2011 was my fourth Queen’s Day and somewhat of a reunion between me and 3 friends who all celebrated our first Queen’s Day ever, together, 10 years ago. Sarah, Liz and Annette have been celebrating together ever since, but unfortunately for me, getting back every year has been a little harder. While I lived in Amsterdam I was able to partake in Queen’s Day twice and in 2006 went back for my third. During that trip I made a promise to come back for our 10th anniversary, so when 2011 rolled around I knew I had to be there.

For those of you who have never been, or perhaps have never even heard of Queen’s Day it can be tough to convey the sheer magnitude of this country-wide party, particularly what it’s like in the city of Amsterdam. For months leading up to it, I had been trying to explain things to Mike, but I don’t think he truly understood what he was in for, until he was standing in the midst of it all.

Like every year we gathered at Sarah’s apartment for a hardy breakfast of bagels and orange cocktails (establishing a good base is essential for surviving Queen’s Day). We donned our orange outfits and posed for the obligatory photoshoot, before taking to the streets.

Once you get past all of the orange, one of the first things you’ll notice on Queen’s Day is the vrijmarkt (free market), which is what we North-American’s would essentially call a garage sale. Except, it’s everywhere… One giant, city-wide garage sale. Every piece of available sidewalk, park or street corner will be filled with whatever unwanted household belongings the Dutch can gather up to try and sell. Everything from cassette tapes and dishes to ceramic statues and second, third and even forth-hand clothing. It’s pretty likely that people have been selling the same crap every year since 1970. On our first Queen’s Day, Sarah bought some ridiculous kiddy pool that she carried around with her all day. I think Annette finally made her throw it out 8 months later.

In addition to selling their wares, you’ll often find the Dutchies embracing the arts. Usually by dressing up their children or pets in ridiculous costumes and encouraging them to perform all manner of dance and acrobatic routines, all for a few measly coins. This year’s highlight perhaps being the cat, made famous by dutch film and television, who would pose with you, for the bargain price of €2.00.

As the afternoon wore on we pressed further into the heart of the Jordaan, one of the most popular neighborhoods for Queen’s Day celebrations. The crowds growing thicker by the minute, both on the streets and in the canals, we eventually managed to meet up with some friends of ours from Roatan. Small world I know, but the 4 of them happened to be in the Netherlands, outfitting a tug boat, to return to the Caribbean, so we invited them out for the day. Finding people in the crowds of Queen’s Day can be a difficult task at best, so I was pleased when we finally managed to meet up. Sarah, of course, wasted no time at all, outfitting them with what always seems like an endless supply of orange.

We pressed on, taking in the sights and consuming copious amounts of beer and assorted orange cocktails. Eventually we made our way to a house party, for a short-lived but much needed break from the crowds. A chance to rest our feet and mingle a bit without fear of getting separated in the streets.

From there we carried on. Towards Dam Square and eventually the Red Light District. We ate poffertjes, crochets and friets. We drank more beer and we walked. As expected events started to blur, day turned into night and before I knew it another Queen’s Day was over.

It was great to be back again. To celebrate with old friends and new. To have one more Queen’s Day together the four of us. I’m not sure where we’ll all be come next April 30th, but you can bet I’ll be reminiscing about the great day we had this year!

Read the original article here: Koninginnedag / Queen’s Day 2011

Related posts:

1. The great blog catch up of 2011

Pretty much all of the dive shops or resorts on the island can book the Shark Dive for you, but if you’re short on time it might be a good idea to book this in advance, especially if you’re coming in high season, or on a cruise ship day. We purposely booked on a non-cruise ship day, and got really lucky as our group of 6 were the only ones scheduled for that day.

We arrived at Waihuka Dive Center on a beautiful sunny morning. We’d had quite a bit of rain over the previous few weeks, so the clear skies and calm waters only added to our excitement. After a few quick introductions we set up our gear and headed inside for a detailed briefing of the upcoming dive. The staff at Waihuka are professional yet friendly, and take their time to explain everything so you know exactly what to expect..

