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Pacuare 3 Day River Tour, Jan 2006
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The Pacuare trip is just awesome. You take a short run on the river to the lodge. You have the afternoon free to hike or hang out. The second day we hiked in the jungle and the last day we spent most of the day on the river. It was a great experience.
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Jeff, Donna, Karin and Scott are ready for their white-water-rafting adventure.
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The waterfalls were powerful enough to give you a strong massage.
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Get up at 5:00am to wait at another hotel for the tour van, drive through the city of San Jose in morning traffic, load up the truck with supplies, ride through more city, into the rainy socked-in mountains, hike in the rain to the rafts, do some white water rafting, arrive in time for lunch, find a real bed in your cabin - priceless! And it's only 2:00pm - we still have time for another canopy tour!
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We were old pros at the zip lines. This canopy tour added rappeling to our skill set. This was a first for most of us and a lot of fun.
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The Pacuare river is just wonderful, and Adventure Naturales has a great location right on the river. Private cabins and gourmet meals. What a treat.
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The grounds had a perfect field for frisbee. By the time they were done playing, the guys were covered in mud!
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We had to check out the honeymoon suite and walk across the bridge to the private balcony that overlooks the whole camp. What a great view from up there. The little guy in the upper right is a stick bug. He is only about an inch or and inch and a half long. So thin he was almost invisible on the handrail.
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Kurt, our guide for a day hike in the jungle, found some leaf cutter ants crossing our path. They are fascinating and have a complex social structure. Their existence is tied to a mushroom that they cultivate in their ant colony. The two species can't survive without each other. We also saw some bullet ants that where almost 2 inches long. Apparently it feels like you've been shot when they bite you. We took his word for it.
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There were lizards all over the place. Most were small and fast.
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These images are from the photographer who came along on our exit ride down the Pacuare. The great river shots are his too. This is the main lodge. The inset photo shows the bar lounge area that is upstairs. The dining room and kitchen are on the lower level. Below are the private bungalows that we stayed in. Very cushy for being so far from "civilization".
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We started off slow and got our paddling synchronized (as if we'd remember the finer points when we hit the rapids - you forget everything when your sole focus becomes staying in the boat)!
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Clearly, we are just a bunch of reckless thrill-seekers. I think that's what keeps us young!
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The highlight of any good day trip would be lunch, and rafting is no exception. An inverted raft made the perfect table for our jungle picnic.
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Jeff and Donna enjoying a break on the river.
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Kurt is a great guide, both on and off the river. He was familiar with all the local flora and fauna, and pointed out birds and points of interest along the river.
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Looks like we got our strokes all coordinated and we didn't lose anybody! What a great end to a fabulous vacation. I'm sure we will make it back here again. –Pura Vida!
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On the morning of our departure, we spotted a family of wrens building a nest. First time we had ever seen a group effort to build a nest. It was right outside the hotel window, so we had a perfect view.
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Click here for Playa Grande, Parque Nacional Santa Rosa, Volcan Arenal, Reserve or to go back to the main nature page.
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