Whale Watching and Surf lessons - Pura Vida!!!

FIRST OFF I AM LOVING ALL THIS BRITNEY SPEARS NEWS!!!!!....but this post was scheduled and in the que....Costa Rica Part 2!!

We loved the Arenal region, and we loved our hotel even more. The staff was amazing, the volcano was gorgeous (you can read about it here) and the rainforest felt relaxing and exotic all at the same time. We were sad to leave, and didn't think there was any way we could top those three days.

Wellll. Costa Rica had a few tricks up its sleeve. So off to our second city, Manuel Antonio we went. 

But first, another crazy drive. This drive took around 5 hours (shout out to Costa Rica ride! They were amazing). And this time, I had Dramamine. Thank god. I resisted, like the stubborn person I am, since Dramamine makes you sleepy. And who wants to fall asleep on vacay?!? Not me!! But after feeling like I was gasping for air and spinning in circles, we took a break and I ate half a pill. 

Then we took our second break. We stopped at the usual souvenir shop: 

Then our ride told us to walk across the bridge, but don't try to swim. 

And HOLY moly. This was what we were staring at: 

This should have been an indication.... We were headed to a real-life zoo.  Without cages. Seriously y'all! And our travel agent picked this city and hotel, so I was pretty blind going into it! 

We finally get to our hotel, Arenas Del Mar, and we took this long little road to the Eco-resort. This resort appealed to me, because it was where the rainforest meets the beach. I wanted a full week of rainforest :) The views were spectacular. And unlike our first hotel, the foliage was overgrown and just, well, wild. No perfectly manicured gardens at this place.
 

^this picture was taken from the hotel "lobby" - a completely open air restaurant next to the concierge. UM, PARADISE FOUND^

^This picture was taken from our Catamaran cruise- but it gives you some perspective as to where the hotel was located^ 

 We kept saying we felt like we were shipwrecked on some deserted tropical island. It definitely took a few hours to get used to. And then, we planned our activities - and I stacked those suckers. Back-to-back stuff!! 

First up on day 2 in Manuel Antonio: A catamaran cruise to whale watch. We were told we had a 95% chance of seeing them since it was whale season in Costa Rica.  Sold. This has been on my bucket list for forever, and I for sure had no idea it was going to be possible on this trip. And we found them! I was like a little 5-year-old shrieking all over the boat every time we saw one. I was in total awe of these creatures. 

^ a mama whale and her baby ^

^ as close as my zoom lenses would take me^

^every time we spotted the spray, everyone would gasp with excitement. We think we saw three whales total, but it's hard to say^ 

Then, surfing lessons! No rest on vacation! This was one of the activities The Hubs was super excited about. Surfing is hard stuff!! 

 

 What was crazy was that it started storming while we were surfing! We finally called it quits around 4:30 p.m., and retreated from what had been one of best days yet.

I shall return with a post on our last day. I planned to only write two posts, but these posts are becoming way too long for my taste. Hasta mañana! 

Tessy