Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Costa Rica Day 13: I feel the need. The need for speed!



Folks, today was our last full day on the beaches of Manuel Antonio.  Here is a multiple-choice quiz for you.

Today was a previously unscheduled day for us. So do you think we:
A)   Relaxed, read and drank cocktails on the beach.
B)   Performed a nature hike through the national park.
C)   Rappelled down a waterfall (my idea)
D)   Rode ATV along an access road in the rainforest (EJ’s idea)

Now before you answer, I want you to consider carefully.  Do you really think we would spend two beach days on a tropical vacation? Pshhh not likely.  Also, you should know that the Manuel Antonio National Park is closed on Mondays.  So, it came down to me vs. EJ … well since she was the more organized in getting the details of the excursion we went with her idea.   Also, I am pretty confident that we will have an opportunity to rappel at La Paz if we choose (apparently there are 7 waterfalls there).

Little different then the view from atop a horse
I found myself helmeted up and ready to burn rubber so to speak.  Alas, I looked more like a big oaf then a member of Hell’s Angels, but after a quick orientation I was ready to speed through the forest mountains.  We ended up taking a 2-3 hour drive with a wonderful couple from Texas.  They are experienced Costa Rican travelers, but had not yet traveled outside of M.A. so we were able to give them some tips about the adventures available at Arenal.  So after a long, muddy trek up the wooded mountains we stopped at a remote campground.  At the campground we were introduced to the “Oh my God” bridge.  Just in case the pictures do not do it justice I will explain for you.  Imagine a chasm that was very, very deep (approx 120 feet) stretching for about a quarter of a mile.  Picture a gorgeous, but intimidating waterfall in the distance.  Now what marvel of technology did we use to cross the gorge?  The cables attaching the top of the bridge seemed sound, but what did we walk on?  Well basically several heavy duty ladders attached to each other with wire mesh across the top!  In addition my friends, there was a not a shred of duct tape anywhere!!  This was all well and good until we got about 75% across and saw a 2 x 4 piece of wood that had been put in place, presumably to repair a portion of the bridge.  Awesome, think this would fly in the states? 

Not short... awesome!
After we made it safely across the bridge, it was only a short hike up to the waterfall pool.  Our whole group did not need too much coaxing to jump in the refreshingly cool water (it was hot and muggy for sure).   We were enjoying the dip when EJ was utterly distracted by a need to catch tadpoles (does this surprise you?).  I admittedly was preoccupied with a need to swim against the waterfall to see if I could get to the bubbly part.  Not for nothing, but just so you know she did catch some and I did get to swim completely up to and under the fall.
Someone will take care of Friz if we fall
right?

Eventually, our guide was able to coax us out of the swimming hole.  At this point we dried off and got ready to get back on the ATVs for the trip back to town.   Some people (cough, cough everyone but me) worked hard to get dry and change into dry clothes.  I, on the other hand, kept on my bathing suit since the bathroom was locked.  Well, my friends, who looked like a “smahtie” (Massachusetts speak) when it started pouring rain on our way back?  We deftly used our bathing towels to cover the expensive electrical equipment, but we got soaked. Of course for me this was no big deal. We had yet to be caught outside during a rainstorm here, but it seemed to make the excursion even better. Imagine rumbling through several miles of private muddy and rocky roads through the jungle, with rushing streams and rivers on either side of you.  The mud is naturally red here, so as the rain continued, the rivers turn an awesome orange color.  The adrenaline rush of speeding through the jungle in foot-deep mud almost made you forget that you were soaked to the skin. I actively sought out the mud puddles on the ride back.  My goal was to a natural mud bath I guess. So I was feeling pretty slick until I emptied out my backpack at the end of the trip.  What did I find?  Two…. yes two unused raincoats  (oh yeah and two unused umbrellas… awesome move Zach!)
 
After fun in the mud, we stopped at the hotel to get dry and clean before setting out to do some souvenir shopping.    We were actually quite successful and decided to celebrate with some coffee at Café Milagro—an awesome local restaurant.  I had an espresso drink, and EJ enjoyed a tasty mojito.

Now gentle readers, I have another quiz for you.

This evening did we:
A)   Take in a movie at the local cinema
B)   Go to the local strip club and casino
C)   Have a fancy seafood dinner, enjoy the sunset and retire to bed early
D)   Take a night tour on a boat through the mangrove islands

Now I have faith that most of you know the answer to this one.  However, for our slower readers let me help you out.  We have not seen a movie theater yet in Costa Rica so (a) is out.  This is a honeymoon not a bachelor party so we decided to stay away from the strip club (which we did see by the by).  We have had plenty of fancy dinners … so we wanted to try something new.  In addition, I think EJ was feeling guilty that her idea won earlier in the day … so I won and we went touring. 

Elsa has requested that I tally the types of animals we saw on our night cruise:
1)   Reptiles --- several crocodiles, 1 basilisk lizard (more on him later), 1 tree boa
2)   Mammals  --- a group of fishing-bats
3)   Birds – we came across a group of sleeping Ibises, Herons, and storks.  We also saw some night herons.
4)   Amphibians – 2 bullfrogs
5)   Fish – several small Gar fish.  These little guys kept jumping out of the water to eat bugs. 
6)   Insects – night butterflies
7)   Arthopods – large tree crab, spider on the boat

Next step is that the guide handing this angry guy over to my wife
Not bad for a nature tour.  We saw baby crocodiles, swimming crocs and 1 enormous croc head very close to our flimsy boat.  Considering the fact that the guide had told us that a much smaller croc was probably 6 feet long, I can only imagine the size of the “bigger” beast.  Kind of makes us think twice about kayaking the mangroves tomorrow huh?  So after the death defying croc encounter, we did more searching in the Mangroves themselves and found many of the creatures mentioned above.  Of special interest is the basilisk that EJ noted first.  This little guy was sleeping comfortably on a palm leaf.  Apparently, he trusted his camouflage so well that our guide was able to grab him.  Guess who volunteered to hold the beast…. Hmmm the budding herpetologist perhaps?!?  It was quite an awesome end to our adventures on the shore.

So tomorrow we’ll head out to our last Costa Rican destination La Paz.  It will be a short stay, but I’ll be sure to give you a full report.

Talk to you soon
Z

1 comment:

  1. Mangroves are sweet! I'm loving reading about your adventures!

    ReplyDelete