Costa Rica – Day 3 – Zippity Do Dah!!

So, of the plethora of activities we had to choose from while in Costa Rica, the one thing that all 20 of us wanted to do was zip-lining through the rainforest. In fact, before I left on this trip, I was told by no less than 10 of my friends and co-workers that this was the ONE thing I HAD to do while I was there.

Because of the large size of our group, the zip-lining company suggested we make a reservation ahead of time. So Mark, our fearless organizer, took it upon himself to make this reservation - for 7:30 in the morning.

I could have killed him on the spot.

And I think he could tell. "But, the weather’s cooler in the morning," he argued, "so we won't sweat as much."

Sweating?! Really?! That was his justification?! I could care less about my perspirational activities. I was on vacation, dangit, and I didn't want to get up at dawn!!

However, the rest of the group didn't seem to care as much about the unearthly hour of the reservation, so my pleas for extra sleep were ignored.

So, the next morning I dragged my groggy self out of bed at 6:30 a.m., and somehow managed to zombie-walk my way down to the tourist van that was was waiting to transport us to the zip-lining location.

Once there, we were herded into a little office where we were required to contractually sign our lives away, and then encouraged to put on copious amounts of bug spray. Oooo-kay.

Then we got strapped into our zip-lining gear. It's a good thing I don't have issues with personal space, because some of these guys got pretty friendly cinching me into my harness.

Sexy, right?

We were then introduced to our tour guides - all of whom had jungle names like "Monkey" or "Spider." These guys were pretty cool – and quite hilarious, I might add. They kept showing off on the zip-lines for all the girls – going down backwards, doing spinning tricks – and then they would say "But don't you do that."

I thought I was going to be more scared of this activity – I have a little issue with heights. But it wasn't bad at all. I wasn't scared. I didn't even look down. All I could see was the absolute beauty of the rainforest landscape in front of me.

And apparently, I am incapable of spontaneously making any sort of a normal face in action pictures.

Not one useable frame from this entire day. I am such a dork.

After zip-lining, we were hot and starving. Solution: Lunch in the pool!

Whilst in the pool, we admired the many various sunburns that had been acquired at the beach the day before.

Melissa’s fried legs (P.S. She had the WORST farmer’s tan under these board shorts from a cruise she took last summer, and she refused to remove them the entire trip. Poor sport.).

 

Mark’s (very blanchable) lobster back.

 

That’s oh so sexy, Jamie.

 

And my favorite, Dallin’s “Neapolitan” arm sunburn.

 

So, now we’re full of food. And, thanks to Mark and his early-morning wake up call (I’m not bitter or anything), completely exhausted as well. This was the result of that combination:

That’s right. A bunch of single people, passed out in various compromising positions and locations, in nothing but our bathing suits. Just another afternoon at the Playboy mansion.

While everybody was passed out, a few of us decided to go into town and check out the local scenery. We found this AWESOME smoothie stand that made smoothies in every flavor imaginable – including passion fruit!!! Anybody who knows me well, knows that I have an infatuation with this glorious tropical gift from the gods. As a result, this smoothie stand became my second home while we were in Manuel Antonio.

I am in absolute passion-fruity heaven.

 

Later on in the day, we had some intruders at our lovely villa. No, not the dangerous, thieving type - but the furry type.

The rainforest that surrounded our villa was full of local wildlife – birds, sloths, lizards......and monkeys.  That afternoon, we were all just sitting there – relaxing in the pool and chatting in the family room – when all of a sudden, these little critters jumped onto the balcony and proceeded to scurry up and down our stairs and then out the back door. It was probably the last thing any of us expected to see INSIDE our living quarters. But pretty cool nonetheless. It felt like we were all on an episode of "Animal Planet."

That night we went to dinner, and one of the funniest things EVER happened.

My dear friend/roomie, Melissa, ordered herself a virgin strawberry daiquiri. In fact, we all ordered fruity smoothie drinks, and quickly consumed them upon their arrival. Well, about 15 minutes after Melissa finished hers off, she looked at me (with very dazed eyes) and said, "Something's wrong with me. I feel really dizzy." At first, I thought that she was just being overly dramatic about the fact that she was starving. But then she said it again, and proceeded to rest her forehead on the table like she was going to be sick.

Hmph. Very strange Melissa behavior.

I picked up her empty strawberry daiquiri glass and sniffed its remnants. Yup, you guessed it. There was nothing virgin about this drink.

As the rest of the group learned about this mishap, fits of laughter erupted. Melissa was probably the most quiet and reserved person of the whole bunch. Out of everybody there, she was the one who I could least picture being drunk (even unintentionally). Well let me tell you – get a little booze in her, and Melissa becomes a completely different person. The girl could not stop giggling (also very strange Melissa behavior), and she kept hitting me and saying “Hey!” every five minutes.

I tell you true, I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants.

I kinda like drunk Melissa.

Here she is, with the intoxicating culprit in front of her.

 

Okay, so that’s it for Day 3. Sheesh, at the rate I’m going, I won’t be done with this series until next Fourth of July!! Sorry folks.