Who knew Costa Rican fruit would be this funny.

Posted on January 5, 2014 by katez

Have you ever done a wine tasting?

You sit, sip wine, and try and figure out what it tastes like.

Well that is how we approached our tropical fruit tasting earlier this week.

Whitney and I had bought three kinds of fruit from the farmers market, and based on yesterday’s post, you can imagine how excited I was to try them.

We gathered together in the kitchen with a pad of paper, and got ready to write our “tasting notes”

Guava, Guanabana, and Passion Fruit

We had three contenders, Passion Fruit, Guava, and Guanabana. First up PassionFruit.

The Passion Fruit

Whitney: Looks like frog eggs, and a booger. It’s kind of sweet, and the seeds are crunchy but sour. All in all not a fantastic consistency

Kate: Starts out good, get bad. Tastes like citrus, and papaya with an after taste of grass. Chewing the seeds actually makes it taste a little better.

Uni: Meh, like a sweet citrusy oyster.

Brad: Something stinks

A fine review if I do say so myself, next up, Guava

Guava time!

Whit: Looks like an apple on steroids. Tastes like a pear with pesky annoying hard seeds. Would be good with no seeds, all in all, okay.

Kate: Hard, seedy, like a woody apple. Tastes like something unripe that my Mom would tell me I’d get the runs from if I ate to much. Probably would be good as a jam

Smit: Yup, that’s guava

Labour intensive!

Well said, well said. And finally, the moment of truth, my beautiful Guanabana. I took my time with this one, carefully cutting it open as per the youtube tutorial. It was much more challenging then I thought. The skin peeled right off, but the seeds were embedded deep in the pulpy meat. I spent quite a bit of time pushing the seeds out of the meat, and still missed a couple.

As I dissected the mass, everyone gathered around, expressing their clear disgust of the mound of white gunk I was about to force them to eat.

The infamous Guanabana

Whitney: Looks like terrible tastes like terrible, I just couldn’t keep it down. (note: Whitney spat hers out)

Kate: Looks like sheep intestines, cud, or cooked mushy watery white fish. Tastes like citrus, strawberries, and passion fruit. I love it!

Smit: It’s like sushi

Uni: It’s the chewing tobacco of fruit.

Shaun: Looks like white vomit that is all stuck together. Surprisingly citrusy considering it’s bland appearance.

The tasting in progress.

So there you have it, the epic fruit taste test. A wonderful way to end the year.

Some were more successful then others. I’ll certainly be buying Guanabana again in the future!

And even with everyone’s mixed opinions, once we threw everything in the blender, and added vodka and ice, we gave everything rave reviews!

SOOO good!

What kind of crazy fruit have you tried? Ever had guanabana?

Pura Vida!

Kate

Follow me on Twitter: @caketress

The search for Guanabana in Costa Rica

Posted on January 4, 2014 by katez

I LOVE all the produce here in Costa Rica, especially the fruit. I often buy random things at the grocery store just to try them out. That’s how we learnt that we love Chayote, and now we use it in pretty much every meal!

But there is one fruit that has been rather illusive…the ever mysterious Guanabana.

During our first week in Tamarindo, I was choosing the fruit for my smoothie at Mandarina, and noticed this container of white stuff. I rocked a little “que es esto?” and she responded with Guanabana. Having no idea what she said, I figured why not, throw it in. Best decision ever! It made my smoothie so delicious!

From wikipedia

I went home, and Googled this strange fruit, and even watched a YouTube tutorial of how to cut one. Guanabana or Soursop, is this odd large prickly, looking green fruit, with white pulpy innards and large black seeds. Their wiki page described it has having flavours of banana, strawberry and coconut. There are also lots of articles about its potential cancer fighting powers. Needless to say the more I read the more intrigued I was.

The Farmers Market

I figured I would pick one up at the store the next day for us to try…but they didn’t have any. So I hiked to the next store…and the next store, and the fruit stand, and the MegaSuper, and NO one in town sold them. When we got to Santa Teresa, and went to their health food store, I found a small container of some pre sliced pieces. I really wanted to find the whole fruit, but figured that would be fine. We were on our way to dinner, so I thought I would stop on the way back. When I returned, it was gone..and the didn’t have any more during our entire stay (trust me, I checked!).

Everything was so fresh!

I reached out to my blogger friend Maribel of Stroller Adventures, and she suggested a farmers market. Well, it wasn’t until this week in Playa Coco, that I actually found a one! Early one morning Whitney, and I trekked out to the little Farmers Market to see what they had.

