Zip-line, Spice Plantation and Manuel Antonio National Park

It was a slow and lazy morning at Enchanted House on Wednesday, February 26, 2019.  Some of our group were interested in experiencing a Costa Rican zipline tour, while others preferred visiting a spice plantation.  So after lunch, we divided up and went our separate ways.  Bob and I did the zipline adventure with Dave, Melita, Kent and Linda.  Being the last group of the day, we received a private group experience and great service.  El Santuario was a fun course, with one line being nearly one-mile long with two cables for racing an opponent.  We were also given the opportunity to hang upside down on one line.  All along the course, our guides planned surprise attacks on individual members of our group.  They almost caused Bob to jump out of his skin by simulating an ant attack on his ankle with a long bushy stick.  At the end of the course, we did a sort of "free-fall elevator drop" from the top of one of their huge national trees.

 

Bob was the winner for sure in this challenge!

One of the coolest things we saw and learned about on the tour was the "walking palm trees", which are probably the inspiration for J.R. Tolkien's trees in "The Lord of the Rings".  These palm trees move across the forest in search of sunlight and can actually move 20 meter (65 feet) per year!  The trees put out new long roots off to one side and the tree bends patiently toward those new roots while the old ones slowly lift into the air. The roots will even "walk" over existing smaller trees in their quest for light.

The four-hour adventure concluded with the best authentic meal we had in Costa Rica:  a fresh grilled deliciously marinated chicken thigh, rice, beans, green salad, plantain and a fruit tea. On our drive to and from El Santuario, we saw groves of teak trees and stopped to sample palm oil from the pods which are harvested from the African palm trees.  And we caught our first glimpse of some capuchin monkeys.  It was a great way to end our tour.

In the meantime, Doug, Sandra, Jim and Shauna spent the afternoon at Villa Vanilla Spice Plantation.  They were introduced to many local plants and fruits and taught what is involved in the production of vanilla and cocoa beans, along with other local products. They enjoyed samples of food and treated us to a small bottle of vanilla upon their return.

 

We were off to another early start the morning of Thursday, February 27.  Only a limited number of guests are allowed each day into Costa Rica's Manuel Antonio National Park.  Itza had arranged a driver and guide to take us through the park.  We think we were just paying off one buddy to another, and ended up with an "official guide" who tried to guide way too large of a group through the park.  While it was frustrating not to be able to see and enjoy the wildlife as abundantly as we had hoped, our "professional guide, who has been doing this for 20-years" (as he repeatedly tried to convince us), we caught glimpses of dragon flies, whipper will bird, agouti (rodent), helmet head lizard, Jesus Christ lizard - basilisk (walks on water), other lizards, spiders, black iguana, fruit eating bats, termite colonies, howler monkey, butterflies, wax tail plant hopper, hawks and more (deer, crabs, capuchin monkeys and our favorite - sloths).

 We saw different kinds of spikey-trunked trees, vine-wrapped tree trunks, and tree branches that seemed to be trying to put down long roots.   

But the creature we were most interested in finding and observing was the sloth!  We were excited to find two of them, high in the trees, that day.  Aren't they interesting?!  They do move awfully slow. . .

The capuchin (organ-player) monkeys were everywhere!  One even took off with one of our cans of Pringles potato chips on the beach.  (Who snuck those into the park?)  It's easy to see why these pesky animals capture so many hearts.

There are some beautiful beaches in Manuel Antonio Park, and we found a nice one to enjoy after our guided tour.  The north Pacific ocean was incredibly warm and relaxing.

Doug discovered an inviting fruit tree on the beach and decided to sample a taste of what looked like an apple.  Finding it delicious to the taste, he convinced Dave to bite into one as well.  Thankfully, I did not give in to Doug's persuasions.  Especially after he mentioned a strange after-effect . . . an incredibly hot burning sensation in his mouth. Later that day, as Doug and Dave continued to complain of loss of feeling in their throat and tongues, Bob did a google search on his phone and found out more about the culprit.  Apparently, they had partaken of the "forbidden fruit" - the “Manzanillo de la muerte” which means “little apple of death”.  Seriously! The arrow that killed Ponce de Leon was said to be tipped with sap from the Manchineel tree.  Every part of the tree is toxic, even to the touch.  The fruit of the tree is potentially fatal, and according to Wikipedia, "When ingested, the fruit is reportedly "pleasantly sweet" at first, with a subsequent "strange peppery feeling ..., gradually progress[ing] to a burning, tearing sensation and tightness of the throat". Symptoms continue to worsen until the patient can "barely swallow solid food because of the excruciating pain and the feeling of a huge obstructing pharyngeal lump."  Wow!  Somehow the two of them lived to tell about it, with symptoms diminishing the following day.  Pura Vida???

After a couple of hours at the beach, we decided to hike the Punta Catedral trail.  Punta Catedral used to be an island but over time, it united with the continental landmass by way of sediment and sand build up.  The one-hour loop provided a nice jungle hike with pretty views of the ocean.

 

We finished off the day with dinner at Cafe Milagro where Doug and Dave discovered they should be happy to be alive (and I was happy to be eating ceviche again)!