Day 6: Vámonos: Into the Adventure (Written by Martina Hill)
I never truly have had this kind of opportunity, you know the one that is worth a lifetime… well today was just that, and then some.
We started our morning off with a big breakfast feast at the dining hall, then we gathered all of our things and hopped into the bus where it was a short drive to our first stop. Laughter and joy filled the bus ride there in which I could not help but sit with the fact of where we are at this moment.
We arrived to what the locals call the “little beach” in which we were meeting some of our guides for the day. As we arrived we were instructed to grab a paddle and a life preserver. At first I was a bit annoyed, I am not going to lie. We had to paddle a canoe of 7 people… I guess you could say I am more of a solo kayaker type of person, although I was quickly taken by surprise once we ventured out into the ocean.
Not even 20 minutes into paddling from the base to little beach, I had spotted 2 beautiful sea turtles. We were so struck by their size and beauty that only a few photos were taken in which they had quickly disappeared before the second boat was able to get as close as we were to them.
Once we arrived on shore, we each ran into the water and waited for the guides to prepare us for snorkeling, something I had not truly experienced before. It was one of the most magical and unforgettable moments of my life, thus far. My fears of open water started to lift away as we began swimming over sea urchins and corals.
Looking into the water was both terrifying and mesmerizing because I was unsure of what was beneath all of us. Then all of a sudden one of our guides took a dive into what appeared to be a crevice between two large rocks. I knew he must have found something important. I quickly doggy paddled closer to him and when he rose to the surface I saw a giant puffer fish larger than the size of his hand.
He turned around and found what I think was a blue puffer fish that he let me touch. It was squishy, slimy and its mouth just kept opening like he was blowing bubbles to put on a show.
After a few short minutes the guide came up to me with a very large, black starfish reaching his arms out indicating for me to do the same. He placed the starfish down carefully onto my hands where it climbed up my arms. It felt almost like what I imagine a centipede would feel like trickling up your arms. Then something magical happened. The starfish wrapped itself around my wrist like a bracelet. In that moment, it was like everything just stopped, my thoughts and fears went to shore, it was just me, the ocean and the starfish. It was a moment I will never forget.
Once we arrived back to the base we showered and hopped into the bus with our sandy bathing suits tucked away in our bags and made quick stop at a shopping center on the way to get some refreshments and books for the next few days. “Vámonos”, onto our next adventure.
There we were, just a bunch of what used to be strangers conquering some of our biggest fears together. A short beautiful ride with some singing to make the nerves go away, we headed up the mountain in a wagon that was being towed by a large tractor. We arrived to our first zip line platform and as we approached, you could see it all setting in. The fears, the anxiety, then anticipation. After a few clicks and some words of encouragement, we were off. An entire forest filled with greenery and life was now beneath us. Slowly, the anxiety turned into adrenaline, and the fear became excitement for the remaining platforms.
Unaware of how this day could have possibly been any better, we drove back to Punta Leona Resort and immediately went to the white sand beach. It was something we had all been wanting to experience, even if it was a 30 minute walk from our rooms, boy were we not disappointed…
The walk there we discovered more of the white faced monkeys, watched them jump from limb to limb and headed to the road for our long walk. We were then greeted by a beautiful sunset overlooking the ocean from the mountain top, which was a picture perfect scenery. Though what was even more breathtaking, was when we arrived to the beach. A stunning sunset and a crowd of people there to experience it with us. The day truly could not have been more perfect.
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