Cabo Matapalo, Costa Rica - Days 44 & 45

Tuesday, March 26

Another morning on the Osa: I woke up just before sunrise to sounds of the jungle. It’s like all the birds and monkeys come together to notify the world that the day is about to begin. Andi was up most of the night again. No critters in this room this time, not that he knew of; just the suffocating heat of the night that kept him awake. I feel terrible that he hasn’t been sleeping. It’s definitely hot, but luckily Tory, Aden and I have been snoozing through it.

Today, we had a fun activity planned with Andy’s Everyday Adventures. Andi arranged for us to climb a gigantic strangler tree in the rainforest. We arrived at Andy’s place (this could get confusing!) in Matapalo at 8:00am, signed the typical release paperwork, and then started our activity with a walk along the beach. As we walked, Andy told us each to pick up a hermit crab on the ground and bring it to the center of the circle he was busy drawing in the sand. “Oh, like actually pick up a hermit crab?” I questioned inside my head, but I followed directions. We each put our hermit crab “racer” in the center circle. Then, we rooted for our guy as he raced to the edge of the outer edge. The winner: Andy’s hermit crab he affectionately named Seabiscuit. Andy spent a few minutes telling us about hermit crabs and he showed us how they find new homes in shells. It was neat, and the kids loved the hermit crab races. They begged to do it again.

Andy shared other facts about plants and animals we saw as we walked. The way he shared information in an easy-flowing conversation made the kids, especially Tory, soak it right up. She followed closely behind him, engaged in a full conversation about nature, as he lead our group.

Andy pointed out a type of tree on the beach that swells with water inside its trunk. He had a specific name for this which I don’t remember, but it was interesting to tap the tree with a rock and hear its hollow sound. He also pointed out vines growing up the trees, specifically the “cat’s claw” vine with pokey nails that help it grip the tree.

The five of us hiked further into the forest toward a waterfall. Andy pointed out Jesus Christ lizards under a bridge (called this because the lizards run across the water), and we also saw several poison dart frogs hiding near a stream. I saw a poison dart frog when we traveled in Puerto Viejo earlier this month and later Tory and I leaned about them, so she was excited to see one up close. Another example of nature’s incredible marvels — the poison dart frog’s bright green and black coloring warns predators “don’t eat me, I’m poisonous!”

We came to the waterfall and Andy encouraged us to grab the rope and climb up the rocks. The rocks directly underneath the water aren’t slippery, he said, as he demonstrated the climb. As long as we stayed in the stream, we’d be able to pull ourselves up the rocks. He was right! Tory quickly scurried up the rocks, then Aden, Andi, and I followed.

I was starting to wonder when we’d actually get to the strangler tree we signed up to climb this morning. I wasn’t expecting a hike through the jungle, though we were all enjoying it. We continued on, climbing higher in elevation over big rocks and tree roots. Further on, Aden started to whimper about being tired. I looked down at him and his hair was drenched in sweat. We were all hot & sweaty!

We came to a part of the trail with a fresh stream of water. Andy encouraged us to take our shoes off and put our toes in the water. Little shrimp swimming around would bite off the dead skin on our toes, he said. Eh, no thanks! Tory and Aden didn't like the sound of that but being the good sport he always is, our Andi gave it a try. He said the shrimp tickled his feet, but pulled his feet out as soon as he saw bigger crayfish heading toward his toes.

We refilled our water bottles in the fresh spring water. Being the silly dad he is, Andi dumped water on his head and the kids thought it was hilarious. Soon after, Tory and Aden were both dumping the water bottle over their heads, too, drenching their clothes from head to toe. It helped cool them off and we continued on our hike.

We hiked further into the forest, climbing up another rock surface using a rope. Andy told the kids to growl when they climbed to show how tough they were, and they’d each yelled “Grrrr!” as they climbed.

Finally, we reached a massive strangler tree in the forest. Andy pulled ropes and harnesses out of his backpack and asked who wanted to climb the tree first. Tory jumped forward and volunteered immediately. After Andy fitted Tory in the harness, he showed us a few key spots on the tree like “Jezabel’s Tower,” “banana bridge,” and “the leaning tower of pasta.” Up Tory went, using the branches of the tree like a ladder.

Tory climbed all the way up to Jezabel’s Tower, and then she yelled that she was ready to get down. Andy slowly lowered her to the ground using the rope tethered to her harness.

Aden wasn’t so sure about climbing the tree at first but after seeing Tory do it, he jumped up and volunteered to go next. Once he was fitted into the harness, Aden took off climbing up the tree as far as he could. Unfortunately, his shorter legs did him a disservice on this activity. Andy used the blue tether rope to give Aden a little extra support by lifting him up in spots to reach the next branch.

It was my turn next. With a harness and tether rope attached to my waist, I confidently climbed 450 feet up in the air and rang the bell at the top. There was a beautiful view of the ocean from up there. To get down, Andy directed me to turn around with my back facing the tree. He gave the rope three tugs and then pulled hard, sending me into an exhilarating free fall. It was amazing!

While I was still hanging in the air, Andy told me to do a few “yoga moves.” I flipped upside down and did a bow pose backbend in the air.

