From coast to coast...."Pura Vida", baby!

Upon returning to Costa Rica after a brief stint back home with friends and family, I met our new travel companion Cora. She had traveled with Celeste throughout Southeast Asia and hails from Maine. We headed off to the coast, camping for a week in Montezuma. There, we hung out with fellow bohemian travelers, ate wonderfully fresh seafood and coconuts from the campsite, swam in the ocean everyday and frolicked (discreetly) naked under a waterfall. While at the campsite, we met the cutest non-homosexual partners (at least as far as we know), showing that man-love is a wonderful thing. The care and attention they had for each other and their slight couple-like bickering was a delight for us.

From there, we hitchhiked to another coastal town and stayed at a horrid surfer hostel, Tranquilo Backpackers. The hostel wasn't great, but it was also the company that lent the ill repute.....ever heard of the stereotypical "surfer dude"? Yep, it exists. We felt that it was odd to be surrounded by what would be considered beautiful men--tanned and buff, usually without shirts--but feel no attraction whatsoever. That would be because of the vacant looks or simplistic conversations, even though many seemed well-meaning and sweet. The general attitude of the surfer dude is purely physical attraction, and luckily there were plenty of women with fake boobs to fulfill that fantasy. The courting display of plumage was interesting to see, if also a little sickening. We were fascinated, but also very happy to leave ; )

Off to the cloud forests of Monteverde did we go, reminding me of alpine areas back home....it was the first time we had to wear our sweaters since leaving rainy Guatemala. There, we nestled into a cozy little hostel with friendly staff that were more than willing to set us up with an Extreme ziplining canopy tour. This was one of the highlights of our trip--zipping across valleys 150 meters up, free-falling on the Tarzan swing until being caught at the last moment and screaming up high into the trees, and lastly.......ziplining the longest and highest cable upside down and spread-eagled!!! Only the pictures can do it justice....

I was able to set up a full-day rafting trip on the Pacuare river and was joined by our friend Shayne who managed to squeeze it in right before he left to go back to Calgary. It was without a doubt one of the best rafting experiences I've had! The water was BIG and many times we had our guide freak us out with an "OMG!!!! GET DOWN!" which he enjoyed doing even when it WASN"T necessary.....except most times it was! Fabulous experience that I won't easily forget : )

From the river, I got a ride with one of the guides to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, to the reggae-filled town of Puerto Viejo. There, I rented a bike (which I named "Aquacita" because of her gorgeous color that matched the clear blue waters) and biked down the coast to Punta Uva. It was the quintessential Caribbean beach with fine white sand and leaning palms. I relished the sunshine and warm waters before returning to town to meet up with Celeste and Cora.

The very next day we began our journey across the border into Panama to Bocas del Toro to celebrate the holidays.....