Costa Rica Part 2

Our second morning we did wake up to rain! Lots of it! Poor cruise ship out in the distance. We ordered breakfast in bed and it was lovely. 

Then we decided we might as well get massages since there wasn't anything we could really do in this downpour. The spa was so cool! Never seen anything quite like this place. Very organic. The women didn't speak English, so once again, Travis to the rescue! The only bummer was the rest of the spa was still under construction, so other than the massages, there wasn't any hot tub or other amenities to enjoy. 

Around lunchtime we decided that rain or shine, we didn't want to stay indoors anymore, so we hopped in the car to drive over to Manuel Antonio National Park. It was a short drive and part of the reason we chose this location. We had heard it was full of wildlife and fun to explore. It was kind of confusing how to go about it all. We drove through these market lined streets and finagled with some men about parking rates in a random, empty field. You have to pay to get in and have your bags inspected. Again, we were hassled about paying for a tour guide, but ultimately decided to go it on our own. 

Paying for a tour guide means they point out all the animals you wouldn't normally spot on your own, but then it also would have lasted 2 hours. Just walking through the trails alone, we got through it in less than an hour and feel like we saw plenty! There were these bright red crabs EVERYWHERE.

And a raccoon wandered out in front of us!

Lots of hanging vines to play Tarzan on! The rain had let up to a drizzle and by the time we were done, it was blue skies!

There were several different trails that led you to different beaches. We weren't sure which one to pick and ended up here! The same beach they filmed Castaway on. Now this was a beautiful, sugar sand beach! We secured our stuff by a log and all hopped in the waves and swam for over an hour!

I don't even really remember how I semi-broke my toe, but I think I hit it on a rock on the first beach we went to. Owie, zowie, it really hurt! Bruised by the nail and traveled up into my foot. Luckily, I could still walk and do everything, but it hurt pretty bad.

We walked over to another beach then left the park and walked through the market street to the public beach. I had parasailing on my mind and wondered if we could do it there. 

Success! We found some guys that Travis bargained with and all of a sudden, Rach and I were getting strapped up! The boys didn't seem interested, so I was so glad Rach was willing to do it with me! The man spoke in English but his accent was so thick, I couldn't understand a word of what he was saying to us! I started panicking, not knowing how this was going to work, but Rach kept calm, translating for me, haha! We were supposed to run down the beach then lift our legs up and sail off! What?! I realized this is what every America's Funniest Home Video starts off like. Chubbies running down beaches to para-sail but falling and getting dragged by the boat in the sand! I had only one thought! Don't end up on AFV! 

The men started shouting back and forth to each other, then suddenly we were running!! Weighed down by the harness and ropes and this large man galloping next to us. I just kept thinking, don't fall, don't fall!! The water was getting closer and I feared we'd still be running when we hit the waves, but magically, right before the sand ran out, we were lifted into the air, soaring above the beach! IT WAS AMAZING!!!! We rose higher and higher as the ground got farther and farther away and it was legit the most incredible feeling I've ever experienced!! Looking down, Rachel remarked that if somehow we fell, we would definitely die and I knew she was right. We were crazy high up! I honestly could never do justice to this experience with words. Nothing I've done before even comes close to how cool this was! We were weightless, soaring like birds in a perfectly peaceful atmosphere. It was so quiet and serene and we felt like we were in the beautiful, fluffy clouds. The people on the beach were tiny specks and we could see the entire, gorgeous coastline. And it lasted a long time! The boat just kept driving and we got to be up there for over 30 min! We talked and marveled at this incredible experience we were sharing. It will honestly go up there as top 5 most favorite and memorable experiences I've ever had. I absolutely loved sharing it with Rach! My person! When it was over, the boat headed back to the beach and we just gently descended, very gradually until we sunk into the water and the jet ski came over to pluck us out of the ocean. We tried to convince the guys to try it but they settled on boogie boarding. We played in the water for a bit longer before heading back to the car to get dinner in downtown Quepos.

Just a tiny dot in the sky!

We tried another restaurant the hotel recommended as authentic Costa Rican cuisine. It was more casual than the night before, but yummy too! 

Then we drove to a shopping area that had the nicest stores we saw in the whole country! The gelato place made us feel like we were in Gilbert! It was adorable!

Just an intermission picture of our cute kids, being well taken care of by Grandma! We hired a girl to stay with the kids the first couple of days, then Grandma came over to watch them the remaining 5 days! What a sacrifice! I'm notorious for stressing and worrying about the kids when we're gone, but knowing my mom had them brought complete peace of mind. We were so grateful!

The next day we were signed up to do a white water rafting excursion. It was raining at first, but by the time we got off the shuttle, it was beautiful weather!

We didn't realize we'd be getting a Spice Tour with it! They took us down a path lined with all sorts of plants and trees and explained what each one was. I LOVED this! I wish I had videotaped all of it because now I've forgotten most of it, but it was so interesting. We tasted edible leaves and fresh bananas and smelled cinnamon and citronella bark and learned about all the many exotic and useful plants that grow in Costa Rica! 

