We loaded up the boats for the farewell drive through the Tortuguero canals. In my little boat some of the Vikings curled up on the floor of the skiff for some additional shut-eye - a position I can never think of being restful. Towards the end of the journey, the boat I was on developed rudder problems and we switched to another nearby. Your students expressed great concern that the pilot was being left behind to fend for himself. I pointed out that his co-workers would be back in a couple of minutes after they dropped us off. Here he is, hopefully waiting, adrift.
We split into two groups for the next activity - again a bus ride, but this time heading towards the canopy tour and the zip wire. By this time the excitement was palpable - most of the students had decided to do this excursion. After a couple of hours by bus, traveling dusty back roads and waving at countless children, we pulled into the zip line company facility. Within minutes we were riding in another caravan of hay wagons and minibuses up the hill to the launching pad, fully garbed and feeling taken care of. There are many zip line companies in this area (apparently an area attractive for such activities because of a profusion of high-tension wires mysteriously strung through the forest) and our crew seemed very professional.
There were a total of nine zip lines. The initial line was quite long, but once we were started the company moved us right along, so there was little to delay. The forest was beautiful (and wet, as a storm really pelted us) and although we went through a lot of it is was a bit hard to see. Our concentration was on "right hand for brake, left hand to hold the rope, lift legs up, bend the knees, watch the woman or man catching you at the far end" so the trees passed in a bit of a blur. I am proud to say that our Deal students definitely learned from the Hemlock zip line last year, as no one was unable to go through it all. The lines were long and really quite fun.
The last zip line took us over the Sarapiqui River and dropped us in the company's operations area - a tidy little wrap-up. Here is a shot of an unnamed chaperone on the last leg of the zip line to give you a sense of its length.
We wrapped up the day by checking in to our new hotel, El Bambu. Definitely not exciting from the street front (and it is directly on the street) the hotel was a surprise, with rooms extending back into the woods on a series of elevated walkways, surrounding a nice pool and opening into the woods. Classic Latin America - a little concealed at the front, with beauty within. Dinner tonight is at 8, and then we are off again in the morning.
One last note. Both the bat tour and the pineapple plantation tour didn't pan out. Of course, this being the Sunday before Holy Week in Costa Rica means that it is a lot harder to make those types of activities worthwhile. Only a few students had been interested, anyway, so we will save their money for whatever they want.
Signing off, your faithful correspondent.
Glad to see the kids are having fun and that Sophia apparently decided to try the zip line. Her dad wants to try it, too...
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