Separate tours in Costa Rica

Day 9   Saturday, February 10, 2018   Puntarenas, Costa Rica

There's our ship at the end of the long pier. Our tours didn't start until a bit later, so after breakfast we took a walk into town for these two photos.

This photo is from the pier, and, being a Saturday, lot of families and children were at the beach and in the water. It was so hot and humid, Janet and I didn't walk far before deciding to return to the ship to wait for our separate excursions. This was the first time on a cruise that we took separate excursions.

Almost all the upcoming photos are from my excursion, which was to climb a waterfall in a jungle. I took this photo from the bus as we crossed over a bridge famous for tourists stopping to see the crocodiles. It was exactly where we stopped with Rick and Beth in 2013 on our trip here, Rio Tarcoles, to photograph these crocs.

Our bus stopped so that we could see these colorful parrots in the trees next to our dirt road.

Once we reached our jungle destination, we had lunch. This little wood cart on each table is exactly what we bought when we were here before, and now have in our tiki bar.

We split our group into two for who would go first to the waterfall. I was in the 2nd group, so while waiting, our guide took us through the jungle walk to look at plants and reptiles. Above were two pretty flowers.

In our jungle walk, we saw snakes in aquariums, but also this termite nest on a tree.

Behind walls and a moat was this crocodile.

The top picture was a huge lizard across the walkway we were taking toward the waterfall. Then, here is the waterfall we would climb. It was more a cliff than a waterfall.

This close-up shows how we climbers would use footholds bolted to the rocks. If you didn't use a foothold, your foot or hand would just slide away with the water keeping the smooth rock so slippery.

That's me! We were attached by ropes to hardware at the top, and a strong fellow would help pull us if we lost our footing. As I watched others before I went, the fellow had to significantly assist many who were just not strong enough to pull off this ascent by themselves. A tiny Asian woman was the fastest I saw speed up the cliff. I was average. It was fun doing it, and I got up without too much trouble.

We then zip-lined across the jungle ceiling, followed by this crossing on a wooden bridge. This may look easy, but it was pretty dicey to keep your balance and not fall through the slats. You would be held by the cables if you fell through the slats, but your instinct is to NOT fall through, so you struggle to balance on each step.

This is the lone photo from Janet on her cruise up Rio Tarcoles, to observe crocs and birds and other wildlife. She and I both enjoyed our excursions.

Another dinner at the Asian restaurant, and we loved the theater comedian, Kevin Jorden.