A Day of Adventure

We arrived home on Thanksgiving Day, but these are the latest posts that wouldn't load up on the Costa Rica Wifi...

It was an early rise for all, as we hopped in a taxi and departed the marina at 6:50am. Off we dashed to the mountains of Quepos for an ATV ride to the "Rainmaker!"

We had a 30 minute ride through various towns of Quepos as we headed toward the mountains and through rural farmland. We learned that here, there were 3 ingredients to a town... A school, a soccer field and a church. We saw many of these colorful edifices on our ride and how simply one can live away from it all. 

We were prepped on how all of the gears functioned on the ATV's, shellacked ourselves with sunscreen and bug spray. Now it was time to get this party started...

We reached the top of the rainmaker hike and the scenery was absolutely stunning. 

Note the rickety bridge beneath our feet...

Costa Rica is a eco conscious country and they take it very seriously. We noticed an abundant use of recycled goods...Especially the tire paths that were everywhere. I only hoped that we didn't come across the dreaded Ferdinand viper snake. 

Our trusty walking sticks would keep them and the boa constrictors at bay, but I know they're out there!

Brad ripping it up in the river!

So much fun...Soaked, dirty and I couldn't care less. Trailblazing was awesome!

And what's an adventure without a little jungle commentary...

Brad makes walking the slippery suspension bridge look like a cinch!

Welcome to hikers anonymous... Ha!

Picturesque views abounded! There's nothing like interacting with nature on an intimate level and connecting with it.

And what's a waterfall without a little romance?
And if all this fun wasn't enough, Gael made a fun video montage (below) of all the activities we've been enjoying... the zip lining day of suspense is in there too. Wait until you see Mike hanging upside down on the zip line.
I completely forgot to blog about the zip line adventure everyone had! 

Gael was a champ with the Go Pro attached to her helmut. Great footage she shot..which is what we'd expect as she's a talented professional photographer! Check out the dense jungle behind her & Super Kev (star of many commercials!) in the photo below. The locals make great use of this palm forest and when they harvest the fruit (what we call dates) they cut the palm fronds and let them pile up under the trees and act as a natural compost. (Aka snake den!) The oils of the fruits are used in cosmetics, cooking, and other daily essentials. 

When we finished the Rainmaker hike, we cruised downhill to a local tilapia farm. Before the ownership changed, they had ponds filled with tilapia that you would catch and have cooked up for din din. Now they just serve lunch, but a great lunch it was! (and the ponds are now mosquito breeding grounds. Luckily we sprayed ourselves silly!) We were beyond famished and had a wonderful chicken curry with rice and black beans.. Followed up with some mango juice and a nap in the hammock. All was decorated in its Christmas finery...even in the jungle!

The only thing that could make our day of adventure more fun was to head back to the boat and find our fave swimming cove...so we headed out. 
(you can click on boat video below)

I drove the girls in our tender as we followed the boys in the boat...

                         We cruised close behind with the radio loud while getting our groove on.

                        Upon arrival, our sweet Marina neighbors from Panama were already anchored out...

And then it started to pour...and pour as we swam in the cove. It finally got chilly so we packed up and headed back to the marina. Worth every second!