Costa Rica Day 4 - Cliff jumping... or the sincerest attempt...

When planning to visit Costa Rica, and the pacific side specifically, I wanted to surf and cliff jump. Surfing was out when I realized my wrist was too injured but jumping off cliffs was still on.

I booked a tour with a local company promising extreme adventure. In fact, Extreme Adventure was the name of the tour itself. It left the following day at 7am and finished up by 5 or 6pm. Reviews seemed good and you had 3 different swimming holes to check out and all the jumps were in Manuel Antonio National Park which I desperately wanted to check out.

The guide picked me up just after 7am and away we went. We had to pick up eight more people so I was excited to meet some new friends. At the next pickup point, about an hour away, two parents and six kids piled into the van. Yes you read that right- a family of eight. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all up for family fun..but even a single person to hang with would have been nice.

The kids immediately start being kids and the fighting and yelling promptly began. Luckily it was early and I was still on Pacific time (2 hour earlier) so I passed out right away. Ahhh the joys of being able to sleep anywhere.

We drove another hour to get to the first swimming hole. It was a rope swing so I skipped it and just went for a swim. I wanted to conserve my wrist for something more exciting. I grew up on a river and lake so a rope swing isn't too exciting. We had to leave our bags in the van so I didn't get any pics! Super upset about that!

It was nice to have a break from the van and being ridiculously crowded but when it was time to get back in I sorta hung outside because I was dreading sharing a seat with two kids under ten years old who were whining or being extremely loud. The reasons behind the extra noise... ipads being taken away or singing an annoying song to bother their parents in the row behind us. Anyways.. the guide said I could sit up front which made a huge difference.

Next up was a rock water slide. This was SUPER COOL. I went down it three times and it was a rush every time! Again I didn't get to take any photos but if I found this video on Youtube of a young couple that takes you through the hike and the slide. Be sure to click thumbs up on the video if you like it :)

Next up on the agenda was lunch! We drove about 40minutes to a cool spot. Not sure if it was on the way... or out of the way... but the food was good. The pictures below are of the table we ate at and the street the restaurant was on.

We were welcome to write our name on the wall after lunch. See if you can spot it!

Once we finished lunch it was finally time for some cliff jumping! There was a 25 min hike to get through before the hike but I wasn't worried. The guide was a bit worried about the pace of the family. The ages of the kids were between grade 3 and grade 12. I think each kid on their own is civil, but put the whole family together and they were just CHAOS.

The photos below are me at the top of the hike and a quick glimpse of what the hike looked like going down. You can barely make out the path in the jungle.

Unfortunately during the hike down the kids basically imploded. Three were in tears at one point. One screamed (extremely loud) all the way down because she didn't like the mud under her feet or the bugs on the path. The guide had his hands full at the back so I had to take the lead at the front. It took FOREVER to get to the waterfall. By the time we got there I was pretty low on patience. I never mind helping out but it was the screaming that really got to me.

At the bottom of the walk I tried to take some space but the group followed me. When the kid who screamed incessantly joined the group I couldn't help but let her know where I was coming from. I said something along the lines of "if you're going to complain can you please do it further away from me? I just listened to your scream all the way down here. Just because you're not having a good time, doesn't mean I don't get to have a good time either."

Following telling a 14 year old off, I gave myself a time out. I understand where I was coming from but normally I don't surprise myself with what comes out of my mouth. The guide was getting the rope set up to help us climb up the falls to jump and flagged us over to get ready. The small area where we had to stand at the bottom of the waterfall was too small for the entire family and me and I could still hear them yelling when I was on shore.

At this point my time out became very real. I could no longer participate in the tour. It all hit me. The temper tantrum through lunch, having to get out of the van during a stop because it was one of those epic family melt down when even your parents are losing it (we've all been there), the singing..and hell at one point the grade three was peeing next to me and the grade 12 boy had his hand down his swim shorts... like WHY PEOPLE?! WHY?!

I get it, I get it. It's what family and kids are like... I remember...

Here's a pic in front of the falls after a short sun tan. Do I look more rested before or after the hike?

Naturally I slept for as much of the ride back as possible.

Overall, the guide was amazing but the day was stressful. The swimming spots were good but the company was not a good fit for what I was looking for.

I ended up asking the tour company for a refund and they agreed refund me 50% of the price. I feel that is fair. It was a cool experience but no cliff jumping happened. I'm at 0/2 for adventure sports I came to Costa Rica to see. Daaaarrrnnnn