the jungle and the rainy season. As I said, it usually rains in the evening and at night. But then it really does. Sometimes it rains like a torrential downpour and you get the feeling that the heavens are opening their floodgates. Of course, despite all the rules, this can also happen during the day.
In the cloud forest area of Monteverde, which is reminiscent of Jurassic Park with its giant ferns and moss-covered tree giants, we did get caught out. In the middle of our tour over suspension bridges in the treetops of the jungle giants, it started to rain. Fortunately, as there is relatively little precipitation in the cloud forest compared to the rainforest, it didn't start pouring straight away. It rained a little and I was glad to have my Burgon & Ball umbrella with the flora and fauna motif with me. I had deliberately chosen this motif before our trip. After all, we also wanted to observe and photograph animals. Such "camouflage colours" are certainly not wrong. It blends in nicely with nature, doesn't it?
We were hit much harder on the penultimate day of our trip, in Manuel Antonio National Park on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Just as we were watching a sloth and capuchin monkeys, it suddenly started to pour. The rain was of course warm, so our biggest concern was not ourselves, but our camera equipment. When we travel together, my husband often takes on a large part of the photographer's role and is also responsible for the equipment. Fortunately, we had made private pension provision for the event of unexpected rain. Packed light and small, we had pulled the nylon tarp poncho from Sea to summit out of the side pocket of our rucksack, shaken it briefly and pulled it over my husband, rucksack and camera equipment in no time at all. This kept everything safe and dry and we didn't even have to interrupt the photo session.
Not to imagine if the camera had got wet, or even the memory card with thousands of photos on it had been damaged! It would be just as much of a horror scenario for me if the camera was damaged, lost, stolen or otherwise lost during such a once-in-a-lifetime trip - and with it all the photos. A thought that has often caused me sleepless nights. As a travel blogger, I need to illustrate my travel reports and stories with suitable photos. I'm also personally attached to the pictures, as photography is a real passion for me alongside blogging.
Saving photos easily and securely
This is why I bought the WD MyPassport Wireless Pro. A hard drive with its own battery and built-in SD card reader that is independent of the PC and direct power connection. Without having to take a notebook with me when travelling, I was able to effortlessly pull copies of my photos onto the hard drive every evening and store all the unique moments captured during the day safely in the hotel safe. A really reassuring feeling!
And once the camera photos are on the hard drive, I can easily connect my mobile to the hard drive via WiFi using the WD MyCloud app and immediately post the best snapshots from there to Instagram & Co.
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Of course, I also take photos and videos with my mobile, especially when I need to be quick. To ensure that these photos and videos are also well backed up, they are automatically copied to a specially created folder on the hard drive as soon as I open the WD MyCloud app on my mobile.
For this, I first had to carry out the initial installation at home (!) via a cable connection on my desktop and install the WD MyCloud app on my mobile. In the app, I then just had to activate the automatic backup function under Settings / Automatic backup (iPhone) or Backup options (Android), set the WD MyPassport Wireless as the storage drive and create / select a folder as the storage location - and that was it. Since then, my photos and videos are automatically transferred to the WD MyPassport Wireless Pro as soon as I switch it on and open the app. It couldn't be easier.
I will never travel without the WD MyPassport Wireless Pro again. But be careful: You should definitely switch off the data plan (iPhone) or data tariff (Android) option, otherwise the data transfer will also take place via the mobile data network. This can be quite expensive, especially on holiday!
My conclusion
I can only recommend travelling to Costa Rica during the rainy season! In addition to the fact that you can spot a lot of wildlife during this time, the country is much less crowded with mainly American and Canadian tourists and the prices for hotels are also somewhat more moderate. It is therefore also financially worthwhile to avoid the much more expensive high season. In this case, it is important to have good equipment to be prepared for all eventualities. Sometimes it's just the little things, such as an umbrella, a poncho or the indispensable wireless hard drive, that can make travelling a lot easier.
After many years working for an online travel portal, I decided to follow the call of my heart and report about my travel experiences on my own blog Patotra (short for Passion to Travel): I travel alone, with my husband or with the whole family (three teenagers). My tips and travel inspirations can be found on <a href="http://www.patotra.com/" target="_blank">patotra.com</a>
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