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Adventures in Costa Rica 2
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Sun4MySoul
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- Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 1:37 pm
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Adventures in Costa Rica 2
So where were we? Day Four, right. We’ve had a fabulous time in La Fortuna and quite frankly, you could just spend a week in this area and never do the same activity twice. There are plenty of adventures left on the list for La Fortuna on the next trip. But its time to move on, so we drove to as far off the beaten path as we thought we could muster. We left the English-speaking tourist town behind and headed on an adventure to Rio Celeste, which translates: Blue River. In this national park, two rivers meet and literally create The Blue Lagoon. On the internet, it appears to be the most amazing shade of blue that I’ve ever seen in water, so we must discover it for ourselves. http://www.ruralcostarica.com/rio-celeste.html
We enlist the help of Owen- our GPS - for this drive. R had just purchased Owen prior to leaving for CR and downloaded the CR software. Owen is a Garmin, which I believe is normally a decent device, but he proved useless on this trip. (Yes, I insisted on naming the GPS. I believe that if someone is going to be in the car talking to me, then they should have a name. We settled on Owen, so I could constantly ask, “Owen where we goin’?) Turns out Owen had NO IDEA where we were going for most of our trip through CR. I will say that we encountered others who had much success with their GPS, as theirs were the ones that they rented with the car upon arrival in CR. The cost of downloading the software is only a few dollars cheaper, so based on my experience, I would advise to just rent upon arrival and perhaps you will have better luck. But I digress…
Thankfully, we had a decent map that I ordered from amazon.com and we decided to seek out our destination the old-fashioned way…can you imagine?
Between our map and stopping to ask directions, we were doing fine. It was a beautiful drive around Lake Arenal and through some more tourist towns. Then we hit the back roads…still beautiful, but MUCH harder to stop and ask for directions. Of course, we had to anyway after we drove around the same 3-block town five times. So we flag down some locals, “Donde (insert name of destination town here)? There is lots of hand waving and Spanish speaking and we really have no idea what people are saying to us, but we just drive in the direction they first pointed and hope for the best!
We finally arrived at our B&B for the night…Hooray! http://www.sueno-celeste.com/ It’s a beautiful place and a shame we only stayed there one night. Highly recommend to anyone looking for lodging in the area. But we must keep moving…where’s lunch before we hit the National Park trail? We take advice and directions from the owners of the B&B and head out. Its only 10 miles to the Rio Celeste National Park, but the road is so awful that it takes over 45 minutes to get there. I think they keep the roads super bumpy to keep the crowds down! I am certain a four-wheeler would have been better for this trip, which is funny….because throughout the entire week in La Fortuna, I noticed ATVs for rent everywhere. It’s legal to drive them on the roads in CR. And the one time that I actually want one, we are too far out in the sticks to acquire one!
So up the bumpy, slow road we continue, till we think we find the recommended lunch spot. We are confused, at it’s clearly someone’s house. An elderly woman comes out and we inquire about lunch. She looks at us like we are aliens from a foreign land. Ahhh…no habla English. So after a few gestures for eating were exchanged, we were invited to the front porch of her house; converted into a feeding station for weary travelers. She brought out a butt load of local fare, we ate till our bellies burst, paid her the meager amount she requested plus generous tip and went on our way. Very Local experience for sure. I discover later, that she just takes in hungry folks and feeds them whatever she is cooking for her very extended family that day. Smart lady.
We hit the park trail at full speed. Only four hours for the 5-mile hike with several things to stop and see along the way. The trails are well marked, so no chance of getting lost. Very wet and muddy…it is the rainforest, I am reminded.
The steps to get up and down the steep hills are made from the natural rocks in the park and the height between steps often has my knee up to my chin….its very interesting hiking for short people! We cross rivers via fallen logs covered with moss. We are told, via Spanish signage, to stand back from the sulphur springs that are bubbling up from the river at over 150 degrees. But there are no fences to keep us from falling in. Very unacceptable park practices in the USA. So, of course, I loved it. 
