Ziplining, mountain driving, surfing, & sunsets...oh my!

We finallllllllyyyy made it to our final hotel destination...through the potholes, streets only wide enough for 2 moped's & a fart, hundreds of people walking on the streets like sidewalks who expect you to dodge THEM go figure, bridges for 1, fog, rain, 90 degree turns with motorcycles flying around every corner, steep embankments which require down-shifting just to make it up the hill & more down-shifting not to fly down the side of the mountain at 60kph...and where you should really pay attention when the gps registers unpaved roads as potential detours to save time. Warning!!! Warning...it doesn't actually mean potential detour, it does means that it will invariably cause you an hour of lost time due to 20 minutes navigating up around potholes & boulders, 8 minutes deciding to keep going or turn around and 32 minutes back down to where you started from i.e. unpaved road. Ugg! However, our gps could accurately tell us where each speed bump & school zone was however, it could not warn us about the trechorous roads ahead that our little 'Betsy' could not handle. ...all part of the adventure though!

...and as I lay here happy that we made it in one piece and returned our little Betsy to her rightful owner....i.e. the people holding our credit card # for ransom ;) ...or at least until we bring her back I think about the last few days and what an adventure we've been on over the last few days.

Day 3
Mission: Don't pass out ziplining


Activities: ziplining - 8AM-10AM

By the end of the zip line tour I found myself hanging upside down at the end of it all gliding down the last zipline through the rainforest watching the small creek zoom by me and completely relaxed in the harness that seemed to be choking me into a panicked fear before then. But I definitely had a sense of accomplishment. I guess that's why it was ok for me to let go of the leather glove that was our only method of stopping from flying down those ziplines at mach 3 speed and just relax and 'let go'. However, it wasn't until that last zip line that I was finally able to let go completely. It took a few extra minutes of convincing myself that everything would be ok before I slid down the first zip line but it wasn't truly until platform #7 that I was really feeling the pressure. When I put my feet to the edge of the platform on #7 my body wouldn't go. The instructors kept telling me sit down and put your hand on the pully rope. I needed time. My breathing was panicked, my arms shaking. Fear came over me. I knew this moment would come when we set up all of our excursions. I knew my fear of heights would be tested. But my stubbornness and sense of adventure are what helped my feet finally lift off of the platform, putting all of my weight into the trust of that harness and started flying down the #7 zipline. I was terrified!!!! I shot down in record speed ~240 ft above the rainforest floor. I tried to look around and enjoy my beautiful surroundings as much as possible but I had a mission...to get to the end! Get to the end! Get to the end! I was a little shaken but nothing could have stopped me from that experience. I made it through the whole course (at my own speed not the speed the instructors were trying to convince me was ok) but it was a lot of fun! Paul did famously of course. His sense of adventure and fearlessness always impresses and pushes mine. At the highest  fastest zipline that I was freaking out on, he was trying to go as fast as possible before stopping. Sounds about right ;)

Part 2 of the day was to team back up with good ol' Betsy and make our way across to the coastline of Costa Rica! What a treck! At times we were sooo grateful to have the GPS we rented and at other times we were cursing at it in our car beacuse of the route it tried to take us on. We made it to our fabulously beatiful hotel just in time to schedule our surfing trip for the morning and to watch the AMAZING sunset from the ampitheater at the hotel. What a way to end the day!

Day 4

Mission: learn to surf

Activities: Surf lessons with  Costa Rican Surfing Champion surfer Gustavo 8AM-noon(ish)

Paul & I have both always wanted to learn to surf! Who knew it would be on our honeymoon in Costa Rica! We both learned really quickly with Gustavo, a championship surfer in his younger days, and a great instructor for us. Who would've known we would both get up on our first try! What a sense of accomplishment...quickly followed by a sense of agony. Sunscreen & salt water in your eyes do NOT mix! I struggled to get it out for the next several hours of the day. Paul on the other hand had his own battle, he dislocated his shoulder, twice, surfing! It popped back in luckily but it's still tender. Poor thing!

The other couple that went surfing with us had a few guys from the hotel follow them to get some pics so we're hoping that they follow through and send us some of the ones of us...fingers crossed. We did try to get some 'awkward' pics of each other practicing...all for everyone else's enjoyment though ;)



We spent the rest of the day looking for the best coffee 'deal' for everyone back in the states and eating MORE bueno ceviche! I think this makes 3 different versions from different restaurants we've tried! I think Paul and I could eat this for every meal if it wasn't so $$$! We've both been surprised by how expensive food is here! You can't eat a meal for less than $10-$13/per person here. It gets a little pricey when you add a couple of beers and a ceviche to your 'cena' (aka dinner). :) We've had some good food, although we've stuck to the typico food, but I've been extremely impressed with the drinks here. I think I've probably told Paul 'that's the best one 'X' I've ever had several times: everything from the tropical mixed drinks, iced tea, starbucks-like coffee, etc. Crazy-good! It's one of the best ways to experience other's culture to us...by just eating their food! Time for some more! Dinner-out!