Costa Rica Day Eight!

This was the most adventurous day of our trip. We took a 90 minute private transfer from our hotel to the "Adventure Tour" at Hotel Guachepelin. We got our gear and we were off on the first piece of our tour, a zipline course. It was a little frantic, and with a rappel, a rock climb, and a tarzan swing led by the same set of guides, it became a bit hectic and out of control at a couple of points. A bummer because I would have loved to experience rock climbing without fearing for my life as the distracted guide pulled me up the rock wall. Well, maybe another time.

Costa Rican First Aid Tent. LOL

Ready to Zip!

Zip-Lining upside down... Not all it is cracked up to be. Mostly just a blur.

Kent came zipping down the canyon!

As part of our Adventure Tour we were forced to ride given the opportunity to ride domesticated horses to our River Tubing Adventure. It was actually pretty comical, as they stuck about 40 tourists on the backs of horses, then "herded" us down the road. It was all fun and games until they started trotting. Oh boy! That was uncomfortable, and Kent reports that it was just as uncomfortable from a man's perspective! Occasionally one of us clueless tourists and our horse would take off on a rogue adventure, and seeing as how we had no idea how to ride or manage our horses, we were just stuck going along for a ride through the trees and underbrush. A few injuries were sustained. And I was laughing so hard I was crying. For all the wrong reasons.

Horseback Riding to the River. Not exactly our thing.

Next we were given tubes and a life vest, and off into the River Negro we went for our tubing adventure! The river run was 5 km long, with level 2 & 3 rapids. It was a blast!

Pura Vida!

Lunch at a local restaurant followed the tubing adventure. It wasn't that good, but it was free, so that was awesome. And as usual, the Costa Rican scenery was unrivaled! 

Plus we got to ride on an ox. So there's that. 

After lunch and the ox ride, we gave each other volcanic mud baths. Fun and romantic?! Well. funny, anyways. We got to take a dip in the Natural Hot Springs after our exfoliating mud baths.

Just what I always wanted to do!

Messy Muddy Fun!

Costa Rica Day Seven!

After being on the go go go for 5 days in the Rain Forest, we were ready for a day of pure relaxation! We set out to spend the whole day poolside. We realized after a very short period of time that the 97 degree temperatures were going to have us spending most of our day IN the pool. Thank goodness for all inclusive cold beverages!

Pura Vida - loosely translated to mean "Pure Life." The Costa Rican motto

Costa Rica is an extremely peaceful country, with an ecological focus. We found the Pura Vida lifestyle in every area we visited.

Not a bad view for the day!

I was happy as a clam with my kindle. For about 20 minutes. Then I hopped into the pool to do water aerobics... Just to get cooled off!

There were some very LARGE lizards in this part of the country

We went on a beach walk and checked out the neighboring RIU Palace. It was also beautiful, but had less of a tropical feel. We liked the foliage at our hotel a bit better. Overall, it was a great day, and by a Loooong shot, the cheapest day of our vacation!

Beach Walkin'

More action at the pool. In the late afternoons, the pool got pretty wild once all those Canadians and Midwesterners had been busy drinking all day long!

Costa Rica Day Six!

The midpoint of our vacation took us from the lush green rainforest of the Arenal Region, to the much dryer, desert like climate in the Guanacaste area. Although the beauty of the Rain Forest was sad to leave behind, we were ready for dry weather, and the heat of the Guanacaste province. And boy did we find the heat. The average temps in Guanacaste were 95-98 degrees. It was smokin' hot!

Enjoying our taxi through the countryside

The lush green landscape just as we left the Arenal Province

The change to a dry desert climate happened in a flash. Like literally went from green to brown in 2 minutes. Crazy!

Using our stilted Spanish, a picture of a map, and our taxi guide's marginal English skills, we were able to request a side trip on our 3 hour transfer from the Nayara to the Riu. We felt bad, as our taxi driver had no idea what we were headed into, and the road was rather bumpy, but he was handsomely rewarded with a nice tip that made his day. I believe it was well worth the side trip! And Kent and I were pleased to see yet another beautiful waterfall and another small piece of the beautiful Costa Rican landscape. 

Llanos de Cortez Waterfall

Our check in at the RIU Guanacaste was uneventful, but we were thrilled to find that we had been upgraded to a beautiful ocean view with a room that looked out over the pool and beautifully manicured hotel grounds. Oh happy day!

The walkway from the lobby to the pool.

Open Air Hotel Lobby? Yes please!

A different view of the lobby, where we spent plenty of time, connected to the hotel's wifi, available only in the lobby. We were grateful to be able to text with our family, but bummed that the wifi did not support facetime. :/

My handsome husband, poolside on day one, enjoying our first "free" cocktail!