I didn’t have a bucket list before going on this trip. If I had, it would be complete. This is the thing about Costa Rica, it is an active country. People surf, ride bikes, climb mountains, zip line, horseback ride and live outdoors. All of the things I don’t do in my normal life. The only fat people I saw were from the US (me included). I would have been content to go from the beach to the pool and back again for the entire 6 days but my cousin (the one with the bucket list) had other ideas.
She wanted to go zip lining. I didn’t. But we are family and if she fell hundreds of feet to her death I needed to be there so I could tell my family exactly what happened. At least that was my logic at the time. Low and behold I turned into a daredevil right along with her. I guess it runs in the family. She had done some research on different canopy tours but we ended up going with the recommendation of the tour company. And what a recommendation it was! We went to Vandara Hot Springs and Adventures – a one stop shot for the Indiana Jones in you! The location was about an hour away from the resort – literally up a mountain. This was really cool because we were able to take a little tour of Liberia and the tour guy, Jose, was knowledgeable about all things CR. Did you know you can actually drive to Costa Rica?
We started the tour with a horseback ride UP THE MOUNTAIN. Now I’m not a fan of large animals. But being on one going up a mountain in a foreign country was not high on my list of how to spend the day. But I was all about the adventure this trip so I just said my prayer and went where the horse wanted to take me. Once you get to the top you are suited up for the zip line. I was pretty sure the whole time that I wasn’t going. Right up until the minute that the guy hooked me up and sent me on my way. Now this is what they don’t tell you. It wasn’t just one line. That I might have been okay with. But NO! There are 10 runs! TEN! Oye! It was a wonderful experience. I’m glad I did it. But I won’t ever do it again.
After the zip line there is a water slide – a slide built into the side of this mountain. I know I keep using the word mountain. But I need you to understand, this was a MOUNTAIN! So after you’ve zip lined back down the mountain you get into a truck that takes you back up the mountain to the slide. Now here’s the funny part, Jose, our slide guide spoke no English. None! So he’s trying to give me, Ms. 4 years of Spanish, the safety instructions on how not to kill yourself or break a limb so that I can relay the info to the rest of the group. I never concentrated so hard in all my life.
As a reward for not killing yourself, you get an organic lunch. I think the choices were fish, pork and chicken. I had the fish. The meal comes with soup, veggies and dessert. The tour ended at the mud bath and hot springs. Oh the hot springs! Heaven!
In addition to the canopy tour we also went on a catamaran “booze” cruise. This was awesome. A party boat with unlimited liquor in paradise. We cruised for about an hour to a small island where people (not me) we able to snorkel. I did strap on a life vest and jump off the boat (yes I said jump off the boat) and lay out on the island. There was also some little cave that I chose not to explore. What a peaceful existence being a castaway. Why did Tom Hanks ever leave that island?