Costa Rica: Diamante Eco Adventure Park, La Leona Waterfall Hike and Beaches
The condo was a 2 bed, 2 bath, so it had plenty of room for all of us. We greeted Matt and Ricci with hugs, tacos, beer, and daiquiris because that is the right way to start a vacation!
We enjoyed introducing them to Playas del Coco. We hung at the beach, chilled at the pool, browsed shops, and enjoyed some restaurants and bars with them.
Diamante Eco Adventure Park
We drove about 30 minutes south to Diamante Eco Adventure Park. We left an hour early because its not unusual for a 30 minute drive to turn into an hour. This is due to the state of the roads (potholes and cracks), detours, accidents, etc. We arrived 3o minutes early. Just enough time to second guess our choices as we stood in the parking lot and stared up at the extremely high Superman zip line above us. After going back and forth about how high it was and that we didn’t come here to chicken out, we all agreed we’d still do it. I mean, your fully strapped in so like YOLO I guess. After going back and forth about how high it was and that we didn’t come here to chicken out, we agreed we’d still do it. I mean, YOLO, I guess. Well YOLO until it breaks. Thankfully, its very well maintained and we felt safe after getting fully strapped in like a burrito on a harness.
Diamante offers a number of things to do from ziplining, horseback riding, ATV’s, a sanctuary, buffet lunch, and beach access with chairs, hammocks, kayaks, and water. You can customize a pass based on interests and time.
The Superman line is a 4661 ft, 60+ mph ride of pure adrenaline. It took our breath away, literally. Had to remind ourselves to look around at the view and breath half way through the 45 seconds to 1.5 min ride (depends on the line). Don’t mind my expressive words at the end of the video below. Ha ha!
While we agreed we wouldn’t want to do the Superman line again anytime soon, we felt it was an experience that was absolutely worth it. There were four or five other ziplines on the course, one before the big Superman, and the others after. You zip through the circuit in about 1.5 hours. It flies by!
You can pick one of the three big activities with the pass and we’d pick the zipline every time. Included in the circuit is a suspension bridge over crocodiles. Walk a couple steps, unclip the harness line, clip it back in, look down, regret looking down, and repeat all the way across. That was a dizzying experience!
The buffet lunch had a decent spread with a little Costa Rican fair from plantains, beans and rice, fruits, to salad and “American cafeteria pizza” as Ricci described. We all echoed the sentiment. Each bite took us back to middle school.
After lunch we meandered through the animal sanctuary. It was a an experience to see some of the native wildlife that had been rescued. I struggle with places like that because I just want to free all of the animals, but they seem to maintain and care for the rescued animales well.
We saw toucans, jaguars, ocelots, reptiles, monkeys, a butterfly aviary, and three and two-toed sloths. There are a few feeding times where a staff member provides info about the life and care of these beautiful creatures.
Frank and the other toucans (sorry guys, we didn’t catch your names) were brought to the sanctuary after someone tried smuggling them through the airport. How messed up is that?!!
Our afternoon ended at a beautiful, quiet beach. There’s a small path from the animal area to the beach that only takes a few minutes to reach. Was a treat to have a tiny section of beach to ourselves, tucked away from the busy RIU resort hotel that shares the bay. There were paddle boards and kayaks for use, but it was too windy that day for us to use them. We thoroughly enjoyed wading in the water and relaxing though.
There were comfortable chairs and hammocks for lounging and cold water to refill our bottles. This was a nice way to end our exciting day and gave us an hour to decompress and let some of that Superman adrenaline flow out of our bodies.
We also took advantage of the rental car for the week and returned to Playa Hermosa in hopes to see the Howler monkeys again. After spotting birds and iguanas, we enjoyed a refreshing beer at Aqua, a restaurant with a swing and giant chair (FUN!). On our way back to the car we found the Howler’s in the trees next to the beach.
Playa Flamingo beach is a MUST VISIT with its beautiful soft sand and perfect bath temp water to swim in. The beach was beautiful with waves that crashed further from the shore, allowing for decent body and boogie boarding. It was an adventurous drive to get there, traveling one direction down and another home due to a flooded out road. Google Maps to the rescue!
This beach lacked the shade we found at other beaches and it was quite warm in the direct sun, so we opted to rent a canopy and four reclining beach chairs from a road side vendor for $40 for the whole day. Worth every penny!! You don’t have to move from your chair to have cocktails and food delivered. There are servers walking up and down the beach happily taking orders and bringing needed refreshments to beach goers. The prices weren’t outrageous for this convenience either. Two for one drinks…now that’s what I call happy hour!
The car rental came with a cooler, so we also brought drinks and sandwiches to the beach. Gotta try to stick to that budget! 😉 Tip: Most car rental companies have coolers available but might not ask if you want one, so ask!
La Leona Waterfalls Hike
We had a blast on this 3 mile hike along the gorgeous Blanco River in the Rincon de la Vieja area. It took about 2.5 hours to complete and started off pretty easy, crossing the river four times, usually with the aid of a rope. But then it got challenging toward the end.
We didn’t really know what to expect based on reviews as no one really talked about the challenging parts. We put this little video together to remember the fun we had and show that it can be tough, but doable with the help of the guides. After pulling yourself along the rope through the gushing water, you pull up onto the rebar set into the rock and move one step at a time. It was completely worth it to experience this. The guides ensure there aren’t too many people in the waterfall cave so you can have somewhat of a peaceful experience before careening over a slippery rock to float back down to the hiking spot.
We had such a wonderful time with our friends and hope to see more friends along our journey this year.
After our stay in Coco, we headed to La Fortuna for two nights. Look for the post on that incredible experience soon.
