My wonderful husband turned 30 in November and we celebrated the only way we know how, by going on another trip! As we've been in the States now for almost two years, we decided to go somewhere on this side of the world; Costa Rica. The trip started out great for the big 3-0! On our flight over we told the steward that it was my husband's birthday. So the pilot, over the intercom, wished the "man in seat 19A a wonderful birthday"... the steward proceeded to allow everyone to clap and cheer. As my husband is an AIRPLANE NERD, this couldn't be more exciting for him. If you want to read about our flight, please read his blog: When I Travel the World. (if you're into flight reports)
let the road trip begin!
traffic jam !
Any who.... this trip started off great for my husband's 30th. My husband planned the trip as it was his birthday, however, lets just say "google maps" doesn't get everything right! Once we landed in hot, humid, Costa Rica we needed to get our rental car. Well, after about 30-45 minutes of us walking up and down a street and me trying to talk to the locals in my very broken Spanish, we discovered that the Alamo rental car that google maps said was there, had moved over a year ago! Way to Google!..... Normally, something like this would irritate us, but we were on vacation and to be honest, it was pretty fun using my "spanglish" again. We eventually picked up our beast of a mini-jeep and started the 2 hour drive to Manuel Antonio National Park.
the "Beast" !
I have never seen it rain so hard in my life. We were driving along this tiny two way road, lightning everywhere, and it was pouring down rain. I knew Manuel Antonio was a rain forest, but I didn't imagine it would actually rain this much! We got to our hotel, The Falls Resort, and it was absolutely a wonderful stay. We had an adorable cottage in the back of the property equipped with a hammock!
attempting to drive in the storm
our cottage
As it had stopped raining for the afternoon, we walked down the road to a bar to have some local Costa Rican beer: Imperial & Pilsen. We also thought it would be a good idea to order some fresh mahi-mahi. Our first full day and we were rewarded with a gorgeous sunset. In retrospect, I am extremely happy we really soaked in the beauty of the sun setting over the pacific ocean, because at the time we had no idea that would be the only sunset we would see during our entire trip. By the time we headed back to the hotel, it was pouring rain....again. We attempted to sleep, but it was just soooo loud due to the storm!
our first and only sunset in Manuel Antonio
well deserved after driving in the rain
Relaxing :)
We woke up early to another 100% humid day, but we had a kayaking trip planned through the mangroves, which we were pretty excited about! UMMMM..... kayaking did not happen. The guide proceeded to tell us how the other day a 16 foot crocodile was eating a calf! We opted to proceed with the tour, but in his boat instead of kayaking on our own through the murky waters. We ended up seeing a ton of snakes, lizards, birds, crocodiles... and MONKEYS!
where the sea meets the murky river
I absolutely hate monkeys! The guide got too close to the trees so the monkeys decided they would come on board. I screamed and freaked out and jumped to the other side of the boat; which I guess is what you're not supposed to do. Jayda, on the other hand, sat still like you're supposed to and he ended up having monkeys crawl all over him; gross! ..... this so called professional 'guide' told us the monkey's were safe. Come to find out when we get back to our hotel, the staff advised us that they are not safe and can be aggressive; way to go guide, way to go. Luckily everything was fine, but I sure was ready to get away from the monkeys. Another night of pouring down rain & lightning storms kept us awake, but it was pretty awesome at the same time.
hey dude, you got a banana?
We were up early again at 6 am the next day to get our hiking on in the Manuel Antonio National Rain Forest. We hiked for 3 hours on our own in order to make our way to one of the secluded beaches. We saw a ton of monkeys, iguanas, a deer, butterflies, birds (including toucans!), howling monkeys, raccoon's, and a SLOTH! Seeing a sloth in its natural habitat was my main goal of Manuel Antonio, so this hike and trip already was a success in my eyes.
Mr. (or Mrs?) Sloth
Iguana on the coast of Manuel Antonio
The forest of Manuel Antonio is so thick and full of nature. I have been to many rain forests before, but none like this. It truly was a fun experience. When we made it to the secluded beach, the water was so green and beautiful. I did not go into the sea as the waves are quite large on the Pacific side, but it was gorgeous. We were hiking for hours and to come out onto a small sandy/rocky patch of green ocean beach was just perfect. It was definitely an adventure, being stuck in the thick jungle, then all of a sudden you can hear waves crashing in the distance. Within a few minutes you step out onto the sand and see the ocean. It was breath taking.
our jungle path in Manuel Antonio
the green pacific ocean after hiking in the jungle
The area of Manuel Antonio is truly gorgeous, but ensure that you get up early every day to do your adventures and site seeing. Once it starts raining, it does not stop until late the next morning. The National Park was great, but a bit of advise would be to not pay for a guide. You get to see just as much or probably more being on your own schedule. Plus, if you see a large group looking up at something the guide shows them.... you can easily look up and see what they see. We didn't get a guide and saw a ton of wildlife, plus we were able to get off the beaten path and do our own thing as well, which was nice. During the day in Manuel Antonio, you get humid sunshine which is great for outdoor activities, but be prepared for incredible lightning and thunder storms at night. Get a beer and just watch mother nature work.
we made it!
