Weekend Trip to Rio Celeste
Dear fellow travel enthusiasts, I'm happy you're back. I've told you in my last blog post that I had booked a weekend trip via my school to Rio Celeste (If you haven't read my last post where I also provided you with some of my bucket list places in Costa Rica click here). Rio Celeste is one of the top destinations to visit when you're in Costa Rica and is famous for its fluorescent blue color that results from reaction of calcium carbonate with sulfur. Also, it sports a beautiful waterfall which I as a waterfall fanatic didn't want to miss out on obviously. Thus, in this blog post I will tell you all about it.
We took off early Saturday morning and left Samara at 6 o'clock sharp to took on the 3.5h ride to Rio Celeste. After having a short breakfast stop at the nearby town of Nicoya, and some other short stops which I wasn't aware of as I was sleeping the whole time, we took a bumpy road to our main destination, namely "Parque Nacional Volcan Tenorio". On the way there though, I was suddenly startled out of my sleep when I heard the word SLOTH. I don't know if I've told you before, but I was sure I wouldn't leave Costa Rica before seeing a sloth. And there he was, unexpectedly, chilling in a tree besides the road while I used to spend hours searching trees for any possible sign of a sloth the day I arrived in Costa Rica. So even though we didn't get to see him close by (which I hope to catch up on in Manuel Antonio), I was more than happy to finally see my spirit animal.
We took off early Saturday morning and left Samara at 6 o'clock sharp to took on the 3.5h ride to Rio Celeste. After having a short breakfast stop at the nearby town of Nicoya, and some other short stops which I wasn't aware of as I was sleeping the whole time, we took a bumpy road to our main destination, namely "Parque Nacional Volcan Tenorio". On the way there though, I was suddenly startled out of my sleep when I heard the word SLOTH. I don't know if I've told you before, but I was sure I wouldn't leave Costa Rica before seeing a sloth. And there he was, unexpectedly, chilling in a tree besides the road while I used to spend hours searching trees for any possible sign of a sloth the day I arrived in Costa Rica. So even though we didn't get to see him close by (which I hope to catch up on in Manuel Antonio), I was more than happy to finally see my spirit animal.
Once we arrived to the National Park we had to pay an entrance fee of around 12 Dollars, which isn't too bad compared to other places (be aware there are neither student nor senior resident discounts). Shortly after we made our way into the park it started to rain cats and dogs (or would "raining sloths and iguanas" be more appropriate?) which turned the way up to the river and the waterfall into a muddy path. We took off around 10:30 and weren't back out of the park before 12:30 or later, so it was a good 2h long hike through the mud. We weren't able to see anything from the observation platform, for that it was too cloudy, but what counted for me the most was that the Rio Celeste actually showed off his turquoise blue color, as the sun made it through just in time. I mean the waterfall might have had better days in terms of its coloring but we definitely could have been worse off too, as I've heard from people that only saw it with a brown coloring (due to the rainy conditions). I enjoyed the hike and was able to make some nice pictures with which I'm very happy about, but the thing with tours is that you always have to stick to a predetermined schedule. So, as I was trying out the new features of my camera, time passed and I wasn't able to spend as much time at the beautiful sight of the waterfall as I would have liked too, bummer.
TIPPS: For people that are in a normal physical condition and are used to walking and hiking, the walk is easy to do but there were other people along the way and in our group for which this walk turned out to be a challenge. So be aware of that. Also I would highly recommend you to hire rain boots at the entrance, they only cost around 2000 colones (so around 4 dollars) and it's definitely worth the money as you will need them!
After our little tour through the park we were brought to our accommodation for the night. I hadn't expected anything and was even the more surprised when I was faced with this beautiful lodge: Lodge La Carolina. It's run by a nice Dutch-American couple who emigrated 22 years ago to build up this hidden gem not too far from the entrance of the park. The lodge had a nice observation deck (if you may call it like that) but the best part of it was definitely the little natural heated pool right next to the river that invited for some relaxing moments. The food, made by some local employees with ingredients that were mostly regionally cultivated, was also very tasteful and the coffee and chocolate milk were amazing! If you're around and need a place to stay, definitely check out the lodge.
