Day 4

On our way to Rincón de la Vieja we stopped at Mistico park, a privately owned park (and when I say park I mean the jungle kind) with a walking trail running through it that included a number of hanging bridges over and trough the tree tops. These bridges had see-through floors as well and although they were not being crossed by traffic, they moved around with every step from every person on that bridge, but somehow it did not bother me that much anymore, I guess I was mentally prepared for it by that point. Also, the bridges were said to hold 15 people at a time, so Dirk assumed that we would be good with only 17 non-Americans :). We saw a tarantula in its hollow (where Dirk let it stay – luckily) and learned a lot about the different trees there. It’s too much to recapitulate – and also my memory is not all that good – but it was great to see the great variety of plants and other trees growing on one tree. Apparently there are on average about 35 different species growing on some of the big trees.
As Costa Rica is very committed to the environment, they are very big on recycling and renewable energy. We crossed a big dam and drove along the water reservoir for quite some time, to have a very good lunch at a scenic restaurant overlooking the reservoir. Then we drove along the Pan-American Highway, which was being reconstructed, but still needs a fair deal of work to be done (here the sarcasm is real).
At the hotel we received our keys and had to opportunity to book activities for the next day. I decided to go for a canopy tour and on advice from Dirk, I booked the extreme one. I thought that I was the only one in the group going for that option, but then it was 80-year-old Tonnie’s turn to collect her key. She told Dirk that she also wanted to book the extreme canopy tour. In all his astonishment he asked her if she was sure which made her doubt a little, but with some encouragement from the rest of the group and some reassurance from me that I would also be there to translate if it was needed, she decided to go for it. That’s when we all discovered that she was not some frail, shy old lady, she was pretty gutsy and thrill-seeking.
The sunset from the hotel bar overlooking the valley below was supposed to be awesome, but the thick layer of clouds kind of ruined that for us (although the colors of the clouds were still different from what we are used to). Instead I enjoyed a piña colada (the first of many more this trip, when they start making them with fresh pineapple in a blender they get even more irresistible). Over diner we all enjoyed the excitement of Tonnie about her activity the next day. I have seen 5-year-olds hide their excitement better than her and I mean that in the most positive way (no sarcasm).