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Two weeks in the real Jungle Book!
Story time | Costa Rica Surf & Jungle Adventure 2024
- By Saskia G.
75L Backpack, packed. 25L daypack and carry on, packed. Head Torch, Bug Spray, a small medical kit, wetsuit, plenty of bikinis and activewear, along with hiking boots and reef shoes. That’s all I needed for a big adventure to the other side of the world which would have me surfing iconic waves, horseback riding up mountains, hiking through the jungle and rappelling down waterfalls. I was so ready, I was so excited and I was as prepared as I could be. This is my journal entry after going along on the Costa Rica Surf & Jungle Retreat earlier this year. Like any adventure, there are always a couple of plot twists so be sure to keep reading for a bit of a laugh, and to get to know what a Wild Women Journeys trip overseas is all about. Spoiler; a whole lotta fun!
The journey began with long haul flights. I thought I had snagged a real bargain flying via Hawaii (random) whilst all the other flights were double the price and laying over in LA or Dallas. Everything was going well; I had made my connections seamlessly, I didn’t feel overly wrecked after the series of flights, and I was touching down in my destination, San Jose, with all my ducks in a row. Or so I thought. I quickly came to realise that I had accidentally booked flights to San Jose California, instead of San Jose, Costa Rica. OOPS! In an absolute panic I spoke to the lovely air hostesses and they helped me find a flight leaving from San Francisco (45 minutes from San Jose) that evening which I booked.
I then had to layover in Houston, AND the flight to Costa Rica had to do an emergency landing due to weather conditions which meant I was delayed another few hours. After a whole lotta airport food, little to no sleep and a ticking clock I finally made it to Costa Rica the day before our trip was kicking off. Phew! Lucky I had planned to arrive two days early which gave me the time to get there without missing anything.
This was a very expensive mistake to make by the way, so please always quadruple check your flights and the airport codes before buying!! Lesson learnt. Anyway, I was still just so excited to go on this trip so nothing could really dampen my mood, and it makes for a funny story now. Lol!
As the other girls started to arrive at the hotel, it was all becoming more real and the anticipation was building. We had a delicious buffet breakfast were we met some of the girls who had flown in the night before, and then we spent the rest of the day exploring San Jose while waiting for the other girls to check in.
Finally, it was time for our first group dinner which was a delicious meal called Cassava; made up of rice and beans, your choice of protein, salad, and fried plantains. We would be eating similarly for the rest of the trip. Beans and rice are a staple in Costa Rica, along with corn tortillas. No complaints here! We had such a great group of women on this tour, with four birthdays which was super fun.
Then it was time to head off for an early night before a big day of driving down to the south of Costa Rica, called Pavones, where we’d be spending the first week surfing and doing yoga on the coast. Enter, the second plot twist. Even though it was the end of the rainy season, the area had been hit with the most rainfall in years and there were landslides blocking the roads everywhere. What was meant to be a 7 hour bus trip took us nearly 12 or more hours and we arrived at our accommodation at about 3am in the morning. What an adventure we had! There was plenty of dancing on the bus, pit stops at the infamous Crocodile Bridge and way too many plantain chippies and fresh tropical fruit smoothies.
Everyone kept their spirits high and we didn’t let the delays get us down. Wake up time was 6am for our first day of surfing lessons and it was so much fun getting out into the waves, learning how to adjust our surfing style and cheering each other on in the water. We then headed back to the jungly retreat for a lunch of homemade empanadas (the yummiest thing EVER!) and some rest time before a beautiful afternoon yoga session. Then dinner and another early night, with a 5am wake up the next day to get the best of the waves.
The next four days looked about the same, surfing in the morning, eating a whole lot of delicious food, doing yoga AND we got to do an incredible horseback riding experience with a local guide. We also spent one afternoon climbing through the rocky creaky up to an incredible waterfall on the property of our accommodation. We truly got WILD and became one with the wet, jungly elements. We saw so many stunning Toucans, one sloth hiding from the rain and plenty of huge Iguanas. On our last day we even got up close and personal with a scorpion. No one was injured in the making of this story, luckily.
We were sad to say goodbye to our incredible host family but it was time to head off to chapter two of our adventure and head inland, along the Savage River. We repacked our bags to only carry what we needed for the next four days before being dropped off in the middle of seemingly nowhere to begin our trek. It started with a manual cable car to cross the river, and then we hiked for 12kms up some pretty steep hills and plenty of creek crossings. My old pair of hiking boots decided to perish during this hike, and we attempted many rounds of bushfixes before giving up and sending a truck to take me the very last bit. I almost made the whole 12kms with broken shoes though, but was very happy to reach the homestay. It was an incredible ranch style house with open walls bringing us at one with nature. The kitchen was a huge room with a big table where we spent many hours eating home made traditional foods, getting to know the family, and playing a lot of cards!
We then spent the next day learning all about how they make sugar from the sugarcane growing on their farm, as well as meeting some of the farm animals. Then, we traversed our way up the hill to discover a huge 30 metre waterfall which we were going to rappel down. This was such a fun time, and everyone completed the rappel with huge smiles on their faces. A massive adrenaline rush! Afterwards we cleaned ourselves up, had another mouthwatering lunch, and then went back to the sugar shed to see the end of the process. We ate homemade candies and then had some downtime before dinner. The next day we packed up and hiked 4 hours to another homestay, this one was right on the river and the sleeping quarters looked directly out at a massive waterfall. It was an absolute amazing sight and all of us kept having to pinch ourselves that it was real.
We learnt how to climb a massive tree, and then got to experience a traditional Temzcal Sweat Lodge. We sat around the fire for three cycles of 10 minutes with fresh river swims in between. It was so revitalising and cleansing after having been dirty and sweaty from the last few days. Definitely a huge highlight of the trip!
Later that evening we learnt how to make chocolate from scratch! Did you know that cacao beans come from a fruit with white flesh similar to a lychee? We got to eat some of the fruit and then they toasted the beans before we macerated them into a paste using a handheld grinder. This was then melted in a pan with sugar and milk to make liquid chocolate, enjoyed on a pancake! The next morning we were off again, hiking out of the jungle and to our starting point for the two days of white water rafting. I told you, the adventures were never ending on this tour. Everyday had new fun activities all preorganised for us.
I thought I would be scared of the white water rafting, but I turned out to LOVE it so so much I think it might be my favourite part of the trip. We rafted about 25kms the first day before setting up camp along the river for the night. The guides were amazing and had so much local knowledge to share with us, along with some spooky ghost stories. The food was incredible once again, and we all slept side by side in a tent that night before doing it all again the next day. Sadly, this was the end of our rafting experience but we then had a really fun night out in a nearby town called Dominical! We had cocktails and more epic food and it was the perfect way to end the trip together as we then headed back to San Jose and said our goodbyes.
If you’re on the edge of booking a trip I can tell you it’s absolutely value for money and it could be the best holiday you ever have! Pura Vida and Gracias for reading along.