Then there was the snorkeling trip on Wednesday. That was a late minute addition to the schedule when we decided against taking a trip up to the Volcano because everybody who had been up there said you couldn’t see the volcano because of the rain and fog.
Luckily the snorkeling adventure left at 1pm so we were able to sleep in, all the way until 8:30!
We got up and went down for breakfast by the pool and then decided that since we had the time we would go do some souvenir shopping down by the beach. The entrance to Manuel Antonio beach is a 25 minute walk down the hill or a cheap bus ride down. We waited at the bus stop for a few minutes and then I decided that we should walk down to the beach. It was only about 100 degrees under the red hot sun so why not! The walk down was a bit rough but nothing compared to when I didn’t want to wait for the bus back up.
Down along Manuel Antonio beach all of the locals have little tents set up with the goods they are pushing, and I am not kidding when I say pushing… lo siento pero no necessito una vaca… yes I did mean to say I don’t need a cow. Once again the Spanish comes at us fast and furious and while I have enough conversational Spanish to get through this the poor Doctor has no idea what is going on half the time. Throw in the fact that we have to pay everything with colones (monopoly money) and it is a very demanding morning.
We end up buying a few little things for ourselves, a vase and mask and a soda and water, and a drum for my sister because that’s what she asked for and then started heading back up the beach back to the bus stop. On the way back up a woman whistles at the Doctor and exclaims in Spanish… es como un angel! Yeah, ok crazy lady he is like an angel! When we get back to the bus stop and the bus had not arrived in five minutes I decided that it wouldn’t be such a bad walk so we start walking, 30 minutes later we arrive back at the hotel dripping sweat from everywhere, needing a shower desperately!
It is almost 1pm and we are frantically packing our backpack to meet the tour group up in the reception area of our hotel for the snorkeling trip. Not sure what we needed we overpacked a backpack and were out the door. We loaded into another bus and were on our way to the dock where we learned that a marina is being built, however the engineers failed to take into account that the marina was being built on sand so it is now sinking. Silly Tico engineers you say, yes but the engineers are American!
We get onto the boat which is a 12 person sailboat where the Doctor realizes he is going to need Dramamine to survive and then we are off on a seven our sail around the Pacific ocean. The first thing I notice is how stunning the coastline is as we pull away, the rocks jutting out of the water with waves crashing on them and the volcanic hills rising from the coastline with light white clouds puffed up around them. I obviously snap a couple hundred pictures this trip. There really is no better way to appreciate the landscape of this country then experiencing it in all the different ways possible.
About an hour or so into the trip the captain slows the boat down and then tells us to look off to the right of the boat as we look to the right we see some gulls and then two dolphins jump out of the water in front of another boat, and then two more and before you know it there are about 20 dolphins surrounding the boat. Jumping and playing in the water and swimming around. The water is so clear that you could see the dolphins swimming a few feet beneath the boat before the jump. It was amazing.
After about 20 minutes watching the dolphins (which we weren’t able to get a picture of) the boat stopped and told us if we wanted to we could jump in the water. So we all hop off the boat and go for a swim in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Of course Greg has to ask how deep the water was, apparently it was about 500 feet deep where we were swimming. I immediately swim towards the rope attached to the boat. Then we get back on the boat for our trip into the bay to do some snorkeling.
Once we get there we get a quick explanation on how and where to snorkel, as well as how to use the equipment. I immediately recognize a problem, I always breath through my nose, and then my nose is clogged by the stupid goggles. But I give it a try and jump into the water and swim towards the rocks. The problem with the bay we are snorkeling in is that there are about 6 other boats and 200 other fat white men and women and their children snorkeling there. Quite honestly it is way too busy to really see much except for fat people in swimsuits. As the Doctor dives down he is able to see some fish below the water. I dive down and I can’t breathe and my ears pop. The Doctor calls me over to a location by the rock and tells me where to look. As I get ready to dive down and see some fish a whale swims over me pushes me out of the way and into a huge chunk of volcanic rock attached to the sea floor. I gouge my shin open and scream at this stupid whale… and by whale I mean 600 lbs woman.
After a little while longer and seeing a few fish I make my way back to the boat with the Doctor and they have dinner ready for us. We sit enjoy dinner, exchange experiences (I only saw like 3 fish) and I nurse my leg back to health, or at least stop it from bleeding. And then the sun begins to set and red yellow pink and purple hues are scattered throughout the sky, the clouds are kissed with colors and a streak of orange cuts the water. It is a miraculous sunset and once again I make sure to take hundreds of pictures. After the sun sets we head back to shore on the boat and our snorkeling adventure comes to an end. We spend the rest of the evening at the hotel relaxing by the pool and enjoying the company of the others on the snorkeling adventure (except for that one couple that didn’t talk) And then Thursday was surfing.
Surfing was not my cup of tea but I will talk about that a little more tomorrow.
Until then… Pura Vida
The pictures are up and posted on the travel blog www.travelblog.org/bloggers/gregandjon
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