I have never seen Puerto Viejo without rain, and this is still true even after the sun we've had recently. We somehow made the most of it, eating scrumptious gallo pinto again and enjoying being back in Costa Rica. We rented bikes and ventured down the road through the jungle to a little town/beach called Manzanillo. The exciting part about this trip is not Manzanillo, however, it is the wildife spotting on the way! We kept stopping for sloths, got some great pictures (I LOVE my zoom lens), we saw monkeys, giant spiders, and even several toucans! It was like being on a guided tour, only we were our own guides, and even served as guides for the gringos that kept catching up to us and stopping to see what we found this time. It was a fun and cheap way to get to see a lot, and luckily we only got caught in one bad shower on the way. We stayed 3 days in Puerto Viejo which is on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, and then needed to figure out how we were going to make it to La Fortuna (Volcan Arenal) in hopefully one day (it's a LONG day to get anywhere far away in CR). We came across a tour operator that we thought might do a private shuttle to where we needed to go, asked about it, gagged when he said $250, and then left while he was trying to sell us a rafting trip that would then have continuing transport to La Fortuna blah blah blah. Well at least I thought it was blah blah blah, but apparently the boys thought otherwise, and after dinner we went back to inquire, and suddenly found ourselves signing up to go rafting! This would be a day of getting picked up from our hotel, brought to raft place, breakfast included, then rafting for a few hours, then lunch included, and THEN another private shuttle straight to La Fortuna. All for $99 per person! We thought that was worth it. So we got to raft the Rio Pacuare, the river rated #5 in the WORLD by National Geographic for best rivers to raft. The scenery was UNbelievable, like a movie. We rafted literally through waterfalls, canyons, the thick jungle, oh and not to mention the Class IV rapids. That part was a bit unnerving for me, I have a problem with water and hyperventilation, not a good combo. Luckily non of us fell out of the raft unless on purpose, they made me do it once to "practice" a rescue, NOT exciting for me even a little bit. The other raft, however, did manage to lose everyone but the guide on one of the big rapids, that was pretty scary. Nate and Daryl were in heaven the whole time, and I was just trying to survive and enjoy the scenery, which I did, so in the end it was a huge success and a really amazing thing to have done. AND we ended up right where we needed to go!
The next few days in La Fortuna were unfortunately a bit cloudy. I've been there 4 times and only seen the volcano ONCE. Unlucky. But we did find an awesome swimming hole with a rope swing that the guys played on for a while, and went on a volcano hike that pretty much ended up being sort of a guided tour through the jungle, not entirely worth it but still a good activity to pass the time. Thanksgiving Day was the best day we spent there. We found out that the Patriots were playing, and we could watch the game on the tv at our hotel! So we watched a bit of the Macy's Parade and then the Pats game, and then went to Baldi Hotsprings for the rest of the day. This place is awesome, it has 25 pools of different temperatures and designs to go and just soak all day. There were water slides and swim up bars and lounge chair pools as well, and we didn't have any problem enjoying ourselves. Thanksgiving dinner consisted of a buffet at the hotsprings, a delicious spread of Costa Rican cuisine, followed by another round of soaking in the lounge pool (see photos). Thanksgiving was definitely a success.
With 2 days left before Daryl had to leave we decided to make the most of it and headed to Monteverde on what they call a "Jeep Boat Jeep" transfer, but it's more like bus boat bus, not as exciting. A couple bumpy hours later we arrived to Monteverde, and signed up to do the zipline that very day. It's a good thing I didn't look at the photos, because this zipline has CHANGED since I last did it, and it's not just an ordinary zipline anymore, this zipline includes a Tarzan swing, it's 200ft, starting with about a 10 ft freefall, HOLY CRAP. I have a hilarious video of Daryl doing it, it's the scariest man scream I've ever heard, which really didn't make me want to do it any more. But seriously everyone in the whole group did it, I was the last one, so I went. I WENT ON A TARZAN SWING. It's like those giants swings they do in the States where they hoist you up and then drop you, ya those ones that I said I'd never do. Well I did. In the jungle. Unfortunately Daryl didn't think to video me, so sad, but we have some photos. It was pretty terrifying and that free fall thing, no thanks. But that wasn't all! The very last zipline is 1 KM long, takes about a minute to complete, and this one of called Superman! They change the harness so you are attached from the back, and they attach your feet too, so you are literally face down, flying 1KM through the mountains, and this is WAY high, not sure how many hundred feet in the air we were, but it was UP there. That was scarier for me than the Tarzan, because there was nothing I could do to get out of that position, and I felt really helpless! Most people loved the exhilaration, but being afraid of heights, I sort of just looked at the end and prayed I'd get there before the cable snapped. Anyway though we all made it without any problems, thank GOD. The next day we went on a tour of a coffee plantation, and I was happy to be grounded and not risking my life to have fun that day. I think that's where the photos stop for now. The next day we sent Daryl on a bus back to San Jose to get his flight out, and managed to catch a ride to Playa Brasilito in Guanacaste where we would spend my birthday! I guess I should mention the reason we got a ride, but I'm gonna make it a long crazy story very short- there was another American guy who got hurt and needed to get x rays and see doctors and he was living in a beach town near where we needed to go, so we went with him and I acted as his translator for the day in return for a ride to Brasilito. He was very thankful to me, and I knew that I really helped him a lot, it was a good feeling, I really love translating (SPANISH!:) and I was so glad to be able to help even though it took all day..
Anyway, Playa Brasilito is right next to Playa Conchal, which is supposed to be (and it is) one of the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica. This is where I spent my birthday! They even had massage tables right on the beach! So of course we got massages, and we ate that night at an Italian place (yum!) in town, delicious food, and even got some chocolate ice cream for dessert. I can't believe I'm 26 now, yikes.. but each year seems to be better than the last so it can only get more exciting, right? After a few lazy days there we made our way to where we are now, a beach called Playa Junquillal, try pronouncing that! It's hoonk-ee-YALL. There is NOTHING here, just a beach, I'm surprised this hotel even has internet for me to use, but glad just the same. There is a nice pool, and this place happens to be owned by an Italian from Milano, we've been chatting in Italian and it's nice to get to do that every now and then! The Italian restaurant here opens tonight for the summer season so I'm excited, because in a town this small there aren't other options, and last night's dinner consisted of 20 oz of ice cream (between the 2 of us) and chips and cheese. YUM. But can't eat like that all the time:) We are thinking after this that we will just head down to Montezuma and stay there for a while, maybe a week or two. For now, the beach is calling...
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