Day 4 – The Cemetery and Cabo Blanco Nature Preserve

Today would be a challenge. I wanted all of us to be up and out the door to the local Panaderia and have breakfast around 7-7:30am. And actually, I made that happen. Both Anna and Ash were ready to roll. We packed quite a bit of water and drinks for the hike later in the day. Since we would going to the Panaderia to eat breakfast, the thought was to also order sandwiches to take with us for later in the day.

Breakfast was awesome! The local bakery (panaderia) does an amazing job with all their food. I had a Tico breakfast with rice, beans, eggs, and bacon. Ash had a strawberry smoothie and Mama simply had a Café con Leche (coffee with cream). After breakfast we headed down to the beach and walked out to the cemetery. It’s located on an island of the coast. You can walk out to it only during low tide.

Off to Cabo Blanco Nature Preserve. Of course we had to stop at the Super Chico first to gather some last minute provisions – beer! The park is located at the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula. Entry fee this time was $12 – worth every bit. When we came by yesterday just for a quick glance, mama found a nice walking stick near the entrance of the trail. As we started our journey today, she was keen to retrieve as we knew this would be a beast of a hike. The trail from the entrance to Playa Cubayo is 5km (3.1 miles). Not a long distance, but when you add steep inclines, decents,

ts, mud, a rainforest, humidity, and a little bit of heat, you get a walk that will last you two hours.

On the way to the beach we didn’t see very much wildlife, but I will admit we were really more concentrate on not tripping and staying on the trail. The trail ended up opening into a bay on the tip and Anna spent about 30 minutes walking the beach look to find some treasures to bring back. We all had a few beers, rested our sore bones and then slowly started our two hour return trip.

As we ventured back, we took our time and tried to be more mindful and attentive to the sounds and movement around us. Anna spotted a red headed bird, which we later found to be a Lineated Woodpecker. As we watch the little fellow, we saw it was actually a pair and then moments later saw an additional pair of the woodpeckers. We also saw a group of Capuchin monkeys making their way across the top of the tree line.

Needless to say, we were all very happy to get back to the car. It was a very strenuous hike even for the avid hiker. I was very proud of Anna hanging touch. Headed back to hotel to clean up and jump in the pool. It was so refreshing!!! We hung at bar by the pool for about an hour and then made our way back to Cabuya Restaurant and Bar. The food there the other day was very good and Ashley and I figured we could crush a pizza. After bellies full and some additional drinks, this old boy went down for a count probably around 8:30pm.