Thinking of relaxing in natural hot springs? Here is a look at what to expect. This is relaxation at its finest, surrounded by a Volcano and lush jungle. One can really tap into their senses effortlessly in these natural surroundings.
Only a few months pass until I re visited Costa Rica, but
this time I was diving into a week of surf school. I brought along a pal and
together we conquered our goal; to be able to stand up and ride a wave by the
end of the week. We stayed in Tamarindo. Lindsay and I had a blast, it was
right up there with our experience in the jungle homestays. Surfing is
something I have always dreamed of exploring. I love everything about it… the
culture, the lifestyle, the smell of sunscreen, sun kissed skin, palm trees,
ocean, sore muscles, putting wax on a board… I can go on and on. We were
complete rookies, thinking we will have a surf lesson in the morning, then take
the boards out later in the day to practice. After the third day, we were exhausted!
A one and a half hour lesson was plenty for a days efforts, especially when
your body isn’t conditioned for surfing. We were covered in bumps and bruises,
sore muscles and burnt skin, and I loved every minute of it. I was living out
my dream and no one could ever take that away. We surfed in the AM, walked
around the shops of Tamarindo by afternoon and in the evening we were chillin
out to some reggae drinking Imperials. This truly was PuraVida.
The Costa Ricans are so warm, friendly and really live each
day to its fullest. They don’t have much, and they also don’t need much. This
mentality is something I think MANY people in this world can use a heavier
dosage of.
Two weeks of a CR adventure. This is the trip that sparked my
Love for learning how to really travel. I was with Autentico Adventures, a tour
company, which provided local experiences including jungle homestays with
different families hosting us. We learned how to cook with the families, make
sugar from sugar canes, and live a lifestyle that they know as PuraVida. Autentico
wasn’t kidding around, our tour began with a 6-7 hour hike to our first jungle
homestay. Unbelievable views and lush greenery as you take in the earths
elements. The best part of a 6 hour hike is that you are so deep in the jungle
that you can drink the water straight from the waterfalls you pass. I bet you
its way cleaner than the fluoride filled water we drink back home. While in the
jungle we white water rafted down the Sevegre River and had the opportunity to
cleanse ourselves through a natural sauna following the local’s rituals.
After the homestays, we journeyed on some vigorous trails
later to find our end reward be a jaw dropping waterfall embraced by lush
greenery. Behind the waterfall was a cave where we would spend our next 2 nights.
There was something so special about not having electricity or WiFI and going
back to candlelight and fire to live that brought everyone closer together. We
had to entertain ourselves by communicating and using our imaginations to play
games and make music. We fell asleep to the sound of the waterfall and breathed
in nothing but fresh air.
After living in the jungle for over a week, it was time to
end our trip in a couple surf towns along the pacific coast, Dominical and
Uvita. We had options to do some more excursions on our own time or just relax
on the beach. I chose to try my first ever surf lesson in Uvita. I cannot
express how exciting this was for me, as I have always dreamed of a surfer
lifestyle. My favourite movie when it came out was Blue Crush (guilty
pleasure). There was nothing pretty about learning how to surf, besides the
scenery and warm ocean. This was hard, and exhausting. I didn’t realize how
weak my upper body really was. My surf instructor (Gibran from Bodhi Surf) was
super laid back, patient and cared that all of us stood up atleast once on the
white water. My board was MASSIVE so there would be more stability, which only
means I have no excuse to not stand up. Eventually I did, and road a white
water wave to shore. That was all I needed, I was hooked. I knew I had to spend
my last few days in Uvita renting a board and attempt to re live that feeling. A
few friends and I got right to it and had a blast cheering eachother on and
taking pics of eachothers wipeouts. Sadly it was time to return home, but I
knew this wasn’t the last time Costa Rica would see me. I was already brewing a
plan to head back soon to go to Surf School!
I have always been attracted to water and nature. Since a
young age, my family would take us in a motorhome on vacation to Florida. You could always find me near the water, wether it was the pool
or the ocean, I was there. My first trip below the borders of North and South
America was when I was 13, after that, I knew this was the beginning of a love
to travel. Since then I have landed in dozens of countries in the
Caribbean and bits of Central America to soak up as much sun and nature as I
could. I was always up for any excursion and trying most things at least once.
After hitting up as many resorts as I could, I finally came
to the realization that this is not the kind of travel I want to continue
doing. When I sat down and absorbed it all, I wasn’t
REALLY travelling and experiencing the country by spending most of my time in a resort. Everything was always nicely
packaged and pre planned in a fancy building with all the amenities and more.
Don’t get me wrong, I was very fortunate to have experienced what I
experienced, but I began to crave something deeper.
Honduras
I had a taste of Honduras, I stayed in a resort for 2 weeks
and did most of the excursions offered to get a feel for the actual country.
The beautiful part of Honduras is that it is unspoiled, raw, and there are minimal
tourists. I got to hike in the rainforests, explore hot springs and exfoliate
with volcanic mud, go cliff jumping and white water rafting, this was right up my
alley!
Time came to plan my next trip. Since I had such a strong
experience in Honduras, I felt a calling to dive into Costa Rica. That time, I
wasn’t going to stay in a resort at all. Since it was my first trip not doing
the whole resort thing, I wanted the transition to be smooth, therefore I made
sure I had my trip planned out. The best way I knew how to do this while still
experiencing the country was to go down with an adventure travel company.
I searched different companies and the one that caught my
eye was G Adventures. They had a brand new tour available that was off the
beaten path, somewhere in the jungle that involved a lot of trekking and
camping in caves behind waterfalls. SIGN me up! This was so adventurous for me
and every ounce of me said yes, that is what I want. The tour was called Costa
Rica Hidden Trekk, and so began my deeper love for adventure.
When asked to go rock climbing, the answer is whynot!?
I had the privilege today to tryout some indoor rock climbing at Joe Rockheads in Toronto. I went in with no expectations and came out with a new outlook on the whole sport.
I got to watch a few experts show their skills climbing some of these challenging walls, and wow, they sure make it look easy...but it definitely isn't. It's all about planning your route, muscle strength and endurance.