We stayed in a beautiful hotel called El Bosque (the forest), which was situated directly across the street from a cute, yummy little bakery. =)
We arrived Saturday in the early late afternoon, relaxed for a bit (soaking up the sun, reading, and chatting) and then headed to lunch at a nearby pizzeria. We were served green salads (woah!), thin crust pizzas, watermelon refresco, and chocolate ice cream. Mmm...
We then drove up the road and entered the reserve, where we spent 2 hours hiking through the dense forest and enjoying breathtaking views!
On the hike back we took a different route and passed over a giant hanging bridge! The perspective of the jungle from above is sooooo neat. =D
At the conclusion of our hike we scrambled up to a hummingbird exhibit and gift shop. The hummingbirds were incredibly flashy and their fearlessness of humans and cameras was stunning. I was able to capture a few great shots. =) Check them out!
We returned to the hotel and had a few hours of down time. Several of decided to just shower and then curl up in beds to chat and rest. It felt so good after the long hike and early morning start from San Ramón. At 6:30pm we took a van to town for dinner. The whole group of 12 ate at the same restaurant (we really are inseparable...Haha!) and afterwards spent time poking into souvenir shops and getting ice cream (mango and chocolate turned out to be a wonderful combo!).
The van took us back to the hotel at 9pm. Hah! I love our group because within about 30 minutes, at the suggestion of just one person, everyone was laying on the ground bundled in blankets under the stars! We stargazed, laughed, told stories, and ate pan dulce (a killer yummy sweet bread you can buy at any panaderia in CR) for nearly 2 hours. =D
The morning began early, with breakfast at 7:15am, but we didn't mind because ZIP LINING was in order for the day! We starting our adventure at 9am and it included 13 cables, a tarzan swing, a few short hikes, and 1.5 hours of amazing rainforest viewing!
We then visited Costa Rica's largest butterfly garden. =)
The ride back to San Ramón was also lovely for me. I had one of those "I LOVE MUSIC" moments while shuffling through my ipod and the cool wind and stunning views left me smiling and giddy. =)
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