Back in Boise with Memories to Last a Lifetime!

How could we ever forget the most uncomfortable night's sleep of our lives? 17,000 feet at the Rock Hut on Huyana Potosi. However, that adventure still ranked in our top ten...

10. The Death Ride - Bolivia

9. High Mountains -Huayna Potosi, Bolivia and Cotopaxi, Ecuador

8. Andean Markets - Witches in Bolivia, Saquisili in Ecuador, Copacabana on the shores of Lake Titicaca

7. Eternal Spring in Banos, Ecuador

6. Blue Bird Skiing in August at 12,000 ft.

5. Surfing and Beach Time in Costa Rica

4. Downhill mountain bike ride and Mindo Activities - Ecuador

3. Waterfall Rappeling

2. Rafting the Pacuare River and the Pacuare Lodge

1. A week at Ski Portillo Chile

Bill's Bonus: Heli-Skiing in the Andes!!!

We are currently working on putting our over 3000 pictures and 100 video clips together into something to share... Hope to share those and stories with all interested soon!

Powder Day Send Off and the Ritz Carlton, Santiago

It was a tough decision, however along with close to half the guests this week, we departed Portillo two days early and headed down to Santiago ahead of the storm. There had been a ton of speculating going on as what to do amongst the crew, chance staying, luck out, get snowed in, or get out while you can. The weather changed, the blue skies disappeared, and we got 7 inches of snow ahead of the "big one" when only a trace was predicted. The powder morning was a great send off and made leaving a little bit easier. We ended up hooking up with our new heliskiing/powder support group friends Jake and Karl for the early transfer out. We were surprisingly credited for the two days we skipped out on and that total we transfered to two nights at the Ritz Carlton, Santiago. What a treat the Ritz has been and great way to wrap up our going on 9 weeks away from home. After skiing 13 days and the bunk beds in the Inca Lodge the comfortable big bed has been very welcome! Last night we joined our new friends for sushi in Santiago's hip Bellavista neighborhood, while today was spent checking out town with them and experiencing Chilean seafood at the famous Mercado Central. On Sunday we are heading out to the the coast for the day, before ultimately departing for home on Monday night.

Ski Portillo, Chile

After a short overnight in Santiago at the nicest hotel of our entire trip, the Crown Plaza, we finally made it to Portillo. It has truly lived up to expectations, being one of the most beautiful places we have ever seen. Portillo also oozes history and soul... it is a very cool place! We were quickly into our ski gear and enjoying the amazing terrain. (Portillo is our current banner photo.) The hightlight thus far, for Bill anyways, was Heliskiing on Sunday. He was fortunate to be grouped with three other very fun and great skiers for the day he had been dreaming of all his life. For 5 hours they skied amazing terrain, enjoying excellent conditions without a single cloud in the sky. We have been enjoying the great snow, weather, new friendships, pool, food, and afternoons spent at Tio Bob`s restaurant up on the mountain. It has been the perfect ending for our long adventure and we are not so homesick anymore. However, the weather changed today and a storm is forecast to hit Friday that may last for days, close the road, shut down the ski area, and dump over 4 feet of snow. Everyone here is now debating whether to try and leave early or take their chances and wait out the storm. Ever heard of anyone missing the first day back to school because they were snowed in in August!?! We are definitely getting the adventure we hoped for right up to the last day. Day 63, 188 meals eaten out, 6 days left, the end is near...

Our Last Day at Valle Nevado Ski Resort

Hate to say it, but we are feeling ready to move on... This does have to be one of the most beautiful ski resorts in the world, but everything is soo expensive and we have been getting a bit sick of the buffet breakfast, our room, water being an issue (4 dollars a bottle), laundry being an issue (7 dollars an item!), and the less than ideal skiing conditions (3 icy days). Guess we are starting to finally get a little homesick. By no means do we mean to complain, this has been an incredible week and we finally scored a powder day today. Bill, typical, unfortunately got the H1N1 flu and was very sick the last two days, while Jessica over did it a bit on the slopes and has been nursing a sore achilles. We are both feeling a lot better today, powder does wonders, and are incredibly excited to move on to Portillo. Portillo was the main destination of our trip, Bill plans to go helicopter skiing, and we now have 7 days of skiing in our legs as preparation for the world class terrain.

