Costa Rica April 2007 - Day 5
Saturday was another beautiful day. The weather was shining and perfect but the volcano had some fog around the top. We were leisurely this morning. We ate breakfast and then headed out to explore some areas we hadn't checked out before. We drove up around the volcano and explored another hiking trail we hadn't tried. We hiked through some forested areas awhile before turning around and going back to the hotel for our afternoon of canyoning (aka canyoneering or rappelling).
We were picked up in a tour van and taken to the canyoning company's lodge where we ate lunch. It was a typical tico lunch of rice with vegetables and beans. It was quite good. After lunch, everyone piled into a couple of vans and drove on a paved road, then a dirt road. Then, when the dirt road became impassable by van, we transferred to four-wheel drive vehicles and bumped our way through the hills.
Finally, we arrived at the mouth of a trail where we put on our harnesses and helmets. Then we were led on a short hike to the top of the canyon where we would start our first rappel. The first rappel was the highest so it was a bit of trial by fire. The tico guides were, again, friendly and helpful and soon, one by one, we were rappelling down the side of a beautiful cliff with a waterfall to our right.
I actually found myself less nervous than on the zipline. You never really get a chance to look down and you control the speed of your descent. There were a total of four tico guides: one at the top and one at the bottom, one handling the back-up line and one snapping photos. The canyon was incredibly beautiful and it wasn't as hot as it was outside the forest. In fact, it was cool and shady.
We enjoyed the rappels and the hikes between each one were also fun. While we waited for each to go down, we chatted with some of the other people. There was a group of three friends (a man and two women in the 45-55 range), a father with his son and a friend of his son's, a 16-year old (who was alone, his family evidently didn't want to participate) and two other couples (both on their honeymoon).
We talked mostly with the two couples. One of them went to school at UT Austin and was a triathlete. We talked about Austin and triathlons and it turns out he's coming out in October for the Longhorn Triathlon.
The time went quickly as we went through each rappel. The first was dry with a waterfall to our side. The second was wet. We rappelled right through the waterfall! The third and fifth (and final) were also in waterfalls, while the fourth was another dry one. After the last one, we had about a 20 minute hike back up and out, then we were taken back to the lodge (transferring from the 4x4s to van). I changed into dry clothes and we enjoyed cookies and coffee while looking at the pictures taken by the professional photographer. They were quite good and we decided to spring for a CD of the photos. I'm really glad we did because most of them are better than the photos we snapped. (We carried our camera in a dry bag with us).
We returned to the hotel tired and dirty (but it was worth it). It was perhaps the best activity we engaged in while in Costa Rica. We had a blast. I only wish there had been more than 5 rappels!
For dinner we decided to try a restaurant that was recommended by our guide book, as well as several people in our canyoning group. One of the ticos also said it was his favorite restaurant. We also gassed up the car in preparation for our voyage the following day to Caño Negro wildlife refuge.
Click here for Day 6.
We were picked up in a tour van and taken to the canyoning company's lodge where we ate lunch. It was a typical tico lunch of rice with vegetables and beans. It was quite good. After lunch, everyone piled into a couple of vans and drove on a paved road, then a dirt road. Then, when the dirt road became impassable by van, we transferred to four-wheel drive vehicles and bumped our way through the hills.
Finally, we arrived at the mouth of a trail where we put on our harnesses and helmets. Then we were led on a short hike to the top of the canyon where we would start our first rappel. The first rappel was the highest so it was a bit of trial by fire. The tico guides were, again, friendly and helpful and soon, one by one, we were rappelling down the side of a beautiful cliff with a waterfall to our right.
I actually found myself less nervous than on the zipline. You never really get a chance to look down and you control the speed of your descent. There were a total of four tico guides: one at the top and one at the bottom, one handling the back-up line and one snapping photos. The canyon was incredibly beautiful and it wasn't as hot as it was outside the forest. In fact, it was cool and shady.
We enjoyed the rappels and the hikes between each one were also fun. While we waited for each to go down, we chatted with some of the other people. There was a group of three friends (a man and two women in the 45-55 range), a father with his son and a friend of his son's, a 16-year old (who was alone, his family evidently didn't want to participate) and two other couples (both on their honeymoon).
We talked mostly with the two couples. One of them went to school at UT Austin and was a triathlete. We talked about Austin and triathlons and it turns out he's coming out in October for the Longhorn Triathlon.
The time went quickly as we went through each rappel. The first was dry with a waterfall to our side. The second was wet. We rappelled right through the waterfall! The third and fifth (and final) were also in waterfalls, while the fourth was another dry one. After the last one, we had about a 20 minute hike back up and out, then we were taken back to the lodge (transferring from the 4x4s to van). I changed into dry clothes and we enjoyed cookies and coffee while looking at the pictures taken by the professional photographer. They were quite good and we decided to spring for a CD of the photos. I'm really glad we did because most of them are better than the photos we snapped. (We carried our camera in a dry bag with us).
We returned to the hotel tired and dirty (but it was worth it). It was perhaps the best activity we engaged in while in Costa Rica. We had a blast. I only wish there had been more than 5 rappels!
For dinner we decided to try a restaurant that was recommended by our guide book, as well as several people in our canyoning group. One of the ticos also said it was his favorite restaurant. We also gassed up the car in preparation for our voyage the following day to Caño Negro wildlife refuge.
Click here for Day 6.
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