Last up was Andi, who quickly climbed to the top of the tree as well. He didn’t squeal quite as loudly as I did on his free fall back down to the ground.

We had an awesome morning adventure climbing a strangler tree. It was similar to the ziplinining and repelling activity we did in Samara, except with tree climbing we had to use our arms and legs to pull ourselves up the tree. The rope was only there for a safety precaution until Andy used it to lower us safely back to the ground.

As we walked back to our starting point, Andy talked to us about the importance of termites in the forest. He used his finger to pick at a termites nest on a tree and a flurry of termite ants rushed out. Andy put his finger in his mouth, covered with termites, and ate them! He asked us if we wanted to try it. “Sure,” Andi said, and he ate a few termites crawling on his finger. “Try it,” Andy said to me, “and tell me what you think it tastes like. I promise it’s not gross.” Alright, alright … I ate some termites and guess what?! They weren’t gross. Oddly, they tasted like celery. Next, Aden ate a few termites and he liked them, but Tory wasn’t so adventurous.

After tree climbing, we returned to our airbnb to make lunch and pack up our things. We’re returning to Brad and Nikki’s farm near San Isidro de El General where we’ll stay for the rest of our time in Costa Rica.

While Andi grilled sausage for lunch, a local tico stopped by selling homemade tamales and corn tortillas. It’s tough to say no when someone approaches us selling food — it’s just plain awkward to say no and it’s also a good chance to try local fare. So, for lunch we had a smorgasbord of pan-sautéed red snapper filets, grilled sausages, homemade tamales and corn tortillas, sautéed zucchini and watermelon. The tamales and corn tortillas were actually very good! Tory was excited to try the tamale because she said Elena, her favorite Disney character, makes them on her show.

We were all happy to feel the cool air-conditioning blowing on us in the car during our drive to San Isidro. It took us 4 1/2 hours to get back to the mountains. Andi pulled over and snapped a picture from the side of the road of the sun going down on another day.

Since it was past dinnertime by the time we arrive, we stopped at a fast food chicken restaurant in Rivas to buy a few pieces of fried chicken for the kids and a whole rotisserie chicken for Andi and I. Once we got to Brad and Nikki’s farm, Andi and the kids went to the garden to pick fresh salad greens for dinner. I whipped together a homemade dressing and we ate salad with chicken for dinner.

This week, we’re staying in the smaller of the two airbnb houses at Finca Milagros. It’s perfect for our family — two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a nice kitchen and dining area. This house is located closer to the river so we listened to the soothing sounds of a stream flowing outside our bedroom window as we fell asleep.

Wednesday, March 27

Andi and I had a visitor in our room last night. I woke up around 11:00pm to the feeling of air whooshing by my head and I could hear wings flapping. I elbowed Andi to wake him up and whispered, “I think there’s a bat in our room.” Andi flipped on the lamp and sure enough, a black bat was circling above our bed. Ahhh! I got up and opened the patio door in our room, hoping the bat would find its way back outside. It eventually did — phew!

I didn’t sleep well after the bat incident. I wasn’t worried another bat would fly in through our screen-less windows, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of bugs and critters hovering around me while I slept.

After everyone was awake, Andi and Aden walked to the garden to pick kale, cherry tomatoes and bananas for breakfast. Aden was so excited to see Brad and Nikki’s chickens again. He affectionally calls himself “Farmer Aden.” The boys also grabbed some eggs while they were near the chicken coop.

At breakfast, Aden complained his belly hurt and he did seem pale all of a sudden. He didn’t eat much, and then went to lay down in bed while Tory and Andi did some school. Brad and Nikki stopped by to say hello and hear about our time on the Osa. It was fun to catch up with them again.

Andi made a delicious goat cheese and veggie omelet for breakfast which we ate with fresh pineapple and mango. It’s the best having such fresh produce available to us on this farm.

Around Noon, Aden complained of his belly hurting again and he threw up. While Andi and I got Aden cleaned up and situated in bed, Tory talked to Grandma Janie for quite a while on FaceTime. She was babysitting baby cousin Arnie, and Tory was pretty excited she got to see him through the screen, too.

A little while later, Andi decided to take Tory into town to get a coffee and ice cream while I stayed back with Aden. He fell asleep shortly after they left and slept for two hours. I sat next to a sleeping Aden on the couch and caught up on blogging while Andi and Tory were gone.

Meanwhile, Andi and Tory went to Cafe Alegria — the same place where we visited the dome butterfly garden the last we were here. They met a family from St. Louis who sold everything and moved to Costa Rica one year ago. Tory and the little girl played on the playground while Andi swapped travel stories with her parents.

Aden woke up when Andi and Tory retuned around 4:00pm. He drank some Gatorade, ate a few crackers, and then perked up to his usual spunky self. One good thing about Aden is that he’s never sick for long.

For dinner, Andi made baked chicken with a pesto, goat cheese and tomato sauce. It was delicious! I read to the kids at bedtime, and then Andi and I watched one of our favorite RV family travel shoes on You Tube before calling it a night ourselves.

Tomorrow is our last day in Costa Rica! It’s hard to believe it. Hopefully everyone is happy, healthy, and well enough to enjoy our final day here.