Bolivia Reflections

As we settle into our week at the Valle Nevado ski resort in Chile and our 163rd meal out in a row, we thought we'd share a few thoughts and reflections about our time in Bolivia...

#It is impossible to not to have the "at the copa, copacabana" song stuck in your head when you are in Copacabana.

#It smells like URINE almost everywhere in Bolivia. No proper waste management in the country.

#We may not have summitted Huayna Potosi, turning back at over 19,000 ft. just a few meters below the summit, but at least we didn't freeze to death like the lady did two days before our attempt.

#The "death ride" wasn't really that bad, but sure a lot of fun. From a snow covered mountain pass to the Amazon basin. What a lesson in climate zones.

#The land of Che. His image is everywhere!

#We saw the president playing soccer. Evo Morales, his social programs, presence, distractors, and supporters are highly visible in this interesting country.

#Distictive red brick construction. Everything is made out of these bricks and there are stacks of them everywhere.

#For what was supposed to be our most "dangerous" destination, we sure felt safe and had no problems. My dropped beanie was even returned to me by a stranger. In Ecuador, it would have been gone!

#The most indigenous population in South America. Gotta love those bowler hats.

#For a country so pround of it's national beer, Pacena, it sure sucks. Think warm, foamy, Michalob Light.

#It is amazing how high everything is and how much land is so high. We spent 10 days between 10,000 and 19,000 feet.

#Bolivia looks amazingly similiar to southern Idaho, but then the potatoes knew that.

#Everything happens slowly in Bolivia, except driving, maybe it is that elevation.

#We followed the flu season. Everywhere we went we encountered hacking, sniffling, runny red eyed people. We've never washed our hands or gargled more!

#There are NO grocery stores in Bolivia. Everything is sold on the street.

#We did not meet another American tourist. Lots of Europeans, mostly Germans in tour groups.

#New definition for CHEAP. The western hemisphere's cheapest country. We'll use our airport transfer price as an example... U.S. $30 Costa Rica $25 Ecuador $16 Bolivia $8 Chile $36

#The world's most unique capital city, La Paz, in a country that uniquely has 2 capital cities.

#Global warming first hand. The world's highest ski area is no longer. 5 years ago the glacier disappeared. We experienced weather that locals told us had never happened before this time of year. The capital La Paz and neighbor El Alto, the fastest growing city in south america now at over 1 million, rely on melt water from dying glaciers. 58% of the population is under 14... one day we will hear about a Water Civil War in Bolivia.

#Finally, it is impossible not to chuckle when you say Lake Titicaca.

Skiing in August! Valle Nevado, Chile

We are finally living the dream of the seed planted over two years ago when we started our Masters program. All along our plan was to head to the Southern Hemisphere and ski during the hot Boise summer to reward ourselves for completing our degrees. Pictured is the Valle Nevado ski resort located in the Andes above Santiago, Chile. We arrived yesterday, skiing a few hours in cloudy and windy conditions. This morning however was the DAY. We awoke to a blue bird day and enjoyed great snow and midwinter conditions as we explored the mountain. A very unique ski experience, there are NO trees! Just a massive white ski area where at times it is difficult to tell what is a run and what isn´t. On a powder day I suppose EVERY thing becomes a skiable run. We booked a week package here, so we have enjoyed unpacking and moving into our room, and finally feel like we are on a vacation rather than a trip.

Photo Album from our last Two Months

Our lunch and siesta spot in Bocas del Toro, Panama after a morning snorkeling and dolphin watching. Gotta love a tropical afternoon on a Caribbean island.

Quilotoa Crater, Ecuador. Ranging between 12,000 and 14,000 feet, we hiked the 7 mile loop along the ridge around this amazing crater lake.

At the refugio on Cotopaxi Volcano in Ecuador. 15,840 feet in a blizzard at the Equator. Later in the trip we would reach a Hoffman record height of 19,470 feet on Huayna Potosi in Bolivia.

Jessica rappels a 240 foot waterfall ¨Cascada Corazon¨ near Mindo, Ecuador, with help from our guide missing his right thumb! (that´s never a good sign)

Biking through beer can on Isla Colon, Bocas del Toro, Panama (in the Caribbean) On the way out to one of the most beautiful beaches we have ever seen, riding by the dump presented this humorous photo.