The dive site, Cara a Cara, which translates to ‘face to face’, is just a quick 10 minute boat ride from Waihuka’s shop in Coxen Hole. Usually there is quite a bit of current so a line is used to help you descend down to a sandy patch at the edge of the reef at about 18m (60ft), which backs on to a coral wall . The day we arrived however, we had near perfect conditions and no current at all, so we back-rolled in and descended without the line.

As we neared the sandy patch there were already several sharks swimming about. We all lined up, kneeling with our backs to the wall, snapping pictures as the sharks swam in front of us. After about 5 minutes the divemaster gave us the signal that we could swim freely among the sharks. In total there were about 12-14 Caribbean reef sharks swimming right up and around us, each about 2m to 3m long. It was amazing to see them swimming so calmly among us, and I could hardly believe how close they came, often within a foot or two before veering off in another direction.

After about 10 minutes or so of swimming among the sharks, the divemaster called us all back over to the wall, and the pulled the pin on the bucket of fish heads he brought down with him. This set the sharks into a feeding frenzy as they each tried to get in for a bite. One was so intent on getting a little snack that the bucket got stuck on his head. With in seconds it was all over and the bucket was empty. The lucky few who managed to get a bite darted off happily while a few others stuck around in hopes of more. As the sharks started to disperse we spent a few more minutes swimming around with them while the divemaster and Alex searched around the bucket looking for lost teeth. I was too busy getting in a few last minute pictures, but Alex managed to find two teeth and was nice enough to share with me.

As we ascended up towards the surface it was smiles all around. Our safety stop was filled with big expressions and enthusiastic double OKs, and as soon as we broke the surface, multiple cries of “Oh my god! That was awesome!” filled the boat. We all climbed back on board grinning from ear to ear enjoying the sunny ride back to Coxen Hole.

Read the original article here: Roatan Shark Dive with Waihuka Dive Center

Related posts:

1. Shark Dive Video – Roatan, Honduras
2. Learning to Dive in the Philippines
3. 2 weeks vacationing and diving in Belize

The first cenote we dove was called ‘The Pit’. An hour drive from Playa del Carmen towards Tulum and then down a rough dirt road into the jungle, you arrive and quickly put on your gear to hide from the mosquitoes. There’s a 2 minute walk to the lip of the cenote which is about 10-15m across, then prepare yourself for an 8 meter drop to the water below. If I were to do this site again, I’d insist on having my gear lowered down by the pulley system, or I’d even throw my gear down separately. Kelly got a nice bruise from a regulator to the nose, and when I jumped in the crotch strap on my BCD was none too kind.

Once you’re in and gear checks are complete you rapidly descend down to 35m where there’s a cloud of hydrogen sulphide separating the freshwater and saltwater halocline. The cloud is created from rotted vegetation and smells of sulpher as you pass through it. At 40m you’re supposed to be below the cloud but it was unbelievably thick with nearly zero visibility on that day, so we weren’t able to find the human bones and pottery shards that are supposed to be laying along the bottom of a crevice.

Just to add some excitement to our near blind adventure, it was then that I realized I was ‘narced’ for the first time. Nitrogen Narcosis is vaguely like being drunk underwater with a feeling of elation, impairment, and numbness. Narcosis generally occurs when diving deeper than 30m and is caused by the increased solubility of the gas you’re breathing at greater depths. There’s no real danger to divers who are narced as long as they’re aware of the situation. Ascending to lesser depths reverses the condition, so I made a ‘drinky-drinky’ motion to Kelly, letting her know I was a little tipsy and we started to climb back above the acid cloud. Still, it was an interesting minute or two trying to determine which way was up and out in near zero visibility while my head spun round and round. :)

Emerging from the cloud, looking up, you’ll see the most amazing rays of sunshine filtering down from above. We rejoined our group and did a multi-tiered ascent, exploring the various cave pockets, tree roots, and stalactites. After a safety stop, we surfaced, attached our gear to the pulley, then climbed up a section of the wall, back to the lip of the cenote. Whew! That one was quite the adventure.

