Trying again

I've forgotten all my culturally insightful remarks, so how about I just upload some pictures?

Our first stop, after fleeing the approaching arctic cold front on the east coast just in time and braving the bumpy, confusing and stray-dog-filled roads of Costa Rica, was La Fortuna, at the base of Arenal, one of the most active volcanoes in the world. There's a hundred outdoor activities to do there and we only had a day and a half. This waterfall was spectacular, but it was a long and STEEP hike down to the base.

In Arenal we stayed at a little resort (with just four cabins) called Leaves and Lizards. Our cabin had a fabulous view of the volcano from our deck, though it wasn't the side you could see the eruptions from. The innkeepers were the prototypical expat story - they sold their house in Florida at the top of the market and used the dough to buy up some pasture land, and their resort is part of the reforestation project they're undertaking on the land. If we'd gotten up earlier then we could have helped slop the pigs, whatever that means, even though we were lazy Leslie still was able to overcome her lifelong fear of chickens.

We only had one full day in the Arenal area. In the morning we took a kayak trip on the Penas Blancas river and saw lots of tropical critters - caymans and owls and monkeys (oh my!). In the afternoon we visited the Hanging Bridges, which lead through the canopy in the jungle at the base of the volcano. Thanks to the economy, Americans seem to be staying away in droves right now, so we had almost the whole park to ourselves. That's bad for the Costa Rican economy, but it allowed us to unashamedly indulge in the monkey calls we learned. Our neighbors back here in Greensboro have seemed less appreciative of this skill than one would think.

The second half of our trip was whitewater rafting the Pacuare, which is ranked among the top 5 rivers in the world but was running really low water while we were there. The scenery remained suitably spectacular, though. We stayed at a place called the Pacuare Lodge, which can only be easily accessed by raft. We blew our non-existent children's non-existent college fund on the honeymoon suite, which had everything except electricity - private deck and pool, a suspended bridge to our own birdwatching platform, a veranda and outdoor shower. It took us about ten minutes each night to get all the candles lit, but it was definitely worth the effort. (You might have to click on that picture to expand it to get the effect.)
So the whole trip was just a week, which isn't nearly long enough to see the whole country but leaves us something for next time. We were really lucky to be able to go, especially considering all that's going on with the economy right now, so it's something we'll remember for a long time.