Volcanic Mud and Hotsprings - Rio Negro

The one thing I had known I really wanted to do, once I knew it existed, was to envelop myself in volcanic mud and wash it off in natural hot springs - or so I imagined it would be! So on Monday June 2nd, the whole gang went to the closest Volcano to our house here in North Western Costa Rica - Rincon de La Vieja National Park - where we figured we would first do (YET ANOTHER) nature hike followed by this cool consept.

Turns out though, when we get to the volcano place, that they are closed on Mondays. Who closes a volcano on Mondays?

Ok - so we were pretty bummed - after all - we had sacrificed (YET ANOHTER) day at the pool for this adventure...

So we start heading down the mountain to have a sightseeing tour in Liberia instead, when we see the sign: MUDBATH AND HOTSPRING SPA - ESTAMOS ABIERTO (WE ARE OPEN). yayayayayayya - who cares if the volcano is closed - all we wanted (corrected: all I wanted) was mud and hot water!

We were soon disappointed though, because this was a sterile spa, and hte water was luke warm at the best, and the pool was filled with leaves and junk and we were not at all tempted. The workers there, however, suggested we go to Rio Negro instead, because they had much hotter water! They even cost the same, they insisted - 10 dollars per person!

So off we went and YES we found it - despite the fact that it was invisible and we had passed it when I by chance glanced backwards. Bella didnt have to pay, so for the whole gang, it was USD40. The first inexpensive thing so far in Costa Rica.

We changed into bathing suits, and started walking a nature hike for half a km to get to the hotsprings.

We had no idea what to expect of course - and were pleasantly surprised when we found a hanging bridge for max 2 people at a time! It rocked loads and was super fun to pass.

 

Once we got off the bridge we met an older man who just kinda looked at us - and we just kinda looked back... finally I asked him in spanglish "donde esta mudbath?" - and he points to a tiny pool with a thing of bubbling mud inside - the size of - well - a double bathroom sink. So we undress and start making way towards the little pot of mud only for the man to shake his head and lead us back, while he filled a LITTLE pot of mud and gave to us, with 5 paintbrushes. We were going to PAINT EACH OTHER with mud - how cool is that???? LOVE IT!

So we painted and laughed and had a blast for 10 minutes, then waited about 10-15 minutes before rinsing off in ice cold river water showers, and THEN we got into the natural hotpool, which had a temperature of about 40 degrees celcius, or about 104 fahrenheit Arild says.

And it was AMAZING - there were nobody there but us and the old man, who by now had slumped down in a chair and fallen asleep! We were swimming in a pretty big pool of hot water, with a shower of cold water coming down to make the tempareature bearable. We also swam in a pool behind this one where the temperature was SCOLDING hot - we all tried it though - but our pulses spiked fairly fast.

After a while of bathing tourists started coming and guides and americans and the magic was over - but we had spent well over an hour all alone in this paradise - which for us is a highlight of our trip to Costa Rica!

First 6 days in Coco, Costa Rica

So our first 6 days here in Costa Rica are over and wow did time pass quickly this time!
One great thing about these first 6 days is that I AM BACK TO RUNNING!!! Very excited thank you very much! Granted - I did run Wednesday morning too - at 7 am on top of it - but my SportWatch did NOT UPLOAD the run to Nike + running for some reason... The three runs you see here are all from the BeachClub associated with the apartmentbuilding we are staying in - there is a gym there - yay! Theodore even worked out with me today - doing the elliptical for 30 minutes followed by lots of strength training!

 

For the most part, however, we do NOT work out - we are lounging by the pool having pina coladas, beer, soft drinks and water! 

 

We are finally here - in Coco, Costa Rica

Today, we drove for about 5 hours from Uvita to Coco - and it was a smooth drive! We were awoken this morning by a HOWLING MONKEY - though we did not know that - we thought it was the death screams of a donkey! It sounded HORRIBLE and grotesque!

We got up and just drove up north, however (after giving the key to the owner) and were here right around 1 pm after a quick stop at Burger King in Liberia!


We found the apartment complex fairly easily and we LOVED LOVED LOVED it - first off - it has air conditioning!!! It also has two great bedrooms, two baths, great living room, and exit right out to a fantastic pool area!

After swimming and hanging out (and writing a million blog posts), we went out to dinner at Coconutz - a sports bar. This town is SO DIFFERENT from Uvita - it is a tourist town deluxe! It is crazy - it is like every stereotype come together (less the drunk Norwegians)!

However, we are spending too much on food here - since it is so expensive - so we went to the grocery store (which was AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL as compared to Uvita grocery stores) and bought groceries for 200 dollars - hoping to eat home for a couple (or three) days!

Uvita in Costa Rica

So – I figured – since we are leaving Uvita now, I really should show you some pictures of this neck of the woods. Uvita is located inPuntarenas, in the southers pacific zone of Costa Rica, along highway 34. It is about two hours south of Jaco - a pretty famous tourist town in the country, and about 3 hours from the capital city San Jose.

