5/9/24

 Today was an exciting adventure. Paul and I wanted to check out Arikok National Park. Andy and Diane sunned themselves at the pool back at the Airbnb. The first place we went was the Natural Pool. 

This pool was formed by a volcanic eruption. It has a water collection from the waves crashing over the volcanic rock that forms the barrier around this exquisite find.

You can only get to it by a 4x4 vehicle. We found out why on the 25 minute drive at 10 mph or less. We were tossed around the inside of the jeep like rag dolls. There were large gaping holes in the road, large boulders and narrow super bumpy paths to get to the destination.

The climb up the hill and down again that we had to do was done at a snails pace as it was so rugged. My shoulder had a raw spot from the seatbelt rubbing on us. BUT…the views were amazing.

We finally arrived. I was surprised at how far away it was from the parking lot. We had to walk down 91 steps to get down to the bottom. We basically had to scramble along side volcanic rock to find a place to set out clothes. 

It was fairly deep in the middle but there were some impressive fish. Our timing was amazing as a tour bus was leaving when we showed up. I climbed up into the upper pool which was cool. I paddled around and then jumped off a ledge into the water.

I want to keep jumping off of and climbing things until I am not able to.

We left the natural pool after about an hour. Some lady at the pool had on my same dress. We talked about how we both liked the Amazon specials. We headed toward the caves to check those out. I wanted to see some bats. We suffered through the bouncy drive back the way we came.

We came to the first cave. We walked around inside and saw drawings more than 900 years old. We saw a land crab the tucked itself into the wall. I was disappointed because there were no bats.

After leaving the cave, we walked down a short path to a natural spring. You dip your feet into the water and the fish eat the dead skin off of your feel. It tickled a lot. This was a highlight for me. We did that for longer than we should have. 

There was this serene natural spring right near the fish pedicure. It was surrounded by trees and natural plants. The gift, hidden in the beautiful backdrop was GOATS! There were goats drinking and walking around making cute goat noises!

We went to the second cave, this was pretty impressive. It was deep with periodic holes so that the sunshine was blasting in. Still no bats. We went all the way in, until we couldn’t go any further. 

I told Paul I was disappointed I couldn’t find any bats. I asked him to find some for me. Well he did. Then we saw them everywhere. Yay!!!!

We drove back to pick up Andy and Diane for our animal adventure, Phillips Animal Garden. 4 puppies ran out in front of the jeep. Paul stopped and I jumped out to see ears blowing up in the wind and tails wagging. So cute.

We picked up Andy and Diane and headed to the Animal Adventure. It was cheap, $10 to get in.

We saw all types of animals. Basically this guy had a few animals. Then he began to collect exotic animals that needed a place to stay forever and it has evolved into this.

We saw all sorts of animals, AND we brought extra snacks for them. I totally enjoyed interacting with them. I liked that there were peacocks just parading around. The monkeys little hands were cool. We could touch there cute little hands and they didn’t even throw poop at us.

There were baby goats running around that you could just pick up and snuggle.

My favorite was the camel. They are so full of attitude. This guy came over in all of his camel glory. He wanted some snacks. I was feeding him and getting camel selfies. He went to steal my cup of snacks from my hand, my arm was in the way and he chomped my arm. My fault, too close. I accept it.

Wow!!!! This was an amazing day. I got bit by a camel. He chomped it pretty good too. I was so excited to be chomped by the camel. I do realize this is not a normal reaction to have. But what a thrill. Just being close enough to see the lips and teeth, eyelashes, and to touch them. This one chose me to chomp. Total highlight of the trip.

We continued looking at the animals and then we were off to the beachside restaurant for a nice dinner. We had front row seats of the ocean and the sunset.

The sand was white and the water was turquoise. It was so pretty.

We went back to the air bnb and listened to music while sipping adult beverages….i made sure to tell everyone multiple times about my camel bite and how awesome it was to get bit by a camel.