Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls..
By Shakia Stewart
Last updated: 16th November 2011
Oh yes, most of Sunday afternoon I could not get TLC ‘Waterfalls’ out of my head as I scrambled up the most amazing waterfall in Montezuma, or Montefuma, as the locals call it, as they joke about it being home to many stoner surfers (fuma = smoke)! Early Sunday morning me and my guide headed from Manuel Antonio all the way up the Pacific coast of Costa Rica to catch a ferry over to Montezuma, this amazingly beautiful surfer town, nestled between mountains and rocky and sandy beaches along the coast.
As soon as we arrived I headed out with my local guide to check out the famous water feature. We scrambled up the river until we reached the first of three waterfalls…absolutely stunning, a gorgeous blue pool of water collecting at the bottom where people were swimming and chilling out. By this time we were already half way up the mountain, and when asked if I wanted to carry on to see the next two waterfalls, of course I agreed. What I didn´t realise is we would literally be scaling the moutain, which was practically vertical I might add, to get to the top!
I hung onto several precarious tree roots and branches as a I scrambled my way up overlooking the small, happy, safe people on the ground below…but it was worth the mild vertigo…the view from the top was amazing! And the pool that collected between the second and third waterfalls was an amazing oasis away from the busy crowds below. I spent a long time jumping off the rocks into the water…never gets boring! Also saw several people flying by on zip wires overhead as part of a canopy tour which looked amazing!
Back down in town I chilled out and had a delicious dinner of ceviche, which is fish that has been cooked only in lime juice with chillies and other amazing spices…not for the faint hearted! Really really tasty, and I definitely recommend it if you like seafood… (you may have noticed I do enjoy my food, and also tend to take a lot of pictures of my meals…see my buñuelos en miel if you don’t believe me…not weird at all…)
I wish I´d had more time to spend in Montezuma. The chilled out atmosphere, amazing landscape, lovely people, beautiful beaches, mountains and waterfalls were all something I could get definitely used to! The volunteers projects here also sounded brilliant, ranging from assisting at a primary school, working on recycling projects, planting trees and even teaching music at a music school in near by Pochote. Ah well, its a tough life for me…I must leave and head off to another waterfall (sigh), visit a volcano (boring…), and check out some of the local wildlife up close and personal…woe is me…
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