Arenal - Ziplines

The girls were begging for more zip lines so we made the splurge.  These zip lines were longer and faster than the ones in Nicaragua.  The girls went with "taxis" because they were nervous about braking at the end of each ride.  The zip lines were along the bottom of Arenal Volcano and the views were spectacular.

Good times.

Arenal - Hot Springs

It was a busy Saturday.  First the Hanging Bridges, then the zip lines, and we finished the day at the Hot Springs (water warmed by the volcano).  I forgot my swimsuit and missed out on a dozen different hot spring pools at this very cool place.  I only got one picture.  

A relaxing ending to an adventurous day!

Arenal - Hanging Bridges

Saturday morning we went to the Hanging Bridges.  We thought thought it was two miles of hanging bridges, but it was more of a rainforest hike with a few hanging bridges.  Still cool.  We saw a lot of little critters, beautiful flora, and a sleeping sloth too difficult to take a picture of.  This is a photographers dream...if only I had a big lens and knew how to use it!

Some kind of viper snake...luckily not too close!

We've seen several dozen kinds of butterflies

 A trail of leaf cutter ants going up the tree

This was as big as the palm of my hand

Lake and Volcano Arenal

Last Friday we drove to Lake Arenal next to Arenal Volcano.  We got a late start because there were two large nails in our tire.  The four-five hour drive took us eight hours!  The roads in Costa Rica aren't direct, they're windy, narrow, often in bad shape and have no shoulder.  Driving is like a video game.  There are cars and trucks to pass, and people, dogs, chickens, cows, horses, etc. walking along the side of the road (that doesn't have a shoulder).

Lake Arenal was spectacular.  It was a mix between Switzerland with its green pastures along the hillsides, and a tropical paradise (all rainforest).  People plant flowers and keep their fields and yards cut.  The drive around the lake was worth the trip itself.

We stopped at a cute little German bakery

The trip was lovely until we found out at the German bakery that there had been a mudslide that took out a bridge and we would have to back track a few hours.  A woman told us about a short-cut that included a bad, dirt road for about 30 minutes.  We took the short-cut and that 30 minutes was really two hours of a very bumpy ride.  The dirt roads around here (and there are many) are roads you would never want to drive your own car on!  Oh how we appreciate paved roads!!!

We arrived much later than we had planned (well past dark).  As we drove along the dirt road to our hotel (a different dirt road) with lightening right overhead and our nerves frazzled we arrived to find our reservation wrong.  We waited for a new reservation, drove to our hotel room (a mile or so away) only to have our keys not work.  This happened TWO MORE TIMES!  We went to sleep exhausted.  It had been a long day. 

The next morning we woke up to the most incredible rainforest symphony - endless bird song.  And what we couldn't see when we got in the night before was our incredible view of Arenal Lake from our balcony.  We stayed at Arenal Observatory Lodge which is in the park and right at the base of Arenal Volcano.

I wish this picture could capture the sloping hill with the lake down below.  Let me try this self portrait a little closer...

A little close of me but look beyond

And Arenal Volcano is glorious.  It was inactive for hundreds of years until 1968 when it erupted and killed 80 or so people.  Like Pompeii, the locals didn't know it was a volcano.  It has erupted several times since, and until two years ago you could see lava flow down the sides nearly every day.  It has been dormant two years now.

Here are a few nature shots of plants around our hotel room.

From the large, looming volcano to the details on the leaves I marvel in God's creativity and the sacred divinity found in nature.  I count my blessing we've spent so much time in it this past month.

Braids!

The girls earned some braided hair by surfing more than they wanted to.  These braids were to last 14-20 days, but Tennie's already fell out, and Ceci is often coming to me with broken bands and loose braids.  Adele's are holding strong.  A little bit of a hassle, but fun nonetheless.  It took four hours to do all three girls. 

 This musician named Poncho came by and played some awesome music for us

I didn't get a picture with their fresh braids but here they are that night dressing up

Our braid-maker told us to cover them at night with a nylon or sock.  We didn't have either so the girls put on a bandanna and then some underwear...(clean)

How Do You Say "Giddy-Yup" in Spanish?

Our Internet was down a few days then we left town for the weekend so I have a lot of catching up to do!

Last Thursday we went on a little horseback ride. 

The farm where our ride started.  Those men were our guides.

We all got on our horses.  We don't remember Geoff's horse's name, Tennie's horse (translated) was Eyes of Glass, Adele had Sweet, Ceci had Big Gold, and I had Full Moon.  Now I'm a little skittish about horses (I don't know why) but Full Moon was clearly "spirited".  She seemed to sense my fear.  So I got a new horse.  My new horse's name was Useless.  I wasn't sure whether or not to feel relieved or alarmed about a horse named Useless.

I soon learned that this wasn't your typical dumbed-down horse ride where you can't get your horse to do anything - they just follow the rear in front of them.  These horses would nip at each other.  They seemed to want to trot or run, and Useless clearly had spacial awareness issues as he would take me (I wasn't all that in control) under low branches that I had to back-bend under, or he would go by a post or tree or another horse unaware that I had a leg, and smash it.  I had to physically push myself apart from other things.  I know that is what reigns are for but I clearly didn't know how to use them.

We saw some wild Howler Monkeys

The trotting was tiresome.  Whenever we had a little breather from the horse initiating a trot the guide from behind would give a little click with his tongue and on they would go.  I know there is a rhythm to trotting, and I'm sure it feels good once you get the hang of it, but I was feeling really jostled around, and so was everyone else.  Luckily we were in good humor, for the most part, and when the absurdity of our ride was at a breaking point someone would make a little comment.  We laughed ourselves to tears on a number of occasions during this two-hour ride.

We had some magnificent views

We ended up on the beach and rode right to our house.  The horses were afraid of the waves and wanted to take off running.  (To be honest...I was counting the minutes... )

Was it worth it?  Absolutely.  The girls LOVED it.  I will say, though, we all had trouble walking for a few days...

Playa Grande

The other day we spent a few hours at Playa Grande, the next beach over.  It felt so much more remote than Tamarindo, and the tide pools were full of life.