The amazing Blue Lagoon delivered as advertised. But I thought the sulphuric springs and the unadvertised waterfall were just as amazing. They had a natural hot springs here, right in the middle of the river that you could sit in, but I thought the water was too damn hot to submerge myself. (though it was less than 150 degrees). Strange though, that right in the middle of cold flowing river there would be a hot springs. The locals have damned up the spring with rocks to make a small hot pool in the middle of the rushing river and the hikers enjoy a soak before heading back to the Ranger station. Truly amazing. I preferred a dip in the river to cool down. Much more appropriate. I certainly don’t need help here to sweat! Here is R in the Springs. And other pics of the day.
The 75 ft waterfall was probably one of the most beautiful that I’ve ever seen, but the force of the falls made the pool below it too rough for swimming. Bummer. Dinner this evening was at the only place in the neighboring small town that served beer. (And it was also the front porch of someone’s house) I had my first taste of the national beer of Costa Rica and learned that locals drink it with ice. Interesting. It was very cold, so I suppose the mission was accomplished. We managed to order even though no one in the place understood a bit of English. (And if you haven’t figured it out yet, we don’t understand a bit of Spanish). The food was good, and the cheapest of the trip. There is something to be said for life off the beaten track. This was a damn fine day.
At the dawn of Day 5, we were served bread homemade by the owners of the B&B, fruits from their garden, and eggs from their chickens. Everyone is pretty self-sufficient here. I like that. One of the owner’s hand paints silk scarves and other things, and after a lesson on how to do it myself (as if!), I got my only souvenir of the trip. They also taught me a very impt lesson: the sound I had been hearing that I took for some type of Central American frog, was actually the call of the elusive Toucan. YEAH! I now have further knowledge to find the Toucan. Nearly a week and no sightings, had me a little disappointed. View from our B&B
We move on to another national park in the ‘drier’ part of the country. Its weird, you drive two hours and you leave the rainforest and enter some areas akin to the Texas grasslands. This area is definitely the most interesting park that we visited, just for its diversity. Forest here….mud pots there…monkeys here….desert there….never a dull moment. We had three days to spend exploring Rincon De La Vieja National Park. http://www.rincondelavieja.net/ It was the same park that an American college student went missing in 10 days prior to our visit. The police, Red Cross, and US National Guard are all on hand searching for the guy while we were there. (to my knowledge, he was never found)
We again have trouble finding our lodging near the park for the weekend. We just stop frequently, ask directions, and drive in the first direction the local points until we think we should stop an ask someone again… Eventually, this gets us to our destination, which is at a small, local “lodge” (and I use that term loosely). Rustic at best, but super cheap, so its all good. http://www.rinconcitolodge.com/ - though I should say that our room did not look like ANYTHING on the website, the folks here were super nice and did I mention it was CHEAP? I would stay here again, it didn’t kill me. There is lizard poop on my pillow, so I am reminded of my last trip to STJ and I’m not worried.
Our hike on this day is 3-mile loop through rainforest,grassland, mud, and then sand. My Keens are confused…where are we?
We see three sets of white-faced capuchin monkeys. They are content to play, eat, and wander, around us with reckless abandon. Very fun to watch. There are boiling mud pots here, volcanic steamers, and lagoons of boiling water….this park is dubbed the Yellowstone of Central America for that reason. Very interesting stuff. We cross more rivers over logs, don’t fall into the boiling mud even though there are no fences to stop us, and see the Central American Agouti…which is basically a giant rat without a tail. And when I say giant….think raccoon size…. Weird.
On the Rincon Park map is an area listed “pool”. After driving/hiking all day….we are ready to hit the pool! So we find the trail to the pool, trek through a horse pasture and head down some questionable steps and round the corner. We two single babes find this:
WHOOHOO! What’s better than a man in uniform? A man WITHOUT his uniform!
Turns out the Park’s ‘pool’ is a small river with cool rapids that dump into a 10’x10’ area in the rocks they call a pool. This late in the day, the pool apparently doubles as a bathtub for the local Red Cross guys that have been searching for the missing person in the park. We do a double take, but I’ve hiked a long way to put my ass in the pool, so Red Cross guys are going to have to get over it. They welcome us fairly quickly and we are fast friends. The only good way to get into said pool that I can see is by jumping off the side of the rocks from 6 ft. Fun! This is not a crazy idea, as the Red Cross guys say its safe and if you can’t jump off rocks when you’re surrounded by medics…when can you?
