I Didn’t Wear any Underwear for a Week!

That sounds pretty disgusting, eh? Actually I was wearing swim trunks or quick-drying hiking shorts with built-in mesh undies the entire week. Now? I am wearing underwear. In fact, that’s all I am wearing. I just got done mowing the jungle that is considered my yard. Why was it a jungle? Because I wasn’t wearing any underwear in Costa Rica for a week.

BTW - I was trying to wait until I got the rest of the photos back from the trip, but that hasn't happened yet so I'm posting what I have!

We took off for Costa Rica on Wednesday, May 21st, 2008. Our flight was late getting into Costa Rica but getting through customs and immigration there was a breeze. We flew into San Jose, but then had to take a van ride to Manuel Antonio. This is across the country and took about 3 hours, in the rain, dark and fog. The ride wasn’t too bad but they drive differently down there. Our driver drives the route all the time and so he was hauling ass, even when it got real foggy up in the mountains and visibility was down to a few feet. I don’t know how he saw the hairpin curves, but he did and was able to make it even if the rest of the group was white-knuckling the armrests and chuckling nervously.

We made it to our rental house at about 3:00am. Fortunately, we had pre-ordered some groceries and liquor so we were able to make beverages and have a snack. We stayed up until about 4:30am and then decided to crash out. Unbeknown to us at that point, the sun comes up about that time and by 5:00am you can’t sleep anymore because it’s bright and sunny….along with monkeys, crickets, frogs, and birds all yammering at each other.

The house itself was beautiful. It clearly was designed to be a rental property with lots of room, every room facing the ocean, full sized bathrooms for every room, a third floor balcony, a swim up bar in the pool, and a small guest house. I am still not 100% clear how we came by this place but one of the guy’s family owns a rental house in Costa Rica. I believe they swapped a week of rent at their house for this one, plus the difference in price which meant that we got away with this dirt-cheap.

Surprisingly, it was significantly cooler there than it was here. The sun would fry you quick as we were only 9 degrees off the equator, but it rained every day and with us being about 300 feet off the ocean we had a cool breeze most of the time. We rarely ran the AC and generally kept the place opened up to let the breeze through. However, we had to keep the screen doors closed because the monkeys would get in and steal stuff. Yes, you read that right – keep the screen doors closed because the monkeys would get in.

They would hang out in the trees right off the balcony’s and while I never saw it, it supposedly was not unusual for them to be hanging out on the balconies and porches. There were several species of monkeys there. The howlers were the noiseiest and while we never saw them we heard them on most mornings as they would migrate through their territory.

In front of the deck was a fairly tall tree that was dead as a doornail. It was referred to as the “Tree of Life.” I know that sounds odd, but growing in the tree was an orchid vine that was beautiful and the birds that would hand out in the tree all day were incredible. There were toucans, at least two varieties of redheaded woodpeckers as well as several other species of very colorful birds. They would hang out all day, fuss, and catch insects.

We also had a sloth hanging out in the tree by the driveway. Yes, we were truly in the jungle even though we had a pretty kick ass place to stay for the week. We didn’t venture to the beach much because the deck and pool of the house was such an awesome place to hang out, and of course we had our beverages handy.
But venture forth we did. All of the tour companies were really cool. They would pick us up at the house and take us back. Most of them provided breakfast and lunch in the tour and this pretty much meant that all we had to do was get up and be ready. This wasn’t real hard when the sun came up and the jungle erupted in a chorus of cacophony.

White Water Rafting
One of the tours that we went on was a white water rafting tour. Now, I have friends that kayak and lived with a guy that did this professionally. I’m not exactly ignorant of the sport, but have always been a bit afraid of it. I’m not a real strong swimmer and I know you can get sucked into a hole and not be able to get out – lifejacket and boat or not. So I had a bit of nervousness going on this particular tour but I wasn’t going to let it ruin it for me.

On the way to the put-in point we stopped several times so the guides could point out the trees, vegetation, birds, etc. Some of the cool stuff was the teakwood trees and the leaves that could produce a henna-like die if you rubbed the leaf on your fingers. Costa Rica has several types of plantations including teak wood, rosewood, African palms, coffee, etc.

After we got to the put in point it was raining a little bit and they gave us a great safety briefing. We put on all our gear and then divided up into two groups for the two boats that they had. One of the other guys, Steven, and I got stuck up at the front (bow) of the boat as the “strong rowers.”

