February 4, 2023
Day 7 & 8: My First Glimpse of the Pacific Ocean and Snorkeling in a Coral Reef
Today is a driving day. We get to sleep in a bit and then meet at Arenal Montechiari restaurant for breakfast at the hotel. We will be driving from La Fortuna, which is in the tropical rain forest, to Jaco, which is in the tropical dry forest on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. No activities are planned for today, but some of the group has decided to do a crocodile tour. I opt out, not wanting to spend the money for something I can do at home, and instead have a couple beers at the Crocodile Tour lounge while the rest of the group goes out on the boat.
Afterward, we decide to stop for lunch at a roadside restaurant. This restaurant looks more like a shack than anything, but it is PACKED and lively. The servers piece together a table for us and we enjoy yet another delicious Costa Rican meal. I had a poblano pepper stuffed with shrimp and cheese. As we take turns going to the register to pay, one of the bartenders approaches me with a shot glass full of red liquid. “Chiliguaro!!” he says, pushing the shot glass in my direction. When in Costa Rica, do as the Costa Ricans do! I cheers the bartender and down the spicy shot, glad to have had the opportunity to try this Costa Rican delicacy.
After lunch, we race to our hotel to get checked in before sunset. Tonight, and for the next three nights, we will be staying at Hotel South Beach in Jaco. This is a beautiful hotel with a beachside pool and bar and direct beach access. We quickly check in and head to the beach to watch the sun go down. We are all amazed at how quickly the sun sets here; this has to do with the proximity to the equator and the fact that the sun goes down nearly vertically instead of at an angle to the earth’s surface.
After sunset, we go into downtown Jaco, to an area known as “Jaco Walk” and pick restaurants individually. Slow and I choose a sushi restaurant, which may seem strange considering we are in Central America, be we are right on the beach and sushi made with fresh fish sounds amazing. And it WAS amazing. We both devour our food and then decide to Uber back to the hotel rather than waiting for the group. We are exhausted from the driving today and ready to turn in early.
February 5, 2023
Today is all about the sea: we will be sea kayaking, having lunch on the beach, snorkeling in a coral reef, and then have individual beach time in the evening. We leave the hotel at 0800 and head out of Jaco, down a dirt road to a little kayaking outpost close to the beach called “Kayak Jaco”. This operation is small but very professional. We are outfitted with PFD’s and paddles and we walk the short distance to the ocean to put in our kayaks. The weather is gorgeous and hot, and we are all excited to be on the water.
We kayak for about an hour over to a beach area, where our guides serve us fresh fruit before we walk over to an area suitable for snorkeling. I’m a little worried about the snorkeling; the last time I tried to snorkel was in Florida in a spring, and I had so much anxiety about my head going under the water that I couldn’t really enjoy myself. I’m worried today is going to be the same, but I decide to give it a go anyway. I’m glad I did, because my anxiety was so much less, even though I was in the ocean with the waves pulling me this way and that. Being able to see the coral and colorful fish is incredible, and too soon it’s time to return to shore for lunch.
The guides from Kayak Jaco have set up a full-on buffet on the small beach when we get back. On the menu today are SANDWICHES and I have never been more excited for a sandwich in my life. The traditional Costa Rican fare we’ve been subsisting on is delicious, don’t get me wrong, but a nice roast beef and turkey sammie on a hoagie was a nice change of pace. Don’t worry, we also had ceviche so it wasn’t all American fare. After lunch we hop back in our kayaks to head back to our hotel to clean up before dinner and enjoy a few free hours by the beach.
The group decides to eat at a restaurant called the “Green Room” but a few of us decide to do our own thing and head to a wood-fired pizza restaurant instead. The pizza is delicious, and afterward everyone goes back to the hotel, wiped out after another day of adventuring and soaking up that Costa Rican sunshine.
Adventure Like A Girl 