So after we posted Brumbloggy day 1, we tried to sleep. There were the loud americans below us that give us all a bad name. They were drinking and playing charades for hours, laughing really loudly. I went down at 10:30 p.m. the night before to see if there was quiet hours. They said normally it begins at 10 p.m. and they said they were going to send the laughing girl packing. Shortly after the noise stopped for the most part. and then the restaurant began clanking glasses and dishes at 6 a.m. so there was not a happy Katie in the place.
When we were driving up to the lodge yesterday, our guide talked about how the volcano has begun to be more active in the last two-three months than it has been in the lat 100 years. He said the air became toxic at the top, farms and animals were being affected so much that the landownere are moving. There is always smoke now, they say. When I woke up this morning, the fog was burning off and the sun was showing through. before the fog burned off, visibility was 50 feet.
We went down to breakfast and the annoying laughing people from the night before were in a different kind of mood. They seemed to be upset about the price of their room and were discussing things with the owner. I think they were charged extra for being obnoxious. They paid so we are hoping they won't be back. Anyway!!
We ate our breakfast and David took pictures of all the carved artwork placed all over the lodge. I'll send them to Von later for his perusal.
After breakfast we packed up our gear bag for the big paddle ahead. There was a surprise explosion of sunscreen which set us about cleaning all our gear off article by article. We then headed down and waited for our ride and noticed the vultures gathering above... hmmm...
There was one, then two, then three, then four! I think they were about to pick up the three year old that was sitting on the lawn.
As we drove down the hill, Yulian, one of our guides, mentioned that it was 45 mins to the put in of the Pejivalle River. I asked when we were picking up the whitewater kayaks. Turns out he was confused and we had to go pick up the baots. We almost eneded up rafting class II/III-!!! Unfortunately, due to the confusion, they did not have a four fun and I ended up paddling a Dagger G-Force 6.3. Very tight! And I ended up in a Project 52 - which resembles B.O.B. except squirlier. He can be called Sq.O.B. (squirly orange boat).
When we were driving up to the lodge yesterday, our guide talked about how the volcano has begun to be more active in the last two-three months than it has been in the lat 100 years. He said the air became toxic at the top, farms and animals were being affected so much that the landownere are moving. There is always smoke now, they say. When I woke up this morning, the fog was burning off and the sun was showing through. before the fog burned off, visibility was 50 feet.
We went down to breakfast and the annoying laughing people from the night before were in a different kind of mood. They seemed to be upset about the price of their room and were discussing things with the owner. I think they were charged extra for being obnoxious. They paid so we are hoping they won't be back. Anyway!!
We ate our breakfast and David took pictures of all the carved artwork placed all over the lodge. I'll send them to Von later for his perusal.
After breakfast we packed up our gear bag for the big paddle ahead. There was a surprise explosion of sunscreen which set us about cleaning all our gear off article by article. We then headed down and waited for our ride and noticed the vultures gathering above... hmmm...
There was one, then two, then three, then four! I think they were about to pick up the three year old that was sitting on the lawn.
As we drove down the hill, Yulian, one of our guides, mentioned that it was 45 mins to the put in of the Pejivalle River. I asked when we were picking up the whitewater kayaks. Turns out he was confused and we had to go pick up the baots. We almost eneded up rafting class II/III-!!! Unfortunately, due to the confusion, they did not have a four fun and I ended up paddling a Dagger G-Force 6.3. Very tight! And I ended up in a Project 52 - which resembles B.O.B. except squirlier. He can be called Sq.O.B. (squirly orange boat).
After a 45 minute drive where we became friendly with our shared wall neighbors Susan and Natalie from Florida, we made it to the put in. There were people and people and people everywhere. They were all off work due to the holy week, and they were all down by the river. Whenever we passed they would wave, hoot and greet us with a friendly smile. Of course Katie would ham it up by raising one arm while running a rapid so everyone would cheer (I only did that once!). Alright, i was the one rolling upon demand. The people were grilling, swimming/wading in the water and just hanging out. It gave a nice sense of community.The river was low! It reminded me of the Mongaup (ahem.. renee... you should get on it). It was like an amped up Lehigh ...at 500 cfs! There were other people who came with us and rafted and duckied. We were the ones who had the easiest time with the level, zipping in and out and down past the stuck raft. I would not have liked to be rafting it. I got flipped once and then flipped again due to lens issues but other than that it was a breezy day in my playboat. I managed to surf a bit in the beginning while Yulian gave the lecture about rafting. We also passed a section of river that was used by the olympic team to practice slolem runs. There were some nice play holes in that! And i lost sight of everyone by the time i was through.
Now lunch... LUNCH WAS AWESOME! There was fruit, cheese, sandwich meats, bread, tortillas, cookies, tuna salad, refried beans, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, chips all on a tablecloth and served with an apron and chef hat! It was the best.river.lunch.ever. And we get it three more times! (though i felt bad that they were dicing and cutting for 20 mins). Mental note Todd, hire someone to meet us at lunch spots with a full spread. The serving table, by the way, was the raft upside down. I was pretty amused by the fact that they were cutting up pineapple on the bottom of a rubber raft. We got back on the river after lunch and paddled to the takeout - about a quarter mile down the river!! By this point it started to rain and increased in intensity throughout the afternoon. It was a nice calm rain.
So, here we are nearing the end of day two in a cloudy Costa Rica. Tomorrow, we venture to the toxic volcanos and will bike down. It hopefuly will be a calm night. I am exhausted! Now for some more beans....lol.. and drinks
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