Costa Rica, cont. some more

Sunday-the waterfall.

Sara heard from a friend at work that someone was organizing a trip to see this really great waterfall. We'd be going on Sunday, it would take about 2 hrs to get there, pack a lunch, bring swimming suits... We were so excited to go!!

So, the day before Sara went to the store to pick up a few groceries and to buy Ginger Ale for the 2 of us. She packed a big bag with suits, towels, and sunscreen. She made our picnic lunch, and we grabbed the kids and took off.

We crossed the valley, and headed up into some absolutely gorgeous mountain area. I've been through the mountains in AZ, but this was very different mountain driving. The road, for the most part, was in really good condition. Sometimes we'd have to cross a gorge, but the bridge was just as good as any you'd find here. What was so different from the AZ mountains was that most of the time the ground on both sides of the car came down to the road, and there were trees right up to the edge of the road. Trees, and bushes, and all sorts of flora and fauna. There was one thing, we couldn't really tell if it was a bush, or a weed, that had leaves that were twice the size of my end table. Absolutely HUGE!!! And, very pretty. Every now and then the ground would level out, or go down on the drivers side, and the trees would thin or they'd be gone altogether. When this happened we saw the most amazing thing. Down the side of the road, across a deep, or small ravine, and up the next side of that mountain was all green. Trees, that were huge, and beautiful. I don't even know how many different kinds there were, but it was beautiful. The trees were so dense that you could see nothing else. Sara told me that this was where Jerrasic Park was filmed, and that was something I actually had remembered, but seeing it made it so clear. They did not have to use any cg, or pc programs to enhance the look of the island in that movie. That is just how wild and beautiful it was.It made me wish that I could get down there and walk around and see, up close, all of the trees, bushes, vines, and wildlife as I possibly could. I thought of the monkeys and just wanted to see some so badly. Then I thought of the mountain lions and decided the car ride was good enough for me.

Suddenly, with no warning, we were out of the valley and though the ground was still hilly, we were out of the mountains. And  Costa Rica looked like northern Minnesota! There were open fields, farmers fields, forests, lakes and rivers. There were cows, and horses, horses, horses. And, there were a ton of dogs. (the dogs in C.R. are numerous, and have the run of the land. In the cities and towns they walk right down the middle of the road, or cross it at a nice slow pace, and no one honks, or yells at them.) We'd see nothing man made for many miles, then come suddenly to a village. The houses were pretty poor, and they came up very close to the road. Most of them must have been farmers, because a lot of them had produce stands along the road, and the produce looked great! So fresh. We'd be driving down the highway, and we'd come up to a school, and there would be speed bumps in the road on either side of it. It was kind of strange, but very smart!

But what happened next was a real shock. The paved road ended, and the gravel road began, but this was no ordinary gravel road.  It was all rocks! I think the smallest ones were the size of my fist. There were rocks the size of bowling balls, and everything was a mess. I don't mean there was a dirt road, and every now and then you'd see a big rock. That is what the road consisted of. Rocks, and little boulders. Sara's poor car sits pretty low to the ground and I just started praying right away. We could not believe that her car didn't break down. You should have heard those rocks hitting the bottom of her car. She went as slow as she could, but the ground underneath was pretty soft, and we were going uphill, and there were pretty big dips in the road, so she couldn't go too slow. At one point the dip was so deep, so long, and it was so full of big rocks, that we almost got stuck. I don't know how long that road was, but it felt like many miles. It was really scary. But, we took another turn, the road continued like that for maybe 2 or 3 blocks distance, and we were out of it and at the "hotel" on who's property the waterfall is.

This hotel consisted of a big, beautiful lodge, with a patio in which is the swimming pool, and a many layered deck that started at the open sided gazebo. There were 5 or 6 bungalows, and horses as well. We had to go into the lodge to pay for the trip to the waterfall, and while that was all being taken care of, we found out that to get to the falls we had to get back on that road, and drive 2 miles to it. There was a way to hike from the lodge, but it was, at places, a pretty steep walk and there were several small children with, and of course, a pregnant lady. Our caravan consisted of 1 big pickup, 3 suv's, 1 mini van and Sara's car. Apparently the guy driving the mini van (which also sits low to the ground), got upset about driving some more on that road. He had had some trouble in the same spot we did. So, the plans were changed and we were hiking. Only, there's no way I could have done that. I have some health issues that made that impossible. So, I stayed behind. But I wasn't upset by that. I had some truly exquisite scenery to watch, and they had a small "library". I thought maybe I'd be able to find something in English.

