The last few days were a little slow here, so Jody and I decided to get tattoos!
I thought that might get your attention! HA!
We actually did get tattoos…not real ones….but from a fern plant that grows here in Costa Rica. We learned about it on our tour of Los Campesinos Reserve yesterday. Our guide, Estefan, saw the plants as we driving along and stopped to pick a few for us. Jody and I both applied a tattoo by setting a plant on our respective legs and giving it a good slap. When we removed the plant, we had a tattoo! That’s about as close as I am ever going to get to a tattoo…..don’t like needles…..
We got the tattoo before the sunscreen incident and after the cheese and the “cleavage drip”. Jody and I coined the phrase “cleavage drip” early in the trip….one of the first days….after we bought the sundresses…. when we realized how hot it was going to be here. Although, as I remember the time here in Costa Rica, we have had cleavage drip just about every day.
The “cleavage drip” is an interesting sensation….rivers of sweat flowing in between your boobs all the way down to the waist of your shorts or skivvies, if you have on a dress. (I hope you will forgive my indiscretion at bringing this up, but I really needed to share this with you!) I can honestly say that I have never before been sweaty enough to experience “cleavage drip”…..but, I’m getting used to it now as a daily occurrence. Just in case you were wondering, it’s still hot here.
It’s also still the most direct sunlight I have experienced in quite sometime. My fair skin has taken quite a beating, but I’m happy to say that I have now mastered the cure. It’s called prevention. Here’s how it goes. I spray on the highest SPF sunscreen that I can find (either 50 or 70) before we go out. After about 2 hours, I spray more. And, I spray again if we are out longer. I carry the sunscreen with me every time we leave the house…don’t leave home without it……it’s my new best friend!
Yesterday, I used a particularly insane amount, but not just on myself. After 2 weeks of using the spray on sunscreen, I finally discovered that there is a lock on the sprayer. Well…actually….I knew that, but why pay attention to such details? We are in Costa Rica! The result of my carefree attitude was a good drenching of sunscreen for the new backpack I just bought…… oh, and also my new iPhone. I guarantee that neither will ever experience a sunburn of any type! Lucky them!
The good news is that I can wash the backpack and my iPhone still works. (Can you believe that?) The bad news is that the screen on my iPhone is oddly dark and shadowed now. Oh well! I can still take pictures. Isn’t that the most important thing?!
Oh……and we now have 1 kilo of homemade cheese that we will be eating for every meal from now until we leave Costa Rica. We were a little off on our calculations of how much a kilo was when we decided this would be a good amount for the 2 of us. HA!
I will say that I am glad the iPhone incident happened at the end of the day, so that I could take some pictures of Los Campesinos for you to see. It’s beautiful and we had a spectacular day there.
Los Campesinos is a good hour and a half from Quepos down one of the bumpiest dirt roads I have ever been on. (I’m not kidding, we had our arms outside the windows holding onto the roof of the van in order to just stay on the seat!)
Los Campesinos is a reserve operated by the people in the surrounding villages….a cooperative of a type with an interesting concept. The reserve is focused on tourism, which is about the only source of real income here.
All of the people in the surrounding towns have a job at the reserve and are required to put in a requisite number of hours there during each pay period. At the end of the period, they receive their pay from the money that is generated from the people who come through to tour. The members of the cooperative meet at a community center each month to discuss important issues and reinforce the importance of each person putting in their requisite number of hours (although, surprisingly, they don’t seem to have any trouble with that part). Many of the people have other jobs or run their own small businesses on the side as well. And, they seem to do just fine!
The property is quite extensive and includes numerous hiking trails; some waterfalls where one can do rappelling (or just enjoy the ambiance);
a few rooms for those who want to stay overnight; a small store; and a restaurant that makes most of the food using things that are grown on the reserve or by the townspeople.
They sell the eggs from the chickens that are on site and make their own cheese. (This is how we ended up with the kilo. We were so compelled by their story that we had to have the cheese. We had to have the eggs, too.)
The reserve also has a hanging bridge that goes over the biggest waterfall in the area. It is 127 meters high and 40 meters long. We opted to walk across, and I have to say it was one of the more thrilling things I have done lately. But, it’s not for those who are afraid of heights.
We also did one of the easier hikes and had lunch in the restaurant. Our tour was private and we had 2 guides. And, I will say, again, that I was beyond impressed with the ability of the guides to point out animals…big and small….and the different types of plants. We saw tiny frogs that were just a few inches long. We would have never found them on our own. I am astounded at the things they were able to see. Unbelievable!
Lunch was one of the best meals we have had on the trip….fish cooked over an open wood fire, rice and beans, cooked squash, cabbage salad, and a homemade tortilla. We also had pineapple/lemon juice to drink, which was delicious.
We ended the day at the store of Estefan’s family where we met his mother. The family owns the store and sells spices and essential oils.
Our day at Los Campesinos was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. The scenery was beautiful, the food was good, and the people were so kind (which we have found everywhere we have gone in Costa Rica).
Again, time well spent. As we recap our time here, we agree that we have done some amazing things on this trip that are a little off the beaten track. And, many of our days have included rubbing elbows with the locals, which we both love. So, despite the heat, sweating, and the sunscreen incident, we are having a great time and will be sorry when our time here is over. We are already thinking about when we might come back!
Pura vida! (pure life)
Travel With Betsy 
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