We swam in the pool while monkeys watched us, spoke in second grade English/Spanish to the Red Cross guys about their search for the missing guy and finally hiked out just before dark. Another good day in paradise!
Day (what the hell day is it?), we head to the park again to hit some more trails. Before we depart the lodge, we hear the distant call of the Toucan and I just make him out through my binoculars! The lodge manager promises that if we return before dark we will see him up close….at least that’s what we think he says.
It’s a 30-minute drive down a dirt road to the park from our lodge. About halfway, the road goes through private property and the old man that owns the property has put up a gate and you must pay him $1.50 every time you want to pass through his gate. Good business for the old guy, I say! Toll Road- Costa Rican style!
This day, we make the 8-mile round trip hike to the most beautiful waterfall that I’ve ever seen that you can actually swim beneath. Its another diverse hike through forest and grasslands with monkeys, birds, agouti and a couple of small snakes joining us along the way. The waterfall is well worth the hike. The swim in the turquoise water is something out of a movie. At the end of the hike, we return to the park ‘pool’ (too early for bath time, darn!), take turns jumping in, and finally leave when my stomach can take hunger no more.
Near the park, there is a ‘resort lodge’ geared to tourist families and their adventures. Its pretty much an everything-on-property-you-never-have-to-leave-and-you-pay-the-price type place. http://www.guachipelin.com/ We go there for late lunch and I order a chicken hamburger. As with most things that I order here, I just hope for the best and see what comes. I have been thankfully lucky so far. Today’s find is a double decker chicken sandwich….here’s how it went: bread, hot mayo, chicken, cheese, ham, bacon, lettuce, tomato, bread, hot mayo, chicken, cheese, ham, bacon, lettuce, tomato, bread. SERIOUSLY. The perfect thing after a long day on the trail.
We return to the lodge before dark and as promised, there is the Toucan! He comes every evening for fruit from one of the lodge employees. They are even more gorgeous than I expected. Their black feathers are very soft and their disproportioned bill must not be too heavy, because he wields it around as he pleases! Oddly, they have a red ass. You never see that on the cereal box! The lodge worker has named the bird and we think his name is Unio. We call the bird, he ignores us. Funny, we never understand why. We discover the next day at breakfast that the bird's name is JUNIOR and we don’t understand any damn Spanish at all.
The following day we leave our lodge and return to Guachipelin for what they call The Adventure Tour. We begin in full body harnesses with helmets and gloves…off to tackle their version of the zip line and rappel. This tour is certainly more ‘assembly line-ish’ than any other that we have been on. We are not allowed to handle our own gear or be in charge of anything. Perhaps this resort has already been sued by some stupid Americans that got injured…? Nonetheless, it was truly an adventure. Zip line to one platform, Tarzan swing to the next, rappel down to the next, and rock climb up to the next etc. We were always attached to a guide that was in charge of stopping us, pulling us up, etc. The upside to this was that we had the freedom to do some cool things….like go on the zip line or the rappel upside down if we wanted. All aspects were very cool, and we were in a beautiful canyon with a river below us the entire time. Prior to our zip line, we run into some donkeys that remind me of my second home….
90 minutes later, I’m totally spent and The Adventure Tour has just begun. Next we don our long pants and different helmets for a horseback ride to the river. We are given fancy inner tubes and life jackets and then thrown into said river. I had been very much looking forward to the ‘tubing with helmets’ excursion. This could be a bit more interesting than floating down the ‘ol creek with a cooler of beer at home. I learn on the morning of the trip that it would be a white water rafting trip, but the river is too narrow for rafts to fit down. So instead, they send you on a floating tube without a paddle and let the Class III rapids do with you what they will! This country is too much. I love it!
After carrying my heavy ass tube down some slippery, bust-your-ass-steps for what seems like an eon, I sit down in the tube and the guide gives me instruction. You’re supposed to hold on to the handles when going down the rapids and I now learn that I am missing a handle on my tube. Well, I ain’t making that hike back up the hill to trade tubes….so the guide grins and says…”You’re going to fall out”. I think he’s pulling my leg a bit….sorta like they do right before they shove you off the zip line platform and say, “Smile for your last picture”.