Water spout approaching as Bill gets ready to paddle out anyways into overhead surf at Dominical, Costa Rica. The surf went off the entire week we were there!

Zip lining through a cloud forest in Mindo, Ecuador. South America´s most extreme canopy tour.

Caught in a tropical storm and loving every minute of it, Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. The lightning that was right on top of us and intense rain in this evening squall were unbelievable.

During our third rappeling outing, Bill rappels a waterfall near Baños, Ecuador. So tall it doesn´t fit in the picture!

Finally Some Pictures! Bolivia ¨Death Ride¨ (see below for Chile Update)

We finally have some pictures and the ability to post them!

From the ¨Death Road¨ ride in Bolivia.

At left, our group in the classic section of the ride half way in and above Jessica leading Bill and the pack through the first section of pavement early in the day.

We Made it to Santiago, Chile!

Well, after a brutal travel day we finally made it to our hotel in Santiago, Chile. Coming off our LONG climbing day in Bolivia, we were up early the next morning and off to the airport. We awoke to a La Paz covered in snow! Nothing quite like a snowy July 27th. Fortunately, the airport was operational and after a drawn out check in we boarded our Lan flight departing from the world´s highest international airport. An hour later we landed in Iquique, Chile. From 19,000 feet on Huayna Potosi to sea level in 30 hours. Iquique is a unique coastal town located in the Atacama Desert, where there is literally not a plant in sight. Turns out the rest of the passengers on OUR flight were heading on to Santiago immediately. For some reason our booking skipped the next 3 flights and left us with a 10 hour layover! We tried the stand-by rountine, then gave up and headed into Iquique as originally planned to spend the day. A nice taxi driver took us to town, gave us a little tour, then returned us to the airport 8 hours later. We enjoyed a great walk along the beach, explored the town´s historic district, had great seafood, and sampled Chile´s beers. Our Santiago bound flight arrived at 2:00 AM and to our great relief our bags arrived safely once again!!! This was a huge milestone as our ski gear has now traveled through 9 airports enroute to this southern hemisphere ski destination. Our first no show transfer of the trip left us to find our own ride to the Hotel Orly, where we arrived (at a reduced rate no less) arround 3:30 AM. Makes us tired just thinking about it. Our hotel is wonderful and we are excited to explore Santiago over the next 2 days before heading up to Valle Nevado ski resort.

Our Bolivian Send-off Adventure

Background: One of the things Bill was really excited to check out in Bolivia was the world´s highest ski area, Chacaltaya. On a perfect, cloudless day we climbed to the top of Chacaltaya at 17,000 ft. Unfortunately the glacier is mostly gone and the ski area is no longer. However, across the valley is the peak you see pictured at right, Huayna Potosi. Having two open nights we booked a 3 day/2 night guided climb.

Day 1: After getting all of our gear, we were driven to the base camp hut and given our mattress to sleep on for the night on the floor of the loft along with 17 other climbers. Decked out in our gear we hiked up to the leading edge of the peak´s main glacier and spent 3 hours climbing, traversing, and descending it using ice axes, crampons, harnesses and ropes.

Day 2: With full packs we climbed from the base camp at 15,000 ft. to the Rock Camp (advanced base camp climber´s hut) at 17,000 ft. The hike up was brutally steep on a loose scree field. While in an amazingly picturesque setting, the entire area reeked of urine and we shared an even smaller loft. 20 climbers slept in the loft from 5:30 PM after "dinner" until midnight when the climb for the top begins. We were elbow to elbow, feet to feet, with a six inch corridor down the middle of the two nasty foam pads. Just imagine 20 foreign climbers who hadn´t showered in 2 days and all their gear packed in this stuffy, freezing space. By the way, we were the only English speakers. You can imagine the sounds and smells. Speaking of which, let´s not even talk about the bathroom facilities.

Day 3: After not really sleeping, at midnight we put on all our gear and with headlamps shining the way, began the steep climb up the glacier roped together with our guide. After a brutal 5 hours we neared the final exposed pitch up the summit pyramid. Unfortunately, the typical perfect weather this time of year here, was not to be. It had snowed earlier in the night, leaving the trail soft and a nasty, cold wind was gusting. Feeling the strain of 2 sleepless nights, the elevation, and uncooperative weather we decided to not risk it and turned back after successfully exceeding 19,000 ft. We descended a bit, not believing how steep it had been, then watched the sunrise before returning to high camp for our things. Once packed up we descended the now snow covered scree field to base camp. An hour later we were in a car heading back to La Paz and the Hotel Rosario.

