Inspiration.

I met a new friend when I went to Costa Rica.  she is my new inspiration.  Tonight, she left me this on my Facebook:

"Character contributes to beauty. It fortifies a woman as her youth fades. A mode of conduct, a standard of courage, discipline, fortitude, and integrity can do a great deal to make a woman beautiful.” ~ here's to you....follow your dreams :)

Fear FOR Them.

The Long and Winding Road... With Detours.

The day had come.  The day we needed to head back to San Jose so we could prepare to go home the following morning.  We were all very sad to say goodbye to Playas del Coco.  We tried to sleep in but I don't think any of us wanted to waste the time of sleep while we could be up enjoying more hours in Costa Rica.  Either that or we just couldn't sleep at all.

We packed the car and said goodbye to Leo at Toro Blanco.  We pet the dogs goodbye and we were off to pay our bill with Rich Coast.  Kat was going to stay a couple more weeks (lucky girl!) so she was getting more suggestions from Brenda.  Seriously, if you ever go to Playas del Coco for diving, be sure to do it with Rich Coast Diving.  They definitely know their stuff!  We definitely trust Brenda and her suggestions of places to go and eat!  She knows her stuff!  I was so jealous that Kat was going to be traveling longer in the beautiful country!  Anyway we hung out for an hour or so trying to figure out what happened to my booties.  I decided to tell Brenda and Juan not to worry about it.  If they show up, great.  Perhaps somebody else could use a new pair?  We said our goodbyes and were off to our next adventure.

The next adventure included a few U-turns and a very bumpy dirt road.  We were off to Congo Trail!  This was a recommendation from Brenda so we knew it would be worth it.  we finally pulled up and decided that 2 of us should stay with the car and luggage due to past history of thiefs in the area.  Kat and Jen went first while Risa and I chilled in and around the car.  When the girls came back they warned us to take everything out of our pockets and hair because the monkeys will try to steal anything they can get their hands on!

(The snuggle bug.)

(It's like he's telling her a shocking secret!)

Marisa and I paid our entrance fee and was greeted by a young Tico.  He was shy and very sweet as he let us into the cage.  We were immediately greeted by 3 White Faced Monkeys and 2 Spider Monkeys.  These monkeys were once pets and when they tried to release them into the wild, they would just keep coming back to be taken care of.  The male Spider Monkey came right up to me putting his arms up to be picked up and cuddled.  He was the sweetest thing ever!  We were handed sunflower seeds to feed the monkeys and the White Faced monkeys were all over us, playing, inspecting, grooming and eating.  It was hilarious!  After this experience, we decided it would be best to never ever want a pet monkey.  They're worse than children!  We were finally done after the monkeys looked under Marisa's dress and down my shirt.  We checked out the rest of the animals, which included various snakes, a Barn Owl, a Pheasant, butterflies and more.  The Congo Trail was definitely worth the $10 entrance and tip we gave the young Tico!  Next we checked out the souvenir shop, purchased our goods (including cold Cokes) and we were on our way to San Jose.

(They went down my shirt, up Marisa's dress...  They wanted to see it all!)

Time was running short as we drove the one highway that lead us back to the city.  We wanted to make it to the hostel by nightfall since Juan (aka, the Spanish Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords) had told us not to drive in San Jose at night.  We were all falling very tired and decided it best to just stay at the Holiday Inn Express that was next door to the car rental place.  We ate dinner at Denny's since it was within walking distance and then it was shower and bedtime.

We woke up early and were so sad to leave such an amazing country.  We left Kat behind as she decided to stay an extra 2 weeks.  We are all very jealous of her and the adventures she'll be experiencing without us as we return to reality.  Thankfully, she's still emailing us when she can and will be photographing her pictures and sharing with us later!

So now I need to try to convince my boss to let me work from home so I can move to Costa Rica!  Hmmm....

I call Bull.

We woke up early feeling more exhausted than we had the whole trip.  Seems all of our adventures were catching up with us finally!  Not to worry, it did not slow us down!  We made like sloths and got ready for one of the best dives we've ever done.  Today, we were doing Bats Part 2.  We needed a do over since we didn't see any Bull Sharks the first time.  This was Marisa's brilliant idea and one we will never forget!

We made way to the beach to meet up with Rich Coast and made our way to the Stray Dog (our dive boat).  The sun was shining down on us with blue skies, which made for a very warm day.  We were ready.  We went out for our hour and a half boat ride, talking story getting to know the dive staff more.  Let me stop right here.  I cannot tell you how cool most divers are!  They all have such amazing stories to tell and are all such amazing people.  The kind of people you keep in your life for good.

The nerves began to hit as we geared up and got ready for our back roll into the water.  Our guide, J.P., was sure to make us aware that he will only be pointing out sharks and not making noise so they didn't swim off.  We descended to the bottom and after only a few minutes, the Bulls appeared.  It was incredible, to say the least.  These sharks are very big.  Much bigger than the White Tips we're so used to.  The biggest female was about 14 feet long.  That's a couple feet longer than we even knew Bull Sharks got!  we knew they were big but we thought it was just girth and not length, but WOW!  After hanging out with 8-10 Bull Sharks, we can now dive anything!  What an amazing dive!

(One of the only pictures that turned out on my camera.)

We surfaced and debriefed a bit, just in awe at these gorgeous sharks.  The nerves had turned into excitement and we now have an even greater appreciation for our most feared shark.  We enjoyed another boat ride out to Ranger's House, which is this beautiful bay-like area.  Kat and some of the crew swam to the island and hiked up the hill, checking out the view.  Jen, Marisa and I jumped in the water and lazily swam around, doing a little bit of sight seeing under water.  Just a nice lazy time in the warmest water I've ever been in.

(Risa, Jen and Kate with Tom "hiding" during our surface interval.)

(Me in a rental wetsuit.  Poor Xcel wetsuit, may it rest in peace.)

Next stop was Black Rock.  This dive was definitely more chill and just beautiful.  We could not believe how many schools of fish we swam with!  There were several different kinds just schooling and enjoying the water like ourselves.  In the midst of them, a couple of Spotted Eagle Rays hung out and we were able to take more photos and videos.  We also came across a couple of Nurse Sharks along the way!  This was our first time spotting these sharks as well!  Not bad at all!  This was a very relaxing dive and a nice way to end our week of diving.

(Risa caught some gorgeous shots of the schools of fish surrounding us.)

(Me, completely stoked after a very successful day of diving.  Look at how gorgeous Costa Rica is!)

We sunbathed on the way back and then took our daily dip in the Toro Blanco hotel Pool.  Martin, the other owner of Rich Coast Diving, stopped by and enjoyed a quick dip as well and invited us to lunch.  We obliged and went along, picking up Brenda on the way.  We had delicious food (Seafood Rice, Chicken Rice, Shrimp Rice, french fries and salad) and lovely conversation.  Martin had taken some footage with his camera during the dives and even got close enough to get smacked by a Bull Shark!  They invited us to their home so we could view the footage and continue the pool session.  It was a fantastic evening just chilling in the pool and getting to know each other.  We enjoyed a lightning storm from afar and as the lights went out, the fireflies came out.  A perfect way to end out time in Playas del Coco!  Kat and Risa are now talking about doing the Dive Master Program here in Costa Rica with Rich Coast!  Who knows?  Maybe I'll join them... ;)

(One of the amazing shots Martin from Rich Coast Diving got of a pregnant female Bull Shark.  She was about 14 feet long and all scarred up from mating.)