The produce was amazing, we loaded up on fresh pico de gallo makings, pineapples, and all sorts of strange fruits. I glanced around for the hidden gem of guanabana, but alas, none to be found.

So many things I didn’t recognize!

As we went to check out, I was using my terrible Spanish to try and ask the women if the fruit we had chosen were good. Her eyes lit up, she said “uno momento” and she reached behind the counter. My heart jumped as she pulled out a GIGANTIC Guanabana. Seriously, this thing probably weighed 10 pounds. I would have paid anything, but when she said it would be 16 dollars, Whitney talked me out of it (Not even I could eat that much!). After explaining to cashier that it was to big, she darted in the back, and started rummaging through boxes, after a lengthy search she came out with a much more reasonable sized one. I was stoked!! She explained that it wasn’t ripe, so I would have to wait until tomorrow to eat it.

Our farmers market haul, with my Guanabana front and centre!

We lugged our prizes home, and I waited patiently for the 24 hours to pass so I could finally dig into my prize.

Was it delicious?

You’ll just have to wait and see…tomorrow on Hostels and Hot Rollers, the epic guanabana tasting of 2013.

Pura Vida!

Kate

Follow me on Twitter: @caketress

Painting Faces in Playa Coco, Costa Rica

Posted on January 3, 2014 by katez

I wasn’t going to write about New Years, but Shaun insisted the tale must be told. He even offered to write it! Here he is with a run down of our New Year’s Eve adventure in Playa Coco

Happy New Year!

This past new years in Costa Rica my wife Kate decided to face paint while out at Zi’s Lounge in Playa Coco. I figured I should write this post because she is way too modest to properly describe the effect she had on the night.

Whitney and I were going for the natural look

Kate face painted for her good friend Dory Thout’s Sparkle Shack company back at home this summer and fall to save some extra cash for our trip. They would work various events, music festivals, parties, and so on. It was typically on the weekends and it turned out to be a great way for Kate to save money. It also meant more time for me to golf, have beers with the boys, and sit on the couch… Despite seeing a bit less of my wife, I thought it was great. However I never knew how impressive her face painting and body art skills were and what a huge demand there was for it.

Smitty steps up to the plate

New Years at Coco is known to be fairly crazy and prior to the night I warned Kate that if she brought her purse expect its contents to be stolen. I had hoped she would leave the purse at home. She refused and insisted she bring it along with the face painting kit. I definitely ate my words on this one. Once we got to the bar we had dinner and few drinks. It was a quiet start to a crazy night. Kate painted her face and Whit’s prior to leaving. Then after dinner we noticed the painted glowed when the black lights came on. Smit decided he needed some body art and seemed to start the trend. She painted his arm, chest, and part of his back.

Our friend Tia getting a rainbow butterfly

Then it seemed in a matter of minutes strangers were lining up for her to paint their faces and arms. Guys typically got their arms done and girls got their faces done. Kate was quick too, it took her less than a minute usually per person. Even all the servers would line up to get some body art done. At one point I couldn’t get a drink because three of the servers were in line. Kate on the other had free drinks lined up for her yet no time to enjoy them

The waitresses all lined up!

One crazed canuck really stole the show as he needed his whole face painted. And he rocked it. The paint even matched his bright yellow shirt and headband. There were older men even lining up. At one point it seemed half the bar had some sort of my wife’s body art on them. I even had to get an arm done just to try to fit in. It seemed to bring everyone together and made for a very

The best customer of the night

friendly atmosphere. We easily met more people that night than the past few weeks combined.
She had to stop by 11:30 because she did not want to miss new years. As I stood with her then and for the next 15 minutes people would beg her to do their faces. That was the hardest part was watching her have to turn people away.

Seal of approval

Her mark was emphatically made on New Years 2014. She was a celebrity that night.Everyone knew who she was and loved her for it. It was all for free, for her and everyone else’s enjoyment. A few kind people gave her tips despite her trying to give them back, they insisted though and were so appreciative. Kate came home with more money than she left with. I came home broke and with a hangover.

Some very “happy” customers

I was in complete awe at how great she was at it. I’d never actually saw her in action. I’d dropped her off at events, saw the pictures, and saw her practice, but never saw her full skill set and talent on display. It was an impressive show and a night I will never forget.

Thanks Kate for making New Years 2014 so colourful and fun.

I’m blushing!

Pura Vida!

