A winter's getaway to Costa Rica will provide experiences for all temperaments; from birdwatching and horseback riding in the volcanic rainforests to perusing coffee plantations (the golden bean to the country's economy since the mid-19th century), and from colonial town buzz to Caribbean calm. While most begin their stay in San Jose, the capital city, there is an amazing microclimate and ambience to be discovered in the Pacific Northwest, the Nicoya Peninsula.

Accessible from the airport in Costa Rica's second city, Liberia, the Nicoya Peninsula is a fun, adventuresome and relatively risk-free locale for seniors. Best visited in the hot dry season from December to May, our travelling group, ranging from ages 60-70, was able to continue with their regular activities, like swimming, running and walking plus push the envelope on new experiences too, like zip lining and boogie boarding in the surf.

The full gamut of accommodation is available; from all-inclusive resorts and tours to VRBO (vacation rental by owner) and car rental, all to suit budgets and inclinations. But the adventure is there to be grasped and rewarded. The Nicoya Peninsula is pretty much a four-wheeled drive experience on a five-grade road system that can take you to the most pristine palm-lined beaches or misted rainforests to hike, horse ride or canopy tour.

Beaches & Beach Roads
Over 40 beaches in the provinces of Guanacaste and Puntarenas help make up the coastline of the Nicoya Peninsula. From Liberia, the beaches stretch northwest to the Nicaraguan border and southwest from Playa Panama to Playa Tambor. There is no continuous coastline road however, so beach access wiggles through hilly cowboy terrain off the main regional Highway 21, which runs from Liberia to Nicoya down the centre of the peninsula and eventually to the Tempisque Friendship Bridge that reconnects with the major Inter-American Highway.

Many of the side roads are classified as Secondary Paved Roads; quite good apart from speed bumps to slow you down past the many schools, or the occasional horse or cow that wanders down the road. After all, this is cowboy or sabanero country. But there are also blossoms that cover the road like confetti to add to the charm. For instance, the roads to Playa Hermosa, Playa Tamarindo, and Playa Samara are good ones but Hermosa and Tamarindo, no more than an hour from Liberia, are the most developed as a result. Samara, two hours' drive, is a lovely laid-back beach town with every amenity and close to Playa Carrillo, a beach that Fodor's 2011 says is "perhaps the most beautiful beach in the country."

Getting to other beaches can be more challenging and may require a bit more of a courageous spirit but well worth the dust eating and washboard rattling of secondary roads. They are not paved and best driven in the non-rainy season. At Nosara for instance, there is a "blue flag" or eco-beach, famous for surfers and yoga schools. Or if you don't mind fording a river or slalom steering around potholes on a minor road/track, your reward could be Playa Camaronal, site of a black-sand sea turtle egg refuge for the olive ridley species. After chatting to multinational students who stay in the wooden hostel and do three-hour night shifts collecting eggs (see www.fundacioncamaronal.org), you can carry on up the bumpy road to a 5-star resort, the Hotel Punta Islita with a 9-hole executive golf course and rooms starting at $300.

The beaches are exquisite, often ideal horseshoe-shaped, and great for strolling or running (albeit in the early morning because temperatures do climb quickly), usually with nearby palm-shaded cafés and ocean-breezy restaurants to offer succour from the heat. But once recovered you can snorkel, ride horses, boogie board or even take surfing lessons.

Wildlife and Eco-Tourism
The Costa Ricans or ticos value their environment. They have 85 national parks, wildlife reserves, forest reserves, biological reserves and protected zones. Over one-quarter, about 23 of these, are in the Nicoya Peninsula and accessible to both intrepid and somewhat trepid senior visitors. Some are volcanic rainforests, while others are mangrove swamp deltas or offshore islands. Our travelling group sampled many:

• Kayaking from Samara Beach to Isla Chora and snorkelling with a local guide for $30 US per half day (tiotigretours@yahoo.es from a beachfront kiosk also offers horseback riding)
• Driving to Puerto Humo on the Rio Tempisque ("how fast depends on how much your teeth can take the rattling," said one) for a two-hour boat tour of the mangrove swamp. For about $35 US, they saw crocodiles, iguanas, roseate spoonbills, blue herons, reptilian-necked anhingas and great kiskadees in their tropical environs.
• Taking a half-day boat tour from Playa Carrillo to see dolphins and olive ridley sea turtles in their natural sea habitat, and to snorkel off the reef of Isla Chora (samarabeach.com/boat-tours); or renting boogie boards for a toss about in the surf off palm-lined, moon-shaped Playa Carrillo.
• Canopy tours or zip lining in the forest tops. In Samara, there is a 12 platform descent from 30 metres in the trees ending in a rappel for $55 US that puts you at eye level with howler monkeys, magpie jays and the orange-bellied trogon (see Wing Nut Canopy Tours on samarabeach.com/wingnuts/). By the way, Costa Rica has more bird species (894) than Canada and the U.S. combined.
• If you want more than a day trip however, there is the Rincun de la Vieja National Park. It is about an hour northeast of Liberia, has an active volcano and steamy fumaroles, over 250 species of birds with hiking, horseback riding trails, and canopy tours.

Costa Rica, in general, and Guanacaste and the Nicoya Peninsula, in particular, are very progressive locales. Electricity is compatible with the North American system; the tap water is drinkable; its Arabica coffee sublime; its yogurt like ice cream, its people friendly and not tourist-resentful at all. The ticos provide a perfect paradise from which seniors and boomers can test their mettle with myriad adventures.

JUNE 2011 SENIOR LIVING MAGAZINE VANCOUVER & LOWER MAINLAND