Liberia,
Costa Rica
Dec. 24, 2001 - Dec. 31, 2001
The driving conditions in and
around the Liberia area are horrendous. You wouldn't believe the vast
amounts of potholes and their emmense size. Driving slows down to a halt
at some points as you twist and turn your way to your destinations.
Often, since the pothole stricken roads are dirt, and not the major routes, people drive on the best side of the road disregarding what the driving side is. It is not strange to see cars, trucks, and even tour busses driving on the wrong side of the road just to bypass the potholes on the roads.
A souvenir shop on our way to Tamarindo, apparantly the second best place to surf in the world. Look at those hammock. Gotta love'em!
More funny looking souvenirs on the side of the road. Turtles, lizards, and other funny stuff.
My mom and brother waiting by our Dihatsu Terrio SUV rent-a-car. It just rained here, which was quite unusual for Costa Rica in December, as this is known as the Dry Period.
Tamarindo, with the many surf shops and seafood restaurants by the beach.
Waiting outside the seafood restaurant where we had our lunch, and extremely slow service. The food was good though, but maybe it was because we were all really hungry by that time.
These ancient tribal statues protect the resort from evil beings that commonly lurk the nights of Liberia. Well, maybe not but they were scattered along the entrance to the resort and I found them interesting.
Bullfrog anyone? As I walked the streets of the resort at night, I encountered a bullfrog, a skunk, and a lizard.
That next day my brother and I headed off to Tamarindo again, where we had our first surfing lesson. It was actually quite easy to get the hang of since both of us had snowboarded before and the stance is very similar. It just finished raining here too, which is why the sand seems a bit dirty.
The next day the family went to the Ecolodge at Ricon de la ... where we horseback rode and hiked all around the base of the dead volcano. Congo, was my horse's name. Sadly, he didn't really have the same amount of energy as the other Congo!
The transition point where we got off our horses and started our hike into the lush green forest.
The first waterfall of our hike, approximately 20 meters high, said Rene, the 70 year old Spanish speaking tourguide with 22 children, the youngest one being 2 years old!
That would be me by the same waterfall. I got eaten alive here as the mosquitos here are like black flies, where they actually "bite" a chunk out of you!
I think I smell some sulphur... Just look at the steam! The mud is actually bubbling ferociously inside these pits.
I just couldn't get enough of that sulphuric smell. Mmmm... Bubble, bubble, bubble.
If the mud wasn't hot enough for you, then here's a bunch of sulphuric bodies of water that are actually boiling.
Oooh, you can't go on a hike and not have a mud facial! There's our happy tourguide on the left, and my, mom, brother, and I, with some others giving ourselves a mud facial. It felt niiiiice...
The rivers roaring in these parts are gorgious. The accompanying vegetation makes it for a great picture. Too bad I know nothing about plant-life!
The second of the waterfalls on our hike. This one was beautiful. Clear blue water surrounded by rocks and plantlife. It was almost like being in a movie. Hard to believe it was real.
For all you skeptics, here's proof that there's no pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Look at the blue water! I see no gold here. But the view was worth more than any pot of gold.
The halfway point of our daytrip here was spent eating lunch. Two sandwhiches, cookies, a drink, and watermelon slices. Ooooh, did they ever taste so good. We must have been starving for the longest time.