Well, every book they had was in English. So, I sat by the pool, with my book, and my ginger ale, and frequently looked up because I couldn't keep my eyes off of that view. This is what I saw-on the far side was a mountain, all green and lush like the others, and in between was, well, I don't know what it's called. It was kind of like a valley, but not at all, if that makes any sense. There were huge forests, and multi-layered rocky areas, and a river that was deep, and long, and that snaked around. Only, you can't see the river, even from up that high, because  both sides of the river are rock that go straight up. The manager told me that the river is so deep, and so wide, that big (we're talking ocean liners) travel up and down it and sometimes you can see the tops of the masts! I wished I could see it. This whole valley, ravine, whatever it is, is crescent shaped and surrounded 3 sides of the hotel. It was a great, relaxing day. I had really wanted to see the falls, but I don't feel like I was ripped off, because I had a great afternoon! And, it felt like it went very quickly.



Sara had left a sandwich for me, and some money so I could get a snack, or something cold to drink. I did get a coke later on, but the people running this place were so wonderful. They even invited me to have lunch with them. The manager speaks English very well, and his assistant is just learning it. None of the others could speak it at all, but I didn't feel at all unwelcome. The manager asked me if I speak Spanish and when I shook my head no, and said "no hable espaniole" every one laughed. Then he said "none? not at all" so I started listing off what I know:
Agua - water
Asta meniona - see you tomorrow, or later
Felice navidad - merry christmas
No hable espaniol - don't speak spanish
gracias - thanks
mucho gracias - thanks, a lot
de nada - you're welcome
mucho gusto - you're very welcome and several more that I'm just too tired to remember right now.
And, they all laughed at me some more, but it wasn't mean. We were just having a good time. Then I said "Wait! there's one more. Abuela (I doubt very much it's spelled this way) which means grandma. I said I was an Abuela. That my 2 grandsons call me Nana, or grandma Laurie and that they live in Escasu,  and they said I wasn't old enough to have 2 grandsons. I wanted to kiss them all, but we didn't know each other very well, so I decided that might be a bad idea!

I cannot remember what lunch was called, but we ate out in the open air and it was so good. And they were so nice to invite me. I really never will forget the Tico's. They're wonderful, generous, kind people who love to laugh, and love. They're openly affectionate with each other and it was very nice to see.

The group came trudging back, and they all looked so tired. One man had been nice enough to put on a carrier, and take Simon, the baby. That was a huge help to Sara. He took him to the falls, and back. The last part of the hike is to come down a hill behind the bungalows, and it got pretty steep, so there were steps and a railing. I knew right away Sara was hurting because she was walking sideways down the steps, just one step at a time. Everyone was tired, and had gotten a lot of sun, and they all said the falls were beautiful. I asked Sara if she took pictures, fully prepared to kill her if she hadn't. But, she's safe. She took pics. She also said that it was a good thing I didn't go. Apparently, the walk back is almost all uphill, and at times it was really steep. I knew it had to be bad when I saw Malachi and told him I'd missed him and he mumbled something I couldn't understand as he walked by. He didn't even stop to visit with the horses.

The drive home, as always, went so much faster. Even the gravel road didn't seem as long, and the really bad spot was better going down. Sara put the car in 1st gear and had a much easier time going down. Her legs didn't get as tired, which was a good thing considering how much walking and climbing she'd just done. There was one spot where a big mound of soil had shown up and was covering more than half of the road.

It was a great day, and a great trip. I got a little sunburned, but not too bad. Sara got badly sunburned, especially on her shoulders, and we all slept pretty well that night. I think. Ok, so I slept really well that night. I don't know about the others, but it was a great day for all of us. We missed John, tho.