Boats and Mangroves
Trip Start
May 23, 2011
1
3
11
Trip End
Jun 02, 2011
Sierpe, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
The weather was perfect and I stared out onto the horizon in complete awe; snapping pictures of just about every single thing around me. About half way through the ride we stopped to kayak a bit. I was nervous because I had never done any sort of water sport. The comments the professors were making about at least one person in the group flipping over made me believe I would be the one! I got on my kayak and was handed a paddle. Confused, I just moved the paddle like I saw everyone else doing. I got the hang of it fairly quickly and in no time was turning around, going backwards, and stopping on my own. (No one ended up flipping over!). Kayaking through the mangroves a very freeing and amazing feeling. I enjoyed listening to Danny educate us about the two different types of mangroves and their different characteristics. Couldn't get any more hands on learning than that! After about an hour and a half of kayaking everyone got back on the boat and we progressed to Campanario.
Upon arrival of the peninsula I jumped out and looked around me. I felt as if though I had landed on a scene of the television show Lost. My heart was racing with excitement. It was a secluded area with our own private beach! SOMEONE PINCH ME! ^_^ We all helped out unloading our food for the week along with all the heavy luggage. The girls and I ran to check out our rooms and then to explore the beach and all its beauty. A few hundred pictures later we went up on the hill to do our very first bird watching. It was not too much fun because my growling stomach and the heat was too much of a distraction for me to enjoy it. We finally ate lunch and afterwards we ran to the beach to see a couple howler monkeys and my a couple scarlet macaws! I was gazing at both species in amazement of their beauty. After a quick rest we began preparing ourselves for our day hike. I loved how long our days felt because we had already done so much and it was still really early!
Today was our very first hike (3hrs) and I must admit, it was very challenging! I couldn't help but think, "what have I gotten myself into?!" I am NOT the nature/hiking type of girl but that's what this trip was all about. To step out of my comfort zone and have an open mind! And with that kind of mindset I was able to overcome the challenge of the first hike. Drenched in sweat we made our way back to our lodge for a quick break. Then we hiked a short hike to where the bat cave was and waited there until dusk when the bats would be coming out. Sure enough as soon as it was getting dark, one by one, the bats were flying out. They were going so fast it was hard to see them. You could even feel some of them graze by you at times. Definitely a new experience for me!
All I can say is...A COLD SHOWER NEVER FELT SO GOOD!!!!