Kate

Follow me on Twitter: @caketress

The Christmas Slump- Travel Workouts Week 4

Posted on January 2, 2014 by katez

Turns out, even in another country, working out through Christmas is a challenge!

I feel like my Christmas season didn’t really start until December 22, the night before my family arrived. So I had the luxury of being able to avoid an entire month of shortbread, nog, and all other goodies that come along with the season. I was actually feeling pretty healthy coming into this week.

Since we were back in Tamarindo, I decided to make full use of their gym facilities. Gym’s are few and far between in Costa Rica, so I wanted to take advantage of it while I had the chance. The first morning at the gym I bought I week long pass. I figured this would be another way to encourage me to workout everyday, as I wanted to get my money’s worth.

Once I got my pass all set up, I jumped on the treadmill, then the elliptical, then the spin bike. Uh-oh, old Kate habits kicking in. I didn’t have a workout plan, and was just doing mindless cardio to pass the time. I did a couple HIIT intervals to shake it up a bit, but after about 40 min stopped, and went to the weight area. I wanted to lift some heavy weights, and target muscle groups that I have difficulty reaching using just my workout bands.

But again…I had no plan…So after 15 min of a wimpy little circuit I left.

This pattern continued over the next two days. Steady state cardio, short little weight session, and done. Combine this with an over indulgence of Beer, Wine, Costa Rican Egg Nog, and tons of delicious food, and I was feeling not so good about myself.

On the fourth day, I woke up, feeling awful, and realized, I didn’t want a gym workout, I wanted to make one up for myself. For those of you who know me, this is a huge deal, as I used to love the gym! Those days are gone. I wrote myself up a Tabata style workout that incorporated my bands. I was a sweaty, tired mess by the end, and felt the light at the end of the tunnel. The follow day I rocked some bootcamp style circuit training using the stairs of our condo. Again, feeling so much better about my progress.

After two days of more effective workouts, I’m feeling like I’m getting back on track. We have guests until the 6th, so I know eating healthy will be a challenge, and the beverages will likely continue to flow, but in the meantime, at least I know I’ll be rocking some great early morning sweat sessions!

This experience is truly a testament to the amazing life skills picked up during my 30 day challenge with Wholly Fit. Even from afar, the continue to motivate me, and help me strive for greatness.

This was me right before I uploaded this blog…got up at 6:30am and rocked a 10km run. Thanks to Shaun who rolled out of bed to take this photo for me.

Miss you Wholly Fitters!

How did your workout regime pan out over Christmas? Did you fall of the wagon? Are you back on track?

Pura Vida!

Kate

Follow me on Twitter: @caketress

Happy New Year from Hostels and Hot Rollers

Posted on January 1, 2014 by katez

Swing by the Facebook page today to see an entire photo album dedicated to our New Year Eve adventures in Playa Coco.

Spoiler alert, I may have painted ALOT of faces last night!!

Check it out https://www.facebook.com/hostelsandhotrollers

What did you get up to for New Years Eve??

Pura Vida!

Kate

Follow me on Twitter: @caketress

My Christmas Haul- Gifts from Canada to Costa Rica

Posted on December 31, 2013 by katez

I would highly suggest that if you are backpacking for 5 mos, you invite your family to come visit you after 1 month.

Not only because you miss them terribly…but because you have 4 weeks to send them a never ending list of items to bring you from home!

Many of the things that I asked to have brought for me, I could easily have gone without. (okay, honesty check, pretty much all of them!)

So here it goes, in particular order. My magical Christmas Haul!

A terrible picture of my Christmas Haul!

