The alarms went off at 6:30am, and we were at breakfast by 7. I had oatmeal with a banana and a wonderful pork tamale. I also had a small piece of frittata that was okay. The bus pulled out at 8 for Carara National Park, about a half hour away. On the roof of the hotel we saw a kiskadee - a gray fly catcher. It was building a nest in a palm tree. We were on the trail at 8:30. It was a warm, humid hike, and we did manage to see a few things in this forest. First was a howler monkey sleeping on a branch in a great viewing position. A bullhorn acacia was an interesting bamboo like straight tree with huge thorns. Ants live in these thorns and have a symbiotic relationship with the tree. When the tree is disturbed, the ants come flowing out to defend it. Another interesting tree was the cajones tree whose large round fruit come in pairs like cajones.
A great sighting was the pale-billed woodpecker, a large black and white woodpecker with a huge bright red head. The Ceiba tree was a huge tall tree with an amazing top spread out like an umbrella. We did see a troop of Capuchin monkeys leaping around, but there was no theft today. An interesting iguana was resting on a limb near the trail. As we were on our way out, our guide spotted a white ghost bat on the underside of a large leaf high up in a tree. We left the park at 10:15 before it got unbearably hot and drove through the town of Tarcoles where Bernal thought we might see some scarlet macaws. No macaws, but we did see an old man riding an ox cart. I spotted a sign on the side of his cart saying "Photos for Tips".
When we got back to the hotel at 11, I wandered the grounds and spotted an amazing variegated squirrel that I had missed photographing on Monday. It has a very gray back and an amazing copper colored stomach. Lunch at noon today was a special meal on tables set up in the shade outside near the ocean. It was a buffet with fresh chunks of both tomato and avocado, a mango ceviche (tiny chunks of mango and tomato marinated in line juice), cajun potatoes (thin sliced potatoes with maybe some paprika or red pepper sprinkled on them), rice and vegetables, fried chicken breasts (quite good), and beef/onion skewers with chimichurri sauce. Dessert was fresh pineapple, papaya, and watermelon along with a coconut flan.
At 12:30 I went to the business center to write emails with yesterday's journal. Back in the room we changed clothes and headed out to go ziplining. There were 15 of us who chose this activity over a canopy tram tour. We left at 2:15. No one in our group had ever done this before, so there was some trepidation along with anticipation.
We arrived at Vistas Los Suenos, at 2:30. We signed our waivers and got suited up with all the rigging, gloves, and helmets. Forty of us piled into a truck pulled by a tractor. It was like being in a cattle car. We rode for 15 minutes on a bumpy, terribly dusty ride to the top line. There were 11 lines coming down. We had our instruction briefing:
1) Right hand goes on cable way behind the pulley
2) Left hand grasps straps down from the pulley
3) lean way back at least 50 degrees as far back as straps allow (I had trouble with this one!)
4) cross ankles and pull knees up.
Breaking is done by the hand holding the cable by pulling down on the cable not clenching it.
The gloves are made of leather and have 3 thicknesses. One rests the right hand on the cable, letting the cable flow freely which keeps one from spinning. On each platform was one guy that both caught us coming in, dismantled the harbingers, moved us around the platform, hooked us up again, and sent us off.
We were all a little intimidated by all of the instructions, and our first few lines were quite awkward. My problem was remembering to lay back. Bill found the zip-lining to be more work than fun. For me, it was an experience I was glad to have had, but I didn't find it that thrilling. I also felt it was an activity where one was flying so fact that nothing interesting could be seen.
A photographer took photos of everyone during the trip and sold photos at the end. One printed photo cost $20, but a CD of both Bill and me (19 photos) was just $30. Of course I bought the DC. That will be fun to see when we get home.
We got back to the hotel at 5:30 and had to be cleaned up and ready to head for dinner at 6:30. Dinner was at Villa Caletas, a lovely boutique hotel, in their dining room Anfiteatro. Villa Caletas was about a half hour away perched on cliffs overlooking the pacific. Unfortunately it was dark, but the restaurant was lovely. We sat with Bill/Cathy R, Ross/Karen A, and Steve and Donna B.
We started with mango smoothies. My appetizer was creamy fish croquettes with a lime sauce on a mixed green salad. For my entree I got mahi mahi wrapped in plantains served with orange/ginger sauce, jasmine rice, and vegetables. Bill got pork tenderloin. For dessert we both had chocolate Madagascar terrine served with rhum sauce (ie chocolate mousse).
We got back to the hotel at 9:15. I packed up and wrote in my journal. Bill will pack in the morning before we head back to San Jose.
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