Our next dive was just a few minutes back along the dirt road at Dos Ojos (Two Eyes). While The Pit is exactly that, a big pit… Dos Ojos is a huge series of interconnected cave systems. Popular with both snorklers, cenote divers, and cave divers there’s a well marked rope system that leads cenote divers through the caves. It’s a significantly shallower dive at around 8-12m as you swim between stalagmites and stalactites, peering back into the dark caves with your flashlight and wondering what might live outside the reaches of it’s beam. It’s spooky, but amazingly beautiful at the same time. Watching the sun filter down as you enter a cavern that opens up above. Swimming through openings carved into the rock over thousands and thousands of years by the slowly moving waters. There’s even these low pitched echoes thrumming through the water. My guess was it was cars passing above us and the sound coming down through the stone. After 45 minutes we were back at the entry point and my teeth were chattering. That freshwater gets cold! I highly recommend a 5mm+ wetsuit if you’ve got one.

A few weeks later we decided to do another day of cenote dives. Our first dive took us to Cenote Angelita (Little Angel), just outside of Tulum. Similar to The Pit, it is a wide, deep, sinkhole descending down to 2 shelves. One at 60m and another at around 35m. After a short walk from the truck, there’s a small jump of a couple meters into the water. We dove down on the side going down to 35m, descending through the hydrogen sulphide cloud. This time we were able to get below and look up at the swirling mists above. And even from above the cloud, there’s an amazingly spooky view of root systems on a little island surrounded by clouds.

Our next dive was at Grand Cenote. Similar to Dos Ojos, it was shallow and through many interconnected cave systems. Good buoyancy and fin control is necessary on these types of dives. One of the other divers was kicking up a lot of silt and we had to wait for it to settle so we could see where we were going. At one point we got into a nice bowl cavern and turned off all our lights, just watching the natural light play in the water.

All in all, we had 4 great dives and I’d highly recommend cenote diving around Tulum, Mexico. They were feature dives for each of us and a really nice change of pace with stunning views to be experienced and captured.

So, if you’re not claustrophobic and are diving Cozumel. Take a day off the reef and head towards Tulum for an underground experience you won’t soon forget. Pack your warmest wetsuit. Don’t forget your torch. Keep an eye out for freshwater cave monsters… and I’m sure you’ll be glad you visited Mexico’s cenotes.

Read the original article here: Cenote Diving, Tulum, Mexico

Related posts:

1. The Ruins of Tulum, Mexico
2. 2 weeks vacationing and diving in Belize
3. Scuba Diving in Roatan, Honduras

Unlike most of the people we know, this is our first time to the Mayan Rivera. It seems like most of our friends at one time or another have done a package trip here, and have ended up visiting Tulum. Most people say it’s a “must-do”, so one Saturday when the dive boat was full we decided to check it out.

Getting to Tulum from Playa Del Carmen was really easy. We took a quick 20 peso ($1.60 CAD) taxi from our apartment to the ADO bus terminal, where we caught the bus to Tulum, for another 58 pesos ($4.70 CAD) each. The bus ride itself is air conditioned and very comfortable. It’s about an hour and a half ride from Playa, and the bus drops you right at the entrance to the Ruins. From there you can either walk the 5-8 mins to the main gate, or you can pay 20 pesos and take the little shuttle.

By the time we got there, the tour buses were already out in full force. We paid our 63 pesos ($5.10 CAD) admission and made our way to the entrance at the side of the grounds. First impressions were a little disappointing. I’m not entirely sure what I was expecting, but I guess I just thought as a whole it would be a little more substantial.

