Sunset on Playa Hermosa
Oh man . . . where do I start for todays adventure!!! Well, unfortunately I do not have any pictures to document today's activities, because they wouldn't let us take our camera, so we would buy their pictures, and then they had technical difficulties, so we are still waiting for some sick pictures of the river rafting trip of the day! We headed to Quepos this morning, to hit up our river rafting, what they said to be a class IV, class V river! Side note: driving here is crazy, like no rules, and people pass you going so fast, and just crazy . . . we have not seen any accidents since we have been here, until today . . . . it was a sign of what the day had in store :)
The big truck that crashed
We made it to Quepos, and signed a waiver, which we seem to do a lot of here, not even sure what they say. On the waiver it said that you have to swim a class III rapid to be able to go down the river. Everyone agreed and we got in the Turismo van and headed to the put in. We saw some really neat towns along the way, and learned a lot about life in Costa Rica from our river guides.
Long story short, we made it to the put in, we all swam the rapid, which was a little scary, I will admit, and then started down the river. I think we had gone through one rapid, and Chris and I had finished the second one and we were waiting down river. Next thing you know, I see Suzette, Penny's sister floating down the river, and then her husband John. We pulled them in, and in a panic Suzette tells us "I tried to save Penny, she was drowning". In her cute little Texan accent. So, we are concerned and confused, and not sure where Penny is. Little Pens was in a cave holding onto the rocks for dear life, waiting to be rescued. They had missed the route, and had been pushed into a cave where the boat had gotten stuck, and Pens head was submerged under water. As Pens tells the story, she had a lot of thoughts go through her head in those frightening minutes. All the guides were trying to figure out how to get her out of the cave. Their first two attempts had failed, and the were finally able to get her out and on the shore. I looked over at little Pens, and gave her a thumbs down, which she responded with a thumbs down.
By the way . . . the first rapid was called the "Dragons mouth", we were heading to the "Dragon's Tail", and Pens got caught up in the "Dragons back side".
At that moment Pens sister, Suzette got out of the boat and decided that she was done with the river. Pens was still shaken up, and so they decided to hike out of the river. Mike and Jon, being good husbands, decided to go with them! Which left Chris and I alone in our boat! Chris got out and went into the other boat, so it was just William, my guide, and myself in the boat. I was a little unsure if that was safe by myself, because lets be honest, I am not that strong, so how much help could I be when I had to paddle through the rapids! It ended up being just fine, and we had a great time! I am glad that Pens is safe and sound, and hopefully they will still want to be our friends after this trip :)
To top the night off, we watched a surf competition on Playa Hermosa, and then ordered some pizza so we could come back and watch the BYU game! Only 2 more days . . . so sad, we have come to appreciate and love this place! Until tomorrow . . . . Pura Vida!
At the surf competition
Pens and Mike
That is me, actual real scared face, that crab was trying to pinch me
Ha ha ha . . . this was so so funny! This girl chased that little dog forever, and it kept running into the ocean and jumping the waves, and then it got tired . . . it was so dirty! Ha ha!
Interesting . . . This is how Mike eats his watermelon
