AIS was 8am today but this time we needed to have our bags packed as well. We were on our way to our next destination - Arenal volcano and Tilajari Hotel.
Our guide kept telling us how lucky we were to see Arenal volcano. Usually it is shrouded in clouds. We first saw it on our drive and again from our boat ride across Arenal Lake. We drove around it to get to our hotel. But we saw it closest from our zipline - now that was cool! It is a mile high and used to be one of the 12 most active volcanoes in the world but it has been unusually quiet this past year.
We have ziplined in Mexico, Hawaii and of course yesterday. But nothing prepared us for the ziplining today. This course was 650 high and 1/2 mile long - giving you speeds up to 45 mph. My camera can't begin to take a pix of a distance like that, but to give you an idea, it felt like we were zipping off the top of the volcano! You put a lot of faith in the hands of the locals who safely attach you to cables! At one point, as I was flying through the air, I did wonder what if ... But you just can't let your thoughts go there. Besides, I knew we were safe - we had helmets on!
We are in the rainforest now - absolutely gorgeous! It gets 230" of rain per year. So it was no surprise that it rained during our entire zipline adventure. (Which of course elicited a "this is the hardest it's rained so far" comment from Craig.) We really couldn't be sure if the loud rumbling from the sky was thunder or the volcano erupting. Neither was very reassuring - I don't think water, cables and lightening go well together.
Family members who did not zip went for a nature walk/run. Apparently the local guide made them go fast and was obviously nervous about the critters that come out in the dark (under the canopy of trees). He was worried because "you can't see the snakes."
Yesterday we had an offer to spend several more months in Costa Rica. I don't know why everyone in our group was so hesitant, but Kate and I jumped at the opportunity. All we had to do was break in to a local's house! He was an honest-looking American who had locked himself out. He had a small opening that a small child could crawl through. The opening turned out to be round and the size of a plate. I seriously didn't think Kate would fit, but she contorted her body through, and opened the door for the man. She was the hero! If we got caught, we wouldn't be leaving this place for some time! Later the hotel owner assured me it was legit, and you can't let a local kid do it because you don't want them to know how to break into your house.
No comments:
Post a Comment