4. Ziplining

Our next excursion the following day was a ziplining trip. 

http://www.canopysafari.com/

OMG how much fun is this. I had never been ziplining before. So essentially there is 10 lines of varying lengths strung between the trees at a significant height above the ground.  Throw in a tarzan swing and a couple of rappels (repels?) and you have the makings for loads of fun.  I was quite surprised my legs didnt turn to jelly being so high up in the trees but for some reason I was completely comfortable...more than comfortable with the whole thing.  I was even hanging upside down in the harness a couple of times, intentionally!  The guides were really good fun but also very professional and didnt miss a beat clipping and unclipping us so that we were attached at all times.  The guides thought I was crazy ...imagine that...!  So when one of them said to me.."hey Lynda do you wanna have some fun" on the second rappel I should have gotten suspicious.  Lets just say it was a fast descent..:)!  Too funny.  I think I laughed my way around the whole thing.  It was a blast.  I am definitely doing it again before I leave. 

Oh yeah, they had a butterfly enclosure and a serpentarium too. 

 

1. Getting to Costa Rica

This adventure all started with a voluntary departure from work at the end of November 2010. Then it seemed like a good idea to bring my trip forward a couple of months....eek!  Suddenly there was limited time.

Okay so the plan was pack up my apartment, sell as much as I can, get all my CDs on my ipod, put all the books I want on a kindle (which I didnt have!).  Oh yeah and I was doing the Sydney to Hobart yacht race with the good ship Jazz Player as well!

Sounds simple, right?  Apparently it really takes a long time to pack up a little apartment, particularly when you are shedding as you go..what, how and where to get rid of stuff....Unfortunately due to a southerly buster 'incident' we didnt finish the Sydney to Hobart race.  Noone was injured and relatively minimal damage sustained (ie we still had a mast and a hull) but disappointing given all the effort that goes into preparation for a race like that.

Despite the amount there was to do, and my inclination to be easily distracted, it all got done.  Thanks Alicia :)!  I even had time to catch up with family and some friends before I left.  Thanks to all who put me up when I was homeless before I left, just a reminder Ill be homeless when I come home in April (she says trying to look cute!).

The trip over to Costa Rica was uneventful (or as I remember it anyway, it seems forever ago now!)  I flew Melbourne – Brisbane – LA – Dallas – San Jose without too much waiting time in between. After arriving in at the hotel at San Jose Airport about 10pm (on the same day I left!), it was a door to door trip of about 32 hours.  I felt surprising good...just glad to not have to get on another plane, well not until tomorrow.  I had met up with my friend from the US in Dallas and we got to travel from there to San Jose together.  A fluke in planning that his flight from the US and mine from Australia both went through Dallas.  Although if you ask my travel agent...it was all him...:) thanks James, you did an awesome job! 



But there was one more flight...eek.  This one was a little different.  The flight from San Jose to Quepos is only 25 mins on a little plane that seats about 12 or so.  My friend flies little planes so we sat up the front  to get a good view of what was happening.  He was so excited and even though I dont fly, I was too.  After all, this was my new home for the next 4 months. The scenery on the flight was excellent.  Particularly the banana plantation, which turned out to be the airport....we're going to land where??...:)!  Of course it went without a hitch. I have done this flight twice since then and highly recommend it.



Making our own fireworks on NYE...
handful of sparklers, not a good idea!!



Brunch with Jamie, Alicia, 'arvey and Lily











Gathering at Leigh and Rons



3. Isla del Canos

We said our goodbyes to the rest of the group on the night of the 10th as they left to go Salsa dancing.  Usually we would have done this as well but my friend was not feeling well and it was an early start at with a 7.00am pick up for our trip down to Isla de Canos for diving/snorkelling.  It was a full day trip (how full we didnt realise at this stage) and a 2 hour boat trip down there which was nice as Im always happy to be out on the water.  So after a pleasant trip down we finally got to get in the water. 

Unfortunately you have to wear lifejackets snorkelling in Costa Rica...makes it a little difficult to dive down...!  The water was murky but still managed to find a turtle, octopus and several schools of fish.  The currents were noticeable and it was a rocky area so had to watch out where you were.  It was a pretty spot but unfortunately one of the boats engines wouldnt start so we didnt have time to go ashore to have lunch which is the usual program.  Then they sheepishly tell us the trip home was going to take at least 4 hours ...eek!  Even I was a little tired of being out there for all that time.  It was taking ages.  At least the company sent another boat out to get us and so we were home earlier than it could have been but it still took the best part of 4 hours.  Who knows how long it would have taken had we stayed on the boat with the faulty engine. 

I also, for some reason, decided that today was the day to test out the waterproof feature of my camera.  Hmm, not a good day all round as I got some underwater shots only for the camera to stop working over the next few days...I think we should have gone salsa dancing...:)!

Highlights...er um, well there was the dive guide who did back flips off the side of the boat fully kitted in scuba gear...interesting!  And my friend Bob saw a green flash as the sun set which is always a highlight!

Despite this Im going out here again for some more snorkelling when I go down to Bahia Drake next week.



Isla del Canos



Was it really worth sacrificing the camera for?

2. Rainforest Yoga Retreat

The short flight from San Jose to Quepos saw us at our hotel "Karahe" http://www.karahe.com/ where we spent one night before the rest of the yoga group arrived.  The next day (now 6th Jan) we were picked up by the rest of the yoga retreat group on their way through to our stunning accommodation for the week at Punto de Vista.  http://www.puntodevistacr.com/.

The group consisted of 5 men (yes real men do yoga!) and 8 women including the yoga instructor Raven who was as awesome as my friend had described her. All except myself were from the Denver area and knew Raven previously.  Being the token Aussie it was a bit daunting but the group were great and made me feel really welcome.  Yoga is a new thing for me, as I only started in November (thanks Bob!) but I was hooked from the time I started.  Just as I was when I went sailing for the first time (thanks Karen!).  This retreat was an opportunity for me to explore yoga further and gain a greater understanding of what yoga is really all about.  It can be so much more than just doing classes...if you let it.

On the first day we each set an intention for the week. Then over the next 5 days we did a variety of yoga classes together.  These included yoga anatomy, inversions (yes upside down stuff which is really good for you) and partner yoga which was an interesting exercise in trust and surrender.  We also had time in the program to go to the beach, eat good food, drink good wine and had a couple of extras thrown in.  Spa treatments for everyone...a facial for me, a massage for my friend.  This is where we met Michelle and Lorraine.  You'll hear more about Lorraine in my personal training post...:)!  There was also a trip to Manuel Antonio National Park and a mangrove kayak, about which Ill do a separate post.  But the most exciting thing was the exposure to yoga.  By the end of the week I was even more hooked and already thinking about how to immerse myself even more in the practice. Thanks for your guidance Raven.



The yogis

 

The yoginis







 







BTW I can count, two people, one female and one male are missing from these photos...thats a whole other story but some things that happen in Costa Rica have to stay in Costa Rica...:)!  I dont have any photos of us actually doing yoga but we did....really..:)!

If anyone reading this has access to the photos that were taken please let me know.