Needless to say, he wasn’t pulling my leg. Apparently, having two handles is essential to Class II and III whitewater tubing. I tested the regulation helmet and lifejacket early and often. I learned quickly to enter the fetal position with head up if you’re going down the Class III rapids without your tube. Its keeps the arms and legs from pounding into the rocks at will. To the credit of the guides, they were always there to make sure I wasn’t bleeding when I surfaced. And actually, this was probably my second best excursion of the trip. I would definitely do it again….just make sure I have two handles next time.
Somehow, after tubing, I ended up on the back of a brahma bull (Is that what that thing is?)....not sure...maybe brain injury from tubing...Anyway...after lunch and a visit to the local hot springs to soothe my weary rock-beaten bones…we drove to the west coast of Costa Rica to begin our week at the beach. Our digs for the first half of the week were AMAZING. It was an apt in a private home in Playa Ocotal. http://www.villavistamar.com/cms/front_ ... 1&client=1 View of the ocean, amazing pool with waterfall and full kitchen. We stocked up on supplies at the local market and I intended to make full use of the blender for two days while R went diving. Though I refuse to report to anyone how much I had to pay for a bottle of coconut rum to make that happen. Toto, we are not in the Virgin Islands anymore! I vowed to switch back to local beer with ice after finishing the bottle of rum.
Ok, really…aren’t you tired of reading yet? Coming up next: Attack of the wild animals and Who the hell said surfing was easy?!
We enlist the help of Owen- our GPS - for this drive. R had just purchased Owen prior to leaving for CR and downloaded the CR software. Owen is a Garmin, which I believe is normally a decent device, but he proved useless on this trip. (Yes, I insisted on naming the GPS. I believe that if someone is going to be in the car talking to me, then they should have a name. We settled on Owen, so I could constantly ask, “Owen where we goin’?) Turns out Owen had NO IDEA where we were going for most of our trip through CR. I will say that we encountered others who had much success with their GPS, as theirs were the ones that they rented with the car upon arrival in CR. The cost of downloading the software is only a few dollars cheaper, so based on my experience, I would advise to just rent upon arrival and perhaps you will have better luck. But I digress…
Thankfully, we had a decent map that I ordered from amazon.com and we decided to seek out our destination the old-fashioned way…can you imagine?
Between our map and stopping to ask directions, we were doing fine. It was a beautiful drive around Lake Arenal and through some more tourist towns. Then we hit the back roads…still beautiful, but MUCH harder to stop and ask for directions. Of course, we had to anyway after we drove around the same 3-block town five times. So we flag down some locals, “Donde (insert name of destination town here)? There is lots of hand waving and Spanish speaking and we really have no idea what people are saying to us, but we just drive in the direction they first pointed and hope for the best! We finally arrived at our B&B for the night…Hooray! http://www.sueno-celeste.com/ It’s a beautiful place and a shame we only stayed there one night. Highly recommend to anyone looking for lodging in the area. But we must keep moving…where’s lunch before we hit the National Park trail? We take advice and directions from the owners of the B&B and head out. Its only 10 miles to the Rio Celeste National Park, but the road is so awful that it takes over 45 minutes to get there. I think they keep the roads super bumpy to keep the crowds down! I am certain a four-wheeler would have been better for this trip, which is funny….because throughout the entire week in La Fortuna, I noticed ATVs for rent everywhere. It’s legal to drive them on the roads in CR. And the one time that I actually want one, we are too far out in the sticks to acquire one!
So up the bumpy, slow road we continue, till we think we find the recommended lunch spot. We are confused, at it’s clearly someone’s house. An elderly woman comes out and we inquire about lunch. She looks at us like we are aliens from a foreign land. Ahhh…no habla English. So after a few gestures for eating were exchanged, we were invited to the front porch of her house; converted into a feeding station for weary travelers. She brought out a butt load of local fare, we ate till our bellies burst, paid her the meager amount she requested plus generous tip and went on our way. Very Local experience for sure. I discover later, that she just takes in hungry folks and feeds them whatever she is cooking for her very extended family that day. Smart lady.We hit the park trail at full speed. Only four hours for the 5-mile hike with several things to stop and see along the way. The trails are well marked, so no chance of getting lost. Very wet and muddy…it is the rainforest, I am reminded.
