We’re all going on a yellow submarine

After five fantastic weeks our Mexican adventure has finally come to a close. Ending the trip in Cancun, we had a relaxing few days, going under the waves in a mini submarine and snorkelling the Underwater Museum MUSA. Unfortunately the wind that has followed us for the last two weeks continued into Cancun, with choppy waters and limited visibility, so diving was once again out. After doing the sub and snorkelling at MUSA, I’m glad I didn’t spend the money as visibility was soooo bad, it would have been a waste. So excuse the u/w pics - I did the best I could!!!

The sub trip was a bit of a laugh - it was narrow and there were a lot of cracks in the windows which had me a little worried, but we weren't very deep so it was all good. We even had the sonar ping sounds to add to the authenticity. It’s a pity the vis wasn’t better but it was definitely worth doing. The guide got pretty excited when she spotted something - it took the rest of us a bit more time to work out what she was talking about but still managed to see a stingray, a couple of turtles and some fishies. Back on the pontoon, I headed off for an extended snorkel over the underwater museum while Trap propped up the bar. They have a beer tap built into the boats and it’s all included in your ticket along with soft drinks, water etc. Trap & I got our money’s worth as anyone who’s been snorkelling or diving knows, there’s nothing like an ice cold beer afterwards back on the boat!! Snorkelling MUSA was awesome - the statues in the water were really cool. Would have liked to spend more time and see more but there were quite strong currents so back to the boat we headed.

After sipping my last Pina Colada in Mexico, I have to say that my extensive study of Pina Colada quality has resulted in Palenque being the winner.

My reflections on Mexico is that it was clean, safe, friendly, reasonably priced, has a great commitment to accessibility/disability-friendly streets, venues & activities, and a real commitment to sustainability - not just in the major cities but in the smaller towns/villages. A huge number of restaurants and tourist attractions no longer have paper menus/flyers/booklets etc, just a QR code for you to scan, there’s very limited plastic - in Cozumel you were discouraged from bringing plastic bottles to a lot of places and encouraged to only wear biodegradable sunscreen in the water & I was amazed how widespread recycling was.

We would definitely return here and could spend an extended time in some of the towns we visited - maybe next year…. 😁🥰

We’ve now arrived in Costa Rica and there’s quite a difference - overall so far it seems less developed and less touristy but by the same token, not quite as safe (we have seen almost no police so far compared with a handful on every corner in Mexico). We jumped off the plane, picked our rental car and ‘navigated’ our way to the nearest mall to get a SIM card. Navigating without the use of directions, while driving on the wrong side of the road through a city is certainly an experience and Trap did an awesome job! Like Mexico, lanes, lights and road rules seem to be more of a guideline than an actual rule!  However we made it and entered the first proper mall we’ve been in since leaving NZ. After sorting a SIM (which was a waaaay more complicated process than Mexico - not sure the phone chick knew what she was doing!). And I have to say after shaming others for having takeaways while overseas, we got a Taco Bell at the food court as it was already 2pm and we had a drive up into the mountains ahead of us. It was actually not bad and reasonably priced - would have it again. 🌮

After wending our way through the city we headed up into the mountains to a village called Poas and dropped from 33° to 18° in about 30 mins then down to 11°. Out came the winter woolies but we stayed in a cosy little chalet with heating and steak, so we buttoned down the hatches. Unfortunately the main purpose of going to Poas is that you can get really close to a still active volcano which has a fab crater lake and is the most accessible volcano in Costa Rica. Unfortunately just before we got there, increased volcanic activity meant that it was closed to visitors, so you will have to make do with pics I scavenged off the internet.

We did go to the La Paz Waterfall and gardens, which was really great. Sort of a mini zoo/refuge centre plus 6 waterfalls. The animals here have been rescued often from people capturing and keeping them as pets then realising they can’t cope. These animals cannot be released into the wild so they end up in one of the country’s refuges. It drizzled the whole day and was expensive, but we still really enjoyed it. Trap did the wildlife section but then decided to get a golf buggy back (it was quite a hike back uphill) and I carried on to do the waterfalls which were great but not for the unfit! Quite a bit of up and down and with a final 300 steps climb out of the ravine at the end - my thighs were definitely feeling it! 

After spending 2 nights there we headed back towards the Pacific Coast staying at a fab rustic lodge in the middle of nowhere - Tarcoles Birding Lodge - it was fantastic. They have their own bird watching platform and we managed to spot the elusive Scarlet Macaw in the wild and in flight. The pics aren’t that great as they were at the farthest range of my SLR’s zoom lens, but you’ll get a general idea. 

Yesterday we headed off at 7.45am to do a tree canopy tram ride out of Jaco, which was nice but we didn’t see any wildlife - might have been the zip liners screaming on the way down!! We don’t think the price was probably worth it (nz$100 each), but others might disagree.

I wouldn’t recommend Jaco - it’s a weird beach town but it doesn’t feel entirely safe and there’s a lot of rough looking and tackily dressed people wandering around - our hotel is also a bit average but it has a kitchen so we’re actually eating in tonight plus it’s only for one night! Tonight we’re staying in Manuel Antonio before heading into the National Park tomorrow on a sloth and scarlet macaw spotting mission.

Till next time….

J&T xx