The setting is beautiful, with the backdrop of turquoise blue waters, white sand and palm trees, but the place is crawling with people! The ruins themselves are quite small, and all cordoned-off, so you can’t get very close. The grounds are overly manicured and there is very little shade, so wear lots of sunscreen and don’t forget your water. To be perfectly honest I was more interested in the dozens of iguanas and lizards that roam the grounds than I was with the actual ruins.

From the edge of the cliff there is a staircase that winds down to a cute little beach, which would be a perfect place to cool off if it weren’t for the hoards of people with the same idea. Mike and I took one look and the crowed water and decided to take a pass in favor of a cold beer and some lunch.

All-in-all we were in and out of there in about 45mins. We headed into the town of Tulum, and found a great little restaurant with some of the best ceviche we’ve had since we’ve been in Mexico. We took a little stroll down the main street of Tulum, and then caught the bus back to Playa.

I have to admit that even though we weren’t blown away by the ruins themselves, I’m glad we went. It was a nice day out and a change from our usual life of working and diving. Now I can check it off my list as something we’ve done and not have to wonder what we might have missed.

Read the original article here: The Ruins of Tulum, Mexico

Related posts:

1. Cenote Diving, Tulum, Mexico
2. Living in Playa Del Carmen
3. Siquijor

When we arrived in Placencia, we didn’t realize it was coming into low season and rainy season. For most of our 2 weeks, it’s rained a little on some days and a lot on others. We’re also often the only people in the beachfront resort hotel we’re staying in. So we’ve had a staff of 10+ taking care of us each day as we lounge by the pool when the weather cooperates.

We’re staying a 2 minute drive out from the village in Placencia. It’s quiet, and a bit removed from even the slow pace of town. There’s little to do but sit on beach chairs watching the pelicans flying by, or going for a swim in the pool. Our tans have vastly improved.

Last Friday we went for a day of diving with Seahorse Divers around Laughing Bird Caye. 30 minutes away by speedboat; we dropped off some snorklers at the Caye, then proceeded out to Pompion Caye Wall. It’s was a steep and deep wall dive down to 30m and the wall continues down into the blue. We saw 3 large moray eels, a couple big lobsters and crabs, and a few barracudas. We also saw a huge eagle ray cruising below us while doing our safety stop.

During the quick trip back to Laughing Bird Caye for lunch some dolphins showed up to play in our wake. The boat was stopped and we grabbed fins and masks and jumped into the water. They weren’t shy in the least, swimming right below us and circling us as we free dove down a few meters to get closer. For about 10 minutes we chased them around the boat while they made their clicking chatter noises and played amongst us. Swimming with wild dolphins has been on our wish list for a long time and it really made the day memorable.

After lunch the boat took us around the other side of Laughing Bird Caye and we dove the sloping reef and sandy patches. Visibility had worsened considerably to the point where it looked like it was snowing underwater. We found a few arrow crabs, cleaner shrimp, and a toad fish which I’ve never seen before.

A week of laying in the sun and running from the clouds later, we came back to Seahorse to do the whale shark dive. A few days before the full moon and until the quarter moon each May the snappers spawn which draws the whale sharks to Placencia to feed. We rode over some choppy waves for an hour to Gladden Spit, checked in with the rangers and then jumped into the blue searching for schools of snapper and hopefully a whale shark! We dropped down to about 20m and swam our asses off… against current, trying to keep up with the schools of fish. We saw snappers spawning below us, but no whale sharks drifting up from the blue.

We surfaced and headed into the shallows for lunch. We had a bite to eat, a little snorkel around the sandy patches, and then a call came over the radio that they had spotted a whale shark on the surface. We sped out to the site and jumped into the water with our masks and fins. 10m away was a 3-4m whale shark with four or five remoras tagging along. It was only there for a minute and we swam frantically to keep up with it in on the choppy surface before it dove back down into the blue.

