Doris and Elton's
Costa Rica
Adventure Tour
Dec. 2011
Doris and I reserved one day for a
high energy fun packed adventure. After some searching we
found http://www.anywherecostarica.com/
and they had an all day tour to Rincon de la Vieja National
Park that featured rock climbing, tubing, repelling, zip
lines, etc. It required us to ride back past the airport on a
narrow winding road which we thought was quite substandard,
but later discovered it was one of the best roads in the
country. Rincon National Park contains a large volcano that is
active with some lava flows and lots of hot springs and very
steep sides.
We were picked up at 6:30 am by
a very modern 50+ passenger bus for a two + hour ride to the
park. Our guide was Pedro who was very nice &
friendly and who made our day very enjoyable.
We arrived to a photo opportunity with two
very large white Brahman Bulls. Doris and I passed on the
option of having our picture taken with us riding on the
bulls.
Shortly thereafter, the real
action started with a short ride thru overflowing streams and
steep mountain trails in an old bus that seemed like it had no
possibility of negotiating the trail. Shortly we found
ourselves at the tubing staging area at the top of a very deep
and steep canyon. After being strapped into our life
preservers and a safety lecture we were paired with a large
tube with a net bottom that we had to carry down the almost
straight down sides of the canyon on a narrow switchback rocky trail.
Shortly thereafter we launched
one at a time into the churning waters and with instructions
to hold on tight. There is no steering with a tube, you just
go where the currents take you, frontwards, backwards,
sideways and sometimes spinning into the rolling, foaming
drop-offs and narrow boiling chasms. About 90 minutes
later we arrived at the take out, carried the tubes up a very
steep and slippery switchback to the top of the canyon and
back to the lodge for a delicious lunch of fish, fruits, rice,
beans, salads and desserts. They eat lots of beans in Costa
Rica.
45 minutes later it
was suit up for the zip line and repelling and we were off
into the tops of the jungle and down into another canyon. We
were cautioned about snakes in the trees, sides of the canyon,
etc. and told to keep our hands and feet out of the
vegetation.
Again about 90 minutes later
we were back at the lodge getting paired up with our horse for
a 30 minute or so ride to the spa where we received a mud bath
and soaked in the hot springs.
I was wearing my "cowboy" hat
and Doris and I were the only ones not given a helmet to wear
(Guess they thought we wouldn't fall off). Anyway they gave me
a spirited
one who had to gallop ahead and try to
stay in front of the faster riders. Doris was paired with a much calmer one that was content to just follow along
near the middle of the pack. Doris was a bit miffed as she’s
the more experienced rider. Next time she’s wearing her cowboy
hat.
We arrived back in Tamarindo
about 7:30 PM.
We really enjoyed our adventure
and look forward to many more.
Click here for
Tubing Pictures
Doris Tubing Video
Doris Zipping Video
Doris Repelling
Video
Elton Tubing Video
Elton Zipping Video
Elton Repelling
Video
ZipLine_Repelling_Rock_Climbing Pictures
Horseback
Riding_Spa Pictures
Arenal
Pictures