The rafts are large inflatable rafts divided into small rows. There are NO seats and nothing to strap you in (you really don’t want to be strapped to a boat that is flipped over anyway). You basically wedge your feet into the seams of the raft and sit on the outside of the boat so that you can row more efficiently. I know what you are thinking….sounds sketchy, right?

We were told that the rivers would be running upwards of class IV rapids. Rapids are classified by how difficult and dangerous they are. A class I rapid is smooth, calm water without ripples or obstacles. A class VI rapid is imminent death and should only be attempted by someone that is both a professional and completely crazy. To me class IV rapids just meant a lot of fun, but fairly scary, too as they are definitely dangerous.

We had a great time going through our first few sets of rapids and made our way to a giant waterfall that we all hung out in before setting back down the river. That’s when the trouble started.

We entered into a class III / IV series of rapids. We got through this just fine and since we were having a good time our guide decided to take us back up the seam and into the rapids again. When the rivers are running good and making these rapids they often create “holes” which is where the water drops sharply over something and goes below the average waterline. This is typically followed by a wave. He guided our raft into what looked like a pretty serious hole and I don’t exactly remember what happened but what I was told is that Steven got pitched out of the boat. I am also told that I was in the air going over Steven, also being pitched out of the boat into these rapids.

Now I had a lifejacket and helmet on, but it still took me a good three or four strokes to reach the topside of the water. Once I got top side I oriented myself appropriately for being carried down the river. Worst case? When I hit the pacific hang a left….

But seriously, the boats were WAY back there and there was another set of rapids approaching. Even with my lifejacket on it was difficult to keep my head completely above water when it started rippling. I was not looking forward to going into the next set of rapids without being on a boat.

Fortunately for me, the guides were trained in rescue techniques and got me into a boat prior to hitting the next series of rapids. After our guide realized that Steven and I were OK and that we weren’t upset or mad it was “game on.” While the other boat would hit the rapids and side-skirt the holes and waves our guide would take us directly into them. You might approach a hole that had a 2 foot drop before hitting a wave that was already 3 feet above us. Hitting that kind of hole felt like the boat was going vertical. The guide is yelling at us to row and I can’t find anything but air with my paddle. I heard later that the guy was evening leaning back off the boat and all kinds of stuff to make sure we got the “good experience.”

But it was a lot of fun and a lot of work. Just before we stopped for lunch we hit the last set of rapids and there was a small hole that we went through. All of the safety kayakers that had been traveling with us were waiting there. Our guide whistles at them and says something in Spanish. They all vacate the area as we turn the boat back around. This is looking bad all of a sudden. Sure enough he takes us up the seam and then intentionally turns the boat sideways into the hole pitching everyone out of the boat. My friends tell me that he was already jumping out before flipping the boat. He wanted to make sure we had a good experience. But the kayakers were right there and we all managed to get the boat flipped back over and recovered everyone.

After lunch the safety kayakers took off because there were no more rapids and it was simply a calm float down the river. Calm until we saw the crocodile that is. It was sunning itself on the rocks and when we came by it slid into the water and disappeared. The croc was maybe four or five feet long, but if you heard our friend Cassandra tell the story it was about 20 feet long and breathing fire as it came after our raft and we had to beat it off with our oars.

But it truly was a fun and awesome time on the river. The guides were all very good and everyone in the outfit was paying attention to us and our safety. Will I do it again? Sure. But I’m hoping I don’t get pitched out next time…..

Zip Line Canopy Tour
Another tour that we did was zip-lining in the canopy of the rain forest. A zip-line is a steel cable that is suspended between two platforms. You are in a small climbing harness of sorts and you secure yourself to the cable with a very small pulley and let it carry you between the two platforms.

This was a really fun tour because you are about 90 feet up and really in the treetops at any given time. We had one girl with us that was absolutely terrified and wore a strange mask of fear mixed with a smile. Admittedly, the first time you zip-line it’s kind of sketchy because you are stepping out over a ledge above a tree, river, etc. and the only thing holding you up there is a little tiny steel cable, a carabiner and your harness.

Once you get over the initial fear and learn to trust your gear and the guides it gets fun really fast. You have to climb and hike a bit to get up in the canopy, but once you are there it’s a lot of zip-lines to get around. The guides were very strict about safety and you were not allowed to touch your own gear (least you unhook something and fall). Even the guides were very serious about staying fastened to something at all times. Out on the zip-line you could get moving fairly quickly and a quick glance around made it seem as if you were just “in the middle” of this beautiful forest.

