The first day I arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica for a 14-day UnCruise Adventure, it was raining. Not just gentle rain, but pouring rain. Sideways rain. Thunderous rain.
The first day I arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica for a 14-day UnCruise Adventure, it was raining. Not just gentle rain, but pouring rain. Sideways rain. Thunderous rain.
Nobody told me it was the rainy season when the trip was booked. You think I would have asked, though, right? Never occurred to me.
I boarded the ship the next day amid partly cloudy skies wondering what I’d gotten myself into.
The next 14 days were glorious — filled with partly sunny skies, a few rainstorms, rolling waves, and lots of activities.
We kayaked among the mangroves, snorkeled on coral reefs, hiked in rainforests and jungles, spotted birds from the skiffs, swam in the surf, and watched for whales from the bow.
I got used to being wet.
Because in rainforests and jungles, you sweat. I mean dripping sweat. The kind that runs down your back into your underpants. In the first five minutes.
Water, Water Everywhere
Plus, every landing is a wet landing and the rubber skiffs don’t always handle chop that well.
I think I changed my clothes three times the first day. But then I realized I’d run out of clothes pretty soon if I kept up that pace.
So my now ex-husband and I learned the trick of showering with your wet, smelly clothes on, soaping them up, rinsing, putting them in the spinner, and hanging them up to dry.
We got caught in a big rainstorm while visiting an Embera tribe’s village in the Darien Jungle in Panama. As we took cover, the children of the village started running around in the rain, slipping and sliding, screaming with joy. Ceremonial garb and all.
Soon, our guide Rey and expedition leader Chris joined the fun. A soccer ball appeared. The hard rain did not let up.
Suck It Up
“My friends, you’re all going to get wet,” Chris shouted over the rain, after lifting himself up off the makeshift muddy soccer field. “So, just suck it up and let’s get back to the ship!”
“Okay, let’s do it!” I yelled.
Our group of about 40 people made its way in the rain back to the tippy motorized dugout canoes that had brought us down the river to this special village. Within five minutes, I was soaked to the bone. But I wasn’t cold.
As we exited the river and got back out to the bay where our ship was anchored, the swells increased. There was no way to avoid getting sprayed in the face by the warm, salty sea water.
“Woo, hoo!” I shouted at one point, wiping my face and laughing. “Bring it on!”
My UnCruise friends just laughed along with me. It was all part of the adventure.
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I’m a writer, marketer, and storyteller who has always been curious about people—what they do, what they create, what they believe, and how the places and experiences around us shape our lives. After more than three decades in healthcare and senior living design, I’ve given myself a new title: CEO of What’s Next. These days, that means writing personal essays and my first novel, telling stories on stage, traveling, exploring Chicago, and following whatever sparks my curiosity.