We did our last dive hoping to meet up with the whale shark, but it wasn’t meant to be. We saw schools of horse eyed jacks, and some big barracudas and trigger fish were swimming along with us, but apparently we’d only snorkel with one of the giants that day.

We headed home elated, but still shy of our goal of seeing a fully grown whale shark at depth. Halfway there, one of our engines ran out of gas and we had to hang out in the shelter of a nearby group of mangroves while we waited for some additional fuel to be driven out to us, rather than risk the possibility of losing the other engine in the rougher waters. An hour later we were home, happy, and exhausted.

We’re hanging out in Belize for a couple more days before heading up to Belize City to fly over to Mexico. You know, it’s whale shark season in Mexico from June till September. ;)

Read the original article here: 2 weeks vacationing and diving in Belize

Related posts:

1. Week 33: Last week on Koh Tao
2. Week 47: Diving Sipadan and Mabul
3. Roatan Shark Dive with Waihuka Dive Center

On our last week in Tamarindo, I ended up with the first souvenir of our year and a half on the road. I took a pottery class and learned the traditional art of making Chorotega Pottery.

Chorotega Pottery can be found everywhere throughout Costa Rica’s Guanacaste province. From gift shops to beach hawkers, this traditional form of pottery is one of Costa Rica’s most popular souvenirs (next to coffee of course). It’s ancient methods have been passed down from generation to generation and are still used today to make beautifully intricate pieces.

I spent a couple of days at the Tamarindo Pottery Studio making my very own piece. It was all done with a hand wheel and traditional tools like corn husks, plus a lot of help from Arbin, who owns the shop.

If you find yourself in Costa Rica, and are looking for a unique experience I highly recommend spending a few days with Arbin in his studio. I had a great time, and ended up with a piece I’m really proud of, that will forever remind me of our six months in Costa Rica. What more could you want in a souvenir?

You can see more pictures and learn more about the studio and my experience over at my craft blog TalkCraftyToMe.com.

Read the original article here: Handmade Souvenir in Costa Rica

Related posts:

1. Week 56: Costa Rica and our “Casa del Surf”
2. Costa Rica Budget
3. From Tamarindo, Costa Rica to Roatan, Honduras

We ran over the basic controls; pretty familiar for a motorcycle rider, and took the ATVs for a quick test lap around the property. Because of the lack of counter steering on an ATV, it wasn’t immediately as intuitive for me as a motorcycle, but I got the hang of it soon enough.

We took off at a beginners pace, driving on some fairly simple dirt roads and a bit of tarmac. We then crossed a washed out road full of water and began tackling some more challenging inclines, ruts, and loose gravelly sections. Pushing through one particular puddle, I splashed water up onto the engine which super heated it and then onto my bare legs. Ouch! Shortly after, Kelly got a little over ambitious and ended up in the bushes for a bit. A few prickles, but no real harm done.

We drove on for about an hour, picking up speed and confidence as we went, eventually arriving at our destination: “Bahia de los Piratas” – Pirate Beach, a small beach amongst the cliffs east of Tamarindo. We we’re covered in dust and everyone in our group of 8 had a spectacular dirt beard, so we stripped down to our swim gear and plunged into the surf.

On the trip home, I opened up the ATV a bit more. Racing through some mud, over some craggy steep hills, and even a few small jumps, drifting, and power slides. All in all, it was a great excursion and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who needs a little fuel injected fun.

Read the original article here: Our ATV Tour from Tamarindo

Related posts:

1. Learning to surf at Tamarindo Beach
2. Nicaragua Visa Run from Tamarindo
3. From Tamarindo, Costa Rica to Roatan, Honduras

Saturday came around and Kelly and I wandered down to the beach to find that a huge swell had come in and the usual 1-3 foot waves had turned into some monster 5-7 foot waves and bigger! I wandered into a surf shop to see if a lesson was doable in those conditions and they convinced me that by 3pm things would probably have calmed down a bit.

