Pretty tired of our night with the nesting turtle, we had a very late breakfast the next morning, or should we rather call it a brunch... We then left the beach to head towards the mountains. This was going to be a pretty long drive in the car but our champion driver, Chad, seemed to be up to the task. As we arrived in Liberia a few hours later, after we enjoyed our lunch, we started inquiring about the best way to get to the Parque National Rincon de la Vieja. We called the lodge, asked a travel agency in town and there was no way around it: we had to drive at least 15 Kms on bumpy dirt road. We had conflicting recommendations about the road conditions: should we ask the lodge to come and pick us up or try to get there with our rental car? After much talk, and given that we now had again a spare tire and a trustworthy driver, we decided to get there with our rental car. Not an easy drive and the lodge was quite hard to find but we made it there in the late afternoon, happy to be in the cooler temperature of the mountains.
A long hike in an active volcanic park
We were glad to be in our cute little mountain lodge, away from the dusty rocky road and enjoying the sunset over the nearby peeks in our hammocks. Away from the light pollution, the stars were as bright as can be. We all went super early to bed, trying to recover from our short night of 4 hours. The next day, we all felt rested and better, especially after a few cups of coffee. We took the car and drove to the Parque National Rincon de la Vieja where we would hike in the park for the day. This park is centered around two volcanoes and shows a lot of volcanic activities, such as fumarole, natural hot springs and mud pools. We focused our visit on the Santa Maria sector, where the main trail goes through a green forest and finishes at a natural thermal pool. As we started our walk, we saw the most amazing butterfly: the Blue Morph. It is a big butterfly, about 15 cm wide (about 6 inches), with bright blue wings bordered with black. It seems like it came right out of a fairy tale, flying around us. This was only the first of many that we would see that day. The funny thing is that when it lands and closes its wings, it is all brown which makes a great camouflage and it is very hard to see despite its size. We all felt like kids again, w
anting to chase and run after these flying creatures.
The trail we took was crossing four rivers and as we reached the first one, we were surprised to see that there was no bridge. We had to cross it by jumping on the rocks in the riverbed and it was no easy task. We all made it through the first river. The second one was a little more challenging but we all made it again, helping each other. Rincon de la Vieja has a very humid forest and the trail was quite muddy so we were making slower progress than expected. Half way, we reached a double cascade and sat there for a while to take a rest and look at the clear water. There was moss growing all around us which was a nice contrast with the gray rocks and the white waters of the cascade. As we reached our third stream, things got a little tougher. The stream was wider and the rocks further from each other. We tried to find easier paths to cross upstream or downstream but in vain. Chad tried the first and made it through. He then helped Caroline who made it to the other side as well. However, this was too much for Dominique and Margot and they did not want to take a chance and fall in the river. We all decided it was best to split: we would continue to the end of the trail and the parents would go back to the car.
We continue the hike and reached our destination for the day: the natural thermal pools. The sight was incredible: the forest had opened up to a stream bordering two pools of hot bright blue water surrounded by white rocks. The only unpleasant thing was the strong smell of rotten eggs. and we had to go a little further to enjoy our lunch. Once done, we changed into our bathing suits and crossed the river to get into the bigger of the two pools. The water was perfect, just like a hot bath and once we got in, we were no longer disturbed by the bad smell. We sat there for a while in the sun, just the two of us. Lots of little white bubbles were covering our bodies, coming up from the ground of the thermal pool. We would remove them and a few minutes later, they would b
e back. What an interesting phenomena! We stayed a little longer and then cooled down into the river before returning walking back. We crossed all the rivers again, stopped at another beautiful cascade and returned to the park headquarters where Dominique and Margot were waiting. They had tried to explore another trail in the park but since they saw a snake a few yards into the walk, Margot wanted to go back. They sure did not enjoy the park as much as we did. Hopefully tomorrow would be better...
Flying above the canopy for the Whitemans
The next morning, we recognized that it may be best to split today so that each couple could pursue the activities they wanted. Dominique and Margot were still a little tired and would enjoy a relaxing morning, walking on the lodge property and writing postcards. For us, it was time to see the canopy from a different angle: we were going to zipline above it. Our guides prepared the horses and we rode to the zip line course. The horse were climbing up and up and the view was becoming better by the minute, especially with the sunny morning. We could see the mountains, all the way to the Pacific coast. The horses were well behaved and we arrived quickly there.
The zipline course had seven lines, the longest being 600 meters. The guides had put our gears on earlier and were now showing us how to hold to the line and brake with our gloves. We were so excited... Since both of us had already done it in Hawaii, there was no hesitation for our first jump. We were totally warmed up after the first two lines and ready for the big fun: the third line was the highest above the canopy and the longest. We could not even see the platform on the other side. We jumped and flew for a long time, faster and faster, enjoying the view, big smiles on our faces. The rest of the course was equally fun an went by so fast. On one of the slower line, Caroline tried to zip line upside down but despite listening carefully to the instructions of the guide, she was not able to completely turn and put the legs up and the head down. A little disappointing... Chad, hearing that she had tried it wanted to see if he could do it. He actually did it on the next line!!! Caroline was so jealous: we will have to zipline again so that she will be able to do it too. We are so competitive:)
We took the horses back to the lodge where the parents were waiting for us. We shared our stories of the fun time we just had. They had enjoyed their quiet morning too. We talked a little longer with the people of the lodge, telling them how we liked it here. Perfect lodge, perfect weather and perfect food and service. Only the nsty slinent and very aggresive mosquitos had been a nuisance. It was however hard to get back in the car, especially knowing that we had to drive on the dirt road again. Back on the asphalt about 15 Kms later in the plain, with some 10 degrees hotter, we stopped at a little stand on the side of the road to buy refreshments. We got our first Coco Frio in Costa Rica and to spice up the afternoon, we also took Vino de Coyol (fermented sugar cane wine). The coco was so refreshing in the heat. The wine had a surprising taste and got us a little dizzy due to the natural fermentation. Not a taste we really liked but for sure a cultural experience that hopefully will get no one sick.
