Costa Rica: Day 3

July 18, 2011

We got to sleep in a little and woke up to the usual overcast skies, but no rain. Mercifully, it didn’t rain all day – a Costa Rica miracle!

After our usual breakfast at the hotel, we were picked up by Ecoglide and taken to their nearby zip lining facility. Among a group of about 25 tourists from all over the world, we zipped high above the ground through the rainforest. It was beautiful and exhilarating! Kevin also did the optional Tarzan swing off a very high platform. Denise chickened out. It was just not in the cards to step off and free fall before being pulled back up by the swing. There were kids on the trip, and swearing could have happened.

We met a nice couple who are also staying at the same hotel as us when we go to Manuel Antonio on Tuesday. Matt and Jenna were fun to hang out with, as was most everybody on the trip. They told us of a good trip they took to a nearby waterfall, so we decided to use our free afternoon to visit La Fortuna Waterfall. Only 480 steep steps down to a beautiful and cold – but bearable – swimming hole at the thunderous base of the waterfall. Even the 480 steps back up weren’t even that bad!

We returned to the hotel to explore the grounds, swim and enjoy happy hour before going back into town in search of the elusive “tipical” food we’ve been craving. Our cab driver took us to a little restaurant off the beaten path that was delicious, but still not the “soda” we wanted.

Our hotel room at Volcano Lodge - we made ourselves at home!

A few Costa Rican observations so far:

• Dogs run free and stray through the streets, which is very sad.
• B.O. is a big part of this humid climate, which is difficult in buses and taxis.
• There seem to be more tourists than local “ticas,” but they welcome us warmly as their number one money source.
• Ticas think we speak Spanish from our feeble efforts, and it’s nice of them to appreciate our attempts.
• We’ve seen people buying fish out of the back of a truck.
• Our very helpful and enthusiastic guides and drivers use the word "nice" and "best" a lot to describe everything from restaurants to frogs. It's very endearing: "There's a nice frog over here I want to show you. You like?" or "That restaurant is nice for lunch. It's the best."