Normal wave size:

Freakishly large wave size:

3pm came around and not much had changed on the intimidating surf front, but I went ahead anyway since I had already paid and gotten my free t-shirt. I put my rash guard on and had a quick briefing on the finer points of surfing like the importance of covering your face if you stand too close to the front of the board causing the nose end to bury in the sand, converting a surf board into a catapult…

The two other students and I entered the water, pushing our boards ahead of us over the first few waves. After a few attempts at standing up on the board as the instructor pushed us ahead of the surf, it was apparent that I have absolutely no sense of balance. The other two students were fairing much better than I was, so the instructor went back to the shop to get me a bigger (the biggest) board.

For the next hour and a half, I managed to get up on my mammoth surfboard 8 or 10 times, more often ending up doing a push-up to back flop into the water. The few times I did get up, it was a relatively short ride due to the crowd of other tourists in the water. But really, I was exhausted after the first half hour of fighting that beast of a board out through the huge waves to a point where I could hop on.

I’ll be giving it another go in the near future since it wasn’t ideal conditions for learning this time out. All in all, my first surfing attempt was generally a frustrating and tiring experience. I walked away from it with some skinned knees, a tweaked shoulder, and considerably more respect for those people who made it seem so effortless from afar.

Read the original article here: Learning to surf at Tamarindo Beach

Related posts:

1. Week 59 & 60: Chillin’ in Tamarindo
2. From Tamarindo, Costa Rica to Roatan, Honduras
3. Our ATV Tour from Tamarindo

On Thursday evening we set out on a Turtle Tour in hopes of seeing a nesting Leatherback Turtle on Playa Grande. Playa Grande’s three mile stretch of beach is part of the Las Baulas National Marine park, one of the largest Leatherback Turtle nesting sites in the world, and is strictly regulated in order to help protect the turtles.

We weren’t really sure what to expect from the tour, or how likely we were to actually see a turtle. When we booked the tour that afternoon, the tour office was boasting of turtles the size of cars, and how they saw 2 the night before. When we arrived at the ranger station however, our perspectives were slightly adjusted when we learned that in all of last year’s nesting season (October to March) they had only seen 32 turtles.

Never the less, after a 15 minute briefing, we set out on the tour (with a lot more people than we expected). We boarded a small boat for a short ride across the Tamarindo Estuary. When we reached the other side, one of the Ranger’s shined his flashlight on the beach, and scared off a small crocodile. Flashlights and cameras are not allowed so we waited in the dark as the boat went back for the other half of the group. We then followed one of the rangers single file about half a kilometer along a very dark path to the ranger station on Playa Grande.

Then the waiting began…

Every evening the rangers patrol the three mile stretch of beach keeping their eyes out for turtles. When they spot one, they radio to the ranger station letting them know where it is, and how far into the nesting process it is. On the night we were there, we’d been waiting for about 3 and a half hours when the call finally came through the radio. At this point it was already 12:30am, and we were just beginning to give up.

One of the rangers gathered everyone together and explained that the turtle was about a kilometer and a half down the beach and that only 15 of us would be allowed able to go. Fifteen is the park enforced limit for the number of people allowed to view any one turtle at a time. We had been told this when we booked the tour, and had also been told we would be in the first group. Problem was, everyone else had been told the same thing.

From this point on the tour went downhill…

The ranger decided that the best way to determine who would go, would be to draw numbers. If you got one of the first 15 you got to go, however then someone asked “What about couples?” so they changed it… if you got one of the first 7 you and your partner could go. We were unfortunately 3 people so weren’t exactly sure how this was gonna work. Anyway… we drew numbers and I got #2, which meant that Mike and I would both be in the group going.

