The beauty that is Costa Rica

In our travels through this wonderful country, we have come across some beautiful scenery, flowers, trees, butterflies, hummingbirds and more. Here is just a sampling of what we encounteed as we bid "adios" to Costa Rica on our final day.

"Yabba-Dabba-Doo!"

If only Fred Flintsone could see this.
Believe it or not, we are still in Costa Rica - this place being the infamous Peace Lodge in Vara Blanca.
This please came with over-sized cobblestone pathways, an indoor and outdoor jacuzzi and a humongous canopy bed!
And the chicken club sandwich was good too!

This was not what I expected in Puerto Viejo

Another 6 hour van ride

The only issue I have with Costa Rica is that the different cities/towns we were visiting were far away from each other and the only way to get from place to place is to sit in a car for a long period of time. Today was no exception. But having had two incredible days under my belt, I had no reason to complain.

Celestial would have been a more appropriate name

If "a picture is worth a thousand words", then the following images should be telling quite the story. Here is Rio Celeste.

Look out below!

Today's adventure took us to the top of a 135 foot tall waterfall where, strapped into a harness and secured by a rope, we were about to descend to the ground below. It only slightly bothered me that I had never before attempted anything like this and was convinced I was going to plummet to the bottom of the waterfalls in less time than it took to climb to the top (obviously!). Having only 10 minutes of instruction on what to do in case of emergency (uh does this qualify?), I was told to stand at the lip and start climbing down...Uh ok?

Tip #1 at your first waterfalls rappelling trek - don't look down! For god's sake - don't look down!

It would have been nice if someone had told me that!....massive panic attack later, I found myself gingerly letting go of the rope as I dangled half-heartedly off the cliff. I did not go gracefully or calmly, but I did rappel down the waterfall and it was the best thing ever!

Needless to say, I quickly mastered the art of rappelling and soon found myself enjoying getting sprayed by the waterfalls as I climbed down one after the other.

While our day started off dreary with a 3 hour car and boat ride from Monteverde to Arenal, it soon became the highlight of my trip. There is nothing like finding joy in doing something you've never tried before.

All I have to do now is learn the Tarzan call

We started our day with ziplining down Cloud Forest - what fun!...We zipped down 13 lines plus swung down the "Tarzan Swing" which is called that because you swing from it like Tarzan. How Tarzan did that without falling, I don't know..I didn't enjoy that as much but anyway, when in Rome:)

Then we walked across 6 steel bridges to awe in wonder at all that the Cloud Forest had to offer and it was a lot. Lush and green everywhere you looked.

After a wonderful lunch (we are eating so well!), we took a tour to learn about the many different species of butterflies, insects and reptiles Costa Rica has to offer. Had I known that before the walk, I might not have gone...

Another rainy day to end our day and off to Arenal we go tomorrow.
Buenas Noches.

Monteverde - lush and wet

Day one of our trip saw us take a 3 hour drive from Liberia to Monteverde. It was a mostly smooth ride until we hit the "bumpy road" which was a 5 km stretch of pebbles and rocks around a mountain...oh the pain...needless to say, I was quite content when the van pulled up in front of our lodge. The hotel Valverdes is situated in the heart of Monteverde with separate lodges for its guests in the middle of the rainforest. Very lush and tropical with all the amenities of a hotel. After a wonderful meal of a typical Costa Rican food, we set out to tour the town.

Monteverde, Costa Rica (Spanish for 'green mount') is a small town in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. We walked the entire town in 20 minutes, and that is only because we walked slowly:) This is a tourist town created mainly to take us on tours through the Rainforest, one of which we went on tonight and the other one we will go on tomorrow.

Tonight's Adventure, also known as the Hidden Valley Tour, began just as the skies opened up and a torrential downpour fell upon us. That didn't stop our tour guide from starting the tour. So for the next hour and a half walk through the Cloud forest, we were rained on while enjoying the vast knowledge of our tour guide Javier. While I did learn a thing or two about crickets, raccoons, Costa Rican trees and such, the most important thing I learned tonight was that my running jacket is not waterproof! But with a torrential downpour for almost two hours, I can't imagine that my waterproof jacket would have helped that much either. And, so the adventure begins:)..

Can't wait till tomorrow!
Buenas noches!