Costa Rica: Post 3 Hiking to the Waterfall

On the first day we were at Blue Osa we took a hike that I didn't enjoy. The water wasn't working so a trip up to the spring in the middle of the jungle up the mountain was necessary. This hike involved a machete which should have been my first sign that I wasn't going to enjoy it, and as a matter of fact I never actually finished the hike because I stayed at the base of the mountain as the Doctor and Yogi A continued on. While they were up there I did get to see howler monkeys move across the trees. A few days later I told the Doctor that if he wanted to go on a hike up to the waterfall I would go with him and I even promised to enjoy it.

So we decided one afternoon to hop on the quad (that is a whole separate post) and head up to the entrance to the river. Once we parked the Quad and went up to the entrance we began our hike. The water was a bit chilly but in the 100 degree heat it was almost bearable for me. Yogi A took the lead reminding us that the most important thing about the jungle is to "know where you are putting yourself." I was very cautious as we walked over the rocks and through the ankle to knee deep water. We came to a point where a tree was covering our path so we had to get out of the water and walk around, up over trees, up the hill and then back down. Once we had passed that area we once again entered the river and the "rapids" and ahead of us we could see the waterfall. The water was cascading down the rocks and into a beautifully tranquil pool of water in the middle of the jungle.

Once we got to the pool took off our shoes and stripped down to our swimming attire and swam around a bit, and over to the waterfall. Luckily I brought my camera carefully protected in a Ziploc bag. While the water was cold the area was beyond picturesque it was perfect. The clear water the jungle surrounding us. The massage from the waterfall as the water ran down your body. This was another amazing experience that you could only have in Costa Rica and an experience we will never forget.

The way back down was a bit more difficult for me, I am not sure if it was because I was tired or it was downhill or the water was deeper but I was having a difficult time keeping my footing. At one point because I had my camera I had to scale a rock it was about 8 feet straight up and ten feet down directly into the water or rocks. I made it all the way up and most of the way back down and about six inches from the water I slipped and fell flat on my backside. My sunglasses went flying and I had the breathe knocked out of me but the camera was safe and dry in my shorts.

Once we got back to the bottom we all got back on the quad and Yogi A took us to a different part of the beach. There was an amazing outlook deck that was above the ocean in the middle of the jungle. We sat and listen to the waves as the cam onshore. You were looking out and all you could see was the purity of nature. As we sat and listened to the waves we also noticed that a howler monkey was very close. You could hear his cries from the trees behind us. As Yogi A and I sat on the outlook deck the Doctor went to go look for his howler monkey, and he found it. He came running back quietly a few minutes later looking for the camera, and he got a clear picture and video of the howler from below, this was as close as either of us had ever been to these monkeys, although we heard them every morning.

We ventured back to Blue Osa a bit later fully satisfied. We had an amazing day with friends and the waterfall and sitting by the beach was only a few hours of that. More life experiences and memories were made this day. I couldn't help but smile as I was being shaken apart on the ride back... this was what living your life is about, and I am lucky to be here to live it.

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