I often get asked ‘what is life like in Costa Rica’? I say it’s pretty much very similar to the life I had back in Tampa – minus the traffic, the chaos and of course, the flat topography! I definitely do take part in very interesting activities.

I recently went on a ‘baby shower girls retreat’ to the Rincon de la Vieja national park near Liberia, Guanacaste. This was the first time I ever had a ‘baby shower’ at a national park and it was so much fun, especially with 15 other girls to share it with. This is probably nothing I would have ever done in the U.S.

Rincon de la Vieja is located just 20 minutes northeast of Liberia. It’s the lesser known, lesser talked about volcano in Guanacaste.

Our day started at 8:30 AM when we caught our bus to the Rincon de la Vieja area. Its’ about a 90 minute drive from Playa Conchal, where we got picked up. We made a stop off at the Subway to get some sandwiches and continued on to our Ecolodge.

Once we dropped off our things, we went on a two hour hike and crossed a few rivers, creeks and finally got to the 110 foot Victoria waterfall.

The river rapids were impressive (and I’ve done them before in a tube) but for this trip, we stuck to hiking for the most part. After our two hour hike, we ended our day at the Simbosis Spa where we painted ourselves with mud, soaked in Jacuzzi’s (fed with water from the hot springs) and massages.

Simbosis Spa is part of the Hacienda Guachipelin combo tour you can do. I’ve done the combo tour twice before and would highly recommend it.

I had my reservations about staying at Cabinas with no air conditioning. I didn’t think about the fact that where we were staying is at a higher elevation, therefore the temperature was perfect and the breeze was cooling.

The lodge owners (a lovely Dutch couple) made us all dinner and served up some great wine. The next morning, we had a 7 AM Yoga session with a view and then breakfast. Our microbus took us back to the beach at 9:30 AM and we had a scenic drive back to the beach.

Staying overnight at Rincon de la Vieja and enjoying the company of others was a great experience. There are many beautiful spots in Costa Rica within a short drive for a day trip or overnight trip. Even though I’ve seen different destinations around Costa Rica for 32 years, the endless beauty never ceases to amaze me.

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Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.