Manuel Antonio
Our next stop was the Arenal Volcano area. That was about a 4.5 hour drive through beautiful winding mountain roads. I loved the drive out of Manuel Antonio and up to the inland north part of Costa Rica. We of course had rain, but we also saw some sunshine and amazing clouds driving through the cloud forest. Our destination was a Tree House, where we stayed at for the remainder of our trip. Waking up each morning to a thermos of coffee waiting for us on the porch and sun shining through the trees was phenomenal. I have never seen so many beautifully colored birds in my life.... just eating and flying past us in the tree house. That was one of my favorite parts of the trip.....
one of the many morning views in our Tree House
driving through the cloud forest
our tree house aka home in Costa Rica
We then decided that we must go zip lining! When you go to Costa Rica, you HAVE to go zip lining! It was pretty freaking awesome. We did 18 zip lines, including the superman zip line! The farthest was 552 meters and about 200 feet over the river. We also did the Tarzan swing, which was terrifying. Zip lining was great, but the Tarzan swing was scary! They hook you onto a rope and then throw you off a cliff. You need to pay attention and lift your legs up on the swing back, otherwise your legs would get crushed. What an adrenaline rush! Seriously, after the Tarzan swing my legs were shaking uncontrollably due to the adrenaline rushing through my body. I am not over exaggerating! It may have been the funnest/scariest thing I have done in a while. Here is Jayda doing the Superman Zip Line, and I come right after him. Pretty awesome, right?!:
After the excitement of zip lining, we headed back to our tree house to get ready for our Arenal Volcano hike and natural hot springs evening relaxation. Well, we're sitting on the balcony and we notice some howling monkeys. As previously mentioned, I am afraid of monkeys so I decide to go inside. Well, the "macho male" sees us and decides that we are a threat. No joke, he comes over to our balcony, walks up to each window and puts his hands over his eyes to peer inside! Like a creepy little man! He starts to rub his ginormous balls on our door and balcony handles! To top if off, he proceeds to put his feces in front of our door. Whilst he is taunting us, he is laughing the ENTIRE time. Well, we are now inside and have 2 hours to kill before we have to go anywhere, so we think that we can wait him out.
UMMMMMM SCARY!
Well, an hour later we were still being stared down so we begin opening the door to see if we can get out. As soon as we open the door, he starts hissing/howling/whatever you want to call it and showing his huge teeth! Well, we're still stuck and he remained sitting on the ledge staring us down.... now 2 hours later we're afraid we're going to miss getting picked up for the Arenal Volcano hike. I made the decision to go to the bathroom shower (it was mesh netting so you were "one with nature" when you showered) any who... I started calling for help hoping that some distant tree house neighbor would hear us. Thankfully someone did!!!! The lovely owner ran down to our tree house and scared the monkeys away. They assured us they were not violent, but this family of monkeys have tormented previous guests before; particularly guests staying in our tree house. Great! They started cleaning our balcony for us and assured us they would not attack, just throw poop at us. HOWEVER, side note: if they were not violent, why did they have Rolando waiting for us upon our late evening return from the hike/hot water springs? He was waiting with a machete to escort us back to our tree house and also look around to ensure our safety prior to leaving. I say it is pretty suspect.
do you see those things? On our balcony!
I must emphasize that the people who work and run the Tree Houses are amazing and I have nothing but great things to say. If you go to Costa Rica, you must go see the Arenal Volcano and stay at the Tree Houses Hotel. It is safe to say that we were eventually rescued and made the pick up to the Arenal Volcano for our hike. Of course, it started to rain on us, but it was still fun.
A man named Juan was our guide. If you stay at the Tree Houses Hotel, they will hook you up with Juan. He is a local and he showed us all the local brush, trees, and plants that were indigenous to Costa Rica and also their tasty health benefits while on our hike. Due to the Arenal Volcano's 1968 major eruption, there was nutrient volcanic rock that provided for the lush growth. We hiked to the peak and could see Lake Arenal, but the clouds prevented us from seeing the top of the volcano. As (of course) it started to down pour, we had Juan guide us back and drop us off at the natural hot springs. That was very relaxing.
Arenal Volcano
There were many different springs, all with different temperatures. We challenged ourselves and managed to get up to our knees in the hottest spring! There was also a water slide, which Jayda partook in, but not I. We spent most of our time relaxing in the 46 Celsius pool as it was the largest and most peaceful.
an Arenal Natural Hot Spring
Eventually, we had Juan take us back to our Tree House. That is when Rolando was waiting with his large machete to escort us back to our tree! Rolando knew little English so him and I spent the little 10 minute walk talking to each other in my broken Spanish. He was such a nice man and (again) you must stay at the Tree Houses Hotel! Rolando takes people on night walks through the jungle that the tree houses are located in. He teaches everyone so much and points out things we wouldn't see on our own. Plus, he makes you feel safe with that machete!
vamanos !
just another winding road trip
We ended our trip the same as we arrived; a long road trip through a lightning and rain storm. It seemed fitting. Costa Rica was great! Normally Jayda and I are so "go go go" on our trips to ensure we see all the sites, but in Costa Rica you're forced to relax. The people here are so kind and fun. It is truly a country to go to if you want an adventure. Kayaking, snorkeling, surfing, hiking, zip lining, the list is endless! However, due to the weather, you're also forced to sit back and relax and just be "one" with the rain forest. It was nice to get away from technology, modernity, and just be. Costa Rica is an exciting country and the perfect place for the adventurous traveler.
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