Costa Rica - Day 2

Looking back on all of the pictures now, I can't believe what a packed schedule we had...

We started the day with a lovely pancake breakfast at the Rustic Lodge and then hopped into a van to head to Selvatura for some ziplining. We had people from Holland, Israel, Costa Rica, France, and Sweeden in our van. There were a lot of different languages being spoken and I realize the more I travel why people from other countries describe Americans as "loud". I'm definitely a loud person in general so I easily fit into that stereotype, but listening to people from other countries talk I can see how many Americans fit the bill. I could barely hear what anyone was saying. It's like that in Honduras too. Hondurans can be pretty loud, but sometimes when they're just calmly talking to one another they're barely audible. I guess I've just got some American ears that are used to American voices. Almost everyone we met spoke some English though, so it was pretty easy to communicate with most people.

Once we got off the bus we checked in and grabbed our gear...

Me and Tiki ready to go

First line

I was so nervous the entire time we were climbing up that first tower, but Theresa was all excitement...













Carrie had been ziplining in Costa Rica before -- actually in the same city, with the same company. It was nice to travel with someone who knew the ins and outs. Selvatura was a great company to go through.

Ready to take off

Theres was really enjoying herself...

Here we all are after one of the long lines we did...

Coming in...

The views up there were indescribable. This picture doesn't do it justice...

I did manage to get one video of the longest line we did. I'll try to get that posted within the next few days.

After we completed our last zipline we walked to the "Tarzan Swing". I don't know what I was thinking this swing would be about, but I definitely was not prepared to jump off a 30ft. platform. Once I saw it I knew I had to muster up the courage to do it. A woman two spots ahead of me backed out pretty quickly once she got up there and it looked very tempting, but I took a big gulp and got up there. Once I was to the top my nerves kicked in and my legs were physically shaking. The guys strapping me in thought it was hysterical and kept making fun of me. Before I knew it I was strapped in -- knees bent -- and it was go time. They opened the little gate, gave me a slight push, and I was on my way. As I was starting to fall and freaking out I hear "no, no, no". OMG! For a few seconds I thought that was it for me. I just remembering thinking "this rope isn't going to catch and I'm going to fall". They just did it on purpose to scare me... how mean! But I made it down safe and sound and actually enjoyed it once I was just swinging back and forth. I don't know that I could ever do it again though. One time may be enough.

The platform we jumped off of

After jumping off the Tarzan Swing we walked across all of the suspension bridges. This one was particularly cool and had the most amazing view of the rainforest...

Carrie, me, and Theresa on the bridge

It looks like it just keeps going straight into the trees

As we walked through the rainforest to get to each new bridge we saw a lot of amazing trees. I don't know if this bird happened naturally or someone put it there, but it caught my eye either way...

After three hours of rainforest fun we were off to our next adventure in La Fortuna to see Arenal (volcano). To get there we went on a jeep/boat/bus tour that ended up being a van instead of a jeep with three funny French women inside. They didn't speak any English and although Carrie can speak French she was rusty from all the months of Spanish she's been speaking. I told Carrie and Theresa I felt like we were in a funny movie, then Carrie said she thought the French women were saying the same thing. They were great women and laughed a lot during the ride. At one point they insisted on getting out to take a picture of our first view of Arenal. I'm so glad they did because the Costa Rican country side with the volcano in the background was gorgeous...

Costa Rican countryside

In front of Arenal -- it's hard to see with all the clouds

After a three hour drive we hitched a ride on this boat...

And got even closer to the volcano...

When we got into our next mode of transportation we heard people talking about "Gringo Pete's", which was one of the hostels I had checked out. Some girls had stayed there a few nights prior and said it was a good place, so we decided to go check in.

After briefly getting settled in we decided to pack a picnic dinner and head to some free hot springs nearby. When we were ziplining we met a man and his fiance from Israel who had been to La Fortuna the night before and told us about these hot springs. A few hotels advertised "hot springs" for a fee of $30-$50, but since that kind of money wasn't in our budget we hadn't planned on doing it. Free springs on the other hand was right up our alley. The couple told us to bring candles since there was no other light source. We were so glad they did, because they were great to have.

Here's a picture of our picnic dinner...

French bread, apples, pineapple, mango, cheese, kalamata olives (splurge purchase), and some malbec wine (not pictured)

When we got out of the taxi and walked up to the river we were a little weary. All we saw was a big dirty underpass with spray paint all over it, so we didn't think that could possibly be what the couple had told us about. But just in time some girls walked past and assured us that just past that dirty looking underpass was a beautiful warm river. So we trekked through it and we weren't disappointed.

We found a nice little spot on the river bank, lit our candles, ate our food, and then headed into the water. I had never been in natural hot springs before so I was pretty impressed. I couldn't believe how warm the water was. We relaxed there for a few hours and then caught a taxi back to our hostel. We played a few games of Skip-Bo and then off to bed we went, to prepare for the full day ahead.

***We were told before going to the springs that there was a good chance we could be robbed. So we decided not to take cameras -- which means no photos. You'll just have to use your imagination :).

Day 3 - Hiking up to Arenal with a few surprises along the way.

"You don’t take a photograph. You ask, quietly, to borrow it” –Author Unknown