Pura Vida! Goodbye 2016, Hello 2017!

We're back! Just in time for one last blog post of 2016.

In my last post I mentioned we'd be travelling. Glosette Girl, Margot and I were, in fact, enjoying an eco-adventure in beautiful Costa Rica.

This was our first trip to Central America so we originally thought about going on an organized tour to simplify things. However, after doing some research we realized that most North American and European tour companies don't actually run the "experience" portions of their trip (e.g. like zip-lining or horseback riding). Instead, they hire local companies to do it for them. Once we figured this out we decided to book all the hotels ourselves and contact a Costa-Rican company, Anywhere Costa Rica, to book the adventures. They are also a middle-man but because they're a local company  the prices are much better.

We focused on two areas: Monteverde and Manual Antonio. Both are hot-spots for eco-tourism but they couldn't be more different.

Monteverde

Monteverde is in the cloud forest. It's at a higher elevation and so is quite cool. I'd guess it was maybe 17-18 degrees while we were there, although it felt cooler because of the constant rain. And when I say "constant rain" I mean "constant rain". It was actually sunny when we first got to our hotel in Monteverde. However, that turned out to be a clever ruse as it started to rain only a few hours after we arrived. I asked one of the attendants how long it would last. He said "between 10 minutes and 2 days".

He wasn't joking.

The rain is why this part of Costa Rica is so lush so I can't complain too much. We also didn't feel it too much while traipsing through the cloud forest on our guided walks. 

We did, on the other hand, feel it while taking an open-air gondola up a mountain in gale force winds.

I am very curious to find out at what point this ride is considered too dangerous?!

...and when zip-lining through the forest at break neck speeds!

One of us got stuck on the zip-lines. Hint: not Margot.

It's hard to believe but Margot did all of these adventures and with a smile! My tough little cookie.

Manuel Antonio

After 3-nights in the forest we booked a shuttle and headed to the Pacific Coast village of Manuel Antonio. The temperature there was probably 25 Celsius or so. In a word: perfect!

Our hotel: the Falls Resort

We swam. We read. We visited the nearby rainforest national park of Manual Antonio, which is what the area is famous for. We swam some more.

Actually, we had just as many adventures in this area as Monteverde. Margot didn't skimp out on these adventures either, no sir!

Margot the Cowgirl had her own horse

I'm still absorbing the experience. It wasn't all roses of course. We saw a lot of garbage on the side of the road. That surprised me given the importance of tourism to the Costa Rican economy. Also, the "typical" Costa Rican towns and villages we passed through were poorer than I was expecting. But overall I found the trip interesting, fun and enlightening.  It reminded us that Canada is just one small part of the world and how lucky were are to live here (even with the snow).

Sigh... 2017, we're ready for you!

Sunset over Monteverde