A long hike in an active volcanic park
We were glad to be in our cute little mountain lodge, away from the dusty rocky road and enjoying the sunset over the nearby peeks in our hammocks. Away from the light pollution, the stars were as bright as can be. We all went super early to bed, trying to recover from our short night of 4 hours. The next day, we all felt rested and better, especially after a few cups of coffee. We took the car and drove to the Parque National Rincon de la Vieja where we would hike in the park for the day. This park is centered around two volcanoes and shows a lot of volcanic activities, such as fumarole, natural hot springs and mud pools. We focused our visit on the Santa Maria sector, where the main trail goes through a green forest and finishes at a natural thermal pool. As we started our walk, we saw the most amazing butterfly: the Blue Morph. It is a big butterfly, about 15 cm wide (about 6 inches), with bright blue wings bordered with black. It seems like it came right out of a fairy tale, flying around us. This was only the first of many that we would see that day. The funny thing is that when it lands and closes its wings, it is all brown which makes a great camouflage and it is very hard to see despite its size. We all felt like kids again, w
anting to chase and run after these flying creatures.The trail we took was crossing four rivers and as we reached the first one, we were surprised to see that there was no bridge. We had to cross it by jumping on the rocks in the riverbed and it was no easy task. We all made it through the first river. The second one was a little more challenging but we all made it again, helping each other. Rincon de la Vieja has a very humid forest and the trail was quite muddy so we were making slower progress than expected. Half way, we reached a double cascade and sat there for a while to take a rest and look at the clear water. There was moss growing all around us which was a nice contrast with the gray rocks and the white waters of the cascade. As we reached our third stream, things got a little tougher. The stream was wider and the rocks further from each other. We tried to find easier paths to cross upstream or downstream but in vain. Chad tried the first and made it through. He then helped Caroline who made it to the other side as well. However, this was too much for Dominique and Margot and they did not want to take a chance and fall in the river. We all decided it was best to split: we would continue to the end of the trail and the parents would go back to the car.
We continue the hike and reached our destination for the day: the natural thermal pools. The sight was incredible: the forest had opened up to a stream bordering two pools of hot bright blue water surrounded by white rocks. The only unpleasant thing was the strong smell of rotten eggs. and we had to go a little further to enjoy our lunch. Once done, we changed into our bathing suits and crossed the river to get into the bigger of the two pools. The water was perfect, just like a hot bath and once we got in, we were no longer disturbed by the bad smell. We sat there for a while in the sun, just the two of us. Lots of little white bubbles were covering our bodies, coming up from the ground of the thermal pool. We would remove them and a few minutes later, they would b
e back. What an interesting phenomena! We stayed a little longer and then cooled down into the river before returning walking back. We crossed all the rivers again, stopped at another beautiful cascade and returned to the park headquarters where Dominique and Margot were waiting. They had tried to explore another trail in the park but since they saw a snake a few yards into the walk, Margot wanted to go back. They sure did not enjoy the park as much as we did. Hopefully tomorrow would be better... Flying above the canopy for the Whitemans
The next morning, we recognized that it may be best to split today so that each couple could pursue the activities they wanted. Dominique and Margot were still a little tired and would enjoy a relaxing morning, walking on the lodge property and writing postcards. For us, it was time to see the canopy from a different angle: we were going to zipline above it. Our guides prepared the horses and we rode to the zip line course. The horse were climbing up and up and the view was becoming better by the minute, especially with the sunny morning. We could see the mountains, all the way to the Pacific coast. The horses were well behaved and we arrived quickly there.The zipline course had seven lines, the longest being 600 meters. The guides had put our gears on earlier and were now showing us how to hold to the line and brake with our gloves. We were so excited... Since both of us had already done it in Hawaii, there was no hesitation for our first jump. We were totally warmed up after the first two lines and ready for the big fun: the third line was the highest above the canopy and the longest. We could not even see the platform on the other side. We jumped and flew for a long time, faster and faster, enjoying the view, big smiles on our faces. The rest of the course was equally fun an went by so fast. On one of the slower line, Caroline tried to zip line upside down but despite listening carefully to the instructions of the guide, she was not able to completely turn and put the legs up and the head down. A little disappointing... Chad, hearing that she had tried it wanted to see if he could do it. He actually did it on the next line!!! Caroline was so jealous: we will have to zipline again so that she will be able to do it too. We are so competitive:)
We took the horses back to the lodge where the parents were waiting for us. We shared our stories of the fun time we just had. They had enjoyed their quiet morning too. We talked a little longer with the people of the lodge, telling them how we liked it here. Perfect lodge, perfect weather and perfect food and service. Only the nsty slinent and very aggresive mosquitos had been a nuisance. It was however hard to get back in the car, especially knowing that we had to drive on the dirt road again. Back on the asphalt about 15 Kms later in the plain, with some 10 degrees hotter, we stopped at a little stand on the side of the road to buy refreshments. We got our first Coco Frio in Costa Rica and to spice up the afternoon, we also took Vino de Coyol (fermented sugar cane wine). The coco was so refreshing in the heat. The wine had a surprising taste and got us a little dizzy due to the natural fermentation. Not a taste we really liked but for sure a cultural experience that hopefully will get no one sick.
Ah the exhiliration of a zipline! Brings back memories of our time in Guatemala four years ago!
ReplyDeleteChad, I see how your photography classes have been an advantage. Beautiful butterfly; it could be a post card. Zipline....what next (ha)??!!!
ReplyDelete