The boys are on a tour bus headed off to white water raft and I'm settled into a beach chair at the hot springs at the Tabacon Resort, ready to write, relax, and enjoy some R & R. We had an incredible adventure yesterday adn it will take me a few minutes to scribe the details.
The Costa Rica Wonderland (www.CostaRicawonderland.com) tour bus picked us up promptly at 8AM. Pablo, our tour guide was ready to go with an amazing telescope ona tripod to show us sights clearer and closer up than we would be able to see with our naked eyes.
Our first stop[ was the Hanging Bridges. We went on a 2-3 hour hike through the rain forests of Costa Rica. We saw a large variety of animals and were entranced by the wildlife surrounding us. Directly in front of us, a sloth fell from a tall tree and had to crawl back up the tree branches to be safe from his predators. 
His nails were long, almost like beaks of a bird. At one point, he swung the branch over to grab onto another tree that was taller and would afford him to scale higher. This was nature at its best. Us in their environment, watching as onlookers to a site as natural to them as us brushing our teeth.
The hike has 6 hanging bridges. The hike loops around and deposits the hikers back at the beginning of the trail head, making a giant circle.
Pablo showed us an ant that could lift hundreds of times his body weight, a small red frog, termites, snakes, monkeys, birds of all kinds, and squirrels.
The boys loved that the hanging bridges 'swung' while we walked across them. They loved that almost as much as I hated it. The views from the grates in the bridges were amazing. wow- we were really high up in the air.
Michael wanted to stop on the bridge and take pictures, and I was focused on getting across as expeditiously as possible (heights are not my favorite).
The boys tasted some suger cane as we exited the trail. Ahhh, what a beautiful heart into the jungles of Costa Rica.
It is refreshing, relaxing, and very beautiful. It gives you a chance to take a deep breath, rethink life and all its priorities and decide where to put your foot next.
It seems that we get caught up in the whirling of the earth and we forget that each day is a gift. It is a gift and we get to decide how to spend it. The Indian guide the other day said, "Yesterday is history, today is a mystery, and tomorrow is a gift". I Love That!
From the hanging bridges hike, Pablo took us to the La Fortuna Waterfall. There are over 500 steps leading down to a glorious waterfall with a swim area. We hike down and the boys head in for a swim. It rains everyday in the rain forest, especially during rainy season (May-Dec), so we get rained on a bit.
The waterfall is falling with intensity and the view is simply amazing. God's creations never cease to amaze me.
We stopped at a delightful restaurant for lunch and enjoy traditional Costa Rican food (rice, beans, and meat). We were famished from all the activity and ate like hungry bears just coming out of hibernation.
From there we went tot he Arenal Volcano National Park. The entrance closes at 4, but we squeak in just before the gate closes. We hike to a high point atop volcanic rock and watch the volcanic activity. Every 10 minutes, we see it let off a little steam. After a few minutes, we see a small eruption.
We see steam escaping from several outlets all around the volcano. It is simply fascinating.
Our tour ends at about 6PM and we fall into our beds exhausted. We watch a little TV and order room service. It was an active day. We successfully wore out the boys (smile).
