Chilamate, Costa Rica - Days 22 & 23

Monday, March 4

Today is our first full day in Chilamate. We all slept great last night, despite not having air conditioning in our studio apartment. I was worried we’d get too hot (or worse, that there would be too many bugs!) but it was an uneventful night.

I got up early like I normally do to blog and get my workout in before everyone else woke up. I wasn’t quite sure where I’d workout at the Chilamate Rainforest Eco Retreat since it’s a lodge and not our own private house. Andi says I make a lot of noise jumping all around and I didn’t want to wake up the other guests staying at the resort! I found a covered cement patio tucked away from the main reception area, so hopefully I didn’t make too much of a disruption.

Tory and Aden were awake when I returned to our room. They were laying together watching the iPad. Andi and the kids got dressed and then we all walked down to the restaurant together for breakfast. It was included in the price of our stay. Tory and Aden loved the Costa Rican sweet bread that was offered (similar to the sweet bread we enjoyed with the locals we met in Samara). There was also eggs, rice & beans, yogurt and fresh fruit.

This morning, Andi made arrangements for our family to go white water rafting down the Sarapique River. I admit I was not looking forward to this! This area of Costa Rica is known for its rafting and Andi thought we should experience it while we’re here. He assured me that the guide he booked knew we are a family with small children, and that it would be completely safe.

One of the things I love about our relationship is that Andi pushes me to try things I wouldn’t normally do on my own. This was definitely one of those times. I don’t want to look back on this trip with any regrets, and I know that Andi would not put our family in danger. “Say YES to the experience;” that’s been our motto. So, say “yes” is what we did. I put on a brave face and we hopped in a shuttle van from Chilamate Rainforest Eco Retreat to the spot of the river where we dropped in to go rafting.

Our rafting guide’s name was Fabian, and he told us he’s been a rafting instructor for over 15 years. That settled my nerves a bit. I was confident in his ability to guide us, and I could also sense his attention on keeping Tory and Aden safe.

After a brief safety talk, we hopped into the raft and set off down the river. Ready or not, here we go! I’ve canoed and kayaked before, so the rowing part wasn’t a problem. Fabian shouted very clear instructions “Row Forward,” “Row Backward,” and “Stop” so we knew just what to do. It also helped to sit next to Andi — I mimicked exactly what he did. He’s been rafting several times before, and I learned today that he even took a rafting class in college!

I knew Tory was a little nervous as well, so I kept turning back to flash her a big smile.

The first time we went through some bigger Class 3 rapids — wow! Ready or not, we were doing this thing! I had no choice but to paddle and do my best not to fall out of the boat. That was my main concern.

Every once in a while Fabian would shout, “High five!” and we’d all hold our paddles together in the air to simulate a high-five. The kids especially liked that part.

Half-way through our rafting trip, we stopped on a calm part of the river for a snack. Another rafting group met us there and together we all shared fresh pineapple, mango, orange slices and oatmeal cookies. Fabian said this was a good spot to do some cliff jumping if anyone was interested, so Andi jumped off (of course!) and surprisingly, Aden did too. The second he landed in the water, Aden said to Andi, “That was amazing!”

After we stopped for a break, I think we all felt more comfortable. I know I did, at least. Tory and Aden sat up higher in the boat for the second half of the rafting trip and they even helped paddle. Through certain sections of the river, our guide would direct the kids to sit down in the middle of the boat for safety reasons but otherwise they helped paddle the rest of the way.

Overall, we really enjoyed our family’s first white water rafting experience, and I was proud that we tried something new. The Sarapiqui River is beautiful! We saw lots of birds during our three hours on the water. We ended our rafting trip right at the entrance of Chilamate Rainforest Eco Retreat — super convenient.

We returned to our studio apartment at the lodge and took showers. Andi cooked some brats and bell peppers for lunch in our room. Tory wanted to go play with Kiara, the owner’s daughter, so I let her do that instead of school. Yes, education is important but so is social time! We’re not always staying in places where there are a lot of kids Tory and Aden’s age, so when they make a friend Andi and I think it’s important to slow down & let them be kids. Later, the adults joined the kids in the lobby area and we all sat around playing games and talking.

We ate dinner at the resort’s restaurant again, just because it was so easy to do and fun the night before. It was a little different tonight though. Adam and Super decided to make dinner in their room, and the other family with a four-year-old checked out earlier in the day. A few younger couples had checked into the lodge for the night, so we chatted with them a bit. Less excitement for the kids.

After dinner, Aden said his “mouth felt funny” which is usually code for he’s about to throw up. Yikes! Andi took Aden back to the room. When they didn’t return after a few minutes, Tory and I went back to the room, too. Aden was asleep when I got back to the room, and Andi said he wasn’t sure if Aden was just tired or felt sick. He never threw up, but he went right to sleep. I guess we’ll find out what’s in store for us tomorrow!

