Yo No Soy Caballera.

Let me translate: I’m not a cowgirl.

We transferred from Flamingo today to the national park, Rincón de la Vieja for the next two days. After a hearty ‘American’ breakfast this morning, we hopped on the bus for a couple of hours before arriving at our hotel Hacienda Gauchipelin. It’s a beautiful hotel that greets you with a refreshing drink and a gentleman playing Marimba music. It was a nice atmosphere to walk into.

After lunch at the hotel, we began the horseback riding to river tubing part of our day. This is why I claim that I am not a cowgirl. I am terribly awkward and uncomfortable on these beautiful creatures. However, this time my horse actually stayed with the group, so I can’t complain. The last time I did this tour my horse went on every trail but the one we were supposed to be on. My horse today was a little bit like me: social, stubborn, seemed to have a mind of its own, and would often make last minute decisions that took us into exciting territory. We bonded well.

For the record however, smelling like a horse, having my horse antagonize 25 other horses, and having horse poo running down my knee by the end of the ride is not my idea of a good time.

Once we arrived at river tubing, we grabbed our individual tubes and jumped into the river as the rain started to pour down. River tubing is a lot like white water rafting, but in single inner tubes and lower class rapids. I personally think it’s a blast. I quickly noted that my inner tube seemed to be a lot like me also because I started out in the back of the group of about 38 people and quickly sped to the front, bypassing all of the slower tubers.

About midway through, as the rain continued to pour, the lightening also became increasingly closer. So much so, in fact, that there was no delay between the lightening and the thunder attached to it. It was one wild river tubing ride. In Costa Rica, there is no such thing as the 30 minute rule when it comes to lightening apparently so we journeyed on through the pouring rain and lightening. Hakuna Matata. : )

I am at the hotel now relaxing before dinner. Last night was disco night, and what started out as a minor failure because the first disco we went to was a bust, ended up being a great experience for the kids. We ending up finding a great place called the Voodoo Lounge that had a rockin’ DJ and fire show to boot.

Tonight is an easy night at the hotel and I’m looking forward to it. I need a little less stress after my adventurous day! All right, chow time!

Hasta mañana,
Jessica Lynn