Tag: Hiking

Costa Rican Adventure Part 2: Rio Celeste Waterfall

After a long day of guided tours, 14 hours to be exact, Abby and I felt it would be nice to go at our own pace and tour Costa Rica on our own. We loaded up early on the warm Monday morning, and trekked down the rocky dirt road to our next destination, Rio Celeste.

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Driving in a foreign country can be intimidating, I have don it a few times before. The infrastructure in Costa Rica was not as well-maintained like back in the US but all were manageable if one used common sense and patience. For the most part, all the main roads up to the Tenorio Volcano National Park, where the Rio Celeste is located, were decently paved. Driving up to the park, I was bewildered by the livestock of the region. Cows for days and some free ranging without a fence were my roadside scenery. But within an instant, the farms turned to jungle like terra. Driving the curvy roads, the jungle would randomly be broken up by small communities and rivers.

Just 20 mins outside the park, we were driving down the highway. Abby said, “Look!” I slow down as I approached a bridge. My eyes have never seen water with such vibrant colors. Water flowing and babbling under a bridge but it was turquoise blue like someone melted jewelry in to a river. It was our first encounter with the Rio Celeste and it was breathtaking.

We continued our drive from the bridge down a road to the park. The first park felt to me like I was sitting in a massage chair with all the bumpiness, and the second part felt like I was climbing up to Everest in my not so sporty rental. We hit a curve and the blue natural wonder made another appearance. It seemed even more turquoise blue from the first encounter.

As we reached our final hilltop, we saw people excitedly wave us in to a parking lot. Vendors were sprinkled out all along the road. They were selling tour services, boots, ponchos and fruit. Passing the street side salesmen, we paid our way into the park at the front gate and began our journey into the park.

Inside the park, I saw similar vegetation that I saw at the hanging bridge tour. The Dragonblood tree was there with its blood-like sap and huge trunk size. Elephant ears and numerous vines decorated our walkway. Speaking of the walkway, I noticed the trail was nicely paved with no blemishes for the first part. The second part was slightly muddy, rocky and steep, but I have hiked worst in the north Georgia mountains.

The final climb up the hill was greeted with the sound of crashing water. “We were close,” I thought. We approached a stone staircase that had wooden guardrails. We made our descent and utilized those wooden rails. The steps were wet and slippery but, we made it after carefully navigated down to the first opening in the forest. The sight that awaited us was from our long trek was the turquoise waterfall. Words could not describe the beauty of the fall and flowing vibrant pool below it. We paused for a moment to take it in and capture the moment. The sounds and color of the fall were breathtaking. After our brief stop, we finished our climb down to the viewing platform.

The platform was not that crowded but a few people were enjoying the sight of the tranquil natural wonder. A mist from the fall covered us like a light morning dew. I thought to myself this is what heaven must look like, and God in his great power made this as heavenly preview on earth. The locals even say that God dipped his brush into the Rio Celeste to paint the sky. I think they were on to something.

After an hour of enjoying the view and capturing the moment, we doubled back to the front gate. We must have been more observant to nature after the past two days. Abby and I started noticing even more of nature’s beauty. From the brief rain shower that agitated the howler monkey to the slight coloration on the leaves, we gained a stronger respect and admiration of natural wonders that our all around us.

 

For more information on the Tenorio Volcano National Park and the Rio Celeste, check out https://www.costarica.com/attractions/tenorio-volcano-national-park.

Costa Rican Adventure Part 1: Intro and Ecotourism

There is a place in Central America that moves a little slower with a genuinely kind-hearted people. A place when the sun goes down has natural sounds that are unreal and when those sounds are paired with the stars in the clear cool night sky, it transports you to a tranquil state of mine. Yet, this same place has adventure and excitement all over from their lush rainforests to their sunny coast. It is filled with a cornucopia of flora and exotic wildlife that most have never seen in person. This place is Costa Rica.

