This past weekend visiting Curu and Montezuma were such a different experience for me. On Saturday left San Jose early and got to Curu around noon, not staying long at the hotel before booking it to the beach in Curu. There were monkeys all around us and there were lots of trails we could take to walk around the park and see different animals. The beach was very nice and the water extremely warm. It felt like bath water and was probably the warmest ocean water I have ever swam in. A few other girls and I went to go for a walk after the tide had come up so far we practically had to leave the beach. We saw more monkeys, some deer, and different birds before we were forced to turn back because the high tide had taken away the trail.
A few hours later it was finally time to do what we went to Curu for, see the bioluminescence. We could decide whether we wanted to kayak or take a boat. So why not get the best of both worlds? I split with another girl, Jasmine, so I would kayak out first while she took the boat then on the way home after she would kayak while I took the boat. My friend Sam and I kayaked out to a private beach further out in clearer water than the first beach as the sun went down. We all swam in the warm and light blue water and ate fresh cut fruit as it got darker. The guides told us a little bit about the area and bioluminescent plankton we were about to see. As soon as they let us go we all went running into the water, eager to see it glow.
Splashing the water or making it move is what allowed us to actually see the bioluminescence. It was like nothing I have ever seen before and didn't even seem like what I was seeing was real. We thrashed around and our bodies glowed a light blue color! They gave us masks and seeing it underwater was even more amazing. The water was beautiful and everything was sparkling, the clear stars above us and the glowing plankton below. On the way back in the boat as I looked over the sides the water we were cutting through that was splashing to the sides was also glowing. The night was unforgettable.
The next day we headed to Montezuma, gearing ourselves for a different kind of day. We hiked in the woods and along a little river until we reached a refreshing waterfall that landed in a 50 foot deep pool. Immediately we jumped into the water and were refreshed. There was a small cliff to the side of the waterfall that a few of us jumped off of. Let me tell you, it looks small looking at it but standing at the top it looks a lot taller. It was fun though, taking a leap of faith and jumping off. I thought what we were doing was good enough until the local boys showed up. They have grown up with the waterfall and would simply scale up the side and over the slippery wet rocks to halfway up and even to the top of the waterfall and then do what all of us though was a death wish. They jumped, swan dove, cannonballed, and even flipped from those spots. It was crazy, I've never seen anyone do anything like that from so high up.
There were two other waterfalls further up but most of us were more than happy with the first waterfall. A few people have died there and even one of the students that went a couple of weeks earlier and almost had the same fate. He made a decision to climb the waterfall as the locals did and got stuck, realizing he was too high, then slipped and luckily fell into the water, not without a painful smack on the water. Therefore, most of us played it safe but I would love to go back to Montezuma and hike to the other waterfalls.
A few hours later it was finally time to do what we went to Curu for, see the bioluminescence. We could decide whether we wanted to kayak or take a boat. So why not get the best of both worlds? I split with another girl, Jasmine, so I would kayak out first while she took the boat then on the way home after she would kayak while I took the boat. My friend Sam and I kayaked out to a private beach further out in clearer water than the first beach as the sun went down. We all swam in the warm and light blue water and ate fresh cut fruit as it got darker. The guides told us a little bit about the area and bioluminescent plankton we were about to see. As soon as they let us go we all went running into the water, eager to see it glow.
Splashing the water or making it move is what allowed us to actually see the bioluminescence. It was like nothing I have ever seen before and didn't even seem like what I was seeing was real. We thrashed around and our bodies glowed a light blue color! They gave us masks and seeing it underwater was even more amazing. The water was beautiful and everything was sparkling, the clear stars above us and the glowing plankton below. On the way back in the boat as I looked over the sides the water we were cutting through that was splashing to the sides was also glowing. The night was unforgettable.
The next day we headed to Montezuma, gearing ourselves for a different kind of day. We hiked in the woods and along a little river until we reached a refreshing waterfall that landed in a 50 foot deep pool. Immediately we jumped into the water and were refreshed. There was a small cliff to the side of the waterfall that a few of us jumped off of. Let me tell you, it looks small looking at it but standing at the top it looks a lot taller. It was fun though, taking a leap of faith and jumping off. I thought what we were doing was good enough until the local boys showed up. They have grown up with the waterfall and would simply scale up the side and over the slippery wet rocks to halfway up and even to the top of the waterfall and then do what all of us though was a death wish. They jumped, swan dove, cannonballed, and even flipped from those spots. It was crazy, I've never seen anyone do anything like that from so high up.
There were two other waterfalls further up but most of us were more than happy with the first waterfall. A few people have died there and even one of the students that went a couple of weeks earlier and almost had the same fate. He made a decision to climb the waterfall as the locals did and got stuck, realizing he was too high, then slipped and luckily fell into the water, not without a painful smack on the water. Therefore, most of us played it safe but I would love to go back to Montezuma and hike to the other waterfalls.