Somehow I woke up and this is the last full day of our trip. I feel like I was just telling #1BigBrother not to worry, that we had plenty of time left. Se la vie.

There were just three people in our group for the 8:30am ride with Rancho La Merced in Uvita. The other person was a French woman in her 70s who spoke no English or Spanish. If she wanted a quiet, serene outing, she certainly got it.

Our guide took us through the farms and forest to reach the shore at La Playa Hermosa. The beach was empty, save for an occasional jogger.

The entire outing lasted two hours start to finish. The youngest allowable riders are 7, but I think the right 5 year-old could handle this trip. Lidia isn’t a huge fan of animals, and Amir was just 5 pounds over the weight limit. That meant #1BigSister and I were alone for our adventure.

After horseback riding, we drove back to the house to meet up with the rest of the crew. We ate leftovers for lunch and swam for an hour before rallying to head to the wildlife sanctuary.

The sanctuary houses rescued wildlife incapable of surviving in the wild. a surprising number of the rescued animals are abandoned or confiscated pets. In Costa Rica it’s essentially illegal to have any animal as a pet aside from cats and dogs.

The sanctuary is adjacent to a hotel and restaurant. We popped in for a bite after our tour. I wasn’t crazy hungry and just ordered some appetizers. That was supposed to be my meal, but the caprese salad disappeared with me only snagging one bite.

Of course I also ordered the ceviche. Lidia and I both agrees it may be the best one yet. One things for sure, I need to up my lime content in my ceviche next time I make it.

Tomorrow we head back home. I can’t even believe the days flew by so quickly. Fortunately we have a three week trip to Spain and Switzerland scheduled for the summer that helps lessen the blow of returning to the real world.

~Steph