Advertisement
Published: November 21st 2012
Edit Blog Post
Sunset Dinner -Tamarindo
Our friend from Kansas - Mike Rented a car and off we went and within 30 minutes we were lost!
The road signs ( lack of) and the roads leave a lot to be desired. I know we read about the gravel roads and the pot holes, they were not exaggerating! We rented a little economy car and a few of the potholes could have sucked that little car right in!
Day 1: With friend Mike in tow we headed east to visit the volcano Arenal. Although the actual distance traveled was not that far, it turned into a 12 hour round trip. (because of the roads, and traffic) As we left the coast line and started to head up the mountains, the scenery changed dramatically. I thought...."You're in the jungle baby" It was so lush, and green and over grown with every plant and flowering thing we at home struggle to grow in little pots. As we climbed higher it started to rain, but it was a warm rain, and as Ian and I come from a rain forest, it was not the end of the world. After winding up narrow little roads, with cliffs at the edge (no shoulders)
we came to the base of the active Volcano Arenal. Unfortunately for us, the top was surrounded in cloud and steam and we were not able to view it. Apparently on a clear night you can see the red hot lava cascading down the south side. Also you can not get too close as the gases are toxic. I was reading that it was considered "in-active" until 1968 when it blew, killing 80 people and thousands of cattle, mostly from the gases.
Day 2 and 3: Ian and I decided to head down the peninsula Nicoya. Our destination was Montazuma. After numerous pot holes, crossing rivers in our rental car, seeing "coati's" ( see pic below) we finally arrived at the quaint little hippy town of Montazuma. This colorful bustling tiny town consists of about 2 blocks of shops. One main road runs through it and there doesn't appear to be many rules there as people and cars stopped wherever they damn well pleased and you just had to maneuver around everyone. We parked and wandered about and found a hotel with a "off season" special and decided to stay over night. I am so glad we
Up up into the clouds and rain
We missed the mountains and rain forest so we headed for the Volcano of Arenal did. The beach wasn't the same as Tamarindo as it had lots of lava rocks, but it was amazing all the same. Ian and I lost an hour easily just sitting and standing on the rocks watching the tide come in. The waves just pounded the rocks and it was so interesting to watch the little crabs scramble up for higher ground. If we approached them they would scurry back down the rock and the leap into the waves to escape us. I guess you could call us crab abusers 😊
We hiked into a famous waterfall (only about a 20 minutes hike but pretty scary as we had to hold onto ropes at one point and do a bit of rock climbing) We came up to this beautiful 75 foot waterfall with a pool below for swimming. (pictures and video below) There were warning signs as we entered that not to go in during the rainy season as there can be flash floods and people have lost their lives. Once arriving we met others there also, and a group of locals were having a BBQ and climbing up the falls. These guys were part monkey I'm
sure as 2 of them went straight up the side of the falls and then did dives, and back flips to the waters below. I couldn't watch at some points and I was quickly reviewing my CPR in my head because I was sure I was going to need to use it. They got ovations for their daring dives from the other spectators. The mom in me wanted to scold them for being so reckless LOL.
That evening after a lovely dinner of mahi mahi and quesdaillas AND a stellar jay actually landing on top of Ians head, (to which he cussed loudly), we went into the lobby and had a cervesa and watched a movie that they play each night at 730 for all the guests.
The next morning we had a Typical Costa Rican breakfast which consisted of beans and rice, eggs and a couple of corn tortillas. We grabbed our bathing suits and walked over the sister hotel of the one we stayed at and were invited to enjoy their pool which was amazing, complete with a much smaller waterfall too! After lounging in the hammocks and drying off in the
sun, we jumped back into our car and tried to head to the very tip of the peninsula to a Reserve that Ian wanted to see. Again, unfortunately for us, it is closed Mondays and Tuesdays and even though we tried to sneak in, we were chased out by the guards. Boo. We (well Ian) wanted to go a bit further down this dirt road to see if we could get to Playa Malpais but after scraping the bottom of the car, then coming to a steep hill with a bunch of gulley's and valleys in it, he finally decided we had come as far as our little car would take us. We turned around and headed back home.
One the way home we saw this huge tree, probably biggest one I have ever seen. It was filled with iguanas. (pictures below)
Now we are back home, just laying low for a few days. We found another "stinging crawly friend" in our suite last night, so I have had enough and have asked the owners to move us. We are just waiting for them to show up now. The weather here has been amazing,
Jungle
stopped for a picture and the sky opened up ranging from about 70 (20c) at night to 85-90 (23-32c). Sun everyday, with the exception of a few clouds today.
We went for a walk this morning and could hear the howler monkeys. We walked down a little path and Ian learned to speak Monn-kee and was howling at them, with them howling back. We could see them in the trees although not as close as we were on the estuary tour.
Below is a video of Ian swimming at the waterfall and below the ads are more pictures.
Love to all xo and Happy Birthday to Rose and Gordon!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.07s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 10; qc: 55; dbt: 0.0335s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
deejrandom
Warren C. Bennett
The Waterfall
Reminds me of where I worked in Yellowstone. It is called Tower Fall and is near the north entrance of the park. The hike down is about a half a mile, but it is pretty steep so the hike back up feels about 3 miles long, heh. I love seeing this. Once again, your description of food is killing me. I want a quesadilla so bad right now... You have to understand: I've been surviving (mostly) on Ramen. It's getting better now, but I've learned to love food in a way I never though I would, heh.