Do you believe?

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.