After drawing all the numbers and everyone coupling up, Lauren deduced that there were only 14 people, so just hung out beside us, in hopes that she could tag along as the 15th person. Since the turtle was about 1.5km it would take about half an hour to walk there in the dark. At this point is was already almost 1am, and understandably, the people who weren’t in the group going, wanted to be taken back to Tamarindo rather than wait for an another hour and a half for us to return. The rangers said that wasn’t possible and that they’d have to wait, naturally a bit of an argument started. They Ranger then said if we couldn’t all agree no one would go…. In the end it didn’t matter, because during all the time that was wasted deciding who would go and arguing, the turtle had finished it’s business and we all missed it.

All-in-all it was a little disappointing… not the fact that we didn’t get to see a turtle, but the chaos and the disorganization of the tour it self. Anyway…

* * * * * *

Saturday afternoon was “Booze-Cruise” time. We arrived at the beach, and once again found far more people than we expected. We waited in turn while they shuttled everyone out to the large catamaran in small groups. Luckily we were in the second group so were able to wait with drinks in hand for the rest of the passengers to board. We then set sail towards Playa Flamingo.

We were several Piña Coladas in when we started to notice that quite a few of the passengers were expats, and that a lot of them seemed to know each other. We had another drink, and didn’t think much of it. We headed towards a little bay and all jumped in for a swim and a snorkel… unfortunately there were quite a few jellyfish and both Lauren and Mike got stung. So it was back to the boat for another drink. Booze helps jellyfish stings… right?

By lunch we had started to realize that no one else was really drinking (the boat was all-inclusive and had a stocked bar) and found it a bit strange that someone had stopped the entire boat before eating lunch to say grace. Again we put it out of our mind and had another drink. However, then came the guitars…. and the Jesus songs. Suddenly it all made sense, and we found out that were were the only people on the boat (with the exception of 3 girls who didn’t speak english) not part of the church group.

So we had a few more drinks and we headed back to Tamarindo, enjoying the beautiful sunset.

We stayed on board as they shuttled the church group to shore, and had a drink with the crew, the music was finally turned on, and Lauren got her Salsa on!

That night we made the rounds to a couple of bars in town and had several more drinks before calling it a night.

Sunday was not only recovery day, but moving day for us, and Lauren’s last day in Costa Rica. Mike and I had to switch apartments cause the one we were in had been rented for a couple of weeks, but it was just across the courtyard, and we don’t have much stuff so wasn’t too bad. That night we had a great last dinner with Lauren, and said our goodbyes. It was a really fun couple of weeks and so nice to see a familiar face.

Read the original article here: Week 63: Lauren’s Last Week

Related posts:

1. Week 58: Settling In
2. Week 59 & 60: Chillin’ in Tamarindo
3. Week 62:
   A Visitor, a Volcano, and a couple of Van rides

Wednesday was her first full day here, which actually coincided with a scheduled town-wide power outage. Since we couldn’t get any work done, we really had no option but to make it a beach day. The morning started off a little overcast, but by the afternoon it was gorgeous and sunny, and we all got a little burnt. Ooops! To cool off and get out of the sun, we headed to the patio at Witch Rock Surf Camp for some cold beers and a late lunch. Unfortunately the power outage made the menu selection a little thin, and Lauren wasn’t able to fill her craving for Witch Rock’s famous “Nachos as big as your ass”, but we made due with what was available and added nachos to our list of things to do next week.

On Thursday we had a full on work day to make up for the mid-week day off, and also in order to finish up some stuff so we could get away for a long weekend. Lauren had a lazy day at our pool, and finished off the first of the many books she’d brought with her.

Our plans for the weekend came together pretty last minute. We avoided booking anything early as Mike wasn’t sure he was going to be able to get away for four days. But he managed to get everything done, and we promised to find a hotel with wifi in case anything came up. Unfortunately, since we’d left it so late the public shuttle from Tamarindo to Arenal was full. Instead we had to take a private shuttle which was a bit more expensive, but also meant we didn’t have to get up early and could leave when we wanted.