It is – unfortunately – not much to speak of! It is a stretch of highway where there suddenly are some stores and some houses and some restaurants – but no real center of town and everything is pretty spread out. So this is not a typical tourist town – which is great if that is what you are looking for. It was definitely what we were looking for – we always try to stay outside the most touristy places if we can avoid them – to see how real people live. 

And that was what we got here, without a doubt (and if we deduct our luxury mansion with pool in the hillside – which is definitely NOT how real people in Uvita live LOL)! 

The good thing is – this town is near national parks, surfing, swimming, water falls, zip lining, horse back riding and lots of other goodies in the area – and the prices of homes at www.homeaway.com for the area are NOT bad! So you get the stuff in the area, but live a lot cheaper – I gotta say I like that a lot! 

This is the house we rented: http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p384059

So if you are going to Costa Rica and wonder where to stay and consider Uvita, I say, “why not” – it is not any worse than any other place, and I kinda liked the fact that it was a dusty pre-touristy town where locals just walk along the highway and sell fish by the road.

Exotica – last night in in Uvita!

So once again I am slave to Lonely Planets recommendations, and this restaurant had top scores in Ojochal and I had been begging Arild to take us there before we left!! One thing I really want you to know - the restaurant IS THERE - you just need to keep driving and driving along really bad gravel (super rocky) roads that are winding through the jungle :) After about 10 minutes of thinking you are lost, you are there :)

This is the recommendation from Lonely Planet:

While rural Ojochal isnt exactly a hot spot of cosmopolitan urbanity, this phenomenal gourmet restaurant certainly sets a benchmark for comparison. Despite the humble thatched roof and wooden tables, the menue features a mind-blowing array of noveau French dishes, each emphasizing a breadth of ingredients that are brought together in masterful combinations.... with more than a decade in the business, yet only nine tables for diners to choose from, this is an intimate culinary experience that is certainly worht seeking out.

So tonight, all we did was go eat at Exotica (not a strip-club, though I like the name) in Ojochal – about 15 minutes from here. We were not disappointed this time either – but the prices were very high so beware before going there. You should also be aware that there is no such thing as a kids menue in Costa Rica apparently – so you will pay full price for your kid :-/ The meals were from 15 bucks and up, with most around 22-25 dollars. On top of that drinks and dessert and POOF there goes USD150… 

This is the Tripadvisor review of Exotica.

But yes, it was really really good!

But the chicken wings at Jolly Rogers were AWESOME! 

Ziplining in Costa Rica – wow!

So today we did what we had really wanted to do in Costa Rica – not because we had known beforehand that that this was something traditional Costarican (because it is NOT lol) but because it seemed everybody who had ever been to Costa Rica had gone zip lining ;) So we were crossing our fingers as we contacted the company and asked them if Bella and Arild could go – our two “maybes” – Bella because she is only 4 years old (many places said 7 minimum) and ARild because he is pretty heavy (and some places had 230 pounds as a limit). But this place – Hacienda Baru -- http://www.haciendabaru.com -- were more than happy to accommodate despite age and weight and we were all set this morning when we got there (at 11 am that is – not really morning I guess). 

 

The guides met us and said it was a 40 minute hike to the top, and then there was only a 10 minute hike down again. We figured that meant we would hike super high and then zip line to the bottom. Turns out, however, that the reason it takes so long to go up is not the distance, but the fact that this was a guided nature walk as well – in the rainforest – which was above and beyond what we had expected – super bonus for us!

And we were not disappointed – the guides were awesome! They pointed out ant colonies to us (pretty awesome – this group of ants had police officers, workers and soldiers to name a few – the soldiers were super strong! The picture of the guide holding a stick is actually the guide holding the soldier ant who is gripping the stick!!!) – cool! We also saw sloths and monkeys and lots of lizards and got lots of history lessons on the way up to the zips!

 

We did 8 ziplines on this trips, and it was so much fun! The kids had a blast, and even Arild loved it! He was drenched in sweat however by the time we got back ;) It was SO DARN HOT out there today – and we were happy to jump in the pool the second we were back at the house!

Here are some pictures of all five of us ziplining in Costa Rica - we are so happy we made that decision :)

Punta Mala and Tiliapia restaurant near Ojochal

We went swimming in another water hole under a waterfall today - called Punta Mala – cool as usual – this time however, we were unfortunate enough to get there at the same time as three american families with three kids each – minimum – and that was more of a hassle than any fun at all. But they finally left, and we got to swim a bit in pretty darn cold water – maybe we are getting used to this heat fast – it was after all probably around 30 degrees…

We had lunch at Tilapia first though, a restaurant that appears to be a local favorite – our server from Jolly Rogers the other day was there too – as were load of other Ticos. The only thing on their menue were Tilapia (which, if my memory from my fishermen serves me rights, is a pond farmed fish from China without any flavor whatsoever). I guess (reading from reviews) that we could have caught our own fish first and then have them cook it up... oh well...

Tripadvisor review of the restaurant