The steps to get up and down the steep hills are made from the natural rocks in the park and the height between steps often has my knee up to my chin….its very interesting hiking for short people! We cross rivers via fallen logs covered with moss. We are told, via Spanish signage, to stand back from the sulphur springs that are bubbling up from the river at over 150 degrees. But there are no fences to keep us from falling in. Very unacceptable park practices in the USA. So, of course, I loved it. The amazing Blue Lagoon delivered as advertised. But I thought the sulphuric springs and the unadvertised waterfall were just as amazing. They had a natural hot springs here, right in the middle of the river that you could sit in, but I thought the water was too damn hot to submerge myself. (though it was less than 150 degrees). Strange though, that right in the middle of cold flowing river there would be a hot springs. The locals have damned up the spring with rocks to make a small hot pool in the middle of the rushing river and the hikers enjoy a soak before heading back to the Ranger station. Truly amazing. I preferred a dip in the river to cool down. Much more appropriate. I certainly don’t need help here to sweat! Here is R in the Springs. And other pics of the day.
The 75 ft waterfall was probably one of the most beautiful that I’ve ever seen, but the force of the falls made the pool below it too rough for swimming. Bummer. Dinner this evening was at the only place in the neighboring small town that served beer. (And it was also the front porch of someone’s house) I had my first taste of the national beer of Costa Rica and learned that locals drink it with ice. Interesting. It was very cold, so I suppose the mission was accomplished. We managed to order even though no one in the place understood a bit of English. (And if you haven’t figured it out yet, we don’t understand a bit of Spanish). The food was good, and the cheapest of the trip. There is something to be said for life off the beaten track. This was a damn fine day.
At the dawn of Day 5, we were served bread homemade by the owners of the B&B, fruits from their garden, and eggs from their chickens. Everyone is pretty self-sufficient here. I like that. One of the owner’s hand paints silk scarves and other things, and after a lesson on how to do it myself (as if!), I got my only souvenir of the trip. They also taught me a very impt lesson: the sound I had been hearing that I took for some type of Central American frog, was actually the call of the elusive Toucan. YEAH! I now have further knowledge to find the Toucan. Nearly a week and no sightings, had me a little disappointed. View from our B&B
We move on to another national park in the ‘drier’ part of the country. Its weird, you drive two hours and you leave the rainforest and enter some areas akin to the Texas grasslands. This area is definitely the most interesting park that we visited, just for its diversity. Forest here….mud pots there…monkeys here….desert there….never a dull moment. We had three days to spend exploring Rincon De La Vieja National Park. http://www.rincondelavieja.net/ It was the same park that an American college student went missing in 10 days prior to our visit. The police, Red Cross, and US National Guard are all on hand searching for the guy while we were there. (to my knowledge, he was never found)
We again have trouble finding our lodging near the park for the weekend. We just stop frequently, ask directions, and drive in the first direction the local points until we think we should stop an ask someone again… Eventually, this gets us to our destination, which is at a small, local “lodge” (and I use that term loosely). Rustic at best, but super cheap, so its all good. http://www.rinconcitolodge.com/ - though I should say that our room did not look like ANYTHING on the website, the folks here were super nice and did I mention it was CHEAP? I would stay here again, it didn’t kill me. There is lizard poop on my pillow, so I am reminded of my last trip to STJ and I’m not worried.
Our hike on this day is 3-mile loop through rainforest,grassland, mud, and then sand. My Keens are confused…where are we?
We see three sets of white-faced capuchin monkeys. They are content to play, eat, and wander, around us with reckless abandon. Very fun to watch. There are boiling mud pots here, volcanic steamers, and lagoons of boiling water….this park is dubbed the Yellowstone of Central America for that reason. Very interesting stuff. We cross more rivers over logs, don’t fall into the boiling mud even though there are no fences to stop us, and see the Central American Agouti…which is basically a giant rat without a tail. And when I say giant….think raccoon size…. Weird.On the Rincon Park map is an area listed “pool”. After driving/hiking all day….we are ready to hit the pool! So we find the trail to the pool, trek through a horse pasture and head down some questionable steps and round the corner. We two single babes find this:
WHOOHOO! What’s better than a man in uniform? A man WITHOUT his uniform!
