August 23, 2009: La Fortuna

Liam: We woke up at 6:30 so we could get ready for our canyoning adventure. We had a quick breakfast of cereal and toast. Then we boarded our bus, from our G.A.P. tour we had two other people joining us, Dan from London and Sharri from Vancouver B.C there were also three other people that were already in the van. It was a short drive to get to the tour company’s “house” where we got our gear and a quick safety training. Then it was a short drive up a hill followed by a short walk to the first waterfall. The first waterfall was a 30 foot one, it was quick and a mainly for training. Once everyone had repelled down the waterfall, we had a short walk to the next one, which was about 150 feet tall. It was quite a jump, but it was so much fun. We once again waited for everyone to get to the bottom, and then we walked downstream. One the way to the next waterfall we stopped and a small waterfall, this was where our guide showed us how to climb down a little bit then jump off into a pool at the bottom.

After another little walk, we got to the smallest waterfall, 25 feet, and quickly repelled down it. On the way to the final waterfall, the group climbed down a narrow waterfall, then sat in a line. One of the guides made a dam with his body, and then when everyone was ready he stood up and let the water rush down all around us. From the force of the rapids I was pushed forward a few inches along with everyone else. After that break we continued on to the final waterfall that was 200 feet tall. It was by far the most fun thing of the day, we were connected to two ropes so that we repelled at a 45 degree angle, this made it so that the repel down was also like a zip-line. Our tour guides took us to an amazing waterfall, we walked under the flow and got soaked. After seeing the last waterfall we hiked up the canyon and back to the house. They had lunch waiting for us when after we got changed.

After eating lunch we took the bus back to our hotel. Once we got home Sean, Owen, and I took a nap. When we woke up we walked into the town and looked at the shops. I bought a cool looking shirt and so did Owen, then we stopped by a supermarket to get some snacks. When we got home we made a dinner of cup of noodles then had a meeting about our travel day tomorrow. Now we are about to leave for a dessert with some of our group members, then bed.

Owen: Liam finally wrote a little bit!! Anyways, today was a blast. We experienced some very cool canyoning, a sport including hiking, repelling, down climbing, and getting wet. Everyone was a little apprehensive to do the first waterfall, so I stepped up, took charge, and went large. It was a ton of fun! After canyoning (which Liam already talked about so I wont bother repeating him), we had a the same lunch as yesterday, pico de gallo, salsa fresca, uca, rice and beans (of course), and beef stew.

Upon arriving at out room, I instantly fell asleep. I woke up and read my book for a while, which is very good (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which myself and my family all recommend), and then we went souvenir shopping. We all bought one shirt each. We came back, met with our crew, went out for ice cream with Emilie, Eve-Lyn, and Elena and settled in our room for the evening. Liam just found a gecko in our room! We are packing up for our trip to Monte Verde tomorrow, so for now, good night!

Sean: So canyoning was just as fun as I remembered! (I did it in Switzerland). The two and a half hours went by so quickly! It has to be one of the most fun sports around. It was an absolutely beautiful canyon with high cliffs and tons of tropical vegetation. Though some of the waterfalls were extremely high, we all felt 100% safe throughout the adventure.

The boys napped when we got back and I cleaned up some stuff on my computer and then sat outside and read my book (about the demise of the sea turtle, a very sad read). As I sat outside Elena (from germany) came by with her two cameras, both of which were broken. She thought I might have a magic touch. Unfortunately, I was unable to fix either one. All I could do was offer to take some pictures for her and burn a CD at the end of the trip.

Desert was also very fun. I rode a little kids ride at the heladeria and enjoyed a nice sundae. After posting this I have to finish up my blog and then we will drift off to sleep watching a movie on my computer.

Tomorrow it is off to my former Costa Rican home of Monteverde!