Outside of Manuel Antonio Park, we had lots of fun, too. We ate at several spectacular restaurants with incredible views of the ocean, coastline, and jungle in between. Most notable was La Luna, where we went for a sunset dinner after our first day in the park. We'd highly recommend a stop here! We had checked out the menu online and thought the photos looked nice. When we arrived, we were a bit surprised by just how fancy it was (like, a golf cart picks you up from the parking lot and drives you up to the resort fancy). The meal was oustanding, complete with a complimentary bread plate (they brought grilled zucchini with a balsamic drizzle for Erin), and a homemade passionfruit sorbet palate cleanser. Yum! And the views? Well, we think they speak for themselves.
 |
| Photo courtesy of Adventure Girl :) |
There was another amazing moment when a group of scarlett macaws flew by, only this time, we were actually above them, looking down on their spectacular colours.
We also had some fun at the public beach, and lots of time by the pool at our place.
 |
| Building a sand taxi |
 |
| Our typical homemade dinner: taco bowl |
We considered going zip lining but Adventure Girl had her hesitations and we knew from experience that you have to be ready to step off that platform or else it could be a pretty unsuccessful outing!
Instead, we opted for something that's more difficult to change your mind on at the last moment: parasailing! We had watched many people take off and land, while we were lounging on the public beach. It looked so smooth and relaxing, and Adventure Girl was game! So we signed up for a sunset ride and before we knew it, we were getting strapped into the wet harnesses.
We were given a quick run-down on the steps: walk quickly forwards, hold up the bar, then drop our hands to the straps and sit back. It all happened so fast - one moment we were standing on the beach; the next, we were flying up, up, up!
Craig had paraglided a few times previously and he was right in his description - it was more like floating than flying because it was so effortless. It almost felt like we were sitting on a couch in front of a green screen, it was so relaxing and surreal!
We flew along the coast of the National Park, where we got to see the three beaches clearly, and the spots where we'd seen the capuchins, then the three troupes of monkeys earlier that day. We floated above a V of pelicans, and watched our own shadow dance along the treetops. We filmed the whole experience on our go-pro and will be re-watching it many times, for sure.
Then, we prepared ourselves for the landing, which didn't end up being all too stressful. Lots of frantic unclipping of carabiners but all heads stayed above water. Note that our go-pro footage is way more harrowing because it was strapped to Craig's chest which did go under water!
The next moment we were on the back of a jet ski, hanging on, being shuttled back to shore.
It was an incredibly expensive 15 minutes but such an amazing experience. And, Adventure Girl? She was joyful throughout and immediately wanted to go again, quoting that the take off and landing (ie: the most thrilling parts) were her favourite!
2024 sure has been off to an exhilerating start!
To follow along with Adventure Girl's recount of Costa Rica, visit: http://www.highfiveadventures.com/p/adventure-girl-costa-rica.html
No comments:
Post a Comment