Costa Rica: Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve

On our second to last day in Costa Rica we went to the Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve on the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula. It was a 30 min drive from Montezuma and we hiked 2 hours through the jungle to a beautiful secluded beach. My legs were sore from all of our hiking/climbing from the day before so this hike was giving them a good stretch! This was our first hike for the year and it was great! We didn't see any animals by the trails but we could hear the howler monkeys in the background. There were a lot of very large trees on the path. Here is a picture of Eric next to one of the large ones.



At the end of the hike was one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. The sand was white, the ocean was a brilliant turquoise and there were only a few other people there. It was perfect!




There were also a lot of hermit crabs at this beach. It was fun to watch them scurry across the sand. Sometimes you would see one fighting another. But here is a pic I got of one of the little guys. He was about the size of a quarter.



Unfortunately, while at this beach Michelle was stung by a jelly fish. The first thing I thought of was the episode of Friends where Joey and Chandler try to pee on Monica to soothe her jelly fish sting. I was prepared to help Michelle but luckily her hubby came to the rescue! I wonder who the first person was that peed on their friend/family to help a sting??

Needless to say, we didn't do any more swimming at this beach. We just spent and hour or so relaxing and then headed back on the trail. At the end of the trail was a hollowed out tree that was labeled "the bat cave". This may come as a surprise to most people, but I really like bats. I know it is weird, but they eat all of the bad bugs that try to eat me. So really the bat is my ally. So obviously I had to try and get a good picture of the bats. I didn't want to get too close but I got a few of the little guys. They were about the size of my fist.



The hike was great but I was definitely ready for some rest! Before heading back to the B&B we went out for a little reward...more ice cream! We had to go back to the restaurant from the night before. It was soooo good! After than we went back to the B&B to clean up, relax, and eventually went out for our last dinner in Costa Rica.