Overall: On one hand we had the unique opportunity to spend 3 days in one of the most amazing mountain environments on our planet. We saw eagles soaring, watched numerous Andean peaks illuminate from dusk til dawn, and had a world class climbing experience. On the flip side, the cramped, dank huts, permeating smell of urine, horrible food, sleepless nights, and intense suffering at 19,000 ft. in gale force winds made us very happy to have this adventure end.

Surviving the Death Road

After returning from Copacabana and Lake Titicaca our next adventure was to mountain bike down the old road from the Andes above La Paz at 17,000 ft. to the subtropical Yungas at 3,000 ft. We arrived at the tour agency at 6:30 AM, met the great group that would join us for the day, then an hour later were on our high end downhill bikes at the pass covered in snow. The canyons we descended rivaled Hell´s Canyon and the snow gradually gave way to tropical vegetation. During the section of the ride known as the Death Road vertical cliffs dropped away from the narrow, rough dirt road. Eventually we were Death Ride Survivors lounging at the pool of a hotel near the end of the ride. We drove back to La Paz on the new road that bypasses the section we rode, amazed at what we had just accomplished. Bolivia is a wild and exotic place, and in a few minutes we are off on an entirely different type of adventure. If you are interested look up Huayna Potosi. For the next two nights we will be staying at two different huts on the flanks of this great peak.

Lake Titicaca & Isla del Sol

Due to the strong winds this morning the harbor in Copacabana was shut down and no boats could go to Isla del Sol. Lucky for us, our amazing private guide had his buddy drive us out to a peninsula closer to the island where he had one of the local boatmen take us over. Turned out we were the only tourists to get to go to the island today. As a result, we had a very uncrowded experience exploring the Inca ruins and hiking the ancient trail from one end of the island to the other. While it was a bit windy, there was not a cloud in the sky and the views of Lake Titicaca and the Andes were incredible. The bonus ride out to the boat launch provided us additional amazing vistas and the opportunity to see numerous lakeside villages. An amazing day that only we were fortunate enough to experience.

From Quito, Ecuador to La Paz, Bolivia via Lima Peru

On our last day in Quito, Ecuador we were rewarded with the clear view we had been waiting for going on three weeks. We took a gondola ¨The TeleferiQo¨ up Cruz Loma to 13,534 feet. From there we were rewarded with the view you see pictured to the right. In all we could see 9 different snow capped peaks straddling the equador. It was an amazing send off after an incredible 20 days of adventures in Ecuador. Shortly after 8:00 PM we boarded our flight for Lima, Peru. We arrived around 11:00 PM, and rather than wait in the airport until noon the next day, headed with our waiting driver to the Manhattan Airport Inn. After a good sleep we returned to the Lima airport for our flight to La Paz, Bolivia. We made it without incident and after a few stressful minutes of waiting our bags appeared. The airport is actually in El Alto, appropriately named, because it is located at 14,000 feet. We were never so happy to see our bags, successfully make it to a destination, or find our name on a sign held by a smiling driver! All our planning has been paying off. Heading to our hotel we were rewarded with the view that is our new title image. A truly impressive and unique city that literally takes your breath away. Heading into town we were completely blown away at just how different everything was. They call this the third world, but we are beginning to think maybe we found the third and one half world! We couldn´t fathom that the driver was actually stopping on the street we would be staying on. Inside the Hotel Rosario we found an amazing sanctuary, shared by a lot of other very out of place gringo travelers. At first we were nervous to even venture out. However, once we did we were well rewarded with an amazing cultural experience, incredible shopping, and the colorful local streets in this the heart of La Paz´s tourist district. Back in our hotel we enjoyed llama tenderloin for dinner, then giddy due to the altitude and fact that we were actually in Bolivia, finally feel asleep. Today we took it easy, explored town, and planned activities for our remaining days here. In the Witch´s Market we were even blessed and now have a mother earth idol to protect us. We skipped the llama fetus and herbs offered us. This is quite the place. Tomorrow we head up to the world´s highest ski area for some sight seeing (it is currently closed). The next day we head to Lake (hee hee) Titicaca for 3 days 2 nights. Back in La Paz we are going to do a mountain bike descent of the World´s Most Dangerous Road. Our final days in Bolivia we are going to attempt to summit the 19,972 foot Huayna Potosi on a 3 day guided expedition. We will keep you posted...

