On Monday morning, we awoke and got ready for our zip lining adventure! We were going on the recommendation of our hostel and went with a company called La Selvita. It sounded cool because it included lunch as well as a waterfall swim. Yea! We had planned on going zip-lining in the cloud forest but it seemed like it was the best outdoor adventure option in Manuel Antonio so we figured it'd be a good experience to do both. Plus the Manuel Antonio National Park (which was the main reason for coming here) was closed on Mondays!
They picked us up in a rickety van than drove us down to their office to pay. We met an older couple from Sacramento named Karen and Kevin. Apparently Kevin is a bit of a local celebrity as he is a weekend anchor on the news in Sacramento. Karen was a real talker and asked us all kinds of questions. We also picked up two Canadians (who shall be refered to as "Long haired Gay" and "short haired gay"). They were also both teachers but in high school. I learned all this from eavesdropping on their conversation since I didn't have much else to do!
After picking up a few Spanish people (literally from Spain, I´m not trying to be offensive), we then began the road up to the Nature Reserve. It was surprising as the drive up took over half an hour through all kinds of jungle. The driver of the first van showed us some citronella seed which he told us in a natural insect repellent so we rubbed it on our bodies.
We got to the top and all clambored out of the van, then walking up to this open air ... building? It wasn't quite a building, just kind of an open air hut with a straw thatched roof that had a view of the area. They had fresh fruit waiting for us as well as water/juice. The photographer was a guy my age originally from Sacramento! After a brief explanation, we got suited up into our gear which included a harness, a pulley, and helmet. Plus lots of carbiners and other stuff that we weren't allowed to touch. The guys leading the tour were really funny though, young guys who obviously enjoyed what they were doing.
We look so cool
My first zipline!
Getting unclipped!
Hello down there!
Coming in fast!
Thar she goes
Halfway through it started to pour! Luckily it was humid so it just helped us cool down a bit
I look like a drowned rat!
After we finished zipping from platform to platform, we ended up back at our original hut where they fed us this delicious rice mixed with chicken dish, black beans and fresh tortillas. Probably the best actual Costa Rican food that we had. We also got coerced into buying the photos that Tomas took of us but I'll post them when they get to us in the mail!
With our bellies full, we all piled back into the vans except this time our hosts joined us as well. They were full of jokes and jibing at each other. We drove a short while before we stopped again, this time for our waterfall swim!
It was a mini waterfall but still really cool that we got to swim in its pond
Modeling pose
There were a lot of these type bridges
Even the bridges for cars looked like that! Our van went across one that Tomas called the "What? bridge" because most people went over it and said, "What bridge? There's a bridge?" Pretty rickety, scary and adventurous! Now imagine going over one of those in a big tour bus!
We were pretty tired when we got back so we just putzed around the hostel until it was time for dinner. We walked across the street and had the most delicious pineapple smoothies. The food was eh.
We then trekked over to the supermarket again and marveled at the selection of chips, including these:
Because the park had been closed, we decided to stay in Manuel Antonio an extra day and skip out on the touristy beach town of Tamarino. It would have been a long way to travel and not a lot of time in the town so we figured it'd be nice to slow things down and visit the National Park which everyone had said was a must see. Unfortunately our hostel was booked for the next night so we were going to have to leave our digs and head over to another place. We chose the Vela Bar and Hotel because the Riggs' were staying there and mentioned they liked it plus it was a mere 5 minute walk to the beach and the park!
End, Day 2!
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