This year's adventure

Even with no leaves yet, some very pretty areas

Those who've been here awhile may remember that last year I discovered I really enjoy hiking.  So this year, in typical me fashion, I decided to dive in fully 🤦‍♀️.  I know, you’re shocked.  And the hike in Costa Rica reinforced how much of a mental health boost they are for me.   So, all full of excitement and ambition, I signed up for not one but TWO ridiculously long hikes in May.

The problem is, I haven’t so much as *walked* anywhere consistently since the weather turned icky and the dark started setting in before the workday ended.   Which means my fitness level is not exactly where it should be.  

Note the icicles...  Sunny, but still chilly

Cue panic training.  Friday afternoon was decent weather - cold but sunny and dry, so I went for a short 5k - of which I’d say about half counted as a hike and half was a walk in the park (literally) 😂.  The diff in my mind being difficulty of terrain - if strollers w babies in them can do it, it doesn’t count as a hike ;).   

Gratuitous waterfall photo; there were a few different falls

The rest of the wknd was supposed to be miserable snow-rain type weather, so I wrote it off entirely.  Then Sunday actually ended up being civilized?!?!  Chilly - hovering around zero - but sunny and dry.  And, well, Canadian - I know how to dress for chilly. 

An impressive first view - maybe 50m from the parking lot? ;)

So I planned out a hike route (look at me being responsible) and Chris helpfully agreed to help w transport so we drove to where I would end my hike, left my car there (free parking win), then he drove me to the start of my planned route (which would’ve been paid parking - hence the direction of travel) and dropped me off at the side of the road.  That way I could be as slow or fast as I wanted and wouldn’t interfere any more with his timing / plans for the day.

The two apps compared.
All Trails (left) - more accurate for tracking the path walked;
Bruce Trail - more accurate for navigating the path, but stops tracking path when hibernating

I told him likely 2-3 hours and set out.  I set All Trails to record my trek and also the Bruce Trail app - which I had challenges w last time and wanted to see if I could get it going.

So first learning, very quickly 😂, is that both it’s very easy to end up on the wrong trail if you’re just enjoying the hike and daydreaming while you’re walking.  Fortunately I discovered very early that I’d made a wrong turn and the BT app was great for helping me get sorted.  Win.  After that I paid more attention and no more navigation issues.

The trails within Rockway were easy to navigate and mostly dry

The first hike was the Rockway Falls Side Trail - this is pretty much an out and back to a little waterfall.  Easy and pretty and a good time to test the app out and figure out what was going on.  I didn’t see a single other person on this part of the trip.

I'm sorry, you want me to go where now???
Clearly marked - I just wasn't sure I believed it.
Marking on front left tree says turn right there...?
Sure enough, another marker to the right.

Then I took the main trail towards Louth Conservation Area (where I’d left my car).  I’d never even heard of this park before but it’s lovely and was well worth discovering.  Saw a few other people on the main trail right by the rapids - which were stunning - but basically nowhere else.  All of this trail was well marked - there were places there was no visible trail at all, but the markings on the trees made it easy and clear where to go.  It’s the first time I’ve ever had to rely completely on the trial markers for navigation and I was impressed by how effective it was.   

I don't see a trail, do you see a trail?
If you have a big enough screen, there are markings on two trees to show where to go.

Some of this trail was incredibly steep, some of it reminded me of the kids’ game “over, under, through” 😂 and it definitely wasn’t a trail any stroller I’ve ever seen could navigate.  But it was so lovely.  For all but that one tiny section, I was the only human I could see or hear.  Birds and water - or the occasional helicopter- were most of the noises.  I was very appreciative that I was wearing proper hiking boots and also that the ground was still at least partially frozen.  There was mud, but not the boot-stealing, soul-sucking quantity that there will be in real spring.

Steep enough there was a cable to help; in mud this would be brutal.