The rest of the day was designated to some relaxation in the "hot tub" and some more photo taking. After a satisfying meal I was already headed off to bed rather early as I was in desperate need of a full night's sleep. The next morning we had a horseback riding tour that was organized for us. I have to admit I've never been big on horseback riding or anything but thought it might be fun to try as I had the chance to. After overcoming my initial doubts about whether the horses were held correctly and in good shape (I'm rather skeptical after I saw the carriage horses on the Gili Islands), I found myself on the back of Chango. Change turned out to be rather an active horse so, as soon as any other horse passed him he set out for a sprint in order to be in the front again. All in all, I enjoyed my first real horse riding tour a lot more than I though I would and Change found a way into my heart.
After our little tour through the nearby forests and our last lunch in the lodge, we packed up our things as it was time again to head back to Samara. I was running late a bit and by walking by the open fireplace I've noticed that I almost forgot my pants which I hung there to dry faster. I grabbed on to them very fast and as soon as I did I threw them away again as a burning pain was suddenly and unexpectedly rushing through my hand. I first thought that somehow my pants must have caught fire as my hand was feeling like it was on fire too. Then when I dropped them, I saw a big ant, about the size of a penny, making its way out of the pants I held. I have to say even know, about 10h later I still feel pain in my hand and it feels partly paralyzed which makes it rather uncomfortable to even type on my laptop. I did some researching but am still unsure if it was a bullet ant, as that must have been even more painful. Getting stung my a bullet ant namely would be the world's most painful sting my an insect and some people describe it as worse than being shot. Still, from its appearance and size it definitely could have been one, plus given the fact that the pain is still there. Anyway, apart from this rather uncomfortable ending, I had a lovely time and very much enjoyed my weekend away in Rio Celeste.For the next weekend there might will be another trip coming up (when we are able to find an available car). We are namely planning a trip to Montezuma and Santa Teresa, which are a bit further down South (both destinations are on my wish list, which you find here).
TIPPS: For people that are in a normal physical condition and are used to walking and hiking, the walk is easy to do but there were other people along the way and in our group for which this walk turned out to be a challenge. So be aware of that. Also I would highly recommend you to hire rain boots at the entrance, they only cost around 2000 colones (so around 4 dollars) and it's definitely worth the money as you will need them!After our little tour through the park we were brought to our accommodation for the night. I hadn't expected anything and was even the more surprised when I was faced with this beautiful lodge: Lodge La Carolina. It's run by a nice Dutch-American couple who emigrated 22 years ago to build up this hidden gem not too far from the entrance of the park. The lodge had a nice observation deck (if you may call it like that) but the best part of it was definitely the little natural heated pool right next to the river that invited for some relaxing moments. The food, made by some local employees with ingredients that were mostly regionally cultivated, was also very tasteful and the coffee and chocolate milk were amazing! If you're around and need a place to stay, definitely check out the lodge.The rest of the day was designated to some relaxation in the "hot tub" and some more photo taking. After a satisfying meal I was already headed off to bed rather early as I was in desperate need of a full night's sleep. The next morning we had a horseback riding tour that was organized for us. I have to admit I've never been big on horseback riding or anything but thought it might be fun to try as I had the chance to. After overcoming my initial doubts about whether the horses were held correctly and in good shape (I'm rather skeptical after I saw the carriage horses on the Gili Islands), I found myself on the back of Chango. Change turned out to be rather an active horse so, as soon as any other horse passed him he set out for a sprint in order to be in the front again. All in all, I enjoyed my first real horse riding tour a lot more than I though I would and Change found a way into my heart.After our little tour through the nearby forests and our last lunch in the lodge, we packed up our things as it was time again to head back to Samara. I was running late a bit and by walking by the open fireplace I've noticed that I almost forgot my pants which I hung there to dry faster. I grabbed on to them very fast and as soon as I did I threw them away again as a burning pain was suddenly and unexpectedly rushing through my hand. I first thought that somehow my pants must have caught fire as my hand was feeling like it was on fire too. Then when I dropped them, I saw a big ant, about the size of a penny, making its way out of the pants I held. I have to say even know, about 10h later I still feel pain in my hand and it feels partly paralyzed which makes it rather uncomfortable to even type on my laptop. I did some researching but am still unsure if it was a bullet ant, as that must have been even more painful. Getting stung my a bullet ant namely would be the world's most painful sting my an insect and some people describe it as worse than being shot. Still, from its appearance and size it definitely could have been one, plus given the fact that the pain is still there. Anyway, apart from this rather uncomfortable ending, I had a lovely time and very much enjoyed my weekend away in Rio Celeste.For the next weekend there might will be another trip coming up (when we are able to find an available car). We are namely planning a trip to Montezuma and Santa Teresa, which are a bit further down South (both destinations are on my wish list, which you find here).