Ecuador Reflections

Some random thoughts as our time in Ecuador comes to a close...

• Much more of a cultural experience from indiginous women in traditional clothing walking leashed llamas to graze to kids in Quito wearing Vans Off the Wall hoodies with pierced lips and 80´s hairstyles talking on cell phones.
• 90% of the tourists we expected to be American were actually non-english speakers (mostly Germans).
• Interesting Regional Specialties: we passed through a small town with 40 ice cream shops in 3 blocks, Baños had row after row of identical sugarcane/taffy stalls (after watching a guy pulling the taffy wipe his nose with his bare hands and then go back to pulling the taffy, we opted not to try any), and another town had a dozen denim stores in one block.
• A much more personal relationship with food from market to table.
• The ability to live like a king, tours/nice hotels/great meals/shopping/etc. and still being able to stay on budget.
• In Ecuador you are not on yellow or orange alert, it is always red. For example you don´t carry your ATM card around. You go straight to the bank, then immediately back to your hotel. When you are out on the town it is locked in your room at a gated hotel with a guard.
• You know you are not in Boise anymore when you overhear another table´s conversation at dinner, "Would you rather be shot or stabbed when being mugged?"
• Waking up at a lodge in a tropical cloud forest with tucans in the trees and butterflies everywhere, then going to sleep in a 300 year old hacienda overlooking the paramo and a distant glacial covered active volcano in the same day.
• Being asked to hold the raft while our guide went to see if the nearby vultures had found a woman who had recently drowned.
• Continually asking ourselves, "Where are we?" in a figurative sense. For example, after returning from the hot baths in Baños full of local people experiencing one of the countries most sacred spots at the base of a waterfall fed by a spring coming off of the active Tungurahua, sitting down at the Posada del Artes restaurant and enjoying vegetarian paella while surrounded by works of art by some of Ecuador´s most famous artists.
• Obviously no liability insurance, but it sure makes for great and cheap rafing, rappeling, and biking adventures. You wouldn´t believe the rickety bamboo ladder we had to climb up after free rappeling down a 120 ft waterfall with a guide that couldn´t have been much older than 16.
• Revisiting the same restaurant your purse was stolen at, sitting at the same table, ordering the same meal, being a little wiser (remember the gate hotel where our stuff was left this time) and not letting the rampant crime in this economically challenged country get the better of us.
• Heading back to our hotel through the streets full of local weekend revelers, we once again noticed that we seem to be a magnet for bizarre looking 3 foot beggars (they really are 3 feet tall!). For some reason they only seem to ask tourists, AKA "white people", for money. Bill contemplated just starting to give each of them $1 to take their picture and then making a calendar or something. Would you like one of those for Christmas this year?
• A journal excerpt from our day of rafting (remember we said it was amazing?) - In Rio Negro we stopped at a restaurant that looked really nice with a big porch for the lunch that was included in our trip. The meal however turned out to be the scariest one yet. Much more in the typical local style than catering towards gringo travelers. The first course was soup with big chunks of chicken parts, mystery vegetables, and a weird sort of greasy slick on top. We sure hoped it had boiled for a long time. Bill later told me that he almost didn´t even eat because he was disgusted by the young waiters dirty fingernails that were partially submerged in our soup as he set it on the table. This was also the case with the small glass of warm orange soda that did little to quench our thirst after several hours of rafting under the Equitorial sun. We were so famished we uncharacteristically threw caution to the wind and dug in. When the main course of rice, lentils, and some horribly tough, nasty mystery meat arrived we decided we had pushed our luck far enough. We ate some rice, picked at the lentils, and prayed we wouldn´t be sick in the morning. Thankfully the meal was over quickly and we were back in the van heading for Baños.
• Another journal excerpt at the opposite end of the spectrum. - High above Quito at a pass overlooking the valley our guide Christian, the former Ecuadorian downhill mountain bike champion, set us up on our high quality mountain bikes. He began to lead us down the initial descent with our shuttle car following slowly behind. The road surface continually changed from old pavement, stone, gravel, and dirt while the vista at each turn seemed to get better and better. At nearly 12,000 ft. valley after valley that we would be descending spread out before us...8 hours later we pedaled into Mindo Gardens. Hummingbirds fluttered outside the beautiful main lodge, and our host Rodrigo was there to greet us with a pitcher of lemonade. We were then escorted through the gardens on a beautiful path to the riverfront lodge that we would call home for the next 3 nights.
• Overall, we have had an amazing time. From our first meal in Quito´s gringoland at the Magic Bean, to our taxi ride with Gonzalo back to the capital city for our departure, this has truly been one adventure after another.

