Rincon de la Viaja Volcano National Park

Yesterday, I had a full day of adventures at Rincon de la Viaja Volcano National Park with some friends from school.  We left at 6 am and made the 1.5 hour ride to the park, in another Turismo van (12 passenger van, complete with daily driver).

I didn't have my camera with me the entire time, but here are some photos and a list of our full-day of activities:

Rincon de la Viaja Volcano National Park.

45 minute horseback ride through part of the park.  We had 2 guides, one in front, leading the way, and another in the back, carrying a mini boom box playing Spanish music for the ride.  The ride-time was perfect though; just about the time my butt started to hurt from the saddle, we were done-zo.  Being from TX, you would think I might have had a little more experience on a horse, but alas, I think this may have only been my 2nd time on a horse......ever!

Leaving the stables.

Me (my shadow, at least) and my mohawked horse!

1.5 hours of white water tubing.  This was super fun, and unlike any tubing I have done in TX.  They loaded us up with life vest, helmets, and super sturdy tubes, then gave us safety instructions, and plopped us in the river.  There were some slightly scary rapids, drop offs, and lots of spinning around in the tubes, but also some nice calm areas too, where we could relax a bit before being slammed around again.  It was great!

Tubing down the rapids of the Colorado River.

1.5 hours of zip lining, which included a little bit of rock climbing and repelling.  I will be honest, after zip lining in Monteverde, I thought this course would be lame.  Boy, was I wrong.  This course was awesome- very different from Monteverde, and just as exciting.  We zip lined through big ravines created by the river, passed by water falls, got to zip line upside down, and got to swing like Tarzan across the river to some of the platforms too.  Anytime they offered a 'crazier' option / way of doing something, I took the opportunity- it makes for a much more memorable experience, and the guides love to mess with you too, when you're willing to try the wackier stuff.

Loaded up with zip lining gear.

Zipping through ravines.

View from one of the platforms.

Zipping past waterfalls, then launching from a slide to the next platform.

Upside down zip lining.

Upside down ride!

Buffet lunch at on-site resort, full of local dishes and treats! Our little group got to lunch a bit late, but it was perfect, bc we bumped into a couple Brahma bulls along the way (yup, Brahma bulls), and the guy walking them up the road let us hop on!  I am pretty sure they were there for photo ops anyway, but it was still a cool find.

Brahma bulls.

Quick hop on said bulls.

1 hour visit to the mud bath/hot springs.  This was cool.  We trekked a bit through the woods, and walked across a super rickety bridge, to a small area with hot springs, next to the river.  Once we  made it, we  were handed a hot bowl of mud and a paint brush.  After painting ourselves,  we let the mud dry in the sun, then rinsed off and hit the hot springs.  Volcanic mud is supposed to be good for your skin....who knows, but It was a nice relaxing way to end the day.

After that, we headed back to Tamarindo- most of us sleeping the entire way.  It was a great day, just enough time to enjoy each activity, and a swell way to pack in some more Costa Rican adventures.

This Ain't My First Rodeo.

Ok.  Maybe this isn't my FIRST rodeo, but it was my first Tico (Costa Rican) rodeo.  And this was unlike any rodeo I have seen before.

The big festivities were held in Villa Real, the town next to Tamarindo;  no tourists, everyone and everything is even more relaxed here, and it has a nice 'small town/everyone knows each other here' feeling (and they really do! They ALL know each other).

First things first.  The rodeo arena is actually at the soccer field in the middle of town.  It kind of looks like some locals grabbed some old wooden planks, some 2x4s, and banged out a fenced-in ring and a grandstand, a few days before the event (which, they totally did, just that).

The arena.

The grandstands.

Grandstand seating.

The day of the rodeo, a small (and slightly unsafe) carnival sets up, some food stands pop up, and the bulls arrive.

Food stands.

Festival area.

Bullpen, and not the baseball kind.

Salsa and meringue.

About 25% of the attendees pay $2 bucks to sit in the stands, and everyone else just sits on top of the arena fence, or stands at the fence to watch.

They only have 1 rodeo event, bull riding, which lasts several hours.   In Costa Rica, ANYONE can volunteer to RIDE the bulls and ANYONE can get INTO the ring during the bull riding, to be 'rodeo clowns' ......ANYONE.  A-N-Y-O-N-E!

All the people who voluntarily stand inside the fence during bull riding.  Interested in being a rodeo clown?  Hop on through the fence, and you're good to go.

