I found a Costa Rica Adventure Tour on Groupon, and had never done a vacation this way before. So, I was a little nervous as to what I had gotten us into. But, adventure was in the title, sooo...
We arrived in San José and went to the designated hotel for the night. The next morning we met our guides in the lobby after breakfast. They were delightful and spoke great English, which relieved some of my anxiety about being in a foreign country not knowing the language.
I instantly knew I overpacked when I saw the short but ridiculously strong man packing our luggage on the top of our small-ish tour bus. This bus would be our lone transportation for the next 7 days. And, these 30 strangers would be our makeshift road tip family for the duration, for better or worse.
Our first stop was a historical church in the city center. Pigeons and people moving about aimlessly. The 30 of us wore neon signs that said tourists with cameras at the ready. We only stayed a short time and then went to one of the most beautiful zoo’s I’d ever seen, the Simón Bolívar National Zoological Park and Botanical Garden. The variety of animals, nature trails, plant life, the hummingbird garden, and the buffet style outdoor lunch, were a wonderful way to begin the trip.
I am not a huge coffee person, but Monteverde and Costa Rica make you really appreciate the process, the industry and the variation of the bean. We did the coffee tour and at the end I had some of the best coffee I have ever tasted. The difference in the making of the coffee, and the warming of the milk completely changes the experience. Not to mention the food was outstanding.
White Water rafting on the Balsa River was so much fun. Our rafting guide was great with the kids and had a wonderful personality, while still maintaining safety. This is not an amusement park ride but the natural world. If something goes wrong there are no lifeguards. You have to be smart and safe when you take on risks, especially abroad. But, we all lived, and it was a wonderful experience. At the end of the adventure the guides cracked open watermelons and handed out the chunky pieces. It was really organic and fun. Now, I do watermelons like that at home just to remember.
We headed southeast to Monteverde Cloud Forest and walked the hanging bridges that weave through the misty treetops. The views from the hanging bridges are insane, and the fact that you are where you are, is simply stunning. The tropical plants are huge, colorful, and gorgeous.
After taking a gondola tour to the highest peak, there is no better way to enjoy the vastness of the elevation than to hook yourself up to a metal string and zipline down. Right? Ok, it was AWESOME! And, we LOVED it! It was not only beautiful, but exhilarating!
Along the way we also discovered how to make grain alcohol out of sugar cane, took a dip in the hot springs in the middle of the jungle, put our toes in the water of numerous sandy beaches, played a little soccer, and played with horses, ate a massive amount of wonderful food, and met really nice, and interesting people.
It was a gamble, so I was delighted it turned out so well. We had an amazing time. And, I loved that I chose Adventure for our family. It gave us so much to do, see, and enjoy. We made family memories that will last a lifetime. This was shortly before the pandemic so we appreciate this time away together even more now.
To wrap things up, it was back to the airport, and back to reality.
Note: I was able to communicate with the trip organizers that I have a gluten allergy and they were able to let all the scheduled restaurants on the tour know ahead of time. Also, because so much is fresh food I have no reactions the whole trip.
Our cities: San José, Arenal Volcano area, Guanacaste Monteverde, and Playa Hermosa
I am a writer, producer, content creator, professor, adventure seeker. and sadly, I've had to be gluten-free for over 15 years. So, I am kind of an expert. I am passionate about, or maybe obsessed with, entertainment and my latest binges, my favorite gluten-free foods, projects and design, and adventure. And, I'll sprinkle in social commentary.
Because somethings need to be said Out Loud.
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