Arenal is about a 4 hour drive from Tamarindo, and is known as the “adventure capital” of Costa Rica. Arenal Volcano National Park is chalk full of adrenaline pumping things to do. From canopy tours and bungee jumping to whitewater rafting and waterfall rappelling. There are also horseback tours and hiking trails and of course to relax after a hard day, several volcano-fed hot-springs.

We arrived at our hotel around 3 o’clock Friday afternoon, and after booking a couple of tours for the next day we kicked back and enjoyed several beers and the beautiful view of Arenal Volcano.

The next morning we were picked up bright an early and headed to Arenal’s Sky Trek, a canopy tour that criss-crosses it’s way through the Arenal Reserve. After suiting up in climbing harnesses, helmets and some slightly smelly gloves, we boarded the Sky Tram Gondola for a 20 minute ride up into the reserve.

It wasn’t till we reached the top and saw the length and height of the highest cable that the adrenaline started to kick in. The first 2 cables were just little baby ones to get you used to things, and give you the option to chicken out at take the gondola back down. The 3rd one, however, the point of no return, was a completely different story. 656 feet high, and 1550 feet across the reserve, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous.

Some how I ended up going first out of the 3 of us. My heart was definitely pounding as I stood on the platform getting clipped onto the cable. A little push and a slight scream, and there’s no turning back! I had done a canopy tour the first time I was in Costa Rica, about 6 years ago, but this one was definitely higher, and definitely longer.

After the initial few seconds the nerves let up a little and you can enjoy the ride. The first cable only takes about 30 seconds to cross and before you know it you’re flying into the next platform hoping the cables will actually stop you. Lauren and Mike were up next, and I had just enough time to get my camera out to snap a few pics as Lauren & Mike came flying in after me.

There are 8 cables in all, and to be honest, once you conquer your nerves on the first one the rest are a breeze. The views of lake Arenal, are beautiful and even though the top of the volcano was hidden by clouds it was still pretty amazing.

After an adrenaline filled morning, we headed back to our hotel to kick back by the pool and have some lunch. Later that afternoon we went on a volcano walk, to get a bit closer and in hopes of seeing some volcanic action. However, despite being one of the 10 most active volcano’s in the world we didn’t get so lucky. The first thing our guide told us was that we wouldn’t see any lava, and that this was the least active time of the year for Arenal. He then proceeded to give us a mini-science lesson for the rest of the hike, which was a bit more information that I think any of us needed or wanted. I suppose they felt they had to give us something to make us feel like we got our money’s worth.

Sunday morning was another early one. We had a transfer booked from Arenal to Monteverde, via the “Jeep-Boat-Jeep” tour advertised everywhere. It actually turned out to be more of a “Van-Boat-Van” trip, but the boat was definitely a nice way to break it up. The trip took a little over 3 hours and included a coffee stop where Lauren and I sat on a Bull.

That night we went on a night hike, which was actually pretty fun. We saw 6 coatis (part of the raccoon family), 3 tarantulas, one of which had a nest of little baby tarantulas, some birds, and frog, a praying mantis, and lots of other insects. Our guide was really great, pointing out lots of stuff we’d never have seen on our own, and giving us just enough information without being overwhelming.

After a couple of early mornings, we decided to just sleep in on Monday. Instead of going on another hike we wandered around Monteverde, and visited the Frog Pond, World of Insects and the Serpentario. All three were really great, but I think our fav was the Serpentario. The guide was great, and we got to hold several reptiles including a Boa Constrictor.

Our shuttle picked us up that afternoon. We grabbed some beer and some snacks for the ride and headed back to Tamarindo. It was a great little get away, and good to finally do a couple of touristy things.

Stay tuned for the rest of Lauren’s visit.

Read the original article here: Week 62:
A Visitor, a Volcano, and a couple of Van rides

Related posts:

1. Week 63: Lauren’s Last Week
2. Week 26: Kuala Lumpur
3. Week 51: Hello Vancouver