Rincon De La Vieja

Tuesday evening, May 24th:

We decided to get some groceries at the local supermarket and withdraw money at the ATM (from Citi actually). Afterwards, Sauer and I spent some more time reading before dinner.

For dinner we went to the hostel's restaurant because we heard the food is decent and the price is cheap. We both got a tender loin, and with mine I got fried onions, rice, and a salad. With his, Sauer got sauce, fries, and a salad. Each meal was tasty, quite filling, and only about $7. We also had a $2 Imperial (Costa Rica's beer) to celebrate my birthday.

After dinner, Sauer and I planned our hike for the following morning by paying for $20 round trip transportation (about an hour each way). We headed off to bed early, each of us laying down by about 8:30. We've gotten into the habit of watching parts of a movie each night, where he watches on my iPod and I use the small red laptop. We're currently both watching The Green Mile, which neither of us have seen.

Wednesday, May 25th:
We got up at about 6:00 for our 7:00 AM truck to Rincon de la Vieja where we were planning to hike. The bus consisted of a standard small SUV, with two extra sideways-turned seats in the very back. So it fit five comfortably and two uncomfortably. Since Sauer and I were the last in the truck, we sat in the back. You either had to lean forward and look up or lean back and look down. It was a very uncomfortable ride.

What's annoying is that this 1-hour ride was probably 15-20 miles away from the hostel, but since the roads are so terrible, the driver averages 15-20 miles per hour. Yeah.

We got to the park at about 8:10 AM and prepared for hiking. Here were our options:
1. Hike to the Rincon Crater. 16 km round trip, takes about 8 hours.
2. Hike to Cataratas la Congreja, a beautiful waterfall. (http://www.google.co.cr/imgres?imgurl=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/23/33248373_4e2782d800.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.flickr.com/photos/80462338%40N00/page2/&usg=__YAFytr4zG3Fbyipp6Ps0asJvQU8=&h=375&w=500&sz=63&hl=es&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=xMMYXNXfAYAJwM:&tbnh=115&tbnw=153&ei=cpHdTeiYAs2Ctgej-4W5Dw&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dcataratas%2Bde%2Bla%2Bcongreja%26um%3D1%26hl%3Des%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1024%26bih%3D409%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=123&vpy=115&dur=318&hovh=180&hovw=240&tx=141&ty=88&sqi=2&page=1&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0) 10 km round trip. Takes about 5 hours.
3. Do Las Pailas. A 3 km tour of volcanic activity such as mud pots. 2 hours.

We selected options 2 and 3. In hindsight, it was the right decision. After stopping along the way for tri-pod photos, we arrived at the waterfall by about 11:15 AM. Along the way, the hike is quite interesting because you pass through different types of terrain, between rainforest and dry savannah/desert. We saw white-faced monkeys, some small pig/boar-like creatures, millions of ants, and some pretty birds.

Then, finally, we reached the waterfall! It was incredible!!! Hopefully you have already clicked on the link above... if not, please do so immediately. The waterfall is very secluded and contains beautiful, crystal-clear water. So, after asking many people about the safety of the water, we swam in it! It was cold, but quite refreshing.

When we were about to leave (we were alone that whole time) another group of four Americans came to go for a dip. We also had lunch at the waterfall, and boy, I have never and likely will never eat lunch at such a pretty setting.

As soon as we started to hike back, it started to rain...hard. It was pouring. For the first 2 km, we jogged through the desert-like landscape as water flooded the traditional path. I basically skipped from bank to bank of this new, small rain "river" to keep from stepping in the water or the deep wilderness. Didn't matter, we both got drenched immediately. It was crazy.

We made it back to the information center at the entrance of the park at about 1:00 PM, very wet. After sitting for 15-20 minutes, Sauer and I opted for Option 3 (above) to see some volcanic activity before our ride left at 4 PM. The hike was pretty fun, and we finally got to see the third type of monkey: The Howler. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REPoVfN-Ij4 We also saw some mud pots and bubbles made from volcanic activity, where the mud/water pools can reach 224 degrees F. We finished the hike at about 3:00 PM, had a second lunch (again consisting of PB&J, a banana, and a granola bar). This time we brought a liter of peach juice that we had drank at the waterfall.

We left at about 4:00 PM and made it back before 5:00 PM. We're now just hanging out for the evening until we catch a bus to Tamarindo in the morning (our hostel is by Playa Avellana so we may have to taxi from Tamarindo if there is no bus).

Maybe tonight is a good time for a Coke...

Aust & Matt