Turns out the Park’s ‘pool’ is a small river with cool rapids that dump into a 10’x10’ area in the rocks they call a pool. This late in the day, the pool apparently doubles as a bathtub for the local Red Cross guys that have been searching for the missing person in the park. We do a double take, but I’ve hiked a long way to put my ass in the pool, so Red Cross guys are going to have to get over it. They welcome us fairly quickly and we are fast friends. The only good way to get into said pool that I can see is by jumping off the side of the rocks from 6 ft. Fun! This is not a crazy idea, as the Red Cross guys say its safe and if you can’t jump off rocks when you’re surrounded by medics…when can you?
We swam in the pool while monkeys watched us, spoke in second grade English/Spanish to the Red Cross guys about their search for the missing guy and finally hiked out just before dark. Another good day in paradise!
Day (what the hell day is it?), we head to the park again to hit some more trails. Before we depart the lodge, we hear the distant call of the Toucan and I just make him out through my binoculars! The lodge manager promises that if we return before dark we will see him up close….at least that’s what we think he says.
It’s a 30-minute drive down a dirt road to the park from our lodge. About halfway, the road goes through private property and the old man that owns the property has put up a gate and you must pay him $1.50 every time you want to pass through his gate. Good business for the old guy, I say! Toll Road- Costa Rican style!
This day, we make the 8-mile round trip hike to the most beautiful waterfall that I’ve ever seen that you can actually swim beneath. Its another diverse hike through forest and grasslands with monkeys, birds, agouti and a couple of small snakes joining us along the way. The waterfall is well worth the hike. The swim in the turquoise water is something out of a movie. At the end of the hike, we return to the park ‘pool’ (too early for bath time, darn!), take turns jumping in, and finally leave when my stomach can take hunger no more.
Near the park, there is a ‘resort lodge’ geared to tourist families and their adventures. Its pretty much an everything-on-property-you-never-have-to-leave-and-you-pay-the-price type place. http://www.guachipelin.com/ We go there for late lunch and I order a chicken hamburger. As with most things that I order here, I just hope for the best and see what comes. I have been thankfully lucky so far. Today’s find is a double decker chicken sandwich….here’s how it went: bread, hot mayo, chicken, cheese, ham, bacon, lettuce, tomato, bread, hot mayo, chicken, cheese, ham, bacon, lettuce, tomato, bread. SERIOUSLY. The perfect thing after a long day on the trail.
We return to the lodge before dark and as promised, there is the Toucan! He comes every evening for fruit from one of the lodge employees. They are even more gorgeous than I expected. Their black feathers are very soft and their disproportioned bill must not be too heavy, because he wields it around as he pleases! Oddly, they have a red ass. You never see that on the cereal box! The lodge worker has named the bird and we think his name is Unio. We call the bird, he ignores us. Funny, we never understand why. We discover the next day at breakfast that the bird's name is JUNIOR and we don’t understand any damn Spanish at all.
The following day we leave our lodge and return to Guachipelin for what they call The Adventure Tour. We begin in full body harnesses with helmets and gloves…off to tackle their version of the zip line and rappel. This tour is certainly more ‘assembly line-ish’ than any other that we have been on. We are not allowed to handle our own gear or be in charge of anything. Perhaps this resort has already been sued by some stupid Americans that got injured…? Nonetheless, it was truly an adventure. Zip line to one platform, Tarzan swing to the next, rappel down to the next, and rock climb up to the next etc. We were always attached to a guide that was in charge of stopping us, pulling us up, etc. The upside to this was that we had the freedom to do some cool things….like go on the zip line or the rappel upside down if we wanted. All aspects were very cool, and we were in a beautiful canyon with a river below us the entire time. Prior to our zip line, we run into some donkeys that remind me of my second home….
90 minutes later, I’m totally spent and The Adventure Tour has just begun. Next we don our long pants and different helmets for a horseback ride to the river. We are given fancy inner tubes and life jackets and then thrown into said river. I had been very much looking forward to the ‘tubing with helmets’ excursion. This could be a bit more interesting than floating down the ‘ol creek with a cooler of beer at home. I learn on the morning of the trip that it would be a white water rafting trip, but the river is too narrow for rafts to fit down. So instead, they send you on a floating tube without a paddle and let the Class III rapids do with you what they will! This country is too much. I love it!