When I got to the conservation area I had planned a route to do all the side trails that roughly formed a figure 8.  This would have been significantly more challenging without the app.  But with it?  No problem.   

This was one of the few areas there were other people.
All of four, but still - other people.

I had texted C that I would be a lot later than expected cause I’d been spending so much time taking pictures, figuring out the tech, etc.  To put in perspective, I took 144 photos on this hike (?!?!?) of which 99 were in the first 3kms.  45 were in Lough Conservation Area.  Not because it wasn’t worth taking pics, but because I wanted to finish today so I slowed down on the pics after the first bridge.   Lol in the end I finished almost exactly on the 3h - which is slower than I’d like for the scheduled hikes but also not as slow as I expected given all the picture taking.  Not sore after either which is a hopeful sign.  Need to double the distance for May, but I now believe it’s actually feasible!  Also remembering that I did R2CC when I’d never even ridden a century in one day before, so my body is somewhat used to this kind of ridiculousness.  We won’t acknowledge that that was about 10 yrs ago!

Large portions of the hike were super pretty

So yeah - overall my ambitious goal is in 2025 hike the Bruce Trail from its start in Niagara to the end of the Blue Mountains section (~450 kms) and all of the side trails in Niagara (cause I can do those without quite as much of a transportation nightmare).

Tempting, but I behaved myself ;-P

If that’s fun and achievable next year I’ll strategize to do the remaining parts - I don’t have enough vacation time to get that in this year unfortunately.  It’s a bit of a logistical nightmare.  My friend Janie is in for the challenge as well but timing wise prob not all together, so hopefully at least the far ones work out.  We shall see.

Any trail that accidentally both starts and ends with waterfalls is a win.

Costa Rica - Known Strangers

The sun sets on our last day...

Our last full day was quiet - we snagged another beach massage and at some point I went souvenir shopping, but overall mostly just spent the day enjoying the pool and ocean and my book :)

I’m mildly amused as always about how we “name” people we don’t have names for, and I always wonder what names others may have for us.  For example, on our block I know for a fact that we are either “Sasha’s people” (I’m used to that one) or “the ones w the yard” 😂. That last one surprised me cause it never occurred to me people would notice or care that.   

At the resort we’ve had a few we branded.  The ones I’ve enjoyed the most are “the tall family” lol - Mom, Dad, and 3 teenage girls.  I sat next to Dad and the oldest daughter on the plane, Mom and the other two were one row ahead.  Somehow we run into them often - at least once a day, sometimes more.  Our massage was right after theirs, one day we were at the same restaurant at the same time, today I bumped into them in the souvenir shop, etc.  I’ve genuinely enjoyed them.  But of the 5, know only one name.  So together they remain The Tall Family lol.

Then we have the Insta-Quartet which Chris branded.  Four women who dress in the same colour each day, who I wonder if might be doing a bachelorette type adventure, but always together, always wearing the same colour and general style, and generally always taking selfies.   

Similarly we have the Purple Family who we met in the airport - they literally branded themselves by wearing purple shirts that said “family vacation, Costa Rica, 2025” 😂 We chatted w them for a while.

There were originally “the good parents” so named unironically because I was impressed by how their young children were behaving and how they interacted w them and allowed them to be kids in a way that wasn’t interfering in any way with the adults around them.  They were rebranded the “Fonthill family” though after talking to them cause, well, one guess where they live (which is all of 15 mins from where we live).

The “wild child” who I adored but don’t envy her parents and she was 100% off on her own adventure every few moments and maybe 3 years old?   😂 her poor parents never got a chance to pause but was highly entertaining from the sidelines and again - not disruptive to anybody except her parents.  I think they’ve prob gone home as I haven’t seen them in a bit.

