Costa Rica: Wet, Wild, Wonderful

By Shelley Molnar, 24-time traveler from Warren, NJ

Sarapiquí

Remember how everyone tells new moms, “Once you see your new baby, you forget all about the pain of childbirth”? Yeah, well for me, THAT never happened—which is one of the reasons Greg is my only child.

The pain of getting to a trip, now THAT’S a different story. Once I arrive at my destination, any flight challenges—delays, cancelled flights, jet lag—all those “minor inconveniences” are instantly forgotten.

Our first day in Sarapiquí was picture perfect. The accommodations were a bit rustic, but comfortable, wildlife was abundant, and the location was ideal. I was able to walk to the nearby Sarapiquí River, which was FAR calmer than upstream, giving me a false picture of what our raft trip was going to be like.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Our morning began at 6am with birdwatching and listening.

After breakfast, we were ready to start our rafting adventure. We expected to get wet, so I stored my cell phone with the change of clothes I brought. Not a problem, because the rafting company had photographers stationed along the river.

At the start of our trip, the water was moving fast, but the “rapids” certainly looked manageable.

That quickly changed! The following photo was taken by the rafting company from their vantage point on dry land.

Across from me is 83-year-old Esther, who was a trooper, smiling even though during our 1.5-hour journey, she almost fell into the river.

Her daughter Cindy is in front of me. We had quite a rhythm going, even after our helmets smashed together during our transit through one of the rapids.

We were quite pleased with ourselves that we had made it through. What we DIDN’T know was there were many, many more rapids before our journey ended. Although you can’t tell from the above photo, we were all completely soaked. We are smiling because we knew that dry clothes were waiting for us.

La Fortuna

Up until days 7 and 8, we had been incredibly lucky. Although it rained periodically, it seemed to happen only when we were on the bus, in a restaurant, or back in the hotel. Until La Fortuna. That was where our fortunes changed.

It was impossible to see the Arenal Volcano during our morning hike, but I took pictures when Mike, Augusta and I were here in February of 2007. Back then, it was quite active. We were even able to see the bright red lava flows at night from our hotel room.

When we walked in the National Park, it was raining so hard, even my underwear was soaked, despite wearing a rain jacket. These days, if it’s not fun, I ain’t doing it, so halfway through the hike, five of us returned to the bus.

Marianne got creative. She took a black plastic shopping bag and with Edwin’s help, made holes in the sides so she could stick her arms through to keep her red jacket dry.

Those of us who chose to forgo the hike DID get to see Lake Arenal from the bus as we were leaving the park. Sorta.

Some brave souls decided to go zip lining despite the rain. Having ziplined twice before, I opted to return to the hotel. Had I known about the Tarzan swing, I might have made a different decision. But probably not.

Costa Rica has microclimates, so although it was pouring a few miles away, it wasn’t raining at our hotel. I walked the grounds, where I discovered multiple private hot tubs. Oh, to be with that special someone on a sunny day!

On our second day in La Fortuna, we cruised the Rio Frio to search for wildlife. I briefly regretted not bringing my camera, but I was very grateful for my binoculars.

Even with binoculars, it was NOT easy to spot the wildlife.

Our guide posted photos of the birds we saw in WhatsApp. Of all the birds we observed, the kingfisher was my favorite.

Before our cruise ended, we made it to the Costa Rica/Nicaragua border, where Malo took this photo of our wonderful group.

My very favorite highlight of our time in La Fortuna was our dinner at Selva Rustica. Raul, our bus driver, offered to take us to and from the restaurant, which was a very good thing because it was raining heavily ALL evening.

We all agreed that this was the best meal of the entire trip, so far. Sorry, Malo. From now on, we are going with Raul’s restaurant recommendations. Although we each ordered something different, we were all very happy with our choices. My grilled tuna atop vegetables and potatoes was heavenly.

Have you ever had a flaming margarita? With a blue Jell-O shot in the bottom of the glass? Neither had I.

The next day, en route from La Fortuna to Guanacaste, by lunchtime we were ready for a break. Fortunately, a cacao farm was perfectly located in this very remote area.

Not only did we learn about the multiple steps necessary to produce the chocolate that we all love, we also spent the morning enjoying the beautiful plants—like ginger.

Our guide was exceptional! He pointed out the male and female cacao flowers, and described the pollination process, which I have already forgotten. But I DID remember the female buds are the ones on top.

Here’s our guide, showing us the inside of a mature cacao plant.

We also were able to taste coconut water, coconut jelly, and coconut meat. Probably not the terms he used, but hey, I wasn’t able to take notes.

And yes, we DID consume chocolate.

Guanacaste

Our great luck has returned! The weather during our stay in Guanacaste was absolutely wonderful. It made me realize that I appreciate sunshine much more when it follows two days of rain.

The Hacienda Guachipelin was perfect in every way. None of us wanted to leave. Two nights here just didn’t seem long enough, given the many activities offered.

During our too-brief stay, we managed to catch the sunset, go horseback riding (it was much more fun when I was younger), and soak by a waterfall.

As usual, Les was the first one in, followed by Cindy, then me. The others didn’t believe us when we told them there were warm spots in the water. The depth varied greatly—I moved a few inches to my left and I quickly realized the water was going to be well over my head, so I reversed course. But not before the bottom of my hat got quite wet.

That was just the morning activities. In the afternoon, we went to the hot springs where we discovered we could smear ourselves with mud.

I didn’t have my man with me, so Les was kind enough to do the honors. He did my back and I did his.

We had a choice: We could rinse off in the river or under the nearby shower. I needed to use both, but ultimately we all cleaned up well.

Embrace the spirit of Pura Vida and have fun going with the flow during Costa Rica: Pura Vida & Rainforest Discoveries.