Day 5 was our last full day in Costa Rica and it was another adventure packed day. The prior day we looked into zip lining or waterfall repelling tours since this was something that Hope was very interested in (fits right in with her rock climbing). Luckily one of the companies that we reached out to was PureTrek, not only were they great to work with but they were also very accommodating for our one day notice on booking a tour. The tour was set-up to include a traditional Tico breakfast before we left, then a 30 minute van ride to the waterfalls, a couple hours repelling several falls, and then the van ride back. The dry bag came in handy again but they did have lockers at the top of the falls to put any valuables. Our guide was very knowledgeable and talked to us the entire van ride about local mountains, history of the area, national parks in Cost Rica and the amount of land that is protected…ton of interesting information!. Once we got to the falls there was an opportunity to use bathrooms and we got fitted for gloves, harnesses, and helmets. The first repel was one of the best due to the height, the second was super fun (monkey drop) because you got a freefall sensation and landed in a pool of water at the bottom. The next couple of repels were all amazing because there was such different terrain, some repels were off a platform between two cliffs and some were right down the front of a small waterfall. It was amazing and Hope had a fantastic time, Kristen could have done without the monkey drop but overall it was a great experience for everyone! After waterfall repelling we spent our last afternoon getting some souvenirs in La Fortuna and Hope found a local artist that she liked (Kristen and I also ended up buying a piece to remember our time here as well). One last night at the hot springs and it was time to start packing for our trek back to San Jose and flights home the next evening.
Day 6 was spent tidying up the airbnb and getting ready to leave. We stopped at a local soda just outside La Fortuna and one last Gallo Pinto breakfast. We decided to take a longer route back to San Jose so that we could check out Poas Volcano. This volcano is a tourist attraction because you can actually drive all the way to the top and it is a short hike to see the crater and sulfur lake in the top of the volcano. The drive up the mountain was very scenic, we saw random waterfalls and great vies of the towns below. However, when we got to the top we found out that you have to reserve time to enter the park. Poor planning on my part since we didn’t have enough time to wait for an open reservation and still be able to make it back for our flight. While disappointing, we did enjoy the drive back down the mountain. We got to stop at some random shops, see a massive cloud front move in all around us, and then we got a surprise encounter from a sloth RIGHT NEXT TO THE ROAD!
Airport check-in was uneventful and smooth and the kids did good for the short flight to San Salvador. We were disappointed to see that security check was right at the gates for our next flight, which meant no open drinks to take on the plane. Luckily it was an evening flight and the kids fell asleep pretty quick.
Some of our favorite experiences that are hard to capture was the kindness and pura vida attitude of everyone we met. It really was a different pace of life. Everything from the local artists to street vendors, the roadside rice pudding (delicious), and the willingness to help out tourists who probably looked very lost, It was an amazing trip and we really can’t wait to go back. I’m looking forward to telling everyone about our next adventure, hope you enjoyed reading about our time in Costa Rica!