Pura Vida Birthday Celebration in Costa Rica

Just because you’ve traveled to a destination before doesn’t mean you’ve seen it all. You may discover a new found love for a country you’ve visited before if you see it through a different lens. Dan and I had been to Costa Rica before and thought it was a place we had crossed off our bucket list. Luckily, my friend Greg had a milestone birthday this year and that is where he wanted to go celebrate his big 4-0. 

Our first big decision was where to stay. When we went last time, Dan and I stayed on the coast in Las Catalinas at a beautiful waterfront resort (Casa Chameleon). Although it was absolutely stunning and serene, I knew that with Greg’s love for the outdoors we needed to be closer to the adventure. We settled on The Springs Resort and Spa in La Fortuna, right next to the Arenal Volcano. This gave us a relatively central location for any excursions we wanted to do. It might also be one of the nicest resorts that I have ever stayed at. Not only was the room spacious with natural wood everywhere, but there were 20+ pools and natural hot springs as well as a Club Rio (an outdoor activity center) right on site along the river with a wildlife sanctuary, rock climbing wall, horseback riding, kayaking and more! Every evening, we ended the day in one of the hot springs with a cold drink, recounting our experiences from the day. On our day off from excursions, we spent the day down at Club Rio touring the wildlife sanctuary and relaxing in the river (at least Greg did) and hot springs (in the rain!). 

As for excursions, we had to pick activities that fit multiple preferences and personalities. Although Greg loved adventure, his girlfriend Ashley was a bit more risk-averse. They both, however, wanted to experience the outdoors and see the natural beauty of Costa Rica, so I selected excursions that could please everyone, with at least one more extreme option for the birthday boy. 

• Our first excursion was a safari float and visit to La Fortuna waterfall. TBH, this was the excursion I was least excited about – like Greg, I’m typically an adventure-lover – but it ended up being one of my favorites! We took a leisurely ride down the Penas Blancas rivers and saw so many different animals – from exotic birds to howler monkeys and even a cayman! The most exciting part of the float was watching a troop of white-faced capuchin monkeys jump from tree to tree and across the river. We even saw a mama carrying a baby on her back!

• Of course the waterfall also was an amazing sight to see – and well earned. We had to descend (and also climb back up afterwards) over 500 steps to get to this amazing view.

• After a day of rest at our amazing resort, our second excursion was to the Mystico Hanging Bridges and canyoning (i.e., rappelling down a waterfall). Our hike through the rainforest took us over 16 bridges hanging between treetops up to 148 meters high. We also got to see some cool new animals, including eyelash snake and exotic frogs. If you go in the shoulder season, pack a good raincoat – we got poured on halfway through the trek, but I guess that’s why they call it a rainforest!

• My favorite excursion of the entire trip by far was the canyoning, where we rappelled down 5 waterfalls. The first waterfall was the highest at 175 meters high. I was terrified, but nothing helps to get over your fear of something faster than (literally) jumping right in! We also had the option of participating in a monkey drop, where they push you off a cliff for a partial zipline and dunk you in a small (and cold) pool of water. Again, I was terrified, but YOLO! By the time we got to the final waterfall, they let us get a running start and jump off the waterfall. Although we were drenched and cold by the end of it, we all had such an adrenaline rush and were ready to go again (even Ashley)!

Huge shout out to Ashley and Greg for being my very first clients! We first talked about this trip much earlier in the year, when I first thought about getting into travel advisory, and they patiently waited for me to complete my training so I could book this trip for them. Not only were we able to experience a completely different trip from before, but I found a destination that I want to take Avery and the whole family back to visit. Thank you for letting us crash your birthday celebration!