On Sunday,
we drove north-east
to the Pacuare River.
We rafted mostly class II
rapids today.
But along the river we
stopped and hiked to a
swimming hole.
In the afternoon,
we arrived at our lodge
and we were greeted
with fresh juice cocktails.
Our lodge for the
night was located right
on the river's edge
and is only accessible
by boat.
It has no electricity
so at night the rooms
are lit by candlelight.
It was amazing!
Each couple had their
own bungalow.
Instead of walls and windows,
the bungalows had screens all
around them to give a feel
of sleeping in the jungle.
It rained that afternoon
and we all got the best
naps of our lifetimes.
While at the lodge,
we enjoyed gourmet
food served to
us by our river guides
turned waiters.
We hiked to a nearby
waterfall,
checked out the
honeymoon suite but mostly
just lounged around
and enjoyed the rainforest.
Monday morning
I enjoyed the best
banana pancakes ever
and then geared up for
the river.
Today we did class
III and IV rapids.
The passengers on our boat
all stayed intact
but I can't say the
same for my brother
in the other boat.
The scenery
around the river
was gorgeous
and I kept waiting
for a dinosaur to pop
out because it looked like
we were at Jurassic Park.
The rapids were awesome
and it was a great way to
start the vacation and
definitely one of the highlights
of the trip.
Next stop:
Arenal Volcano
I have put off
blogging about
our vacation to
Costa Rica
because there
are not words
to describe what an
amazing trip this was.
Even the pictures
don't capture it.
But here goes my best attempt.
On Friday,
I smothered Oliver with
hugs and kisses
and left him with his
grandparents for 9 days.
On Saturday,
Curtis and I got on a plane
with my family
(except Maddie and Lindsey
who had their own fun in Hawaii)
and headed to Costa Rica.
We stayed the night
at the Hotel El Rodeo
in San Jose.
That night, we ate
at the hotel's
steak house
which had enormous
steaks.
After sleeping off the
plane ride and a belly
full of meat,
we woke early the
next morning to really
start our extreme adventure.
We stopped for
breakfast en route
and had some
comida tipico;
rice, beans, eggs, and fruit.
Little did we know
that while we were
enjoying our breakfast,
someone else was enjoying
rummaging through our bus.
They walked away with my
dad's backpack which had a
laptop, money, passport, and
wallet...so nothing really important.
Next stop,
Pacuare River.
In mid July
we spent a
weekend camping
on the beach at
Roosevelt Lake.
It was hot, hot, hot
but lots of fun!
We went tubing,
my dad dominated
at sand darts,
my mom and I
slalom skiied,
and Oliver and Hank
ruled the beach.
Then at night,
we would retire
to our sauna tent.
Oliver in his
port-a-crib.
And Curtis and I
on an air mattress.
As Oliver and Hank
played one morning,
bees surrounded Ollie.
And one stung
him behind his ear.
We found out
it was his sunblock
that was attracting them.
So he got a quick
bath in the lake.
Even with that little
incident the trip
was an absolute blast!