Big Mama named herself - she sold us the drinks at Conchal Beach and those were the only English words she seemed to know.   She and Chris bonded cause he gave her a tip that she turned into a beer ;).  At the same time as I was chatting w Big Mama to acquire our lovely pineapple drinks, Lobster Guy who had zero English but was working really hard to sell Chris, who has zero Spanish, a lobster ;)

So yeah - just some randomness I’ve enjoyed.  I’ve always enjoyed stories about people I consider “known strangers” (eg - the person you wait next to on the train station platform every morning, or the cashier where you buy your daily coffee, etc etc) - it’s always amusing to imagine what their lives might be, but also - whose known stranger might you be and what is your key identifying feature?

Gratuitous Moriarty picture stolen from the auto-feeder
after he hid from the friend who came to check on the cats

TIL - Costa Rica Edition

Today I learned that in 38degree heat wax-based pencil crayons melt.  Plus side - cool effects.  Down side - not at all what I was intending and plausibly not great for the pencils ;)

Costa Rica - Lunar Eclipse

Pretty and Quiet :)

So some interesting things when you go down to the beach after midnight.  The forest horses were galloping about (I think herded off by a security guard, but that def could’ve ended poorly if C hadn’t noticed them coming 😂).  There are lots of dogs - some were playing, some were barking at something, and one came to say hi :).    Drunk people on the beach made it so I wasn’t super comfortable being down there, so we stayed up by the pool which unfortunately meant light pollution.  But we still got to see it, so all good.  

Better photo than I expected from my phone

It wasn’t the incredible blood moon of some of the photos, but still took on a reddish haze.  Sadly at the moment totality kicked in, clouds also chose to cover.  Booo.  

Classic timing

And while totality apparently will last for hours, we didn’t feel the need to wait that long ;)

Peaceful

Costa Rica: Coco Beach

Went to Coco beach this am, mostly cause that’s the closest atm, but also a good excuse for a boat ride :).  Water taxi win - esp on the way out, lots of …. Rays jumping out of the water - fun to watch.   

Any excuse to take a water taxi ;)

Coco beach itself is basically a large tourist trap, but I enjoyed looking at some of the art by local artists (mostly so far out of our price range I was afraid to even look at it too long 😂.  But still, lovely to dream.   And C was on a quest for a particular coffee that he found last time he was here - didn’t get the same brand, but at least the same type so hopefully it’ll be as good :).   A nice lunch and a water taxi back for the win.

I loved the mural

Most of the rest of the day we lounged by the pool or played in the ocean.   Tried to go to the shops for my picture frame (those who know…) after dinner but they were closed!?!?  Yesterday at the same time they were open 🤷‍♀️.   Ah well.  Still 2 days left - worst case I’ll come Sat between checkout and time to leave for the airport.

Not a bad way to spend the afternoon

There’s a full lunar eclipse tonight, and as discovered earlier, the moon on the beach is stunning.  So I’m 100% heading down there at midnight to check it out:)

Costa Rica - More Hiking :)

This landbridge is only available at low tide

Today’s drawing prompt was about drawing animals from life - quick sketches to capture the idea rather than realism of any sort.  So I chose monkeys ;).   And promptly went to where the monkeys always are only to discover that of course today they were not there 🤦‍♀️.    Classic.  Another tourist told me there were howler monkies across the road so I went there and DID find them, but they were sleeping so for an action sketching session less useful - also, they were way up in the trees so mostly looked like black lumps.

We won't discuss how high I jumped when I found this guy by nearly stepping on him

But - in finding the monkeys, I’d also found another trail which ran parallel to the beach, so I followed it to the end and explored the land bridge that is only visible at low tide, as well as waded across to see where the mystery trail on the other side would lead.  I was slightly concerned about being gone too far and alone at this point so I was mostly just checking if it was worth going back to drag Chris along - or at least tell him where I was 😂.   But turns out not so much, it was a very quick dead end and not worth a secondary hike.  

Some lovely ocean views

I did get to see some very cool birds, stunning butterflies, a little snake, and a few lizards on the way though so that was cool.  The birds and butterflies needed a real camera, which I sadly did not have,  but I still enjoyed watching them.  

