Roaring Nuayaca Falls in Dominical

Sylvia, Eric and their kids shlepped all the way from Washington state to visit the Blatts, Costa Rica and Nauyaca Falls - which rushed and poured its welcome.

This time of year, however, there was actually so much water coming over the falls due to the rainy season that swimming became a battle against the choppy, rough water funneling away from the falls.  Nonetheless, it is always spectacular!

We drove down about 45 minutes South from Manuel Antonio, turning left toward San Isidro de General just before we reached Dominical.  The hike was not as hot as last time, but, boy was it sticky.  We were soaking wet before we even could hear the crashing of the waterfall.

At the 2 kilometer mark, halfway to the waterfall, the owners of the property will sell you tickets and you can refill your water bottles.  You can also rent horses on the main road, if you don't want to hoof it sans hooves.

Where's Waldo (Benji)?

As always, the cool, clean water was refreshing after a sweaty hike.

A Hot River and Thermal Baths

We picnicked with a full vista of Arenal Volcano

For our third day in Arenal, we hiked in the shadow of Volcano Arenal at the Observatory Lodge. Then, on our way out, we stopped in the thermal river across from the Tabacon Resort.

With steam rising up off the water, surrounded by jungle, it felt like we were in a scene from Predator.

The day before we met up we had a three-family pow-wow to take thermal baths at Los Laureles Resort.

We were joined by a whole crew from Bellevue: the Vasaliks and the Smith family.  The kids ran from pool to pool and water slide to water slide while the adults lingered in the warm waters.

The sign says get a room, Smiths:  "Love scenes forbidden!"

A troupe of tourist-fed coati crossing the road.

Tranquil Waters and Wildlife at Manuel Antonio

During our third breakfast, our final morning in Manuel Antonio, the Squirrel Monkeys (mono titis) came to visit.  The jumped from tree to tree, racing across roofs, and scaling barbed wire.  Their antics were accompanied by the tune of Mission Impossible playing in my mind.

We then went to the National Park of Manuel Antonio where we saw a howler monkey ten feet away before we even entered the park.  Once inside, we were greeted by a deer, a couple of sloths, many lizards and iquanas, Capuchin monkeys down by the beach, giant grasshoppers, and a marauding band of raccoons that nearly walked away with our lunch.

What suprised me the most was that the bay of water inside the park was completely tranquil that afternnoon.  We soaked in the placid waters bobbing up and down like happy little buoys.  This was very different from the beach outside of the park, which had crashing waves that the kids boogie boarded for hours two days earlier.

Zip-Lining at Arenal with Sky Trek and Tram

Have you ever been so nervous that all the spit in your mouth goes dry and your tongue feels like sandpaper?  I was that nervous even before we got on the tram that took us to the top of the mountain. Midway up the mountain, the guide told us to stand up and look at the canopy 300 feet below us.  I got dizzy and could feel my heart pounding in my chest.  "You're going to be all right", Ilana kept repeating.  I wasn't sure if she was talking to me or herself.

When we got to the top, they clipped my harness onto the line, I yelled, "Pura Vida" and away I went. The lush green cloud forest canopy was in the valley 500 feet below me, as I hurdled from a ridge on one mountain to the ridge on the adjacent mountain.  But, my fear turned into exhilaration as I streaked across the valley, with Arenal towering above the shimmering blue of Lake Arenal in the distance.  In 30 seconds of adrenaline, I had arrived at the other side, relieved and invigorated.  It was almost too many sensations all packed into such a short burst: the views, the speed, the sizzling sound of the wire, and of course the stupefying heights.

We then traversed the mountain 5 more times, including "Big Momma" the fastest of the zip lines, and "Big Daddy," the longest one at 1/2 a mile that takes you into the tree line.  I highly recommend Sky Trek and Tram.  They were helpful, professional, and the zip lining was breathtaking.

Mud Baths and Horny Red-Eyed Tree Frogs at La Fortuna

After a roundabout drive to tranquil Princesa de la Luna Ecolodge (due to mudslides that took out the road) we arrived with the Vasalik family ready to enjoy the wet, humid jungles near Arenal Volcano.

