Travels with Hayley

Well. Today I have been up about 21 hours and while it was exhausting it’s been one of the best days of my life! Just absolutley amazing. Strap in for a long one 😂

Out at 6.45 with about half of the group for a birdwatching tour to Curi-Cancha national park. It was so beautiful and very peaceful and we saw loads. A toucan flew directly over our heads, you could see his colours so clearly, it was beautiful. We also saw a Quetzal which is the national bird of Guatamala, it’s really beautiful with a very long tail and beautiful plumage.

Other highlights was a wild avocado tree full of wild turkeys and a big family of about a dozen coatis just gambolling across the path in front of us one after the other like it was a zebra crossing 😍

I also got talking to a beautiful lady there who was over from Indonesia to visit her grandson who she had strapped to her chest. They looked so gorgeous I asked if I could take her picture and she readily agreed. I’ve attached it, wasn’t she so beautiful.

Sped back to the hotel and a bus picked up 6 of us to go to the biggest zip wire in Latin America! It was so much fun! I did 8 zip wires harnessed in a sitting position, then the last 2 laying flat, stomach down stretched out, superman style! The longest one (which was superman style) was a mile long! It was so much fun, I was a bit scared to start with but I was determined to do it and it was wonderful, just like flying. The wind was really gusting which was rocking me a bit in the middle which felt a bit hairy in parts but I’m so glad I did it, I was so proud of myself.

At the very end there was an optional ‘Tarzan’ swing where you did a 40 metre free fall jump before going into a giant swing. 4 of the 6 of us went for it, I went first and decided the thing to do was not hesitate and not look down so I just stepped straight off the platform! The breath was just knocked out of me, I didn’t even make a sound until I started swinging a few seconds later! Katie was hilarious, you could hear her saying at the top I’m not sure I can do this, I need a moment! She did it but screamed like a banshee the whole way down while waving her legs like she was on an invisible bicycle! So funny.

I was sooooo proud of myself I did all of it, I never in a million years thought I would but I didn’t want to look chicken in front of everyone and turns out I loved it. It’s good to get out of your comfort zone sometimes.

Waiting for the transport to pick us up Martina suddenly started gesturing frantically at the roof – another rainbow toucan! So beautiful, it flew directly over our heads after a few seconds and you could see all the beak details, the wings etc. Toucan spot of the day number 2!

We got dropped into the town for lunch at a really cool restaurant called the treehouse. Thus called as it was built around a giant tree! Shared a pizza and salad with Judy, both delicious but did miss the traditional Costa Rican lunch we’ve been having I have to say! The food here has been great which was really unexpected and a lovely bonus!

The walk back to the hotel post lunch I will not regret never having to do that again I have to say, it makes the hills in Crystal Palace look like mole hills in comparison, I was genuinely worried I wouldn’t reach the top. Kristie had to pep talk me and give me a couple of pushes to make it! 

Made it in vaguely one piece back to the hotel and got chatting to Luis and we ended up going on a joyride on his motorbike! I wore a helmet and there’s no use getting mad with me now about it because it’s done ok 😂 It was absolutely brilliant, it’s really hilly so it was super exciting and the views were just amazing. He’s a very sweet and interesting guy too, we stopped at a viewpoint and chatted for a while. Meeting new people has been such an absolute joy on this trip, it’s been wonderful.

I spent 15 blissful minutes laying on the lawn of the hotel chatting to Katie when I got back, then off to get ready for our night time wildlife walk.  We were told to meet in reception at 5.45 (it was only me, Kristie and Katie as the others had done theirs the night before). A lot of Americans were waiting for a tour too and when a mini bus arrived and they all crowded on it, we started to get on it too but Luis said no no, this one isn’t yours. No problem, we sat down again and waited. 6pm came and went and suddenly the portly figure of Miguel stormed out of reception ‘Come with me. My brother is idiota. I keeel him. He take you off your bus. Get into my car, I take you now fast or you mees it’ 😂

So we’re running down the street in the rain to get in his 4×4 which he then speeds through all the hills and valleys until we get to the venue, just as we see the back of everyone else’s rain ponchos disappear into the distance! We literally threw some money at the woman on reception and belted after them – fortunately we didn’t miss anything but it was by a hair!

The walk itself was very different from the night walk we did at the start of the trip which was with a local guy, Ray Brown, who was mad as a box of frogs but very sweet and knowledgable. This instead was a very slick operation, we had a guide per group of 6 who le us around the forest in the dark, all armed with mini torches and he was in constant radio contact with all of the other guides and their groups so if they found something exciting everyone could go to it. Neither walk was better though, just different. I’m really glad I did both. I’m really glad I’ve thrown myself into all of the optional extras actually, they’ve all been amazing. 

I suspect the forest was quite small and we were in fact making ever decreasing circles within it but it’s impossible to tell out there in the dark and rain! We saw a pigmy rain frog, a couple of vipers, a bird whose name I didn’t catch but looked so much like a hairy coconut with a head on top it was unreal, a clicking beetle with bright LED style eyes, another orange kneed tarantula – this one came much further out of it’s lair so we could see a lot more- it’s actually very pretty, I liked it! Then best of all – a sleeping rainbow toucan! Toucan ratio for the day:3. It was so good, I’d been so excited to see them and while we had earlier in the trip, it had been more a fleeting glimpse whereas we could really see all of these today. I really feel I’ve seen all the wildlife I could ever have hoped for over here.

Back to the hotel and the others had gone for dinner, we had had a late lunch though so had a floor picnic in the girls room of leftover lunchtime pizza, banana cake and pastries from the bakery. It was so fun, I’m so lucky to have met these 2, they’ve made the trip just so fun

Off into town (down the hill this time thank goodness), avoiding the snake in the middle of the road that was out enjoying the rain shower, and met up with some of the others in the only real bar the town has. It seems to serve a function as a restaurant, slowly turning into a bar later, and then later on into a club. I had the best time ever!! Salsa music was playing and Marvin was giving all the girls lessons. Because I had done a little bit of salsa before I picked up his lead relatively quickly and we ended up dancing for absolutley ages, it was just the most fun ever! I have a small video but it was in the first couple of minutes, half an hour in we were absolutley flying around the floor, you’ll just have to imagine 😂 Most of the others left between 10.30-12.00 but I was on such a high from the zip lining and the bike ride and I’d met a bunch of Marvin’s friends by then and was having so much fun that he and I ended up staying there until 3am 😂 Evert time we went to leave we’d bump into anOne of his friends, Tony, was protecting me from some lechy guy that wanted to dance with me by pretending I was his girlfriend – the ruse got ever more elaborate and ended with a full down on one knee proposal, wild clapping from the crowd, a Hollywood swoon into his arms and a full bodily pick up from the floor and spin around! It was just too funny, we had the absolute best time.

I won’t ever forget today, I feel so very very lucky.

Love you all millions xxx