Monday, February 13, 2012

travelled and feel like myself again

Travel can do wonders for your soul. For me, I caught the travel bug a long time ago in my early 20s and have been trying to travel to many far off places as much as possible. I did not go anywhere in 2011, so when 2o12 came, I felt the itch. I chose to go with G Adventures to Costa Rica on a 9 day tour.

I met some wonderful people who had similar interests as me and we all got along great. It was great to be able to be myself, and not feel like I couldn't keep up with the group, or feel judged in any way because of what I didn't know, or have not yet experienced. It was so wonderful to be able to go out dancing with people who just wanted to have fun, not worry about being picked up or trying to avoid creepy guys.

We moved every 2 days, so there was quite a bit of travelling by bus, but we got to see 4 cities in Costa Rica which highlighted what they are most known for.

The group met in San Jose, and left promptly for LA FORTUNA. You can see the ARENAL VOLCANO from everywhere. It is the most active on in the country. Canyoning (rappelling down waterfalls) is the main adventure gig here.

We headed to MONTEVERDE. The cloud forest is the main attraction here. We went ziptrekking, which was the highlight of the trip for me. Totally cheap compared to North American standards. With the hanging bridges, it only cost $70 USD. It was 13 zip lines and 8 bridges.

We also had a tour of a coffee and sugar cane plantation, El Trapiche. Wonderful tour where the entire family of 4 is involved. Great home cooked meal, super tasty sugar and premium peaberry coffee to be had.

We headed for QUEPOS and MANUEL ANTONIO National Park. This was the relaxing part of the entire tour. Super hot, finally, after all the days in the forest. Totally humid too, but that's what we all needed. Beach time and a deep tissue massage for me!

Great friends, new experiences, dancing til late, flaming fingers of sambuca and memories to last a life time.