During the tour we also got a chance to do a couple of free rappels from tree platforms down to other platforms. This scared some of us more than others, but the big terrifying event was a Tarzan-like swing between two platforms. Figure that you are between 80 and 90 feet up. You are standing on a platform in one tree, and you are going to grab a rope and swing Tarzan-style to another platform in another tree. Of course, you are hooked on to the rope so you can’t really fall but for some reason this terrified people far more than anything else we did that day. I was OK with it as I used to do stuff like this all the time as a kid but for some of our group it was the thought of it being a rope and not a steel cable that scared them. The girl that was terrified of everything else literally screamed out in fear as she swung from one platform to the other. I was in tears I was laughing so hard at that that point. Yes, I am a bastard as I found it highly entertaining. But I have to admit, this girl was pretty much terrified the whole time but she did it. That takes cajones!

The only thing I was even remotely disappointed in with the tour was that it was all about the zip-lines and having fun. There wasn’t much in the way of pointing out the flora and fauna of the forest, and I can’t recall seeing any animals of significance during the tour.

We all agreed that the photographers drove us batty. They managed to get some good pictures and that was a good thing, but they really could have toned it down some and allowed us to experience things without feeling like we had to “smile” and “look at me” the whole time.



Horse Back Riding

The last tour we did the day before we left. This was a very gentle horseback ride up a pretty sketchy road through the rainforest. The horses were family owned and we heard that they were all treated very well and only had to do one tour every three days. The family was nice and began our tour with the traditional rice and beans with eggs and a tortilla for breakfast.

After that we met our mounts and took off up the road. When I say took off, it was a nice and slow relaxing pace. Finally we had a chance to look around and take our time checking things out without someone driving past as we looked out the window. Our guide seemed to understand this and we had some good conversations about how this was what made the tour very enjoyable.

After a while we came upon a cut-out in the forest and our guide led us up a trail. This trail was barely wide enough for one horse and it seemed like you could get hurt pretty bad if your horse decided to take a wrong-step. I was thinking that this must be similar to what it’s like taking a mule into the Grand Canyon.

At the end of the trail was a beautiful waterfall. We all went for a swim and the guide took plenty of pics for us. At this particular river the water was mostly fed from a natural spring but during the rainy season it would be fed by runoff of the higher mountains. The whole area that we were swimming in would be under water and the waterfall itself would engulf the surrounding walls and vegetation.


The ride back was non eventful, but again that is exactly what we all wanted. Simple and relaxing. It started raining while we were at the falls so we just let it rain on us. We were already wet, why not? We did find it amusing that while on the way back we passed another tour that was on ATV four-tracks and they had their ponchos on and were trying to stay dry. Why you would want to take a four-wheeler up in there is beyond me. Our guide offered us the ponchos that were tied on our saddles several times and we all refused. We enjoyed having it rain on us. We were in the rain forest after all. There was a certain peace and symmetry with this. I think our guide appreciated this as this was his home and his way of life.

Just Chilling

Otherwise, the rest of our time was pretty much spent relaxing at the house with an occasional walk to a restaurant or the beach. I ended up cooking most nights, but that was fine by me as I usually had someone making me a beverage and I didn’t have to help clean up. Dinners were usually had outside and we all enjoyed each others company. We did walk down to the national park of Manuel Antonio one afternoon and hiked up The Cathedral, which is a natural peninsula. It had a pretty good elevation difference with the beach and you could get some really good views from the top. We also saw a number of types of vegetation and critters that we hadn’t seen yet. Some of these included lizards, geckos, crabs, mushrooms, flowers, and of course up-close-and-personal monkeys.

After the hike we ended up on a very calm beach and all took turns taking a swim in the cool waters. There wasn’t much in the way of waves as the beach was fairly well protected by the rocks and other land masses. This helped cool us all off before we took off and hiked back to the house. It was downhill getting to the park, but it was all uphill going back. At least we were getting our exercise in.

The day we left it was raining and had been all night. It was supposed to rain for another three or four days. Our driver picked us up early so because there were already reports of felled trees and accidents on the main road back to San Jose. Still, I don’t think our driver drove any less slow or any safer than he did at any other time. At least this time we got to see what we missed on the way in since there was some daylight out.

Costa Rica is a beautiful country with a very diverse panorama. You just have to take your time and stop to smell the flowers.