Watched this little guy fishing for a bit - super cute.  His owner was nearby.

On the way back I did find some capuchin monkeys playing which was great but by this point I was hot and tired so just snapped a couple not great photos on my phone and went back to the resort for a swim :).   I have lots of good monkey pics from previous trips so wasn’t as stressed about the lack of good camera.

I definitely crossed this to see where the trail would go.
Spoiler alert: dead end in less than 2 mins

Ocean was rated yellow again but this time it was tiny waves w fairly strong undertow, so way less fun.  As a result, all but one swim was pool based today.  Still - pretty lovely day with temps in the high 30s and not crazy humidity.

Watched this guy for a while

Mildly amused that the only bilingual person who’s been willing to converse w me in Spanish is the “tour operator” on the beach that we’re pretty certain is also selling weed (at least - which while legal at home is not super legal here).  Lol but unlike all the others on the beach, he’s not pushy - very much waiting for business to come to him ;)

Just kinda love the canopy

There was a foam party at one of the pools today - 100% the opposite of my thing but I did enjoy watching for a bit.   A ton of people in a pool (I’m not a great swimmer) with limited visibility and lots of alcohol somehow just didn’t seem a great idea.  But - the music was amusing, the energy level and enthusiasm were high, and watching the bubbles shoot out of the cannon made me feel like a little kid again :).  Once that part was done though I noped out pretty fast; no interest in sticking around for the aftermath.

Mildly amusing to watch, but zero interest in joining in

Looking into options for what we’re going to do tomorrow - not fully committed yet cause budget is restrictive but I’m sure we’ll find something!   Alas, I don’t think it’ll be sloths on this trip - I’ll just have to make a point to come back!

From the land bridge

Costa Rica - Power Outage

We kicked off our resort day w couples massage.  For both of us they were somewhat unlike massages we had had before but while different, both were excellent.  So much so we’re considering another round on Friday.

The walk to where the massage ladies were

Other than that mostly spent the day bouncing between beach and pool.  Water in each is super warm - like -*really* lovely.  And flag still yellow so got to play in the waves again.  We’ve found the pool that so far seems to be the quietest and no scrapping it out for chairs which is nice.  

This was not a bad view to see every time we left our room

Only sad part is everybody on the resort speaks English so well that every time I try to speak Spanish they immediately switch to English *sigh*.  I get that they’re being polite but it’s both sad and disheartening for sure.  Our driver on the trip yesterday chatted w me a bit in Spanish but wasn’t fair to do too much of that cause C doesn’t speak it so that’s just rude.  But for random hotel staff things….  Ah well.  Plus side - I understand pretty much everything on the radio (professional speakers tend to enunciate more in any language) and I’d say a strong 70% of random conversations I evesdrop on with no context IF I pay attention.  Lol if I’m not paying attention there’s next to nothing, but arguably the same in English.  My ability to laser focus, even while daydreaming, is impressive.

Not a bad way to spend an evening

Dinner tonight led to an incredible evening when the power went out.  😂. Somehow they finished serving (to be fair, we were almost done), and tried to reassure everyone that this isn’t a usual occurrence.  But C and I just took it as a good time for a moonlit stroll on the beach.  Power was out everywhere within sight so no light pollution other than the occasional cell phone, and a brilliant almost-full moon that made it so it was easy to safely navigate the beach without a light (those who were at our wedding may remember similar nights).   No sound but the waves crashing, no lights but the moon and stars, being a mostly nocturnal water-loving introvert, it was basically perfection. 

I love the beach at night - esp when the moon is full

Power came back on about the time I was starting to think I might want long sleeves, and then the rest of the evening flowed as it should.  This resort has a coffee bar similar to the one we experienced in Mexico, and their hot chocolate is amazing!  So as we did in Mexico, we’ve taken to stopping in there after dinner :)

Really enjoyed the little coffee bar