Drugged on a boat tour COSTA RICA

On day 6 of our adventure in Costa Rica, we went on a boat tour around the whale tale. The whale tail is a famous attraction in Uvita, where the beach stretches out into the ocean, forming this shape.

From the internet, a picture of the Whale Tail or  Bahia Ballena 

The boat tour company, Bahia Adventures, was great. There was a short drive from our house in Uvita to the base area where we geared up with life jackets and fins. After this we walked along the beach until we boarded the small boat and held on while the driver fought through the initial waves.

Once the boat broke through, we were off and went on a peaceful and calming ride around the whale tail. It was a cloudy day out, like most in Costa Rica, and the water was a blueish grey color. Soon after leaving the shore, we saw dolphins dipping in and out of the water. The flying fish were also a crazy sight, as we watched them dart through the waves and the air to avoid the dolphins.

Even with all of this excitement the motion sickness pill five of us took before the tour, kicked in with full force. This so called "sea sickness" pill was more of a sleeping pill, and completely knocked out four people in our group. I struggled to keep awake but it was worth it; I got to see two beautiful arch rock structures with water spewing out of them. 

Part of the bout tour was snorkeling around an island, but since the water was too murky that day we went to another beach instead to swim and relax. This was probably a better idea, since half of us would have been asleep in the water, thanks to the pill! 

The beach we went to was gorgeous, it looked like a mix of Jurassic Park and the island in LOST with towering lush green mountains and palm trees. We jumped off the boat and onto the shore where we were given individual bowls of watermelon and pineapple. By then, the effects of the "sea sickness" pill were wearing off, so we ran into the crashing waves to go swimming. 

The waves here were huge so we used my three dollar water proof camera to try and get pictures of them crashing down on us.

This sounded like a great idea, until the wave actually hit. They were a lot bigger than they look in the photo and very painful! But it was all worth it and was a ton of fun. 

After getting thrown around by the waves, we went back onto the beach and learned the proper way to cut a coconut.

Here is a group photo of us, wearing our life jackets and about to board the boat to head back to Uvita! 

Costa Rica Dimante Waterfall ❁ PURA VIDA

One of the highlights of this amazing trip was hiking to, sleeping in, and exploring the cave under the Dimante waterfall. The hike up was beautiful, overlooking a small village at first and then the gorgeous surrounding mountains.

There were a lot of stairs but the guides were great at leading and making the workout more fun with their fake grasshoppers or the leaves that whistled when you blew on them.

Here is a picture of our group at the beginning of the two hour hike, ready to go! 

The first part was a nice steep dirt road, where we saw a couple of people cutting down bananas. It soon turned into windy turns with stairs and dense forest, still with the steep incline.

Once we reached the top, there was a lush and colorful garden filled with different plants that we would get to try on our way back. We took a small break and then continued the trek to the waterfall, which was gorgeous. 

Here is the cave, which stretched on into the rainforest. It was an amazing place, the waterfall fell right over that pathway area in the left of the picture. It was like a house in the wild- there were beds tucked into the edge of the cave and the roof and a full kitchen along with a huge wooden table. A short walk led to bathrooms which also overlooked the entire vast jungle! 

Here is a picture of our group sitting on the big table once we made it through the hike to the cave. 

The first thing we did was eat lunch, prepared in the kitchen by our guides (who hike this route almost every other day). 

After a quick lunch, we got ready to go rappelling and took a short hike to the top of the cliff. It did not look nearly as tall from the cave as it did when we were standing on the edge, looking down. 

We went down in pairs, and were given basic instructions on how to work the rope, putting in as much as you want to go down. The hardest part was the beginning when we had to go 90 degrees with the rock! After that though it was pretty simple, unless your afraid of heights. 

Our competitive group started betting on which person would make it down faster, here is a picture of one pair going. 

The trick was to keep your legs apart and put in a little rope at a time...unless your able to go upside down like one of our guides! 

After our crazy adrenaline rushing activity, we were pretty much wiped for the day and spent the rest of time before dinner relaxing around the cave. 

Darkness came quickly around the cave and during dinner it was basically pitch black! We had another delicious meal and after playing many crazy and frustrating games with our counselors went to bed which was surprisingly comfeterable for sleeping on the ground. 

The rainforest at night is noisy and even louder in the morning, leading to an early rising! 

This experience at the Dimante waterfall was incredible and was the perfect end to our spring break trip! 

XOXOXO Rana 

CoStA RiCa FuN!!!!!!!!!!

And the Pura Vidas continue!!!! One amazing thing Rana and I got to do was ride in a jungle gondola! It may sound crazy, but it was truly an awesome experience! We got to see the beautiful interior of the Costa Rican rainforest and look for jaguars (we didn't see any). 

This is Rana, Rae, and me before we loaded the gondola! We were all wearing cute rain jackets because there was supposed to be a downpour! Luckily, the rain spared us. 

And this is all of us on it together! The sassy chica in the gray sweater was our counselor. Her name was Nancy, but we all called her FaNcY NaNcY! Our group was CrAzY about nicknames. In this little snap,we had the gondola conductor take our picture and he was so nice. He told us a ton of crazy stories about times he had had in the jungle as a park ranger. This is for sure a must see if you'r headed to Costa Rica!
Here is a landscape shot I snapped! It was kind of a cloudy day, but I think it Really made the colors standout. :)

XOXOXOX- SOPH