Natural Peanut Butter- It was a sad sad day when my little jar of almond butter from home ran out. I even sunk so low to Skippy it up a couple days, just to get my fix. I’m so happy to be able to replace the plastic chemical crap with my wholesome peanut butter once again.
Protein powder- I tend not to eat a lot of meat, and I have found a couple days where I’m feeling pretty low in the protein department. Especially at breakfast. These little packs will be perfect to add to my oats in the morning to give them a little more staying power.
Quinoa- It’s sooo expensive here (or at least everywhere I’ve looked) and since Shaun and I are getting pretty sick of rice and beans, it will be a great alternative for a while. Plus, it’s another protein booster.
Books- I had so many books set aside for this trip, but knew it would be silly to bring them all down all at once. So I split them in two, and had my Mom bring the rest down. It’s a good thing to, because the last book I snagged from our hostel was a sci-fi gem about DNA altering organ transplants. Blargh. Sarah even sent me an e-reader! Life is good!
Christmas Crap- Glitter spray, candy cane tights, garland, earrings, and my light of Christmas tree. I have no shame.
Flip Flops- I brought my old crappy pair with me, and had my Mom bring the new pair I bought back home. It’s a good thing too, because mine were on their last legs!
A Sarong- A last minute addition to the list, but Shaun and I have been wanting to spend more time on the beach, so this will be perfect to lay in the sand without getting our towels dirty.
Travel Hot Rollers- Hurray!!! Got these as a gift before I left, and knew I would want to get girly for Christmas. They worked amazing!
Christmas Cards- Holy unexpected! Both Shaun and I’s families sent down a bunch of Christmas Cards. It was so nice to spend time together Christmas Day opening them all up and reading them on the beach!
Tupperware- We realized early on that having a couple pieces of tupperware would be helpful in the hostels, but the thought of buying some down here when we have a gigantic drawer full at home seemed lame. So my brother stepped up to the plate, and brought us a Christmas assortment!
Gum- yea yea, I’m addicted…and let me tell you it was fabulous having my favourite Canadian kinds to munch on over Christmas!
Wrapping Paper- To wrap our Christmas gift exchange prezzies!

So there ya go! Some of the stuff ended up getting sent back with my mom (the Chrismas stuff, hot rollers etc). I also sent back some bathing suit bottoms that I didn’t like and therefore hadn’t worn, as well as my big ole hoodie that I just couldn’t give up when we went to the airport. It will be so nice to not have to lug that around the entire time!

Regardless of the swag, my real Christmas haul was sharing it with my family. They were the best gift of all! Hard to believe I won’t see them for 4 mos now!

Tell me about your Christmas? Did you get any memorable presents?

Pura Vida!

Kate

Follow me on Twitter: @caketress

Fishing in Playa Flamingo, Costa Rica

Posted on December 30, 2013 by katez

Day three of a guest posting blitz!

Today the lovely Miss Whitney recounts her tales of fishing the open waters in Playa Flamingo.

This isn’t any fish tale here, we have photo evidence to prove it!

The boys!

Well as always, our vacation fishing trip started off like any other, waking up at the crack of dawn, feeling dehydrated and asking the question, is this really worth it? Well friends…you bet it was. Once reaching our destination at flamingo beach, by shuttle, we were water taxied out to the Lady Angelica were our captain and deckhand for the day greeted us with smiles. As usual, the boat was hot, and the swells were not, but after travelling approximately 20 miles out, BOOYA, we snagged our first fish of the day, a black tuna.

Fish with a black fin tuna

The black tuna were a popular commodity that day, as myself, uni, smitty and bradley all had the luxury of catching a few each. They were hitting our lines all over the place, which lead to the rare but exciting triple header and quadroople header tacs. However, as fun as it was to get fish on the line and get our reel hands going, they are not good to eat, and a typical catch and release type of fish. Besides, we were out there for the MOTHER LOAD fish.

Luckily, all of sudden, boom, there it was. A flash of silver striking our bait, floating on the top of the ocean, and we knew we had something good. It was Uni’s turn at the rod and he did us proud, in about 20 mins, he had reeled us in a 35 lb mahi mahi.

Uni and the catch of the day!!!

Needless to say we know what’s for dinner, and amazingly what was going to be a delicious sushi snack on the boat ride, thanks to Joseph the deckhand.

Fresh sushi on the boat!

The rest of the boat ride was typical of most, we drank the boat dry of beer, had a few naps, and all proceeded to get too much sun and a few burns to show it. However, all in all, a successful day, and a continued motivation to fish while on vacation.

So there you have it! A grand fish tale!

Do you have any fish stories you would care to share?

Pura Vida!

Kate

Follow me on Twitter: @caketress

Black Turtle Tour in Costa Rica

Posted on December 29, 2013 by katez

I wanted to do something special with my Mom while she was here over Christmas, and after a little bit of investigating decided that a turtle tour would be perfect. I also thought it would be fabulous to have her tell you all about it! So without further ado…here is my mom!

(PS: She would like it known that she wanted this blog post to be called “Moonlight Magic”)

There we were, my daughter & I perched on a curb waiting for a shuttle to take us to see Black Turtles, otherwise known as Pacific Green Turtles, on a remote beach, in the dark…maybe. Well it was going to be an adventure to be sure. Bring it on.

