Costa Rica

DAY 5, Monday April 20th

Yvonne makes us pancakes, eggs, sausage, and fruit. She talks to us from the kitchen while we sit at the casual dining room table and gaze outside for any signs of wildlife. 

After breakfast we say goodbye to Yvonne and head for our 3rd and final destination: Drake Bay in the Osa Peninsula.  It's in the Southern Pacific and is one of the most biologically diverse places on earth. Boasting over 750 species of trees, you can only imagine how many animals, insects, and reptiles live in them. 

However, getting to this place is not an easy task. We decide to leave our rental car at Yvonne's and take an hour and a half long taxi ride down to Sierpe. 

                                      Waiting for our boat in Sierpe. Dry and hot. But not for long.......

From Sierpe we have to take an hour long boat ride to Drake Bay. About 12 people loaded onto this basic motor boat, with only a little canopy over our heads. About 10 minutes into the boat ride, a major tropical rainfall hits us. With the speed of the boat and force of the rain, it stings our faces just to look up. Fortunately, Tommy and I were sitting in the front row so we were partially protected by the bow and didn't get as soaked as the others. However, my new straw hat will never be the same.  :(

Amongst the intense rain and the crashing waves, our boat pulls onto the shore and we began to unload. 

Everyone has backpacks. Tommy and I have suitcases that have to be lifted out of the boat and onto the wet beach, dragged through the sand, up the stairs. Finally, we have made it to Pirate Cove!

We change out of our wet clothes and head to the dining area for lunch. This place is so remote, that food has to be brought in by boat each day and there are no restaurants in the area. So all meals are prepared by the lodge at specified times. Thankfully, we arrived just at lunch time. 

I've never been to summer camp before, but if I had, this is what I imagine it would look like. Communal dining area, wooden bungalows and cabins, trees all around, no air conditioning, mosquito nets on the beds, hammocks on the porches. I think the only difference is that boys and girls can share rooms and we didn't have a curfew.

The rain suddenly clears and we decide to head to the beach below our lodge. We are the only two people on the entire black sand beach and think we have found heaven.  

We get into the ocean and 5 minutes later I am stung by a massive jellyfish. It lightly wraps itself around my left leg and foot and I immediately start crying in pain. At that point, I have no idea what type of jellyfish it could have been and am fearing the worst. As soon as I get out of the water, amidst my tears, Tommy and I inspect my foot and leg. They are already starting to turn red. It hurts so bad and we don't know what to do that he-- get ready for it--- offers to pee on my foot. At the time, it seemed like the obvious and sensible thing to do and so I accept! Thank god we were the only two people on the beach. 

That night Tommy and I went on a Night Tour through the nearby rainforest with a bug expert named Tracy and a reptile expert named John. These people really know their stuff. It was super interesting.

We saw a tarantulla, a scorpion, a wolf spider, a trap door spider (that thing is so cool!), a few frogs, a sleeping hummingbird (when they sleep their body temp goes way down and they become dazed and confused if you wake them, so no flashes), a crab, and a few other species of cool and dangerous spiders. 

                                                               Tarantulla 

                                                                  Tree Frog

                                                                   Scorpion

                                                 A cool spider whose name I cannot remember

Costa Rica

DAY 4, Sunday April 19th

Yvonne makes us another delicious breakfast. We load up on as much food as we can while trying to psyche ourselves up for our next tour: a 4 hour kayaking journey in the ocean to check out the caves. We meet our guides at the surf shop in town at 1:00pm.  They are a cute married couple around our age. The girl, Rachel, is from New York and her husband, Nego, is a local. 

Rachel waits on the beach and watches the car so that it doesn't get broken into and Nego, Tommy, and I paddle out into the blue abyss. 

Why I wanted to do this tour, I have no idea. We paddle through a couple of small waves and I already feel bored and my arms start to get tired. Not to mention, this is a lot scarier than I imagined. Not only are we out in the tempestuous waters where we could easily tip over, but we keep paddling further and further away from shore and I fear I am going to be stuck out in the ocean with 2 exhausted skinny arms. We paddled towards our first cave and our guide checks it out from a safe distance. Today at this cave the waves and currents are unsafe for beginner kayakers so we continue on and row into Ventanas Beach for a break and to check out a cave on the beach. I catch a small wave and immediately tip over. Thankfully, I was close to shore. 

Tommy actually caught it on video. 

We walk into this cave on the beach. It's so beautiful. It's open on both sides, like a tunnel, and waves are crashing towards us from the opposite end. It reminded me of action movies when a huge rush of water comes barreling down a hallway, headed right towards the main character. Fortunately,  by the time the waves would reach us, they had dwindled to a small shore break. 

We (reluctantly) get back into our kayaks and row out again, headed for our next cave. From a distance it looks just like a simple arch that we'll be able to row through. Nego instructs us to keep our kayaks  5 feet apart from each other and to be careful not to hit the walls (which are rock, obviously). The cave doesn't look as simple up close as it did from a distance. The currents are moving and there are small waves rolling through it, plus it kind of has an "S" curve to it. But I hold my breath and follow our guide, staying between him and Tommy. My tired arms paddled as fast and as strong as I could, steering me through it. I am not going to lie, I was terrified but it felt like a huge accomplishment to be on the other side of it in one piece. But now, we had to paddle about a mile back to shore. I began to feel a little delirious and as hard as I tried to keep up with the boys, my arms finally gave in. Nego got a rope out of his canoe, tied it to mine, and towed me in the last 15 minutes. God, I was so glad it was over. 

