December 31,
2015
We were
picked up at 10:30am for the ATV tour with a company called 100% Aventuras. There was one other family of four with us
and two guides. The kids rode tandem
with each parent. My Dad and I each
drove our own.
We trained
and practiced in football-field-sized area to get familiar with the 250 cc
(large) dynamic machines. Our guides
said that these would be impossible to flip if we stayed on the trail. So I apparently took this as a challenge in
the training, and I made a wide turn, hit the embankment and jolted myself off
the ATV. I assumed the front right wheel
would accelerate off of the rocks, but these ATV’s only have rear wheel power,
so I ended up just bouncing backwards – oops!
We did this
for about 30 minutes in total and then drove the ATV’s out onto a gravel road, to
go up the mountain, and we turned off after about 15 minutes. We start down a muddy trail and it weaves
through farm land, crisscrossing the mountain.
There are a few technical parts, but everyone manages to get through
without much incident. The views were
beautiful along the way, and we stopped for a bit at the high point where we
could see Lake Arenal in the distance and the Arenal volcano on a clear day,
but not today.
We drove
back down the road and were escorted back to our hotel. From there, I was a bit hungry and the sun
was really strong so we decided to get ice cream for lunch. I had 3 giant-sized scoops of almond
chocolate, cookies and cream and a local blend with caramel and nuts.
We hung out
at the room for a bit until the Oklahoma vs. Clemson Orange Bowl (in the
college playoff) started. We found out
that the game will be played on ESPN Deportes, which luckily is one of the
channels on our hotel room’s TV. So we
just plopped down on our bed and enjoyed the game for an hour and half when we
were leading at halftime. Then we did
not enjoy the second half where we were outscored 21-0 and ultimately lost the
game in undramatic fashion. Overall for
the season, OU performed well above expectations and I look forward to watching
the team next season.
Our last
true meal in Costa Rica needed to be a good one so we decided to try the
locally acclaimed Café Cabure which is about 10 minutes east of Santa
Elena. They make their own chocolate and
have special sweets and savory dishes. I
had an authentic mole (usually spicy chocolate sauce) chicken which is hard to
find these days back in DC.
My Dad and I
go to sleep around 10:30pm in order to get up early the next morning for our
bus ride to San Jose. However, the
people of Santa Elena have other ideas, because we are awoken by dozens of
fireworks going off at midnight, at the stroke of the New Year. We look out the window and can see and hear
them going off near and far. Luckily it
all stops within 30 minutes so we can rest.
But it is a suitable unplanned finale to a great trip.
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