I think these were cocoa bean pods!

He cut off a piece of cinnamon bark and smelling and tasting it was wild! It was like cinnamon on steroids. Sooo much better than any cinnamon I'd ever tasted before. I imagined this is what everything in heaven must be like. On a level 100 times better than what we knew on earth. 

I wish I remembered what this was!

Travis and I white water rafted down the Animas river in Colorado that supposedly had up to class 3 rapids, but this was NOTHING like that! This was SO MUCH BETTER!! This was the description online... The Naranjo River drops steeply from the mountains above Quepos, through a beautiful jungle gorge and takes you on a wild ride to sea level passing nearby farmlands and palm plantations.

It was just us and the Shaws and our river guide on our raft, then there was one other raft we traveled down with. They had a photographer on a kayak who would go ahead to snap pictures of us. I LOVE these photos so much! We had an absolute ball! Again, words will fail to adequately describe this. It definitely rivaled the parasailing experience. But this was better in that all four of us got to do it together! The water was chilly but not freezing. I was never afraid, even in the biggest rapids, even though it felt like one of the most adventurous things I'd ever done. I felt like we just laughed and screamed the entire time! It was thrilling and exhilarating and so SO fun! I never wanted it to end! There were times our raft was completely engulfed in water as we plunged over a ledge. Only once did I think we might capsize. The other raft actually did once and even the tour guide got thrown out! I guess Costa Rica is known for their amazing white water rafting and I fully agree! Not to mention the gorgeous landscape we were rafting in! I kept gazing out at the lush mountains and green terrain and just feeling mesmerized by the whole experience. Like, is this real life?! Do places like this actually exist? Why on earth do we live in brown, dry Arizona? THIS is true paradise. We kept commenting to the tour guides that they have the best jobs and they heartily agreed with us. One of them is on the Costa Rican rafting team and travels the whole world competing. 

Another note to make is that all our tour guides and all of the local people we encountered on this trip were SO nice and genuine. They enjoyed visiting with us and seemed like salt of earth, truly happy people. They love their country and are proud to be Costa Rican. I felt like the whole country embodied positive energy. It was definitely a humble place, but they didn't seem to mind their simple homes or circumstances. They liked where they lived and some even told us of how they had moved to the United States, but chose to come back here because they missed it so much. We also heard about people who had come to vacation here then never left. I don't blame them! I really loved the happy, content vibe in Cosa Rica.

Afterwards, they took us back into town to their office area where a yummy, Costa Rican lunch was waiting for us!

A friend who had vacationed here really talked up the Nauyaca waterfalls, so I had it high on my bucket list. Turns out, they close the trail head by 3pm, so we had to hustle to make it in time. It was about an hour drive and a much longer hike than I anticipated! I think we hiked at least an hour to the waterfalls. 

But it was a beautiful hike! We were amused by these moving trails of leaves we saw everywhere. The ants carry these huge pieces of leaves and travel in a line along paths to their home. It's the craziest looking thing.

I mean, come on, just look at that!!

We found ourselves constantly comparing Costa Rica to Hawaii and we felt like Costa Rica won on every front. It is just as breath taking as Hawaii, but it wins in it's ambiance. It feels authentic here. Hawaii feels commercialized. 

My friend had blogged about being able to swim in the water at the base of the waterfalls. NOPE. Not us! They had gone in the summer and I didn't realize the flow of the waterfalls would change seasonally. The water poured down so hard and strong it felt like Niagara Falls! It felt dangerous! There was absolutely no way you could swim anywhere near it. Of course, that didn't stop the guys from trying! Ugh! As they attempted to climb their way closer I literally said prayers they wouldn't die. One slip and it could be disastrous. We cautiously explored what we could and sort of swam in an area farther away but even then the currents were so strong I was scared to let go of the rocks. I was a little disappointed this didn't turn out the way I expected, but it was still an enjoyable time and the only hike we did here so I'm glad we made it happen!

This was our last night in Quepos so we tried a fancier, Italian type restaurant that we really enjoyed! The funny part was when dessert came. All four of us stared at the choices, knowing we were too full to get our own and needed to share with our spouse. I was eyeing the fudge brownie sundae, but knew Travis would probably want the cheesecake. Simultaneously, the Shaws were having the same, silent dilemma. Finally, Rach piped up and said, "Well, we should just switch! Doug and Stephanie can share the sundae and me and Trav can share the cheesecake!" Hahaha! And that was that. It maybe felt a little faux pas, but hey, it solved the problem! And illustrated a funny characteristic about our friendship that we've laughed about before. In many ways, Doug and I are cut from the same cloth. And likewise, Trav and Rach share a lot of commonalities too! I think that is why our marriages and friendships work so well. Opposites attract. :) 

Doug and I got to be a little smug though when it turned out their cheesecake was garbage, ha! Don't know why, but Costa Rican's have a very different take on cheesecake. It tastes awful.