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Published: January 29th 2006
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Armadillo
The armadillo wouldn't stand still..but he was right there at the side of the road. Sorry to have left you hanging so precariously… When we last left our intrepid adventurers, they were standing outside of Steve ‘n Lisa’s Restaurant, about 10 minutes outside of Jaco.
Since the bus cruised by and there wasn’t another due for a while, we went in for a late breakfast overlooking the ocean. After eating we debated what to do - head back to Jaco and hit the beach and the pool, or go about ½ a mile the other direction to a side road that lead off to waterfalls - we had seen signs saying they were 4km down that dirt road. To help us decide, we asked a few of the waitresses if they knew anything about the waterfalls. Their advice - the waterfalls are very nice and well worth the trip. So we decided to head that way.
After asking around for a ride (and literally being laughed at by a tourist couple) another kind Tico (a Tico is a colloquial term for Costa Rican) offered to give us a ride a little ways up the road to a hotel called Villas Lapas. We had heard of this hotel and wanted to check it out. We thought we had read somewhere that they ran excursions up to the waterfalls, so we figured we could get a ride the rest of the way from there.
The hotel is very nice - a bunch of bungalows nestled in a little jungle valley alongside a river. They also have a little tourist “village” with traditional shops and a quaint church - quite a location for a wedding. As it turns out, they didn’t have anyone to give us a ride up to the waterfalls, but again they confirmed that the waterfalls were very nice. Oh, and, by the way, Ari had left his hat in the van of the guy that had given us a ride to the hotel. Luckily we had his card and were able to get in touch with him. He agreed to leave the hat back at the restaurant and a guy from the hotel agreed to swing by later on his way to work and bring it to the hotel. Probably a little too complicated for an old baseball cap, but “A” for effort.
We decided to walk up out the driveway of the hotel back to the dirt road and walk/try to catch a ride up to the waterfalls. We figured since the sign said they were 4km up the road and the hotel had to be about 1km, it couldn’t be that far up to the falls. And certainly anyone passing would give us a ride, if they could. So we started walking. And when we figured it was up the road, well we we’re right - up and up and up. After walking a little way, we spotted an armadillo rustling in the bushes at the side of the road - very cool. I think this was the first time anyone of us had seen an armadillo. While we were standing and watching (the armadillo didn’t seem to be in much of a hurry to get away) a man and a boy roared up on an ATV. They stopped to look at the armadillo, too, and we asked them how far it was to the falls. Just another km or so he said. Then once you get there, you need to walk down a hill a little to get to them. Ok by us. Didn’t sound too bad.
So they zoomed off and we continued walking. Occasionally a car would pass by but despite our waving to try to flag it down, no one stopped. So we kept walking. Up hill. In the heat and humidity. And we kept walking. Up, up, up. Ellie had long ago given up walking so I was carrying her. As we came around a corner, we saw a family of coatamundis scamper across the road. They’re raccoon-like animals but with long, skinny tails that stick straight up into the air. Again, pretty cool, but still no waterfalls. So we climbed on up the road. After walking what seemed like way more than a kilometer, we came there was a small sign at the side of the road “Waterfalls 4km.” Uh-oh. Either somebody’s odometer was broken or we were being strung along like a bad cliff-hanger blog.
We figured it couldn’t be much longer. Did I mention that it was uphill the whole way? A little further on, we saw a white-faced monkey in a tree by the side of the road. Also, very cool, but still no waterfalls. Although Ari was quite a trouper, even he was ready to throw in the towel and head back down. We were convinced, however, that the falls were just around the next corner and it would be easier to just go there than turn around and walk all the way back.
Finally, as we were heading up a particularly steep stretch of road, a car stopped. I think if we had been on another part of the road, they would have zipped by us as the other handful of passing cars had. But since the car was struggling to get up the hill as hard as we were, they would have had very hard hearts not to stop. They, too, assured us that the falls were not far away and they squeezed together to make room to give Dara and the kids a ride.
So, being the dutiful dad, I continued to hoof it. Unfortunately, the falls were not just around the corner. Fortunately, after about 10 more minutes another car came by and gave me a ride. After a few minutes we rounded the bend and saw Dara and the kids waiting by a large “waterfalls” sign. We had finally arrived. I couldn’t wait to feel the cool rush of water pour over my head. As I stepped out of the pick-up truck, however, I could tell by the looks on their faces that something wasn’t right. It turns out that in order to reach the waterfalls, you need to walk 2km down a path so steep billy goats don’t even venture down it. Then of course, after visiting the falls, you need to walk back up. Needless to say, we left that for another day.
Well, that’s it. That was our bad luck story - a long, hot, uphill trudge. As Ari would tell it…6 miles uphill, in the sun, without shoes, backwards, you get the picture. But it definitely was worthy of an extra big dessert later that night. Looking back on it now, I guess it really wasn’t that bad. And, hey, we got to see some cool animals.
After a few minutes admiring the view (from there we could look all the way back down the valley and out to the ocean - it gave us a good realization of how far we’d come), the next car coming down stopped and gave us a ride all the way back to Jaco (stopping at that hotel down the hill for Ari's hat on the way). There was a pretty good downpour on the way and one of his wipers blew away, but other than that, it seemed like our patch of bad luck was over.
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The Johnsons
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Oh the suspense!
The suspense was killing me! Couldn't wait to read the continuation and so happy to hear you are all safe. You are such a descriptive writer! A joy to read and love the pictures/Dara's comments : )