Back in Quito, Ecuador

Just a quick one today. Check out our updated profile, websites for Bolivia, and itinerary.

Bill ended up chickening out on bungee jumping and went mountain biking instead. On his guided trip, he was dropped off 3,000 feet above Baños, then after a 2 hour climb they descended for 2 hours though amazing country. He arrived back at the hotel just as Jessica had finished up her day at the spa getting a massage and facial. The next day we went waterfall rappeling again. It was an amazing experience rappeling, sliding, and jumping down smaller falls before free rappeling down the final 120 foot waterfall. We had to switch hotels for our last night in Baños, we posted the website, then returned to Quito via taxi (bus rides just being too sketchy in Ecuador these days) to our hotel La Cartuja. As we acclimatize here for our arrival at the 13,000 ft. airport in La Paz, we hope to next post our reflections on Ecuador.

Greetings from our Playground South of the Equator

Yesterday, after a lazy, rainy morning, we rented bikes and headed down La Ruta de Cascada (Avenue of the Waterfalls). Baños is located at the base of the active Tungurahua volcano on one of the only roads that crosses the Andes into the Amazon Basin. See attached picture. On this all downhill ride we passed countless waterfalls, cable cars, suspension bridges, and multiple long, dark tunnels. After several hours of exploring, we loaded our bikes in the back of a truck for the return trip to this beautiful and bustling resort town. All this for $13. We have found things to be very inexpensive, maybe a quarter of the price of comparably priced hotels/tours back home. By the way, Ecuador, if we haven´t mentioned already, has no change, not even $1 bills!

Today we went rafting. It was amazing, we started in the Andes and ended up at the edge of the Amazon basin. Being "winter" here the river was a huge, raging, muddy torrent. It was the first bluebird day we have had in a while. Looking up past the waterfalls and steep jungle covered hillsides with snow capped peaks in the distance was truly amazing. I didn´t use amazing twice by accident. We have 3 more nights in Baños and are looking forward to some down time. However, Bill is contemplating bungee jumping while I am definitely getting a massage!

Adventures in the Andean High Country

We were picked up from our hotel in Quito by our ex-pat Swiss climbing guide. We checked into our amazing room which provided a panoramic view of the countryside including the 19,000 ft Cotopaxi volcano, at a 300 year old hacienda. The next day we toured Cotopaxi National Park and climbed to the Refugio at 15,840 ft. in a blizzard with high winds. The following morning we headed deep into the Andes, getting an amazing perspective for the indiginous culture eeking out a living at nearly 12,000 ft., then hiked around the Quilotoa crater lake, pictured at right. On our final day we headed to Saquisili for market day and experienced what is said to be the most important indiginous market in South America. It was an amazing few days, but the real adventure started shortly after we left the hacienda. Our market guide, Carlos, drove us out to the Panamerican highway, passed a small restaurant with cuy (roasted guinea pig) displayed outside, and just as he turned onto the pavement we noticed the bus we were hoping to catch was right behind us. At 70 mph he was able to flag down the bus. Our bags were quickly thrown underneath and we found ourselves packed into a standing room only chicken bus. No, literally it was a chicken bus. A few pick-ups later 4 bags each holding 10 live chickens were thrown into the same compartment as our bags. It was an eventful ride and we were grateful to make it to the resort town of Banos. Check out the link to our hotel. We plan to spend the next 5 days relaxing, getting $20 massages, rafting, biking, and waterfall rappelling.