On a related note, the Red Cross is on-site to assist with any medical concerns.  Their medical booth actually backs right up against the ring, and the wall of the medical booth has a little gated window that looks into the ring, so they know when people are headed their way.  AND, yes, several people headed their way last night.   A couple random 'volunteer clowns' got tossed around by the bulls, shirts shredded, covered in dirt, and a little bloody too.

The Red Cross booth (pictured at 12 o'clock in this photo).  The window is 'closed,' but they popped it back open when the bull got a bit farther from their medical service area.

After each volunteer rides a bull, the local (what seems like) high school band plays, and they just leave the bulls in the ring for a few additional minutes for what seems like entertainment purposes. This is all thanks to the plethora of fools just standing around in the ring, for the bulls to pummel.

Bull and rodeo arena main gate.

Random dude getting tossed around by the bull. PS I was up in the grandstand at is point, and I wasn't even using the zoom on my camera.  Everything at this rodeo is just THAT close.

Again, no zoom.  Just an angry bull.....right there! 

The band that plays before/after rides. 

When the bulls are angrily running around in the ring, they are mere inches from a couple thousand bystanders.  At several points, I could have stretched my arm through the fence and touched a couple not-so-happy bulls. INSANE.  Even more nuts, is that, if those bulls really wanted too, they could easily bust through the toothpick and twine fence holding everything up.  Scary stuff.  Scary, but fun.  An experience unlike anything I have seen before.

Along with the bull riding, 'volunteer rodeo clown' watching, food, carnival activities, and live music, there were also fireworks. At one point, some guy just walked into the middle of the arena and shot off fireworks, from inside a piece of PVC pipe that he just set down and lit on fire with his cigarette.

Several times last night, I thought to myself, 'where am I?'

However, with all of that said, it was an incredible experience, and such a slice of Tico life.  I had a great time with my friends, met some really nice locals, heard some fun live salsa/meringue music, ate some really tasty new foods (El Salvadorian), and realized once again, that there are still many more adventures to be had. Pura Vida!

Enjoying some rodeo eats!

Stay tuned, my friends.....more adventures to come.

Quick Trip Recap - Sara and Ryan in Tamarindo

Despite have issues arrive and departing, I think Sara and Ryan enjoyed their trip to Tamarindo, Costa Rica.   I had afternoon classes all week, but we still planned morning and afternoon activities each day for them (and sometimes me).  We planned around my schedule, which allowed them to do some activities on their own, eat some meals without me 3rd-wheelin' it, and have a little 'we are finally vacationing without our kids' time!

I skipped class Monday afternoon when they got in (only Monday though).  We had some lunch, hit the beach, and explored the town in the evening.

Tuesday, we hiked over to another beach nearby, Playa Longosta (lobster beach-  although, I didn't see any).  There is only 1 resort down there, so it was nice and quiet.....at the beach, at least.  There were some pretty major waves in the water, but we enjoyed every bit of it, even the multiple underwater flips/tosses and turns.

Tuesday afternoon they zip-lined and loved, loved, LOVED it.

Wednesday morning, we went ATV-ing at another lovely beach nearby, Playa Flamingo.  We had a really swell guide, and he took us into the mountains, and then we got to ride along the beach.  It's another less populated beach, so you can get away with stuff  like that.  Being the dry season, the mountains were a bit.....dusty......so by the time we were done, we were covered in a thick layer of dirt.  It was kind of awesome....really awesome actually.

In all honesty, I had no interest in 4-wheeling, but Ryan wanted to do it, so we went.  Super glad I did!  Plus, another 'new thing' I got to try while on my travels.

Wednesday afternoon, Sara and Ryan surfed with my school peeps- both having some success too!

Wednesday night, we went for a big BBQ on the beach.  My best meal here yet!  We topped their last night off with some coconut pie and banana pie from Nogui's - best pie in town/in Costa Rica/in the world/EVER/I am being really dramatic about this/but it's true.

Thursday morning, before they hit the road, we hit an early morning boat ride/hike, up the river, on the hunt for crocodiles.   I even had a better time than expected, especially with Victor Huge (not the French writer, the Costa Rica boats captain/guide).   We saw Costa Rican 'swamps,' lots of animals, heard the 'clopping' sound of clams opening during low tide, and even howled at some howler monkeys. Lots of neat things to explore in CR.

Alas, Thursday at noonish, they headed back to the USA.
Adios amigos!