Day 11: Costa Rica, Sunday Nov. 13, 2022

Sunny Sunday morning and perfect view of Poas Volcano from my patio. It is only 62 degrees at 5:30am, elevation 5000 feet here, but sun rises early here and it will be in 70s soon.

Since it was sunny I wanted to go and see the 5 waterfalls of the Rio La Plaz, the dotted lines on the map.

I was leaving at 8:15am for the Pozo Azul Hacienda so made sure to pay attention to time, if it got too late I would hurry back and see rest another day. I wore my jacket since slightly cool but once I did a few steep climbs in the rising jungle heat and humidity I took it off.

Less than 2 mile hike with lots of photo stops but on way back up hill I was breathing hard and glad I had brought a water bottle. 5000 feet has less oxygen.

Breakfast before I headed out was coffee, a bar and some fruit.

The waterfalls trail was well paved but stones slippery so had to pay attention.

I heard many birds in the jungle but most flew by quickly or I never saw. This bird was digging in the ground near path.

Wow! First waterfall, very tall, flow very strong as it is the end of rainy season.

If I had more free time I would have returned here with a towel one day and done some wading and laid on the sand for a while listening to the rushing waters and bird calls. No crocs at 5000 feet.

They had a huge garden with many varieties of these. I had some time after my hike still so I was heading to see the Jungle Cats since on the way back.

Puma. Same species as those in California, etc (mountain lion, cougar) but the tropical varieties of mammals are usually smaller.

These two were sleeping whenever I visited, I was told their name, Kinkajou, relatives of Raccoons. They are very nocturnal.

Jaguars are largest cats in the Americas. So beautiful.

I found the heated pool near my building. It also has a waterfall pool and jacuzzi there.

I met my driver Pablo (who would also be my Toucan/Sloth guide and drive me to Pozo Azul on Tuesday.

WOW. I really fell behind those last 2 days on the blogging. It is 8:10pm EST and I am settled in at gate B34 in “Hotlanta”, 41 degrees??? I should have plenty of time to finish up the Blog during the first major lake effect snowstorm that is going to hit Central Buffalo and Amherst starting tomorrow and going until Sunday. So skiing on Black Friday next week? I am working this Friday 🙁 I did at least make a Relive video of this mornings hike while at the San Jose airport.

https://www.relive.cc/view/vXOdeXGPek6

Beautiful valley views as we descended from a mile high to near sea level

Less than an hour drive but much hotter and humid in the lowlands

This place offered a variety of activities in the Sarapiqui Forest and River. I would do horseback riding and whitewater rafting today and then zip lining on Tuesday. They also offer a farm experience, rappelling, glamming, etc. etc.

I highly recommend them, great staff and facilities.

It was just me for the ride (still slow “rainy” season until Dec. 1st). The woman spoke English a little better than my Spanish, the guy only Spanish. She was very informative and showed me native plants like Anise. His talents would be revealed later. We started out on a paved road for the first 10 minutes.

These houses were across the street from a dairy cow pasture.

My horse was named Lucerna. The saddle was more western than English but had no horn, I just grabbed the front of saddle if needed support but she was so steady even in mud, rocks, hills that I rarely did. We rode some trails through the pasture and saw dairy cows and horses. It started to drizzle a little but we then cut into the rain forest and the canopy kept us dry.

We took a trail down to the river and saw people whitewater rafting. The river was very fast and high with all the recent rains.

And then it really started to pour. Hard to see in this photo but me and the horse are soaked completely. We then had to wait here for a few minutes as the Caballero used his machete to clear a tree that had fallen in front of the path.

He was handy with the machete, also using it to cut a coconut open for me. Very refreshing! No need to bring water bottles if one has a machete!

I liked this part of the ride where there was almost no trail. The sun came back out and it felt good on my soaked skin.

We were back on the road for the last 10 minutes. It was Sunday and a lot of families were out walking with their kids and strollers.

This cute pup led us partway, just off to the right is a barbed wire fence enclosing another pasture.

Guide pointed out this amazing bird on the shed next to corral when we got back. A Tiger Heron.

After the horse ride it was time for whitewater rafting. Class 2,3 in this area (higher up the mountains they have 4,5 which would be a little too scary to be fun I think). I had brought a dry set of clothes and a plastic bag for after rafting but was so soaked from riding that I just went with my bathing suit and wet shirt and flip flops for rafting.

I was NOT the only one for rafting luckily. There was a nice couple from London and Pablo joined us also. I brought my GoPro, I hooked it to the front of my life vest and am sure I got some amazing videos. There was a guy in a tiny kayak who came with us to shoot video and also to do any rescues necessary if someone fell in. Our guide gave us a set of command to follow. “Lean in” was the one I made sure to never miss, that was when you lean whole body into the boat before a giant wave or hitting a rock.

When we passed a high bank of the river the guide asked if anyone wanted to jump in and I said YES. Any chance to get wet! Notice me holding my flip flops. The Brits came also but chickened out when they saw how high it was.

The current carried me downstream to where the raft was beached.

Their photos were great but just of us. I shot lots of video and photos of the river with the GoPro. We saw Cormorants, an Osprey, Vultures, an Eagle, a variety of herons and egrets and a Baltimore Oriole down for the winter. We also saw howler monkeys and Sloths in the trees along the river.

On the plane from Atlanta to Buffalo……

After the break for my plunge into the river, Pablo and I switched sides which was nice and we moved to the back seats. In the front seat there was a rope to wedge your foot under and in my flip flops it got annoying after a while and also paddling on one side for an hour was rough. In the back seat one wedges the foot under the inflatable front seat.