Adventures in the Cloud Forest of Ecuador

Our journey continues and just seems to keep getting better! We arrived in Ecuador, had a great day exploring the sites of historic Quito, then Jessica had her purse stolen. Luckily the only thing in it at the time was about 5 dollars, some sun sceen, and all 4 of the CDs we had backed up our photos on. We had just come from an Internet cafe and were trying to post some. All the photos are still on the cameras however, and the CD of photos from our rafting we should be able to replace as the other couple with us purchased one also... We were in a nice restaurant and are still baffled at how the thieves pulled off the grab. Good learning experience, even though we have been VERY careful. With that episode behind us we headed off the next morning to the cloud forest town of Mindo. Check out the Mindo Garden website. We actually rode bikes there with a guide, the former Ecuadorian downhill mtn bike national champion. It was 30 miles of downhill, around 9,000 feet. We passed from high mtns. through ever increasing vegitation, past trout farms, finally arriving in the town of Mindo, known as one of the best bird viewing spots on the planet, with a wildwest feel. Our room at the lodge was right out of a magazine. The peaked ceiling, wooden construction, and wall of windows overlooking the river and forest made for an incredibly enchanting setting. We had booked an "adventure" package and that is just what it was! We climbed straight up a mountain, took a cable car across a valley, hiked to a waterfall, went zip-lining over the canopy (one of the 13 lines was over 1500 feet long and almost as high!), hiked 2 hours back to our lodge, then after a very late lunch we went tubing down the class 3 Rio Mindo. That was day two! That evening Bill too tired to pee standing up, fell asleep sitting on the toilet. Day three we were back on bikes and after visiting the local butterfly garden and an hour ride, we hiked deep into the jungle up a beautiful creek to the 240 foot Corizon waterfall. Then, we rappelled down it! What an amazing experience. One funny note, the canyoneering guide was missing his right thumb. Turns out we were the guinea pigs for this tour, as not many people (brave souls) have booked this package. Luckily we had a fabulous guide throughout and had signed on for an extra night at the lodge for a relaxing down day. We are now back in Quito at our little safe haven of a hotel, La Cartuja, preparing to head south down the Avenue of the Vocanoes to the Cuello de Luna hacienda.

Reflections on Costa Rica

We´re posting two posts at once, so don´t forget to read the one below also. For those of you anxious for pictures, you have obviously never been in an internet cafe in a third world country! We´ve taken over 500 pictures so far and will be eager to share when we get back, if we are not able to while on our trip.

* We had been weary about the crime - not an issue.
* Leary of being taken advantage of - from the amazing raft guides, hotel staffs, and just genuinely nice Ticos we enjoyed every moment.
* Afraid of crowds - Amy & Jamie, Joy & Kyle, Meghan & Jared, fellow travelers we met helped make this an incredible time.
* Too touristy - ease of travel, availability of accomodations and restaurants, lots of English speakers, tour opportunities, all made travel in Costa Rica almost simple at times (A comfortable budget helped too!)
* Rainy season - they call it the "green" season, couldn´t have been more lush and beautiful, plust the rapids were going off!

So are we not really on that much of an adventure? When Jessica´s fish dinner looked back at her, buying empanadas and changing buses in San Isidro, Latin American roads and drivers, rays surfing in waves, too many bug bites to count, not judging a meal until the morning after, a frog in our bed, tropical lightning storms, and we still have almost 2 months left to travel. Yeah, we are on an Adventure alright!

Final Costa Rica Post

As hard as it was to change the sunset-surfer title picture for our blog, it was much more difficult after 6 days to leave our little piece of paradise in Dominical. After our bus ride south we secured a room at Domilocos, a new hotel just south of the main part of the village. We ended up with the upstairs corner room, the only one with an exterior view. All of the other rooms looked in towards the courtyard. Loving our host and room, we decided to book for the rest of our time in Dominical. Each morning at 5:30 AM Bill would look out our window, across the pasture, through the row of palm trees to check out the surf. Without fail he´d be in the water by 6 AM on the board he had rented. Bill took full advantage surfing 10 times in the consistent and often big, well shaped, beach break waves. Friday morning was one particular session, highlighted by a double overhead set wave that scored him a perfect tube ride after the big drop. The pelicans outnumbered the surfers...Bill had died and gone to heaven. Each day was the same routine, Jessica slept in, buffet breakfast, beach time or adventure (one day we hiked to an amazing waterfall), sandwich at a spot on the beach, chill time in our room, evening rainstorm, more surfing, bed, repeat. We made some great friends, a Canadian couple, and many meals and activities were spent together. On our final night together we decided to splurge at our hotel´s amazing Italian restaurant. What was planned to be an early dinner, through confusion with Bill´s order, turned into a four hour affair, with the incredibly nice hotel owner, Michael, paying for our meal, making a special dish for Bill, then treating our table to every dessert on the menu. By the end none of us could stop laughing and all we wanted was for our Dutch host to stop feeding us and let us go to bed! In the morning after two bus rides through the mountain interior and a taxi ride from the bus station we were back in our hotel room in San Jose reorganizing our bags we had stored preparing for our morning flight further south.

