Buena Vista Adventure

I spent my sophomore year Spring Break in Costa Rica with my bestie, Kara and our good friend AJ. We ended up in the Guanacaste region which is the northwestern part of the country. Not sure what AJ was thinking joining us two girls on a vacation for 6 days without any of his buddies but he survived (& later came on Spring Break with us the following year) so it couldn’t have been too terrible. We got a room at the Occidental Papagayo - a polished, all inclusive resort with a private black sand beach. Kind of an interesting choice for some youngins on spring break but hey, there was a beach, warm weather and they served us alcohol so we were all for it.

Many of our days were spent by the pool enjoying the boozy beverages that probably didn’t have all that much alcohol. You know how it is at those all-inclusive stays - gutta tip the guy behind the bar a little extra to get a stiff drink. We ironically found a bowl right outside of our room which was pretty much a sign from the Gods telling us there must have been weed somewhere. The staff driving in golf carts might have helped us a out with this..

One of the days we had planned on leaving the resort and doing an all day, action packed excursion. It was somewhere between $160-$180 for a whole day of fun in the foothills of the Rincon de la Vieja Volcano at Buena Vista Lodge. They greeted us with a fruity, guava concoction while we registered. We started with horse back riding through the hacienda. This was a nice, leisurely stroll through the grounds. I enjoy horse back riding but always wish it was a little more exhilarating.. every time, I find my self kicking the sides of the horse to signal it to speed up. Well, things did speed up in the next activity while rafting down the rapids of the crystal-clear Río Negro River. Luckily, the instructor chose me to share a raft with him. Now this could have been because he thought I was cute orrrrrr because he thought my skinnny ass arms weren’t going to help my partner out much but, regardless, this worked out in my favor. I basically had all the work done for me while Kara & AJ were somewhere down the river arguing about the rowing technique :)

After lunch, we zip lined through the lush, rain forest tree-tops. This was the first time I had ever zip lined and was a little nervous.. The duct tape that was binding the withered zip line together was especially unnerving. The canopy tour included rappelling, rock climbing and Tarzan swings. Perfect activity for right after lunch! The final and most relaxing activity of the day was the visit to the natural hot springs and mud treatment center. A man used a paint brush to cover our bodies with clay made of volcanic ash before we relaxed in the natural hot springs. This is where AJ realized his love for Vrinda, the beautiful blonde Costa Rican tour guide with the hot bod. He crushed hard the rest of that trip. Wonder what Vrinda’s up to now..

That day trip from the resort was a day well spent! Our whole Costa Rica experience was a pretty good one.. Next time I go back there, I will absolutely do it different and stay clear of the all-inclusive style vacation but this was before my backpacking days - I didn’t know any better. “Pura Vida” is the slogan in Costa Rica translating to “simple life”. Well the simple life kind of embodies the vibe on that trip! Hanging out, sipping on some cocktails, enjoying the sunshine and good company!