We drove out of the town of Tamarindo where we are staying, into increasingly more sparsely populated areas down super dusty roads that brought back memories of trips down farm roads on the prairies in the dry heat of the summer. Best not to be following too close behind any dust kickers ahead. Also good not to be watching the condition of the road ahead and the unpredictability of where it might be headed. Looking out the side windows exposed a glimpse of everyday family life as we drove past houses that are completely exposed to the outdoors, families sitting around fires, on porch stoops lit by Christmas trees just outside the front door, neighbours meeting in common spaces and Christmas lights of every colour, some flashing, some steady, some random scattered, but all delightfully festive. A bonus Chrismas light tour.

The beach that we finally arrived at was one of four. Our guide informed us that we were going to go to the next beach over which involved an amazing hike across a mountain trail in the dark. It was a single file hike on a narrow path on the edge of a slope of unknown height…yes it was very, very dark. We were advised to keep the light of our small flashlights on the path and not ‘into the hole’…translation…don’t look over the edge. It was a great trek rising higher and higher, concentrating on not tripping over the number of obstacles in the way and hearing the sound of pounding surf recede into the distance and get replaced by the sometimes deafening sound of the jungle.

We finally got to the next beach and all lights were extinguished to disturb the turtles as little as possible. As our eyes got accustomed to the moonlight, the stars began to flood the skies and the white foam of the crashing waves became more and more dramatic. It was moonlight magic.

We then hiked down the beach, to where a large turtle had dug herself into a huge hole in the sand and then dug a second hole into which she had begun laying her eggs. We watched as she lay some eggs then retreated a distance away to let her finish while our guide gave us more information about what is known and what is unknown about these particular turtles. We then went back to watch her cover her eggs before we left so that she wouldn’t see us when she turned around to head back to the ocean. I can’t even begin to describe how humbling it is to be able to witness such an event. An experience that absolutely makes me know why we refer to the ‘wonders of nature’.

Thanks Kate. You are my wonder of nature…xoxoxooooo to infinity and back.

How to break your surfboard in half (and how to fix it)

Posted on December 28, 2013 by katez

Yes, the unthinkable happened. The only bright side is that it prompted our dear friend Shaun to write another post…

I may not know surfing…but I think it’s supposed to be in one piece.

Well today is a day I would rather forget. I hardly got any sleep last night thinking about my surf the next morning. I was going to be all over the lefts and was so excited. Consequently I got a terrible sleep, but whatever, I checked the beach first thing and it looked good. Winds were even slightly offshore. I went out at low tide when it is supposed to be quite good at Santa Teresa.

It wasn’t all that crowded either and I was stoked. I got a couple smaller waves right away. It was a nice little warm up. It seemed the smaller ones had better shape to them and you had to be quite selective with the bigger waves as they would often close out.

I was sitting in a sparce line up as a set came in, and I wasn’t in the best spot. I tried to paddle over to the peak before it arrived, but ended up just teatering for awhile. I finally gave up as it seemed too late and about to close out. Unfortunately I dragged too far in I was in a bad spot for the other set waves. I paddled like mad and tried to get under the next wave. There was a guy dropping in, so I had to head towards the impact area to try and stay out of his way.My duck dive wasn’t so successful.

devastating…

After a short bounce around, I feverishly tried to get back my tombstoning board to get under the next wave. Just as I got it, the next wave was about to break and I just dove under. I came up and quickly grabbed my board, or half my board. The other half caught the wave and made it to shore. It was devastating and so demoralizing. In a few weeks I’d grown attached to that board and was, although getting my ass kicked at times, loving the waves at Santa Teresa.

Its been big since the day I arrived and I have to paddle way more but its nice to surf decent waves… I’m from Canada so my expectations are low… Anyways, I slogged my way to the beach where a local kindly was holding the rest of my board with a huge grin. He apologetically gave it back and I did the big walk of pity back up the beach and to the hostel.

While walking back I kept thinking the board was a little too big anyways. It would have been good for the following week in Grande and Tamarindo though. I was less bummed thinking of the prospect of getting a smaller board.

When I got back the hostel owner had a look and figured I could easily

Walk of Shame

get it fixed. I checked out the used boards at almost all the shops in town, and it was slim pickings, Tamarindo had better options. However, it turns out there is a board shaper in town. Denis of Denga Surf Shop had a look and figured he could fix it since it was a clean break. He said it will be a lot stiffer afterwards but something tells me that with my surfing, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. I figure I can use it in the upcoming weeks with the smaller surf. After that I can either sell it or keep it.

