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“Oh, there’s a frog,” exclaims Liza, our Uncruise adventure guide.  She makes a couple of grabs for the hopping amphibian, then jumps back suddenly. The frog, not paying attention to where he was going, hopped right into the resting place of a venomous, hog-nosed pit viper.

The snake is a little scary of course, but also very cool. We keep a safe distance, while Liza tells us about our viper friend. We take turns getting a picture, then, with extra sharp eyes now on the look out for additional reptiles, we continue our hike.

While we walk, we hypothesize a scenario in which Liza actually gets bitten by the snake, and we all have to jump into action to save our beloved adventure guide.

We land on Playa San Josecito-Osa Peninsula-Costa Rica, bright and early in the morning.

When you think of Costa Rica, you don’t immediately think bamboo, but an arch of bamboo welcomes us to our hiking trail.

Liza, teaches us about the Monkey Vines that grow in the forest. The vines look like individual works of art.

Always full of enthusiasm, Liza demonstrates how vines can be climbed.

Seeing flowers while I hike makes me happy. I wish I lived in a place where flowers bloom year round.

Maybe it’s the snake. Perhaps it’s the trees and vines that enclose us in this wild, steamy, jungle, but this hike feels extra adventurous. Thanks to Liza, we learn a lot about the forest.

We spend some time appreciating the beach view while we wait to return to the ship.

While we’re hanging out, a girl, who is working at the site we are using, comes around to hand out fresh mangoes (she is in the white shirt behind me). She has been traveling for a while and is spending a few weeks here working in exchange for a place to stay. In her mellow, wispy voice, she muses that she plans to chill out here for another week or two, then move on to a new location. She has some ideas, but no place in particular picked out yet.

I feel a twinge of jealously, wishing for a moment that I was in my 20s, with tons of free time, and not a care in the world. Then I realize how exceptionally thankful I am for a chance to travel the world in my middle years. I am loving the experiences, learning, and wisdom I am gaining, and with a snake, lots of flowers, and jungle vines, today’s adventurous, morning, hike, leaves me full of gratitude.

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