At the lodge, local naturalist, Wilmer, led us down the gardens, past mango and papaya trees, down, down the mud-drenched steps to a small waterfall, where we grabbed the smooth mud from the bottom of the pool, and slathered it on our bodies.   We rinsed off in the cold river and the natural, mineral-water filled swimming pool.   It sure was slippery fun!

Birds do it.  Bees do it.  Even red-eyed tree frogs do it...

Kenny and Peter, our Bellevue friends spent hours spotting blue jean dart frogs and a pair of amorous red-eyed tree frogs.  They played Magic, the card game, with our kids, and hiked about in the rain.

We ate almost every night at  Soda Osiris  near the town of El Bosque, 6k before La Fortuna.  Great casados of fried plantain, chicken, and the ubiquitous gallo pinto (rice and beans!)

Blatts in Nicaragua: Olive Ridley Turtle Lays Her Eggs

She had come up out of the sea just before sunset to lay her eggs: An enormous Olive Ridley turtle.

It was unusual in June, as the season doesn't usually start until August; and even rarer that she would lay her eggs in broad daylight. But the strong winds and full moon must have confused her.  So, heavy with her 35 or so ping pong ball sized eggs, she came out of the sea about an hour before sunset.

It was our third day in Nicaragua and we were at quiet Marsella Beach, near San Juan del Sur . . .  yes, the same place they filmed Survivor!  Steve had suggested that we walk down the isolated beach for a romantic stroll.  Suddenly, we saw another tourist running towards us . . . "There's a turtle on the beach!"  he shouted.  

Steve ran for the kids and his camera.  He returned minutes later with both. 

Once she had made her way high above the waterline, she chose a suitable spot and began to dig a nest for her offspring using her back legs and shovels, scooping the dirt out of the hole below her.  Then, hovering over the nest, she began to plop egg after egg into the sandy pit.  A group of tourists had gathered and we watched with awe and took plenty of photos as the eggs slipped out from behind her tail. In about 10 minutes she had released all her eggs into the pit below her.  Then she started filling in the nest with sand, using her agile back legs to scoop sand over her eggs.

Then she flipped flopped back and forth, packing the sand down, to hide her eggs under the coming and goings of tourists on the beach.  After resting up for a few minutes she slipped back into the sea and swam away.

We were stupefied by the display and felt honored to have watched it.  Shortly after she had returned to the sea, a man and a woman, locals, appeared on the beach.  They had come to dig up the eggs.

"Hey what are you doing?"  we incensed tourists wondered. They asked us to help them gather the eggs and take them a short walk down the beach to a refuge nearby to protect them until they hatched. We weren't sure whether or not we should believe them so we followed them to the turtle refuge where eggs were labeled with the dates of when they were laid and the hatching dates as well.

We dug up the eggs, but it wasn't easy.  Even having witnessed the whole spectacle, it took us about 10 minutes of frantic digging before we could locate the nest of eggs.  Then, we each had the opportunity to pick up the freshly nested eggs and place them in a bucket.  They were cool and wet and felt like a deflated ping pong ball.  

It was an incredible experience that I doubt any of us will ever forget.

Blatts in Nicaragua: We're Batty about Masaya

After an unsuccessful, two-hour foray to find Benji a suit for his Bar Mitzvah, we gave it up and headed to Masaya National Park to see the gaping, steaming, venting crater up close. We hired a guide for a couple of bucks a head, and drove up to get a view of the yawning maw. Poisonous, sulfuric fumes rolled out of the huge crater, making it impossible to see the boiling lava, but it was still pretty cool!

Alberto, our enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide, took us into the mouth of a lava tube tunnel at the base of the cone, one of several in the area. We donned our silly hard hats (to keep the bats out of our hair, I think) and our flashlights, and entered the bowels of the volcano.

Inside the tunnel's cave, we observed stalactites and stalagmites, and giant tree roots coming down from above.  When we reached the center of the cave tunnels,  Alberto suggested that we turn off our flashlights and just listen, assured that the bats would not attack us.  When we were plunged into darkness, the squeaks and flutter of the bats seemed amplified.  It was strangely spiritual and otherworldly.  When we turned the flashlights back on, the air was filled with bats in flight.  Totally awesome!

After the cave, Alberto led us to the ridge between the craters, where the wind roared and swirled around us, threatening to whisk us off the ledge,

I highly recommend Masaya to volcano hunters and cave-dwellers alike.