We returned to shore and Rachel had fruit and water waiting for us. We ate it as we watched a beautiful sunset over the water.

Tommy, Rachel, Nego, and I. Look how pale Tommy and I look next to Nego! ha

That night Tommy and I had dinner at La Parcela, an italian restaurant (still in our bathing suits with salt water in my hair).

We got back to the Inn around 9:00pm. Tommy and I were both exhausted but I wanted to shower before getting into bed. When I get out 5 minutes later, he is completely asleep. I reach for my water bottle in the partial darkness and scream. There is a HUGE bug on it. It's at least 4 inches long, green, and has wings that look like leaves. I find out later it's called a Cadydid. Tommy jumps up and we begin snapping pictures of it. Every time the bug moves, Tommy jumps about 5 feet. We open the doors and we think its flown away, only to realize 1 minute later, that now it's on my Ipod. And then my pillow. Finally Tommy carries the entire pillow outside and shakes it 5 times before it flies away for good. 

And then a huge beetle lands in my bed. 

This is what you get for sleeping in the jungle. 

Costa Rica

DAY 3, Saturday April 18th

We woke up early and Yvonne made us breakfast. Then we had our first tour at 11am at Hacienda Baru, which included a 45 minute walking tour up to an 8 line zip line. 

I was constantly looking up in the trees for sloths. They are my new obsession.

On the tour, Tommy ate a termite and also volunteered to be bit on the hand by a leaf cutting red ant (what?!). You have to break the body off and the head stays attached to the skin. In ancient times, these ants used to be used as stitches for wounds. Our guide, had to pop the head to detach it from Tommy's skin. I still cringe when I think of the popping sound it made.

The zip lines were really fun and some were up really high in the rainforest. At one point, we were standing on a shaky platform attached to a tree about 150 feet up. We actually had to be tethered to it so that we didn't lose our balance or get accidentally pushed off and plummet to our death. I couldn't wait to get onto solid ground after that.

On the last and 8th zip line, we rode backwards. 

For lunch we ate in "town" at Tortilla Flats (I have a hard time saying town, because these "towns" consist of one or 2 bumpy roads with a couple of restaurants and stores). All the restaurants are outdoors and have local stray dogs begging at your feet. Afterwards we walked only a few feet from the restaurant and were on the beach. Another black sand beach. It always sounded somewhat exotic to me, but it's really not. It looks like dirt. 

That night, Yvonne took us to a huge house down the road from her Inn. Her friend, Willy, is the keeper because the real owner (who apparently  works with Bruce Springstein)lives in the states most of the time and needs someone to take care of the pool and property. Unbelievable home! Then after a glass of wine, Tommy and I headed to get dinner. Afterwards we met Yvonne and Willy in town for a few games of pool. Then we follow them (they drive around on ATVs!) to Roco Verde, a local bar who has a popular dance party every Saturday night. It was a pretty funny and random scene. Every local from the age of 18 to 40 are here and they all know each other. I even recognized some locals from the beach and even saw our waitress from Tortilla Flats. 

Costa Rica

DAY 2, Friday April 17th

We woke up early and had breakfast down the road at Las Olas Cabinas, under a tiki hut on the beach.

Yummy breakfast burrito! Lots of local surfers hanging around(they refer to locals as "Ticos"). Then we came back to the hotel and went for a swim in the pool.


The car rental company arrived at our hotel with our 4x4. So it was time to head to our next destination: Dominical!! It was a 2 hour road, and half of that was on an unpaved road that was filled with dirt and lots of bumps! At some points, the dust that was kicked up by passing trucks was so thick that you couldn't even see in front of you. Paved roads begin to seem like a distant memory and a civilized luxury.

Check out this nasty, dusty road

We arrive in the town of Dominical and have to turn off the one main paved road, for yet another bumpy dirt road. However, this one is practically vertical and really narrow. We drive through a little village, a creek, and then another 10 minutes to find our B&B, The Necochea Inn. Yvonne, the owner, greets us with a big smile and offers us wine and beer. We feel so at home here and the Inn is amazing. It's built right in the middle of the rainforest, with the backyard on a cliff, and a creek running below it. Our room, on the second floor, has glass wrap around doors and windows that look out onto the rainforest with an amazing balcony.








There is a mama sloth with a baby in one of the trees right outside our balcony. Finally!- I saw my first sloth!


We relaxed until dinner and then drove back down the treacherous dirt road and into town for a sushi dinner. After that we had drinks at San Clemente, a local bar/restaurant.
Every bathroom in Dominical, including at Yvonne's Inn, has a sign that says "Do not throw toilet paper in the toilet". REALLY?! This is a first for me.

Costa Rica

DAY 1, Thursday April 16th 

After 2 hours of sleep, we woke up to the alarm at 3:00am in order to catch our 6am flight. Our travel day was pretty much hassle free and we arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica around 2:00pm.

Our cab driver, Claudio, picked us up at the airport (holding above sign in his hands, once again, my last name is spelled wrong!).

After a very hilly 2 hour van ride, we arrived at our first destination: Playa Hermosa. A sleepy little surf town, it was perfect for our first night. Starved and hot, we tore off our travel clothes and went right for lunch down the road. My first Costa Rican meal was pizza with avocado (how exotic! ha) and a fruit smoothie. And on the way home I saw my first sign of Costa Rican wildlife, an iguana.




Our hotel, Marea Brava, is right on the beach. So we headed to the water and spent the remainder of the sunlight there. We enjoyed the black sand, Scarlet McCaws in the palm trees, and warm water, all while Margarita, the local neighborhood dog kept us company.

Margarita