This is an intro piece to a series of blog postings about my adventure into Costa Rica. Each piece will cover a part of my journey from ecotourism, inshore fishing, offshore fishing and end with tips on how to plan your own Costa Rican adventure. Originally, I wanted just a fishcation trip but as I researched more on this divine place, I found that Costa Rica offered so much more than just angling, an insight that will be shared in this first piece. So, cut up some pineapple, drink some coconut water, and apply your sunscreen as I take you on a journey to the Rich Coast.

The sun peeked over the Platanar volcano as the dew settled on the Jurassic Park-like greenery in front of the villa. Abby, my girlfriend, and I waited on the transportation to our multi-stop tour.

Our guides Minor and Yari pulled up in the passenger van wrapped in the Rainforest Explorers logo, and we eagerly hopped in to drive to our first destination of the Hanging Bridges of Mistico Park.

Driving up a steep mountain and around various sharp curves, we pulled into the park. Yari hopped out of the van and instructed us to carry our rain jackets. She then enthusiastically yelled, “vamonos!” That means “let’s go”  in Spanish. Overlooking the Arenal volcano, the humid park has a 250 hectares with a 2 mile trail with 16 bridges, specifically five hanging bridges. As we hiked through the misty trail, we saw bats, eyelash pit vipers, spider monkeys jumping from tree to tree and lizards. All pointed out and described in detail by our guide, Yari.

Equipped with our rain jackets, the wet climate of the rainforest was no issue to us, but in the background, the howling monkey sounded his agitation whenever a rain shower would pop up. His howls could be heard for miles according to Yari. As we exited the trail and crossed the longest bridge over the green vegetation. We began our next journey to the La Fortuna waterfall.

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The waterfall entrance follows 500 stairs to a viewing and swimming area. The path and steps were numerous but clearly defined. The green vegetation covered the forrest surrounding the staircase. The sounds of zipliners above us as they zoomed over the scenery. As we reached the bottom, the grandeur of the waterfall could be observed from a platform and from the small river below. If you go around the bend of the river, there is a small swimming area with clear water and exotic fish swimming. It is also a more relaxed area than by the pool near the fall. The best way to describe that water is brisk and refreshing. It was like a cold mountain spring in March. The climb up is not as easy as the climb down, but there were multiple stops with benches to rest if needed. When you reach the top, there are dressing rooms, snack stands, and gift shops to visit.

 

 

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Our next stop in our action packed day was lunch. In true Costa Rican or Tico form, we stopped at a family restaurant and enjoyed a traditional Costa Rican castada that was cooked over a wood stove. My plate was filled will salad, black beans, rice and steak.

Accompanied with a local mixed fruit juice and Lizano sauce for flavoring. After the bountiful plate, the meal was concluded with coffee and ice cream. We enjoyed dessert by watching the local birds eat from the feeder just outside the pavilion-style restaurant.

We digested our food as we drove to our a long strenuous hike through a forest trail and up a lava field trail to a lookout platform of Arenal Volcano. The hike required the assistance of wooden sticks and a watchful eye as we bypassed steep hills and irritable ants. Wild birds cawed in the warm humid air as we reached the base of the volcano hike. Yari briefed the group on the history of the volcano with a warning of difficulty of the next hike. Some settled to stay at the base but the majority of us venture on. The trail was riddled with loose lava rock and steep steps. After a short 20-minute hike up a strenuous trail, we reached our lookout spot to view the volcano and lake Arenal. It was truly a humbling moment that we soaked in before the  treacherous descent back to the base of the mountain.

After all our adventures in the day, we had one more stop to complete, the Tabacon hot springs.The hot springs created by the nearby volcanic conditions were amazing. The springs were well deserved, and were a relaxing 102 degree temperature as we enjoyed refreshing beverages. Each pool had a unique design. My favorite was the waterfall pool that rushed hot water over you. It was a soothing experience to end our adventurous day. For more information on Rainforest explorers and the tours they offer check out https://www.rainforestexplorers.com/.