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MIA here we come!
Our hotel is an hour and a half away from the border. After spending
an hour between both immigration offices and grabbing breakfast, we
were finally on our way to see Nicaragua. Our first stop was at Lago
de Nicaragua with great views of Omotepe island with its active
volcano. From there, we stopped by Masaya for some shopping and a
fruit smoothie. At the market, we had these two guys as our escorts
and it felt like we were walking around with bodyguards. We made our
way up to Volcan Masaya and walked up a set of stairs to a vista
point. It was quite reminiscent of our climb up the Great Wall. We
drove another hour or so to the city of Granada for lunch and our last
exploration of the country. Because taemi and I stayed up late
watching a movie, I spent most of our driving time catching up on
sleep.
Lunch in Granada was at the Hotel San Francisco. The back patio was
Tuscan-esque with its fountains, archways, pastel colored walls, and
lush greenery. It was all topped off with a green parrot and a few
green parakeets.
After lunch, we took a horse-pulled carriage ride throughout the city.
We passed 4 churches, Lago de Nicaragua, statue of Cordoba, Parque
Central, the oldest house that's now an antique store, the sections
that separated the Spaniards from the Indians, and the old battery
turned museum. It all felt like a back lot tour just like at Universal
Studios.
And now we're back at Villas Sol after dinner at the 2nd restaurant,
being lazy and just outright not wanting to pack... ::sigh:: can't
wait to sleep in our beds, not ready to face reality aka work.
ps. Go Sharks!
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On our way to Hacienda Guachipelin for our canyoning, we came across a
McDonald's and made a stop for food and an ice cream cone.
Our adventure started off with a horseback ride to Victoria Falls. As
we were learning how to control our horses, one of the cowboys decided
to pull on next to taemi on a bull... A BULL!
Our horses are extremely smart, but they do wanna go at their own pace
and direction. The cowboys have trained the horses so well that they
know where to go automatically, including knowing where to stop to
drop us off and head back to the ranch all on their own.
Our guides strapped us into our harnesses and helmets and we headed
over go the first launch point. To our dismay, the guides thought it
would be fun to do a free fall drop into the river after our first
decline. NO BUENO. Thank goodness we had TaeMi around to translate
since our guides could barely speak a lick of english. We got them to
lower the rope end into the water and I was able to make the first
decline.
Different from reppelling, canyoning is more of a self-managed rope
descending activity. After landing in the water, we ended up climbing
back up on the side of the canyon where the pressure of the waterfall
was less than the main section. They rigged these metal handles into
the rock for us to climb up. It was easily a 30ft climb up to the top
with the weight of our wet gear and gushing water ensuring that it was
not an easy task.
We descended the first rope again and swam to our next launch area.
The second climb down included a bit of reppelling off the rocks to a
rock landing next to the second waterfall. From there, we were tightly
hooked up to a set of ropes and pulleys to do a Tarzan swing across
and into the waterfall. And boy does water fall hard!
The Tarzan swing was the last part and we hiked back up to the top of
the falls. Surprisingly, the falls is 3km away from our original
starting point. After we changed, we drove back to Playa Hermosa for a
quick dip in the ocean right at the end of sunset.
Dinner included a lightning show, so if any of our readers know why
there's always lightning in the northwest region of Costa Rica or how
it's possible to have lightning without thunder or if lightning does
turn sand into glass.. We'd really like to know. Thanks!
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We braved the sun and heat, shopping and really trying to find the
closest place with A/C. When we couldn't stand the sweltering sun any
longer, we stopped for lunch at Copacabana. The heat finally dropped
an hour later, so we made ourselves comfortable on some near by beach
chairs.
Between fending off merchants and watching people surf for the first
time, we caught some rays and Z's. A light, cool breeze saved us from
melting in the sun. Playa Tamarindo may not be as beautiful as Santa
Teresa, but it is still a neat place to visit.
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So we're finally here at our last pit stop in Playa Hermosa at the
nice Villas Sol resort. We're staying in the hotel that has a majestic
view of the ocean. We took a quick dip in the ocean with its mild
waves and cool, clean water. And for a brief moment, it rained and the
raindrops made little ripples in the water. Just as we got out, sunset
snuck through the clouds to end our day.
