We have decided out hotel is a miracle - that place is awesome! Yesterday we had our best meal yet - at a little "soda" food stand - that included the following: the best white rice I have ever had (lots of butter probably),, black beans, chicken and peppers/onions, mashed potatoes that had so much butter they were bright yellow and just delicious, a fried egg over hard, and fried plantains. Random, totally delicious, and I can't wait to go back there tomorrow.
Next on the agenda was Baldi hot springs after Beth's second massage (neck is much better), which is a series of naturally heated pools of varying temperature - one was 154 degrees F, no joke! No one was in that one, clearly. There was music playing on loudspeakers, huge tropical plants everywhere, it was pretty fun. Anyway, we spent about five hours there in the different pools, jumping from hot to cold, drinking our Cuba Libres that you can buy in a can (Rum and Coke!) and our beer, and going down the very non-US safety standard water slide. There were three, two were the "water slide in a tube" kind of hting so you can't see where you're going, and the fastest one had this crazy turn right before a drop that seriously left you free-falling. I dropped my sunglasses after round one and the nice lifeguard went swimming with a mask and found them for me. On my second round I whacked my head really hard and got a nice little lump, but it feels fine today. Beth has video, it's entertaining. We met a nice couple from Michigan, probably in their late 60's, and the husband (David), who was very overweight and walked wtih a cane, was determined to do the faster slide. He did, and came crashing out at the bottom - it was a little scary as he'd also hit his head and was a bit disoriented, but recovered rather nicely and we all had a good laugh over it. For an extra $2 we bought the meal, which was a great buffet of typical food - rice and beans and chicken. Then we headed back to the hotel for a time out, regrouped and went out for drinks with our zipliner friends. We ended up running into another ziplining couple - Sean and Kim - and the six of us (S, K, me and Beth along with Sophie and Lisa) spent the evening drinking beers at various bars - and for New Year's proper headed into the square and set off fireworks - big ones! I have photos and video. Pretty awesome and totally legal. I love no rules.
Today was our big Canyoneering day - and oh my god it was the best thing ever. You ride in the back of a pickup up these crazy dirt roads to the "base camp" or whatever they call it, where they harness you up and give youa helmet and gloves, and then after safety demos and signing your life away we all headed into this gorgeous rainforest canyon where we started by rapelling down 20-feet IN a small waterfall. We worked our way downriver to a huge platform, where we rapelled 150 feet down a huge waterfall - actually most of it you were totally suspended above the ground, it was ridiculous fun. We met a couple from Atlanta - Adam and Gwen - and ended up hanging out with them for most of it. One group included a woman from North Carolina that had very short hair and a rat tail down to her butt. I wish I had photo evidence as it was pretty spectacular. After the 150-footer, they "surprised" us with a canonball into a big water hole, and then had us sit in groups of six in a tight canyon region while one of the guides abolve you made a human dam to block the water. After we were properly jammed in the space, bracing against the walls of the canyon, they let the water go and we were pummeled with a ton of rushing water - it was crazy! Then another 20-foot rappel, and the grand finale was a 200 foot free rappel down a stunning waterfall. All this in a volcanic canyon with rainforest growth all around you... Pretty amazing, really!
Tonight we are splurging on a nice dinner in town with Sophie and Lisa, and Adam and Gwen said they might show up as well - should be a good time! Tomorrow we fly to Tambor and take a cab to Montezuma (not Mal Pais), where we are staying at the Sano Banano for five nights - and yes, we have a reservation already. No more hotel adventures for me, thank you very much. We plan on doing yoga, lying on the beach, exploring the national park that's in the area, and maybe renting ATVs.
Happy New Year!
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