Costa Rica Adventures, Day 2, Part 1

 About 2 days before we left home, I booked the One Day Adventure Pass tour for the family to do. It includes horseback riding, river tubing, lunch, zip lining, and the hot springs. Hot Spring access was available to us free of charge as guests at Hacienda Guachipelin but if you were staying elsewhere and doing the Adventure Pass it's part of the package.

We ate breakfast Friday morning and then met our tour guide at reception around 8:30am. First on the list of activities was horseback riding to be followed by river tubing on the Rio Negro so we wore our swimsuits under our long pants. Those of us that had sport sandals (the girls...2 in Chacos and 2 in Tevas) wore those while the guys wore their sneakers.

B and C

L to R:  K, J, M, C, P

The two youngest, M and B, have never ridden a horse beyond pony rides. K and P did a little when they were very young. J, last time he was on a horse was on our honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas, 23 years ago. And while I definitely have the most experience, it's been a very long time since I sat on a horse. But like most horses used for trail rides, they were quite content to go along. We went up and down some hills and through some rocky and rough terrain. My horse was a little ornery and had it's ears pinned back quite a bit, especially when the other horses got too close. After our ride, we waited by the road for a bus to pick us up and take us to our next activity...river tubing.

The bus ride was an adventure in of itself and we even drove through a river? stream? creek? some kind of water at any rate. Once we arrived, we stripped down to our swimsuits and lathered on the sunscreen. Our guides got us outfitted with helmets and life jackets and showed us how we were to sit on the tubes.

And off we went in the Rio Negro for some fun!

We have been river tubing as a family before on the Shenandoah River. But it was nothing like this! There were lots of rapids to navigate and you wear those helmets for a reason. I was so busy worrying about catching my feet/legs on a rock that I forgot all about my head and cracked it good. If I hadn't been wearing a helmet, I would have probably ended up in the hospital. There were multiple guides that went with us...I want to say at least 4. They helped us when we got stuck and assisted those of us (J and P) that flipped their tubes. As you can see in the pictures, they also helped us navigate the more dangerous parts. They were all really nice and kept complimenting our family and saying how beautiful our family is. They also said I look like the older sister, not the mom. My new best friends!😊

I did ask one of the guides how they had been affected by COVID. He said that they were used to having hundreds of people each day visiting the Adventure Center to go on the different tours. And the tour that we were on would be run 4 times a day. But since COVID they were pretty much only running one a day. Thursday, the day we arrived, they had done two. Our group was very small, only the six of us and a very sweet couple who were on their honeymoon. Great for us as visitors but devastating for those who work in the hospitality industry.

At one point near the end, we beached our tubes and were able to jump from a rock into the river (about a 20 foot jump). Everyone did it with no hesitation and got out and did it again. A short float and then it was time to get out and walk back up to the bus. We were given towels to dry off with and then rode the bus back to Hacienda Guachipelin to change into dry clothes and eat lunch.

After lunch came Zip Lining! But that deserves its own post so I'll continue Day 2 another time.