even though many people rave about costa rica, I admit I was skeptical. we booked the trip rather spontaneously with limited information (not my usual style), but then found out that everything we were interested in doing would be a 3+ hour drive from the peninsula of papagayo where we‘d be staying. we brought juli along since she was on winter break and would soon be leaving us to head to australia for the winter/spring semester. upon arrival, we decided to change a bit of money at the airport and the ‘sweet-as-sugar’ costan rica lady tried hard to sell me with her smile to change more money than we had planned. I’m usually a sucker, but I didn’t fall for her sales pitch and thank goodness because the exchange rate at the airport was a major rip-off! lesson learned without much of a loss. on an up-note, we did need the cash, since our taxi driver would not take american dollars and he was the ONLY one who wouldn’t during the course of the trip.
the hotel was in a beautiful location, with the bay on one side and the pacific ocean on the other, a 2 minute walk from one to the other (maybe less!) since it was late afternoon already, juli and I sat by the bay watching the sights while tom went for his first of many long swims. as the sun set, I walked over to the beach side where there was what looked like a scene from 'the bachelor' with a private table set up for a romantic dinner for two. (beautiful) we did some research with the concierge and planned the next day’s activities which included a private guide and some adventurous activities.
we met mayer the following morning and we realized immediately that this was not just any tour guide. he was like a college professor and bird watcher with an appreciation of his country that won us over in the first 10 minutes. charming to listen to (the way he said the word “popular” had juli and I smiling again and again, I wish I had recorded it), knowledgeable about everything and eager to share it all, he stood the ‘test of tom’ who rode shot gun and never stopped asking him questions.
our first stop was the town of arenal where we saw an active volcano that was just stunning to see in person. and the reason for heading to this area was to experience zip-lining. I’d gotten mixed reviews on this activity, some who hated it, said it was ‘lame’ and some who said it’s a ‘do not miss’. I had no idea what to expect, and I’m a roller coaster fanatic, so I figured “I got this”. at the same time, I am not a fan of heights or anything to do with dangling high above the trees (or even a few feet up) so when I saw what this was actually about, I was pretty sure I was going to back out. the only thing I can say now that would mildly convey the experience is holy sh***, that was scary and exhilarating like nothing I have even done before!!! thinking back, I still can’t believe I did it. those who called it ‘lame’ did not experience zip lining at sky trek!!!!!! as panicked as I was for all 7 zips, the last one was so climactic that I know I will do it again if I have the opportunity. every ride was frightfully high above the tree tops, easily 30 stories up… and the last zip took each of us through the trees like tarzan. it was just beautiful and amazing.
anything after that was going to be a let down, but I would not have it any other way. mayer took us on a hike over hanging bridges and pointed out every bird with excitement as though it was his first time to share this with anyone. as the day wore on and tom’s questions continued, we found out that costa rica is an incredibly eco-friendly country using geothermal energy and wind to power 98% of the entire country. they sure have it figured out pretty well there! we also learned that mayer had provided private tours with just a few famous people :) he asked us “do you know this person beyonce?” haha… yup, I think we know who that is….. beyonce and jay z…. brad pitt and angelina jolie! also obama, kobe bryant, and various other names he mentioned have toured with, not seeming to be very impressed at all.
following this was lunch at the springs hotel which is named that for very good reason. it has dozens of hot springs so that you can easily find a private place for a soak. we made our way down the path to a nice hot natural-looking pool (it was manmade, but really pretty) with a little waterfall. the springs are natural in that the water comes from the earth and is pumped up into the manmade pools. very peaceful and a good way to end the excursion. the 3-hour drive back seemed long, but I still say it was worth the drive. in hindsight, we agreed that it might have been better to stay at a place like the springs to be closer to more of what costa rica has to offer. oh and speaking of 'the bachelor' earlier, they actually filmed an episode of the show at this hotel!
after getting some good advice from the maestro mayer, we planned a river tour with him for the following day. another early start, but only a 2 hour drive this time, to the palo verde river. on the way, mayer told us we were driving through his neighborhood, so he stopped to share some truly local sights with us. there were men walking in a nearby stream with small boats full of sand. as he drove us closer, we could see the oxen they were using to pull the boats full of sand. mayer explained that they were using the oxen to farm the sand which would be sold to create good quality cement, but the kicker was that the men were wading in crocodile-infested water to do this! yikes!
he also stopped on the way to the river as we passed what I would call some kind of swamp so he could share his bird watching prowess. he proceeded to pull out his ‘bird watching scope’ and set it up on a tripod as we all watched with a smile. he pointed out birds so far away, I’m not sure how he even noticed them, and his excitement was childlike, as though it was the first time he was seeing each bird. we absolutely loved him. I think he enjoyed us as well, and the fact that we were nimble enough to hop in and out of the vehicle easily made him happy. he mentioned that he normally has older folks who take a long time to get in and out of the car, so often times he has them observing out the windows only.
arriving at the boat ramp, we met justino, the pontoon boat captain who was able to spot crocodiles, monkeys and lizards that were literally camouflaged in the water and trees. quite amazing. we even got to see the famous jesus christ lizard, named this because of the crazy way it can literally walk on water! then we had lunch at a funky little place I can’t remember the name of which had a bit of a hokey tourist thing going on with a girl in a cowgirl costume doing a demonstration about how to make tortillas. it was funny and we played along (tom too), then we bid farewell to our hero mayer as he dropped us back at our hotel so we could relax on the beach for the rest of the day. the weather was really perfect the whole time, so no complaints about that! as the sun went down, I thought I might go for a run or a hike since the concierge had mentioned a hiking trail nearby. I’ll keep the drama to a minimum here, but safe to say the hiking path involved very little hiking should be renamed "stairway to heaven". I climbed something like 786 steps (equal to 79 floors on my apple watch) and I had no way of knowing when it would end or where I would end up… so after reaching the summit, I decided to go back down the way I came to make sure I didn’t end up at the bottom only to have to climb back up 786 steps again to get back to the hotel. my legs were numb, the sweat was pouring off my body so I guess ‘mission accomplished’ in terms of exercise, but it was not the hiking experience I’d expected. the bonus was a gorgeous sunset view from the top as I listened to the sounds of costa rican wildlife and hoped I didn’t meet any of them head on #yikes
we spent the last full day relaxing on the beach (in the shade, yes, believe it). the water was beautiful, juli and I gabbed away our girl time while tom swam and swam and swam… and as the sun began to set, I thought I might try round 2 of hiking/running, this time staying on the path that led to and from the hotel. since we had only been to and from in a vehicle, I really didn’t notice how steep the hills were and it was mostly uphill on the way out. I did bring a flashlight because I knew it would get dark pretty quickly but as I finally got to the flat ground and felt like I could finally run for a stretch, what should begin circling about me but a big family of bats??!!!!!! and I’m not sure where the term ‘bat out of hell’ came from, but at that moment, pun or no pun, that is exactly how fast I ran for cover! yup, I freaked out. and that pretty much wrapped up the costa rican adventure. next stop, park city utah… :)
#costarica #ziplining #adventuretrip #travel #familyfun #birdwatching #crocodiles #hiking #monkeys
 |
| costa rica from above |
 |
| private dinner 'bachelor' style |
No comments:
Post a Comment