Ballads

There is not much to say about today, except it was long. We spend the better part of the day driving from San Jose to Costa de Oro. Since my dad had already driven to and from San Jose many times in the past week and a half, we decided to take a different route. As with most drives in Costa Rica, the views were beautiful and well worth the extra 20 minutes to see a different part of the country.

Coffee plant

Boats in Puntarenas

Howler Monkey 

During the drive however, we ran into traffic due to road construction and a funeral procession which both completely stopped us. We finally made it back to the Laguna Mar hotel where Drew and Micheal had both a room and a drink ready for us. We hung out at the hotel and enjoyed the sunset before heading back to the beach for dinner and patrol. It feels so good to be back at the beach and I can't wait to see some turtles tonight.

Boats

This morning, our local friend, Alex, returned with a boat and moved us to a different hotel on Isla Canero. We wanted to check out as much as we could in our short time on the islands. About 20 minutes after we checked in, our tour boat arrived. My dad and I were surprised to see how full the locals fill the 20ft panga boat, but we got to met really great people during our adventure.

The first stop of the day was at dolphin  bay, where it is rumored that dolphins follow the boats. However, we were not that lucky because there were no dolphins this morning. So we were onto our next location which was lunch at a little restaurant in the middle of the Bocas. It was pretty yummy, but obviously a tourist trap because it was quite expensive and there was nothing else around.

Once everyone had grabbed lunch, we were given masks and snorkels and had the chance to snorkel for the next hour. It was amazing! There were so many brittle stars, sea cucumbers, tropical fish and tons of different corals. After we had all gotten sufficiently prune-y, we loaded back into the boat.

Sea Cucumber

Anemone

This fish kept biting my dad's camera.

Our final stop of the day was at Red Frog Beach on Isla Bastimentos. The white sand beach was beautiful and was named for the threatened red frogs found there. My dad and I spent a little time in the water before we decided to go search for the little red frogs. It was interesting because despite them being very bright red they were very difficult to see. However, once one was pointed out, it was easy to find more.

Dad and me at Red Frog beach

Red frog

Sloth in the tree.

As we all loaded back into the boat, we got lucky and saw a sloth right above the dock. It even moved for us which I think is kind of rare since they are such lazy animals.

We arrived back at our hotel just in time for happy hour. I got to try a passion fruit daiquiri while my dad had the local beer. While sitting at the bar we met a very interesting local who lived on the next island over and recommended a very local seafood place (which Alvaro had also mentioned). So with two great recommendations we figured we had to go.

We made it to the recommended restaurant, Alvin's, just as the sun was setting. We were treated like family by the local lady and her family, not to mention her food was amazing!!! After a great meal of shrimp and lobster, we wandered around the town's center where a group of locals were playing basketball while the kids were playing a competitive of tag.

The bocas are amazing!!! It is so beautiful and mellow here. Plus I think its really cool to hear Spanish spoken with a Rasta  accent.

Bars

Yesterday, when my dad and I got off the water taxi we were greeted by a local man who was eager to take us to a hotel and sell us a tour of the island.  Since we hadn't been there before and didn't know where to stay, we went ahead and followed him to the Las Brisas hotel which was located right on the water. The hotel was a great price and we got the best room in the whole place because it was connected to the dock.

After we settled in my dad and I decided to explore Isla Colon and grab some lunch at locally famous restaurant called The Reef. Looking at the menu, we realized we weren't in Costa Rica anymore; it was so cheap. My dad and I were each able to order great seafood and beer for less than a typical meal in Costa Rica. When the food arrived to the table it was amazing!!!

My dad getting ready to eat some great seafood.

Local catch off the restaurant's dock

 

Once we finished lunch, we wandered around checking out what the street venders were selling. Panama has some of the coolest local art, one of my favorites is all the mole. Mole is the handmade tapestries which often times have colorful fish and birds on them.

Just a few of the mole artwork.

Afterward we took a quick siesta at the hotel and around 8 we headed back out to town to enjoy local music and drink. I was able to find a passion fruit margarita and it was fabulous! As we were on our way back to the hotel we stopped by a meat cart and each got an incredible beef skewer for only $1. I could get used to this great food at an even better price.

Where Are You Going to Go When the Volcano Blows?

Katrina and my dad woke up early today for a little surf session. While they were  out in the water, Kym and I got to sleep a little longer before heading down to the buffet. Once again we had a great breakfast and when we were finished we went back to the room to get packed up. We made it on the rode by 9 and after a beautiful drive we arrived in La Fortuna around noon.

Variegated Squirrel who
joined us for breakfast

Magpie Jay

We decided to stay in the Tabacon Hot Spring Resort which is where we had stayed 15 years prior. It is one of the most famous hotels in Costa Rica because  of the beautiful natural hot springs  and the gorgeous view of Arenal. We set our stuff down in the hotel room and then hoped in the car in search of a zipline. We were very lucky to come across a company called Ecoglide and even luckier that we could start our adventure in only 20 minutes. Ecoglide has 15 different platforms with the longest line being over 1 km as well as the Tarzan swing.

I think pictures are worth 1000 words, so here is our ziplining adventures laid out in photos…

Me getting geared up

Katrina and dad waiting their turn.

Group shot all geared up

Kym smiling for the camera and showing no fear.
You would never know she is at least 100ft above the group.

My dad showing his more serious side.

Yup, everyone waits on this little platform. Its a little scary

Just the girls

Made it to the platform safely

Katrina getting ready to take the plunge on the Tarzan Swing

After an amazing time  ziplining with fabulous views of the volcano, we went in search of a waterfall. We were able to find one that passed under the road. So we parked the car and climbed under the bridge to take some photos. Once we had taken a ton of pictures, we were reminded we hadn't eaten in a while.

We drove just 10 minutes up the road to a highly recommended steakhouse where we once again were met with a great view of the volcano. We all ordered different cuts of steak and nobody was disappointed with the food, it was delicious!

If 

 

When we got back to the hotel, we quickly changed and got ready to hit the hot springs. The cool thing about Tabacon is it is so large you can wander into a private pool or waterfall. We spent the next 2 hours checking out different pools before finding the private hotel- guest only part which is all about tranquility and happened to be empty. We ordered a drink and then headed back to the main pool to play on the waterslide. The day had really taken its toll on us because we were all ready to call it a night by 8:30.

We got back to the room and set our alarms because Kym and Katrina had to head back to the states the next day and my dad and I had to get to Panama.


We headed back to the hot springs before they opened for a quick photo shot. Since the pictures we had taken the night before didn't really capture the beauty.