As Matt signed off his last blog he was hoping to spot some squirrel monkeys on a half-day rainforest tour. Well, we didn’t just see squirrel monkeys but also capuchins, howler monkeys and spider monkeys – so all four species of monkey Costa Rica has to offer! We also saw crocodiles, caymans, a sloth, and macaws on our 4-hour jaunt.
We’ve also taken to a new habitat while we’ve been here – a tropical fjord!1 We are staying near Puerto Jiminez which neighbours Gulfo Dulce, a gulf where fresh water meets the Pacific. During the last ice age, glaciers carved out this inlet up to 200m deep in places. Its unique geography has made it home to over 1000 species including migrating humpback whales, dolphins, turtles and manta rays.2
We took a boat tour around the bay and were lucky to see lots of dolphins. They were so playful and jumped, ducked and dived near our boat for around half an hour. We then continued to a snorkelling spot, where we saw lots of tropical fish, a lobster, a conch and some signal boxes used to provide support to marine conservation as well as forming a trail for snorkelers and divers to follow.
The landscape was incredible above water too, with thick hilly rainforest meaning turquoise water. Matt remarked it looked like Jurassic Park and our guide confirmed that the gulf was used for establishing and scenic shots for the 1993 blockbuster – and one of Matt’s favourite films!3.
As we sailed back to our hotel, the guide pulled in at a small beach with fruit trees and picked a bag of local fruit – Jocotes. The fruit has been incredible in this country so I had high hopes, but it was a a little underwhelming, the flesh had a bit of a cotton wool texture and there was very little of it, as the fruit had a huge stone in the middle – I can see why that one didn’t make the export list!
After a chilled day doing some life admin (yes, occasionally this does still need to happen when you’re on a year-long holiday!) by the pool, last night we revisited the gulf for a sunset kayaking tour. We were met at a pier near our hotel by our guide for the evening – Adonis. He took an immediate shine to Matt, remarking on how strong he was and calling him ‘amigo’. While Matt was moving his kayak, Adonis explained our route to me, pointing at a spot on the map, where we’d stop for a ‘kidnap’. At the look on my face he realised he’d got his words mixed up and actually we’d be stopping for a ‘snack’ at this point. Well, that’s alright, then.
We set off from the shore onto slightly choppy water and as we followed the coastline, we watched the sun begin to set. Matt, showing off his Spanish skills, chatted to Adonis as we paddled as I lagged behind, taking photos of the scenery. After about an hour, we reached a steep beach where climbing over a dune that we landed into a mangrove. Before we set off along this river which ran parallel to the gulf, Adonis prepared some pineapple – the aforementioned snack. He served Matt a healthy portion first, upgrading his ‘amigo’ endearment to ‘hermano’ (which means brother in Spanish).
It was at this point, as I was served a slightly more restrained portion of fruit, that I realised I was third wheeling on a date between Matt and Adonis. I made myself scarce as I was beckoned over to a couple of kayakers who might have come to the same conclusion. I weas offered some wild Piñuela fruits, something I’d never seen before. It was about the size of a grape, with mango-like skin, which looked quite unremarkable. After our experience with the other local fruit we’d sampled on our boat tour, I had low expectations, but these were delicious. They tasted similar to a pineapple, but more tart.
Refreshed, and relieved I hadn’t been kidnapped, I rejoined the lovebirds who then literally sailed off into the sunset together as I followed along, photographing their incredibly romantic first date.
On our way back to the pier, we had one final stop to see a different kind of chemistry4, as we stopped in some shallows to see some bioluminescent plankton. The moon was a little bright to see them from the kayaks, but by popping on a scuba mask we were able to dunk our faces into the water to see the tiny underwater sparks floating around – magical!
Here’s a little video montage for your viewing pleasure:
Today is our last full day in Costa Rica, and we’re spending it doing some planning for our imminent road trip in the USA. We’re also taking the opportunity to rest up before a bit of a brutal red-eye flight to the states (we leave Costa Rica at midnight and arrive at 5am in Dallas) – not sure what we were thinking when we booked that one!
Iris
Two for the Road 
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