Both Nancy and I were up the next morning early, dressed and ready to go. We took a walk on the hiking trail behind our cabin where Kathy and Sandy had gone the night before and saw some monkeys. I made the mistake of looking at the time, and it was 5:38! AM!! We walked around for an hour, saw James on the way out, parrots, an owl, tucans and other birds Nancy didn't recognize (like I would know), and heard the howler monkey (as we had for most of the morning). We walked back through the plantain field and then by the field where they kept the horses overnight, and we saw Ken and Deb wandering around and getting some pictures.

We met everyone for breakfast at 7, and enroute we saw the guides rounding up the horses and moving them to another field. Some of horses thought they were sneaky and would run over to a different part "just to get some grass". Didn't fool the guides, though. Breakfast was yummy with fresh fruit, toast, and your choice of eggs, beans and rice or cereal. I had the cereal, which consisted of corn flakes, granola, and bananas. :) I also ate the last piece of toast (Fabio's) because he was so late. Oops. We had already loaded our bags on the bus before breakfast, and on we went.

We picked up our guide, Randall, in Liberia at the local Burger King. He told us about how he was competing to be a member of the Costa Rican eco-challenge team for Fiji 2002. He had competed all day two days prior, and had to be back in San Jose the next Saturday for more competitions. One guy on the team quit for some reason, and there were three people vying for that spot (he made it, but neither costa rican team finished). We stopped at the local supermarket, got some water and I found my "special" dark bacardi rum that I love so much and can't find in the states, the last one on the shelf!! So I bought it.

Our next stop was in New Arenal for lunch at an italian restaurant. Many of us had pizza, and I splurged and had the fettucini with ham and mushrooms, a dish named after the restaurant. I shared with whoever would try it because it was very filling. But oh, so good. Back to the bus, and onto the bad roads for the rest of the journey to Arenal and Tabacon Natural Hot Springs, where we were staying for the night. While we were held captive on the bus, Randall gave us the local history and answered all our questions.

On the way, there is a wildcat rescue center, and Randall asked if we wanted to stop. Of course, we did! This also made Chris' day, as he had mentioned several times during the week that he would LOVE to see a big cat in the wild. Just not close up. :) A lady from Poland actually started it, and at some point had lost a finger when the cat she was feeding was a little hungry and she didn't move out of the way fast enough. They had one puma (aka cougar or mountain lion) who was NOT friendly at all. As a matter of fact, Warren thought it would be funny to poke him in the butt. Mr. Puma didn't find that funny at all, and turned around and hissed at Lance. Fangs and all. I also found out that if you stared him down, he didn't like that much either. I got a double hiss. We moved on to the jaguars, and they looked so sweet with their big yellow eyes, you just wanted to hug them. Big Mama Jaguar gave us a nice photo op after waking up. There were also a couple of babies, and another cage with a spider monkey and a fox who liked to play together. And, of course, lots of cages with pretty birds, including macaws and parrots.

Again on the bus, over the bad roads and onward to the volcano. Very picturesque, and lots of history that Randall was willing to share. The lake we went around used to be a town, but then they built a dam and flooded it. When the water level goes down, sometimes you can still see the roofs of the houses. By now, we were running behind schedule, and we had several choices. Tabacon was the spa where most of the group was getting a massage, and they really didn't have time for anything else except *maybe* the hot springs. For the rest of us, we could go on the second scheduled canopy tour, go to a waterfall or go to the natural hot springs. Most of the non-massagers (me, Nancy, Ken, James) picked the option recommended by Randall, which was the waterfall (and the 20 minute hike down and 30 minute hike up), since we had already been on the best canopy tour, to be followed by the hot springs and then dinner in Fortuna, the next town. On the way, we got a nice view of the volcano, even though the top was clouded over. Go figure. We got there, checkin was pretty smooth, except for James and Penny who got a single bed. It worked out great for Lance and Chris, as they got a suite with a single bed, a pull out couch and two (!!two!!) jacuzzis. Pffft.

Randall had us all moving along as the waterfall park closed at 4, and it was after 3:30 with a 20 minute drive. We got there with plenty of time to spare, though, as the park really didn't close until 6. Down the steep stairs we went to the waterfall, and James and Randall jumped in for a little swim around the pool. Back behind the waterfall they went, then back across some rocks. Clothes back on, pictures taken, and up we went. Ken, Nancy and I started up, while James and Randall went to peek at the "kiddie pool" downstream from the waterfall. I had to stop 3 times, one for a girl who was very nervous (I moved aside), the second time to take a picture and the third time because I needed a rest and a deep breath, at a place where a slow group let me pass. James caught up to me, but was kind and didn't pass me up, so I got to the top first. :) Ken says we did it in 13 minutes, and Randall says that's a new record. Eco-challenge 2010, here we come!

Back at the hotel, Nancy and I changed, back down to the shuttle, met up with Ken, and off to Tabacon. Everyone else was already there! Turns out that the hotel had two Bill Beard's groups (who we booked through), thought it was double-booked, and cancelled one order. Ours. Doh! They had one spot left, and they voted to let Deb have it. We stayed until 7, as dinner was at 8. Here I found out from Warren that I was the "wild card" of the trip. Chris is from Dallas, and they had exchanged a few emails, so he seemed pretty cool; Lance is married to one of his good friends from high school; and the rest he knows either from the shop (customers and employees), are family, or are friends of family. His only knowledge of me was when I signed up and at the pre-trip meeting. "Wild Card". I think I like that.

We left the hot springs at the last minute possible. We walked back, which wasn't too bad, although I would have agreed to another shuttle experience. Nancy had already come back and was getting ready, so I took my book out to the back porch and read until she was done. Which gave me 15 minutes to get ready. And I did. Back down to the bus, and others weren't ready yet, so I went to the little gift shop as I finally found a place that had cool t-shirts, and it was buy two get one free. Can't beat that deal! They also had tablets of costa rican chocolate when I was ready to pay. White chocolate, my favorite! I opened it after I got home (it actually melted on the way home but was saved via the refrigerator), and each square has a santa face on it.

On to the bus we went into Fortuna for dinner. This restaurant is owned by a couple who used to live on raising cattle, but years ago, when the market fell out, they opened this restaurant, which features a plate-sized steak, which several partook. I had the small steak, which I have to say that although slightly saltier than I would have done, was the best steak I had all week. The garlic bread was great, too. Mmm Mmm Mmm. And to make up for the massage mistake, Rolando, who organized the trip for us, bought us 3 bottles of costa rican wine (VERY tasty) and an appetizer of fried plantains.

Back to the hotel, and we're almost there when I realized I left my purse back at the restaurant. So back we went, and it was just where I had left it. I had been sneezing all week, which was fine, but this was the day that my allergies went into full gear. My head got fully congested and it felt like it was going to explode. I went to bed and luckily my sinuses drained quite a bit that night. Until I got up.