stubsadventures

After working together for around a year, four of us girls decided to take a trip to Costa Rica back in March 2010. We stayed in Guancastle, the very NW of the country on the Pacific Ocean side. The location itself was nice and quiet and the black beach  next to the hotel was stunning but it was very far away from just about everything else in the country. Exploring the other sites of Costa Rica involved renting a car for two full days of driving and hiring a driver to take us places when “road pops” were required.

Highlights of this trip were: seeing my first active volcano, the Arenal volcano. Seeing the sulphur dioxide come off the side of that mountain was awesome and the hike we did in the national park in the area was full of amazing views. Relaxing in any of the hot pools at the base of the volcano is a must, especially the ones that second as bars. The people in Costa Rica are amazing, they are so proud of their country and among the happiest people you will ever encounter. My big wish for CR was so see monkeys. Reviews of our hotel said that it was common to see them along the beach. For the first five days we were there, no monkeys and I was starting to think that it wasn’t going to happen. I would wake up in the morning and go for a walk and find their paw prints in the sand, taunting me. Alas, on the second last day, after coming back from diving, there was a group of monkeys waiting for us and I proceeded to take upwards of 250 pictures. They were everything I had hoped they would be and they are some of my favorite pictures I’ve ever taken.

One day, we rented a car and attempted to find Palo Verde National Park to take a river tour. We found the park alright but after taking an alternative route through the park found a different tour company that looked nothing like the one of the pamphlet we were carrying around. After bartering the price down to 40 bucks each, he took us out on this huge boat, just the four of us. Leaving the car in that lot was sketchy and one of those situations where you only leave behind in the car what it is you could do the rest of the trip without. The ride up the river and through the Costan jungle was awesome. So quiet and peaceful, filled with birds and the river was crawling with crocodiles, we saw at least 8.

In Costa Rica, I tried zip lining for the first time. Didn’t hate it and didn’t love it either. The guides however made it worth the trip.

Overall, I loved every moment of this trip. The ladies who were with me made the week full of laughs and adventures, drinks and a lot of driving and most importantly, monkeys.

Stubs