Typo and photo quality disclaimer…due to wifi restrictions I have not been able to edit my posts and many photos are snapshots from the back of my camera monitor.
Sunday morning arrived and it was time to move on to our next accommodations which is located only about 30-40 minutes away from Eric and Kate’s house, where we had stated the first three nights. We left fairly early as the new place includes ecotours of the 185 acres and three waterfalls on that are on the property. I was feeling a bit physically drained as the tour was expected to be 3-4 hours and hiking in mud, so I opted for some much needed introvert time and a nap, while Sean and the girls did the hike.
We pulled into the steep rocky road, after missing the turn the first time, ever so thankful that we will only choose four wheel drive when renting a car here. We met up with our host, Esteban. He showed us to one of our cabins then they all quickly left for the tour.
All alone in a quiet cabin in the middle of the jungle. I could faintly hear waterfalls in the distance. Then I heard a sound that I knew exactly what it was right away. Howler monkeys. They billow the most terrifying sound as their tribe moves throughvthe jungle in their daily trek. They are not big animals, but their cries are one of the creepiest things I’ve ever heard. In the past I’ve heard them extremely loud, so I could tell that this tribe was not super close to me. Probably about a half mile away. I hope the girls get to experience hearing them tomorrow. Not to scare them, but it is just something really cool to experience when visiting Costa Rica.
Many times people ask us why we like to visit Costa Rica more often than anywhere else. We have several answers for that question.
1. It is just a beautiful country, one that has many different ecosystems and microclimates, but is only the size of Rhode Island. So you can drive all over the country and experience many different areas in just a few days.
2. It is not expensive to travel here. Or, let me rephrase that…it doesn’t have to be expensive to travel here. But with a few travel hacking skills and no being afraid to try something that’s not a four star hotel, you can find great accommodations for about $50 a night for the whole family including breakfast.
3. The main reason that we continue to return would have to be the people. Ticos. That is the term used to refer to a native Costa Rican. In my seven times visiting this country, I have only encountered one non-friendly Tico. And that was the immigration agent that processed our paperwork on this trip. But other than her, the people here are just amazing. Friendly. Helpful. Happy. Most are not wealthy, and have very little material possessions. They always have a smile on their face. They love the beauty of their country and enjoy sharing it with visitors that come from all over the world. Everyone from the clerk at the grocery store to the waitresses or owners at a soda. They are all pleasant. A few years ago I read a world travel website, where the Costa Rican people were selected as the happiest people in the planet. And I have to agree. There really is something different here.
4. There are also the expats that live here. Those who chose to leave their country of origin to live out their days in this Central American paradise. Almost all of the expats we’ve met are just as friendly as the Ticos, with a few exceptions. These are people who got fed up with playing by someone else’s rules, living in the daily rat race. They felt there was more to life than ranting on Facebook about presidential elections. They chose another way to live and just pulled the trigger and made it happen. We feel many ways part of that tribe and at some point in our lives, we will call Costa Rica home too.
After Sean and the girls returned from hiking to two waterfalls, we were all hungry since we didn’t have time to stop for breakfast and it was well past lunch time. We drove back into Dominical for some fantastic tacos and guacamole with chips. The girls went souvenir shopping and I used the taco shop’s wifi to post my blog post. We have WiFi at our new location, but not inside each if our cabins, only at the communal space where we will have breakfast in the morning.
Jordy’s twentieth birthday was this weekend and that’s a reason to party! Kate and Eric hosted a birthday party for him on Sunday night and invited us too. We had such a great time laughing and celebrating. We swam in the pool and met many of his friends. Mixing Ticos and Gringos was just a blast. They fired up the grill and cooked every kind of meat imaginable. Kate made some wonderful appetizers. She really is the hostess with the mostest!
Everyone danced in the rain. Laughing and eating and just having a great time. Even if conversations were happening in two different languages, it didn’t matter. We were all there together celebrating Jordy, as well as being alive ourselves.
We drove back up the mountain to our cabins before it got too terribly late. Finishing up day four of our Costa Rican adventure.