On a side note, Denga Surf Shop builds there own boards and has a lot to choose from. It’s a nice shop. I think its about 20 days to get a board custom made. The new boards that he has in stock are going for about $400 to $450 which is a wicked deal compared to the used boards here that people are trying sell for $250 plus. If you are in Santa Teresa and buying a board make sure you check out Denga. I don’t recommend buying a new board if you are travelling around because it will get thrashed (or snapped), but they have some good options if you’re here long term.

This day may have sucked, and I may have bought a case of beer and nearly have it downed, but I’m in Costa Rica surfing nearly every day, and I’m here with the love of my life. Things are pretty damn good. Pura f’in vida eh! and go nucks go… 7 straight.

So there you have it! We cut it pretty close with the board repair. We ended up heading a couple days after it broke, and left the board in Santa Teresa to be fixed. The board was going to be sent in a cab when it was done. We sat outside our hotel for hours waiting, Shaun’s knuckles getting whiter and whiter. We were leaving for the 5 hour drive back to Tamarindo early the next day so it was now or never. I watched Shaun got more and more stressed out, calling the board shop, and our previous hostel to try and track it down. Thankfully, around 7:45pm the cab pulled up. I think we both felt equal relief!

The finished product, and one happy camper!

Kate

Follow me on Twitter: @caketress

Exploring Montezuma, Costa Rica Part 1

Posted on December 27, 2013 by katez

With excitement of Christmas coming to an end, I thought I would catch everyone up on a couple things before everyone got here… Enjoy!

What a day!

I feel like we lived three days in the past 12 hours, Montezuma just has so much to offer

If you’ve read my Must Sees post, you know I’m a gal who loves her waterfalls, and Montezuma has one that they are known for! Shaun, and I planned on getting up bright and early (not uncommon for us), and hiking out to see it. We ended up dilly-dallying, and left the hostel around 7:45.

The trail head was about a 5-10 minute walk from our hostel, just at the bridge you go over to enter Montezuma. There is lots of parking, and often guides waiting to try and sell you on a tour. Luckily, being early has it’s advantages, and no one was there to bother us.

That being said, Shaun, and I only planned on going to to the lower waterfall. There are two other levels to the Montezuma waterfall, and apparently the trails can be a little dicey, and hard to find. It’s highly suggested that if you are going on the big adventure, to hire a guide.

The sign at the trailhead should probably be taken seriously.

The hike, is just that, a hike. You’ll climb rocks, navigate through tree roots, and even cross a river. It’s highly advisable to wear water shoes or running shoes, or something with a little more grip, as the rocks can get slippery.

The path is marked with yellow paint, so just keep your eyes out. It’s pretty self explanatory. It reminded me a lot of the harder parts of the Mt. Finlayson climb, in Victoria!

This doesn’t even begin to do it justice!

Iphone is broken so we are learning master the selfie on an old school camera

After about 15 to 20 minutes of hiking, we made it. Piece of Cake! And let me tell you, it was GORGEOUS. My biggest suggestion is to get there early. We got there around 8:15, and had the place to ourselves for about 20 minutes or so. After that, it just got busier, and busier. Having those moments to enjoy it all to ourselves was such a beautiful way to start the morning, and a moment that seems rare given the popularity of the attraction.

We stayed for over an hour, taking pictures, and watching a group of people dive off the cliffs. Oh, that’s another thing. If you are looking at this majestic waterfall, and the first thing you think of is, “oh man, how great would it be to jump off that thing” think again. No one has ever jumped and survived. The fall looks straight down, but when you look at it from the side, you realize it juts out juts out quite far. If you are looking for places to jump in, just watch the locals. They know the places that are deep enough, and sage enough to jump in from.

A guy pre-belly flopside,

After a short time, we started the hike back. We had brought plastic bags to put our shoes in, but had managed to navigate the slippery river rocks without getting them wet…that is, until Kate, the clutsy wonder, misjudged a step, and plunged both feet into the river. Sigh….of course. Luckily Shaun was there to catch me. No harm done, just bruised my pride. Despite walking home in squishy shoes, it was a morning full of memories that will stay with me for a lifetime.

We did a lot more exploring that day, but I’m going to break it up into two posts. Mainly because I think we are going back to keep exploring mid January. So I’m going to have even more to talk about!!

My early morning zen moment.

What’s the most amazing waterfall you’ve ever seen?

Pura Vida!

Kate

Follow me on Twitter: @caketress.

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