La Reserva Natural Absoluta de Cabo Blanco
Trip Start
Oct 10, 2001
1
45
79
Trip End
Feb 19, 2002
Montezuma, Costa Rica
Friday, December 28, 2001
There were about 20 or so other hikers doing the trek with us, separately of course. Juliette was dressed properly for the occasion unlike the time we climbed Volcan Agua. The national park ranger specified that everyone had to be back by 4pm when the gates for the park will be locked. So if given a normal hike, we should have plenty of time to spare. Me and Juliette were the last ones to depart after we studied our maps a little and did some necessary stretching. Neither of us were in tip top shape, and we have not hiked a long distance in a while. This was to test my right leg -- the dog bite wound was almost completely healed by now.
So the first few hundred meter of the hike was a refreshing walk, the track was well worn by other hikers, and on many climbs and descends, there were steps to help us along. As we got further into the forests, people ahead of us and behind us were slowly separated and the sounds of other hikers' step and breathing was replaced by the crisp rain forest air. I could hear the birds play in their kingdom as if we the humans are not noticeable in their world. A light rain started to fall. The sound of rain drops hitting the dense leaves almost startled us as if God has just thrown some of his precious marbles from the sky. We were not wet as most of the rain drops did not penetrate the dense forest cover, but the track was beginning to get slippery and our pace noticeably slowed.
We sat on a fallen log and took a breather halfway through the walk and had a sip of our precious water. We were alone, enjoying the serenity of the Natural Absoluta at its finest. This was also the highest point of the trek, and after 15min of peace, we head down towards the beach. Both of us were exhausted and thirsty by the time we arrived at the beach, the end of the trek. We had a refreshing swim in the pacific, and then laid back on the beach. It was not a white sand beach like in the Yucatan as I imagined, but it was clean and unspoiled. Dead drift logs were everywhere on the beach, and so was footprints left from the small sized crabs running from the tide that was quickly rising.
We refilled our water bottle and headed back around 2:30pm. The return hike was much easier and faster. Juliette did fell in the mud puddle twice as rain made the track very slippery. After finishing our trek, we took the bus back to Montezuma, washed our muddy clothes and had a delicious dinner at a Italian restaurant. Another tired day.