After carrying my heavy ass tube down some slippery, bust-your-ass-steps for what seems like an eon, I sit down in the tube and the guide gives me instruction. You’re supposed to hold on to the handles when going down the rapids and I now learn that I am missing a handle on my tube. Well, I ain’t making that hike back up the hill to trade tubes….so the guide grins and says…”You’re going to fall out”. I think he’s pulling my leg a bit….sorta like they do right before they shove you off the zip line platform and say, “Smile for your last picture”.
Needless to say, he wasn’t pulling my leg. Apparently, having two handles is essential to Class II and III whitewater tubing. I tested the regulation helmet and lifejacket early and often. I learned quickly to enter the fetal position with head up if you’re going down the Class III rapids without your tube. Its keeps the arms and legs from pounding into the rocks at will. To the credit of the guides, they were always there to make sure I wasn’t bleeding when I surfaced. And actually, this was probably my second best excursion of the trip. I would definitely do it again….just make sure I have two handles next time.
Somehow, after tubing, I ended up on the back of a brahma bull (Is that what that thing is?)....not sure...maybe brain injury from tubing...Anyway...after lunch and a visit to the local hot springs to soothe my weary rock-beaten bones…we drove to the west coast of Costa Rica to begin our week at the beach. Our digs for the first half of the week were AMAZING. It was an apt in a private home in Playa Ocotal. http://www.villavistamar.com/cms/front_ ... 1&client=1 View of the ocean, amazing pool with waterfall and full kitchen. We stocked up on supplies at the local market and I intended to make full use of the blender for two days while R went diving. Though I refuse to report to anyone how much I had to pay for a bottle of coconut rum to make that happen. Toto, we are not in the Virgin Islands anymore! I vowed to switch back to local beer with ice after finishing the bottle of rum.
Ok, really…aren’t you tired of reading yet? Coming up next: Attack of the wild animals and Who the hell said surfing was easy?!
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this trip report. It's really exciting to follow your adventure and your pictures are great.
Since my brother went to CR three years ago and showed me his pictures, it has been on the list of places I would love to visit.
I'll be waiting for you next installment.
Since my brother went to CR three years ago and showed me his pictures, it has been on the list of places I would love to visit.
I'll be waiting for you next installment.
this was the best trip report....i'm sitting at my desk and just laughing. you sounded like you had the time of your life and someone who would just be a blast to vacation with. I'm booking our next trip to CR. the pictures look amazing and the adventure side of it is everything i love.thank you!
Sam
Yeah, that's what I thought.
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mindehankins
- Posts: 3014
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- Location: Western NY State
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Sun4MySoul
- Posts: 524
- Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 1:37 pm
- Location: NC
Glad you guys are enjoying the report. I certainly have enjoyed reliving my experience there!
JaySea- as for the heights...I know it sounds cliche...but just don't think about it and DO NOT look down.
Lysa- I must have hiked 30+ miles in the first week, but I didn't lose a single pound on the trip. Clearly, Walk Away The Pounds would never work for me.
Alw- Osa is definitely on the list for the trip next year!
And Sam- if you need a Tour Guide, I'm certainly for hire!
The next installment may have to wait until Monday. Have a good weekend, everyone!
JaySea- as for the heights...I know it sounds cliche...but just don't think about it and DO NOT look down.
Lysa- I must have hiked 30+ miles in the first week, but I didn't lose a single pound on the trip. Clearly, Walk Away The Pounds would never work for me.
Alw- Osa is definitely on the list for the trip next year!
And Sam- if you need a Tour Guide, I'm certainly for hire!
The next installment may have to wait until Monday. Have a good weekend, everyone!
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Jo Ann - VA
- Posts: 756
- Joined: Sat Nov 11, 2006 11:56 am
- Location: Virginia
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greyhoundmom
- Posts: 978
- Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2007 3:06 pm
- Location: Columbia South Carolina
Great report and pictures, Stephanie 
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Forgot to mention, that Toucan is so cool. I love interesting looking birds. Love pelicans too. I was trying to remember what cereal commercial Toucan Sam was from, then as a fluke I saw it on TV tonight.
.Forgot to mention, that Toucan is so cool. I love interesting looking birds. Love pelicans too. I was trying to remember what cereal commercial Toucan Sam was from, then as a fluke I saw it on TV tonight.
Last edited by brenda on Sun Sep 20, 2009 11:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Going "home" again October 26th!
