costa rica: part 2

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