Tuesday, March 5

Phew! No puke incidents overnight. I woke up early to workout as we had morning plans to visit La Paz Waterfall today. Everyone slept great.

Tory and I did some social studies work on the computer while we ate breakfast in the restaurant. Then, we packed some snacks and drove up into the mountains for the day.

The one-hour drive to Vara Blanca was a curvy climb up the mountain. We brought motion sickness pills with us because I tend to get car sick, and today both Tory and Aden looked a little green in the backseat too. Fortunately, once we got there and were out of the car, we instantly felt better.

Today we planned to meet a Costa Rican friend of Andi’s friend, Hailee. Hailee lived in Costa Rica for a short time a few years ago and when planning our trip, Andi reached out to her to see if she had any suggestions for us. “My one suggestion is to connect with my friend, Wil,” she said. So that’s what Andi did. Wil was amazing in recommending various towns for us to visit on this trip, like Chilamate for example. Today, he made arrangements to spend the whole day with our family in Vara Blanca, his hometown.

We met up with Wil at La Paz Waterfall Gardens. This private nature park has one of the most famous waterfalls in Costa Rica and an animal sanctuary as well. It’s only 20 minutes away from San Jose which makes it a popular destination. First, we toured the aviary which was a great opportunity to see some of the native birds up close.

We also walked through the butterfly observatory which Tory and Aden loved. They have a butterfly nursery here where employees sort 25 different types of chrysalis and display them by type. This allows them to monitor the stages of their growth and was also an educational opportunity to watch butterflies emerge from their cocoons. One of the nursery workers came out of the lab to talk with Wil, and she offered to place butterflies on Tory’s shirt, nose and hair. She put a few on Andi, too!

Next, we walked through the hummingbird garden. It was really beautiful. The sun was shining brightly, the air was perfectly warm and hummingbirds zoomed around in all directions. Aden wandered off at some point (luckily, it wasn’t very busy), and this was Andi’s stern “stop walking away from us” face. We’ve only lost Aden about 16 times on this trip so far.

We also saw Spider and White-Faced Monkeys. All of the monkeys at La Paz Waterfall Gardens were confiscated from people who owned them illegally and were donated to this sanctuary by the Costa Rican Ministry of Wildlife. Though perhaps the neatest animal we saw, or amphibian I should say, was the red-eyed tree frog!

Lastly, we toured a traditional casita which is a small Costa Rican house. Employees dressed in old-fashioned native dresses handed out free samples of homemade cheese, bread pudding and sugar cane water. Wil said this casita is just like the one his grandfather lives in, and he remembers his grandmother and mother drinking sugar cane water just like this when he was growing up.

It was after Noon by this point and Tory and Aden were starting to complain about being hungry and tired. Wil encouraged us to push on to see the waterfalls and then we’d grab something for lunch in town. There’s one big waterfall at La Paz, but five different platform views. Admittedly at the first platform, Andi and I weren’t very impressed — we’ve seen a lot of waterfalls on this trip already! Then we walked down to the next platform and our view of the waterfall was at a different angle. It was a different experience! The third platform was building right next to the waterfall; so close that you got splashed if you stood by the railing. That was cool, too!

Maybe the best part of this waterfall was the shuttle bus that drove us back up the steep hill to the lobby. That was a nice surprise at the end! We waited about 15 minutes for the shuttle, and then returned to our SUV in the parking lot. From there, we followed Wil about 10 minutes into the town of Vara Blanca.

Wil selected one of his favorite restaurants for lunch. He ordered pantacones nachos for an appetizer which were basically fried plantains with guacamole, diced tomatoes, and cheese on top. They were very good! Andi and Wil ordered lake trout for their lunches and I had a grilled chicken breast. Tory and Aden had hamburgers and chicken tenders, of course.

This area is known for strawberries and dairy cows. Wil said he knew of another place for coffee and dessert, so after lunch we followed him to his friend’s souvenir shop next to a small cafe. On the way, he pulled over to a roadside fruit stand and bought fresh strawberries, apricots and plums for us. At the cafe, we ordered coffees and a slice of cheesecake and chocolate cake to share.

We hung around the cafe for the next hour or so and talked with Wil and his friend. The garden was beautiful out back, and the sun was shining. It was a really nice, quiet afternoon. Andi and I both said later we were so glad we came to Vara Blanca to meet Wil. it still boggles my mind that we can drive an hour into the mountains and be in a completely different climate with different trees, flowers and even different local foods. When we left Chilamate this morning the weather was rainy and humid. One hour later, we’re in Vara Blanca where the sun is shining and the air is crisp and cooler.

After coffee, Wil had to run so we said good-bye and thanked him for all his travel advice. We drove back down the mountain to Chilamate Rainforest Eco Retreat for our last night there. When we arrived, Tory and I did some more school in our studio apartment and then we went to dinner in the restaurant for the third and final night. Tomorrow, we’ll leave Chilamate and drive to the East Coast.