We drove to a remote part of Costa Rica near Alajuela. Honestly, I couldn’t tell you where it is or how we got there. I only know that we passed strawberry fields as we traveled up through the mountains on a tiny road (that was currently being built). A platform for a road hadn’t even been established yet, and there were pebbles that were being laid for traction for the tires. There were several times we had to get out and heave our van forward to move it uphill. Mario’s friend, Antoine, was building a farmhouse out in the jungla (jungle). Essentially, “La Virgen Del Socorro” translates to “untouched relief” referring to the area’s untouched wilderness.

Mario grew up in an area predominately composed of jungle terrain, so he gave us a tour through Antoine’s “backyard.” Mind you, this area is the home of jungle cats, snakes, birds, and dangerous insects, so our good friend, “Machete” accompanied us for protection. There was no trail per se, only grass, leaves, and dirt, so we had to tread carefully to avoid snakes, scorpions, and spiders. Luckily, we were only confronted by a few lizards, crabs, and butterflies, however, we noticed claw marks high on the bark on several of the trees. As we made our way back toward Antoine’s farmhouse, we came across the shells of several scorpions. They were rather large in size, and had already died, which was also a very favorable discovery.

At the end of the day, Antoine and his wife, Laura, cooked us a wonderful Costa Rican meal. We went four-wheeling along the dirt and rock-ridden roads, and later swam in the pools of a local waterfall. That night we drank cacique and played music on the balcony overlooking the jungle, and the next morning we woke early to hear howler monkeys in the nearby trees. Mario made some calls to them and they appeared to acknowledge him, as they howled back. Enjoy!

Early morning howler monkeys – enjoy!

(Trip continued on Day 4)

NOTE: All blog posts, articles, and photographs are the intellectual and creative property of Melissa J. Koziol. Thank you for reading!