Tomorrow we're off to Tamarindo to do as the turistas do. Canyoning
will be the following day and our last day will be spent in Nicaragua.
Hasta luego!
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Today was our chill day. Maybe it's the laid-back, beach town aura... but today we didn't feel like doing anything.
Mornings around here is low tide, very low tide. And now I understand why they say you can walk 200 yards out to the nearby island.
When we finally got our butts out of bed or hammock, we drove into town to hike Montezuma Falls. At the start of our hike we saw two monkeys just hanging around and couldn't believe how two small animals produced such loud noises. After climbing up the first waterfall, we trekked along the river hopping from one rock to the next to make our way towards the second. We were a bit misled by another hiking group who told us that we should walk up the hill to get to the second waterfall. And of course this led to another set of hikers following us to a path that led no where.
After backtracking, we followed the river to the second waterfall and it was awesome. It flows into a deep pool, great for a post-hike swim. At one point some hikers at the top of the falls, created a man-dam and blocked the water from flowing down. When they finally got up, I was able to snag a few action shots of the water flowing down.
After our hike, we headed "downtown" for a quick bite to eat. With nothing but time to kill, we decided to explore Nicoya a bit and made our way over to the lazy beach towns of Santa Teresa and Mal Pais.
The beaches here are amazing. The coastline looked like it had no end. It grew into the jungle in such a way that when people walked out of it to hit the beach, it was like crossing into unknown territory. This was quite the perfect way to end our lazy day on the beach.
After 20km of rocky, windy roads, we finally hit asphalt. Random fact of the day: Costa Rican roadkill seems to include tarantulas, lizards, and crabs.
We arrived in Puntarenas a couple of hours early for our ferry to Paquera, so we drove into town looking for lunch. Taemi was craving Asian food, so lucky for her, there just happened to be a Chinese restaurant in Puntarenas. They had quite a selection of fried rice, chow fun, chow mein, and wonton soup.
With our fill of MSG-laden cuisine, we drove onto the ferry for our hour-long cruise across the Nicoya peninsula. In that time, we met a couple from Atlanta that was unplugging from the world by telling their family that there's not Internet in CR and a drunkard from Florida who works only 3 months out of the year and spends the rest of his time drinking and teaching surf lessons here. He was coherent enough to tell us about a yummy restaurant in Montezuma or at least ask his friend.
When we finally settled into Hotel Celaje, I immediately threw on my swimming suit and jumped into the warm ocean. The beaches around this southern part of Nicoya tend to be rocky and shoes were a necessity. Our waiter last night did give us a good tip to walk further up north of Montezuma to Playa Grande for the big sandy beach.
From here on out, I think our days will be spent beachside.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to our mamas and the mamas we know. We love you.
After our host, Vitalis, cooked us up a light breakfast, the weather cleared up and we made our way up the muddy hill to Sky Trek. Given the unpredictable weather, we went ahead with our morning adventure with our guides, Antony and Dennis. They equipped us with rain jackets, helmets, harnesses, gloves, and the metal hand-brake/wire-connection thing. Poor Janelle kept getting picked on by the guides with stories of deaths and accidents whilst ziplining... all untrue of course.
We zipped across a total of 10 lines, half of which required climbing up these towers to the launch platform. It truly was an adventure in the clouds, especially since you couldn't see further than 50ft down some of the lines. I captured a few videos and tons of photos of our experience. For the last couple of lines, we had to go tandem with our guides because it was windy and going solo would cause us to spin and slow down half way across the line... and you would have to manually move yourself down the last stretch. I even had the chance of going backwards/upside-down for the last line. In the end, Janelle said it was the coolest thing she ever did by far (and secretly she can't wait to go bungy jumping with me... LoL).
Afterwards, we made our way over to Selvatura to check out the Butterfly Garden, Hummingbird Garden, and Reptile & Amphibian Exhibit. The Reptile part was CREEPY, so it was a good thing they were behind glass.
