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.