Day 5:
Ok it's been a month since we were in Costa Rica and I still haven't finished the blog, sorry!
So we broke down and coughed up $20 a piece to do a tour on our last day at Hacienda Baru. Well worth it! We should have done more than one. We had two wonderful guides, Nicholas and Christian. Both were fluent in English (and really cute). We went trekking through the forest with them and they would stop, point up to nothing it seemed, set up the telescope and low and behold there was a sloth, or a toucan, or monkeys, I never did see any of it with the naked eye (except the monkeys), but it was really cool looking through the scope at them.
Christian would grab my crappy camera and take pictures through the telescope that were nicer than the ones I took straight on. That's why all the pictures you are seeing here are from Mary's collection. Anyway it was lots of fun and very informative.
After the tours we went back to the cabin to pack up and leave. We were really sad to be leaving such a wonderful place and were thinking about our poor Sammy, when poof there he was. It was like he came to say goodbye! We had never seen him during daylight hours. We figured he was afraid of the other Baru dogs and stuck to night, but he came said goodbye, got some last loving and left. Too cute!
So on the road we went, we stopped again in Dominical but not for long, and then continued on the way to Club Fred. We had wanted to get lunch, and got a taste of Costa Rican culture instead lol. It was probably 10:30, and we were trying to get this humus sandwich we had seen on our last trip in, We found the restaurant, but it was closed. I went to the tour place in the next shop and asked when they opened. The guy says 11 and comes out screaming for the café owner lol. She's not around so Mary and I decide to go shop for a bit and come back. We come back at 11:15 but still no owner. Now we were too hungry to wait, resigned ourselves to not having the hummus and went on our way.
We stopped at a beach in Bellena and it was really cool. Instead of sand there were all these rocks which made the waves reverberate. The view, like everywhere was really spectacular.
We made the climb to Club Fred, Mary got really good at 4 wheelin', and we checked in. Fred and Ely's kids were doing their homework. What an incredible way to grow up, living in paradise. We chatted with them for a while and decided to go find a waterfall to swim in. We were looking for a waterfall called Vagina since it was formed by a split in the rocks and apparently a large rock jammed its way in and it looks somewhat like a woman's private part.
We didn't find it, but we did find a place called Cascada. I was starving and they had a sign for Tilapia. So we go in, and when I say in, it's not really inside, it seems there are no real structures in Costa Rica when it comes to bars, restaurants, etc. The weather is so wonderful; it's more like a roof over a floor. This teeny woman comes out with a few dogs and says we can walk to the waterfalls but it's a little dangerous, she calls for her husband to come help us old biddies out but he is not around. We order tilapia, it's all that is on the menu, and decide to set out for the falls. Oh wait, the woman wanted to know if we preferred to catch our own dinner. There were these little ponds where the tilapia live and apparently you have the option to fish for dinner. Not being real fisherwoman, lol, we opted to let them provide the fish.
The falls were pretty, not like we had expected though, more long than high. You couldn't swim since it was rainy season and the water was running fast and deep. When we got back we had a great dinner. We were a little surprised when she served it, being the connoisseurs we are we figured tilapia = filets, not so, we had little fishy eyes staring up from the plate at us. It was really good though! Mary the vegetarian tried to get every bit of meat off of the bones (avoiding looking the poor lil fish in the eyes of course). I don't know what spices she used but it was the best fish ever! They had a little parrot named Paco who tried to eat Mary, and various dogs came in and out while we were there. The neighbor from up the road came with 2 more dogs to visit, a very colorful place. Oh yeah and there were chickens everywhere too, but they stayed out on the grass. I talked with the husband, who finally showed up and he told me he was selling off 1 acre lots and I should tell all my gringo friends. He is selling them at $100,000 a piece and doesn't know why they aren't selling. So my fellow gringos, make sure to look him up if you are in town!
We got back to Club Fred right when the rain hit. WOW what a storm!! The rain came down in buckets and there was tons of lightning! Fred and Ely decided to go out to dinner and left during the storm. Wow I couldn't do that, the road is really step to get to the hotel and it is clay and stone. To them I guess it's an everyday occurrence but I was nervous for them. Lol they are so laid back, as they are leaving they tell us there is another guest who has no key, make sure to let him in when he comes. We told him we would try to rent out the other rooms as well. So about a half hour into the storm here comes, Ed I think his name is, his son and a California surfer-dude named Rama. We chatted with Ed til he went upstairs to pass out. Rama stayed downstairs with us, he was a nice guy, and when Ely and Fred came back he made us all Rama Bamas from the fruit and liquor in the fridge. I think we drank everything poor Fred and Ely had.
Oh during the storm we were out on the porch with the lights on. Yes it attracted tons of bugs, but after the bugs come the geckos and the frogs to feast. Who needs TV? Mary got some cool shots of the frogs hanging out in Ely's flower vase on the shelf lol. I really recommend staying at Club Fred we had a blast. It was a nice homey atmosphere and views to die for. I got to talk at length with Ely about relocating to Costa Rica. She has a group of local woman who are trying to preserve the area which is really great. I will tell you about the North of Costa Rica later but it is sad. I think that the Ticos have an opportunity to make a lot of money on their properties because foreigners would like to come in and live, but they are plowing up the land to put in developments with little regard to the wildlife around them. Ely's group is working to develop in a more eco-friendly manner, and it's so cool that it is woman doing it. I wish her luck!
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