We drove into "the city" for a late lunch at Sally's Bakery, picked up our laundry, walked around "downtown", drank coffee at the Tree House Restaurant Bar & Cafe (there really is a tree in the middle of the place!), and found the Sharks game at Bar Amigos. The Ticos have redeemed themselves with satellite tv for catching the Sharks game.
And the funny thing is that we found wifi at all these places. Kudos to technology: we've been able to FaceTime, Skype, and text family & friends.
A shout out to the kid sister who enters her last year of teenage-dom today. Happy birthday, Christine!
It does appear that the Ticos (the term used for the Costa Rican people) like American baseball and tennis since we can get those channels everywhere.
It is now 8pm in Costa Rica and we are relaxing at the Sunset Hotel and listening to the rain. This is the perfect time to get the highlights of the last Sharks game which sounds amazing!
If everyone could have an extra beer for me and cheer a little louder at tomorrows game that would be greatly appreciated!!
LETS GO SHARKS!!
The rain cleared just in time for us to leave the Volcano Lodge. Between the twisted roads and somewhat slippery conditions, we probably averaged no more than 40 km/h the entire way. We stopped by the famous German bakery to pick up strudel/coffee and made a pit stop at the north point of LAGO Arenal where Janelle picked up some road side goodies. For the last stretch of about 29 km, we drove no more than 30 km/h on a bumpy dirt road where farm animals roamed freely, where rivers flowed through the street and where Taemi and Janelle decided to hang outside the car for some fresh air and great views. Don't worry Moms, we were going an equivalent of about 10 miles/h. Pictures to follow.
Now we are relaxing at the German run Sunset hotel overlooking the Nicoya Penninsula and debating whether to do a night hike. Well, to be more specific, Maryann is debating whether to attempt to talk Janelle and Taemi into a night hike. :) Although, after seeing a tarantula casually walking across the road, Maryann might be creeped out like Janelle and Taemi. Lets hope so!
Six out of the seventeen bridges are actually hanging, meaning you can jump and shake while being suspended at least 60m in the air. Good times for Janelle and Taemi. For a total of 2 miles we hiked in the rainforest and saw snakes, monkeys, birds, lots of trees and a waterfall. To keep it interesting, we sang show tunes and Disney songs while dancing up and down the trail.
Having put in quite the workout, we rested our sour muscles back at the hot springs and worked on our tan too...when it was not raining of course. Maryann found a book and committed to 24hrs of no phone or iPod. The withdrawals have begun!
Unfortunately, Taemi was not feeling well that evening so Maryann and Janelle ventured back into town to test their Spanish skills. After another yummy dinner at Marie's Soda Viquez, Janelle was able to bargain with a local art dealer to get a beautiful hand crafted/painted vase from Nicaragua.
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All to prepare for tomorrow's hike along Rio Celeste!
Of course, early to rise = more time to explore the city. We walked through Mercado Centro, down Avenida 2, stopped by for a photo shoot at the Gran Hotel Costa Rica, had a churro snack next door, and explored Teatro Nacional.
We had an awesome taxi driver commuting to Hotel Crowne Plaza Corobici. Did I say awesome? I meant hardcore, as in, Amazing Race hardcore. He squeezed through cars, honked his way to the front, and ignored any sort of road markers to make sure we got to our destination muy rapido. Actually, most of the cab drivers navigate the narrow streets of San Jose this way.
Good thing we got out of the city and made our way to Doka Estate for our coffee tour. Did you know that low quality coffee beans float? And that the round beans called Peaberry contain more sugar because it holds the concentration of two beans? And that Germans have a smart way of pulling caffeine out of the beans and in turn sell that caffeine concentrate to soda manufacturers? Neither did we. AND the good quality beans sink and are larger. We ended our tour with a fantastic lunch on the terrace overseeing the 15 hectar? estate.
Just when we thought the road was twisty going to Doka, we were surprised with 30+ miles of windy roads going to La Fortuna. Mariah and Plain White Ts were excellent road trip companions. FYI, queso palmitos is more like mozzarella cheese.
Dinner time!
