Last Saturday we traveled old school- all by horse, all day long. We started out on an hour ride to a ranger station at the base of an active volcano. The trail there meandered through chaparral then rain forest. The first leg was a good warm up- I rode in Spain last time I was there, but my body seemed to have forgotten. My horse's name was Kiko, a docile white pack horse who liked to eat and shit. After the ranger station, we rode another 45 minutes to some natural hot springs. Sulfur smelling, but a tantalizing aqua-marine. There were rocks built up around them, so one could soak. Even in the 90 plus heat the 100 degree water felt good on a novice cowboys aching muscles. There was a river nearby so moving from the cold, river to the thermal pools was refreshing. But cowbnoys aren't known for thermal spas, so we took the horses again, by this time we were all pros, everyone trying to get the lead of the pack. Another hour ride and a good half mile hike down into some dense tropical forest to a 30 foot waterfall with a small 20 by 20 pool. The lodge had packed us a lunch- 1 ham sandwich, 1 tuna sandwich, some cookies and some pineapple. All but the tuna tasted great, hunger the best spice. However, our riding day wasn't over. One more short ride took us to their version of the canopy/zip line tour. 7 cables, the longest 500 yards, most of them much lower than the first one. My group scoffed at the diminutive size of this course. But all of us were walking bowlegged by this time, and tired from sun and adventure. The zip line was almost too much for such a day.
Another day we all rented kayaks and paddled out to the island in the center of the horseshoe bay where Samara is located. We beached our kayaks on the south side of the island, where a small spit of sand appears at low tide. The guides took out snorkeling gear, fins, mask, snorkle. The surf was pretty rough- it was no protected reef, but there was enough clear water and reef to see some parrot fish and other aquarium worthy small fish. After, the guides took out fresh pineapple, sliced them with a small machete and we ate juicy pineapple chunks. Not a bad life.
Finally, most of us have been surfing. Choco's, a surf school owned by Choco who rents out boards, gives lessons and lets us use the boards whenever we ant. I am able to stand most times now, the waves gentle at high tide and the water warm. Most of the students are getting into it too. There's something to be said about teaching in board shorts and a rash guard so I can go surfing once class lets out. One of my most vivid last memories of this trip is surfing at dusk the sun behind the small hill, the mango sky, laying on my board, the taste of the salt water, the smell of wood smoke, entirely exhausted but at peace, waiting for one more wave before I go to La Vela Latina for a $1.80, ice cold beer. Pura Vida.
To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.
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