Costa Rica

 Hey Friends!

Ev and I recently got back from a really great trip to Costa Rica. We had been to Tamarindo (north Pacific side of Costa Rica) about 17 years ago, would you believe, for our honeymoon?! At the time, I thought it was the most magical place in the world, but as we've aged and traveled more, I've often wondered if perhaps Costa Rica seemed incredible because we were young, on our honeymoon, and hadn't yet seen a lot of the world. So I was curious if I would still feel the same way 17 years later...and man, I sure did!

Evan spent a week in the Jaco area (Pacific coast) for about a week before I arrived, where he hosted an event for his gyms. Ev has been hosting regular events every 6 months or so where staff from his gyms and other fitness businesses that he coaches attend a 3-day workshop. It sounded like everyone had a great time - surfing, waterfall adventuring, and visiting a monkey sanctuary. My school break fell the week after, so I flew into San Jose, Ev picked me up in a rental car, and we made the 3.5 hour trek to La Fortuna. 

The roads that we traveled were in good shape. There weren't any major highways or overpasses, which can make trips faster, but we enjoyed the meandering drive through little villages and pastures. The scenery became more impressive as we gained elevation. La Fortuna is only 70 miles northwest of San Jose, but it took us almost 4 hours

La Fortuna is a quaint little town tucked in at the base of the Arenal Volcano. I chose a little boutique hotel with more of a jungle feel for the first half of our stay, about 10 minutes away from La Fortuna. Ti-fikara Lodge promised "peace, comfort, and harmony" amidst a rainforest setting, and I was like, "sign me up!" We were not disappointed. Ti-fikara was a beautiful place to begin our holiday. 

Our "rainforest room" was a little stand-alone bungalow with a really cool outdoor shower and up close and personal views of the jungle. A frog sanctuary exists on property, so you can hear and see a variety of these cute and colorful little frogs. Not to toot my own horn, but I became a bit of a frog expert, identifying the poisonous, yet aloof blue jean frog on a leaf one day. Have you ever heard that aging folks often take up a sudden interest in birding? Frogging, people! Frogging is the new birding for the aging population. haha. 

I was a bit bummed about visiting Costa Rica in semi-mobile state. When we had planned the trip in the summer, I assumed that I would be fully healed, traversing waterfalls and hiking mountains. But, you know, Britknee is a full-time biatch these days, so I was a bit nervous about finding excursions that didn't involve actually using my knee. But, surprisingly, there were quite a few options for exploring the La Fortuna area that accommodated the semi-mobile!

The first excursion that we participated in was zip lining. We zip-lined 17 years ago  when we visited Costa Rica, and I recall absolutely loving it. We found a company that boasted the highest zip line AND a tram that transported you to the top of the lines. Perfecto!

I was super excited about the experience until we reached the top (about 800 feet above sea level), and could not see a damn thing. We were literally at the top with our heads in the clouds.

I watched the first person zip away into the abyss and suddenly began freaking the eff out. 

I started emitting this weird laugh and saying strange, semi-inappropriate things to my fellow zip liners. Every time a new zipper would zip into the cloud abyss, I would giggle and say, "yay. good job. yay. good job." in this unrecognizable voice. Ev just kinda kept side-eyeing me and occasionally asking, "Are you ok?" Oh my god, I was a nervous wreck. I began examining the safety harness and questioning construction of the platforms. I don't recall even considering safety issues of the zip lines when I was in my 20s! Dude! I used to catch rides with random strangers, traverse down gravel roads to bush parties in the middle of nowhere and drink myself silly in subzero temperatures without a care in the world and now I'm concerned about a very popular "family" excursion? (Sorry for that, mom, by the way). 

I suddenly began to question my future. Is this how it happens? Am I nearing an age where I am too afraid to experience an adrenaline rush and prefer identifying frogs and watching exotic birds from my balcony? No, I was not going out like this. I may have the knees of an 80 year old after two knee replacements, but dammit, I'm a young and vibrant 40-something. I bit the bullet, assumed the knee tuck position, and flew through sky (screaming the entire way). 

I have to admit, the first 2 lines were absolutely terrifying. I flew through the clouds at 43 miles per hour, having no idea where I was or where I was going (is this a metaphor for my life right now? ha).

Once we reached the fourth line, we could finally see the tree tops and my lungs allowed me to fully inhale.  Although I didn't turn my head more than 10 degrees each way (for fear it would throw me off my line), I did manage to enjoy the incredible view of the jungle tops and Arenal Lake in the distance. It was amazing, and I felt really awesome when it was all done. 

Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm not really into food. I mean, I like food, and really enjoy Evan's cooking, but I'm not one to make reservations at popular restaurants or pre-plan meals. I just kinda eat whatever when I'm hungry.  That being said, I must admit that I enjoyed some of the most delicious bites that I have ever had during this vacation. The Ti-kifara hotel provided breakfast each morning, and, OH MY GOD, the breakfasts were incredible! Everything was so fresh! Fresh pineapple that tasted sweeter than any pineapple I've ever tasted, in addition to fresh papaya and mangos. Big chunks of avocado were inserted into every dish. I found myself waking up each morning and salivating in anticipation of those incredible breakfasts!

We spent the second half of our holiday at the Arenal Kioro Suites and Spa. I chose this resort because it is situated at the base of Arenal Volcano, and boasts one of the best views. Although Arenal Volcano is about 5000 feet tall, it is often covered in cloud, and difficult to see. One tour guide told us that only 20% of people who visit actually get a full view of the volcano. Given that we opted to visit the rainforest during rainy season, where shockingly, it rains every single day (who knew? ha), we weren't really able to see the volcano for the first few days of our holiday. Once we reached our room at Kioro; however, we had the most incredible view of the volcano! It was absolutely stunning. 

Ev poured me a glass of wine, turned on some vintage reggae (vintage now means 90's by the way), and settled in on my balcony to enjoy the view - steam was constantly emitted from the top of the volcano. Within minutes, I began googling, "When was the last eruption of Arenal volcano? How do you know when a volcano is erupting? How fast must you run to escape an eruption?" Obviously I'm so good at relaxing. So so good. 

As it turns out, the last big eruption of Arenal Volcano was in 1968. At that time, three neighboring villages were destroyed and 87 people were killed. The volcano continued to remain active, spewing rocks and lava until 2010. Since 2010 it has been dormant, although on a clear day, you can still view the steam rising from the top. 

Did this information ease my fears? Sorta. I did consider that maybe the volcano was due for another big one, but Ev began making me his famous rum punches with delicious fresh juices, and I quickly stopped caring, or at least was at peace with succumbing  to a large volcanic eruption, and simply the enjoyed the majestic volcano and the toucans flying gracefully from tree to tree. 

The resort was surrounded by beautiful natural hot springs, so we spent quite a few afternoons floating in the hot water, feeling the warm raindrops on our face, and listening to the sound of the waterfalls flowing around us. We often had the springs to ourselves! It was really awesome. When I was a kid, I used to lay in a hot bath with the shower on and pretend that I was in a waterfall. This was even better!

In addition to the zip lining, we did a safari float, which entailed floating down the Penas Blancas River in an inflatable raft. That was cool! We saw monkeys, turtles, caimans, and even a nesting mother crocodile ("um...should we be kinda afraid? anyone? anyone?"). I was really hoping to hold a sloth because they have the cutest little schmoopy faces in the world, but our guide explained that human interactions cause the blood pressure of sloths to rise to a dangerous degree. This made me feel terrible for even wanting to hold one, so I opted to creep on a lazing sloth dangling from a branch through a telescope. The last thing I wanted was to give a sloth anxiety! Geeeez. 

Our final excursion of our trip was a last-minute decision - we opted to do a ATV tour on the mountainside. I'm so glad that we did it! It was super fun. Ev and I took turns driving the quad. When asked if I had ever driven one, I assured the guide that I was very familiar with ATV's, as I had flipped our farm ATV several times. He suggested Ev do most of the driving. We cruised the mountainside, splashing through giant puddles, stopping to look at the magnificent volcano, and resting at the river's edge to clean the mud off our feet. It was so much fun. Ev and I both left that adventure with huge smiles plastered on our faces!

Overall, it was a great trip. I highly recommend the La Fortuna area. I think it would be an excellent holiday to bring kids as well. The people of Costa Rica are some of the kindest and warmest folk I've ever encountered, we felt safe the entire time, and the food was so delicious. We really enjoyed it. 

Also, I've said this before and I'll say it again. If you are single and looking to find your person, I will strongly recommend that you don't settle for just anyone. Choose a person with whom you really like spending time with. Evan and I do not have a perfect relationship by any means, but I truly enjoyed his company. So much of our last year has been spent dealing with hospitals and health concerns, and strategizing future plans (hard-core adulting) - it was just really nice to escape, have a super fun week  together, and enjoy the beautiful Costa Rican surroundings!

Cheers!