Nature Air Hop from Coast to Coast

On Sunday we flew in a 18 passenger plane from Bocas (Caribbean) to San Jose, through customs, then back on the same plane for a 20 minute flight to Quepos (Pacific) through a lightning storm. We are landing there!? A small runway cut into the forest. Quite an experience... more exhilerating than our zip-line or rafting tours! Once in Manuel Antonio, just down the road, we fell in love with the Verde Mar Hotel (right on the beach/in the jungle/upgraded to a suite) so we added a third night. Day one: rafting the class IV Naranjo River. Beach walk in the afternoon during/in and intensive rain and lightning storm¨ON TOP¨of us. Day two: hiking, animal spotting, and beaching it in Manuel Antonio National Park, followed by surfing the head high beach break infront of our hotel. Day three: Heading south for more beach time in Dominical before we head back to San Jose and then off to Ecuador. Having the time of our lives, the tans are coming along nicely!

Deeper South Into Panama...and Bocas

We ended up taking advantage of a shuttle service from Puerto Viejo, across the border into Panama, then over to the Bocas del Toro islands by boat. Crossing the border was quite the experience. The van stopped at a bridge over the river that marks the border. After checking out of Costa Rica at a little building we walked across the old funky bridge, checking out the huge crocodiles basking in the sun below, then checked into Panama on the other side. A couple more hours in the van through banana plantations, small towns, and then over some beautiful mountains led us to the port where we boarded a boat for the trip out to Bocas Town on Isla Colon. Our hotel is ver cool, we have an amazing room overlooking the ocean with our own little private deck. The extra $10 was well worth it! We spent our first full day in the islands on a boat tour with snorkeling, dolphin watching, and stops at beautiful mangroves and beaches.

Puerto Viejo de Talamanca

Our second time down the Pacuare was equally amazing, even if it was not quite the same "exclusive" service and great companions. At the river take-out, a 2 hour Nastar style bus ride deposited us in Puerto Viejo on Costa Rica's southern Caribbean shore. This is where Bob Marley lives and so do many ex-pats who forgot to go home. Quite the different spot than I visited 20+ years ago with my father. Imagine Caribbean postcard vistas, and you got it. Yesterday we rented bikes and toured around during our 4th sunny "green" season day in a row. Today the rain is back and after a lazy morning we are heading south across the border into Panama, then by boat to Bocas del Toro...

Pacuare River and Lodge

Words can do no justice to describe how amazing every aspect of this three day two night rafting trip was. The Costa Rican rainforest left us speechless, so we suggest you get down here and experience it for yourself. I took over 200 photos in less than 3 days! Each group is assigned a guide who takes you down the river, acts as your naturalist, accompanies you on the canopy tour, serves as your waiter, and leads you on hikes to amazing waterfalls. Max, a fun loving Tico, entertained us along with two other very cool and fun couples. Our bungalow in the jungalow, remember words can´t describe it, was problably the coolest place either of us have ever stayed. Even if there was a tarantula in the bathroom. After a rain most of the first day, we were treated to two sunny days in a row! Meals were gourmet and served over candle light, because there is no electricity at the lodge. This picture is midway down the river canyon between class IV rapids. We bought a CD of pictures taken by our safety kayaker and hope to post a few action shots if we are able to soon. Check out the Pacuare link if you are curious. Tomorrow we were to raft one of Costa Rica´s most difficult stretches of whitewater, but the river is running high. We were the only ones signed up (Jessica thinks Bill is crazy), and the company just called and hoped we would switch rivers, thus we will be running the Pacuare again tomorrow as a day trip. We couldn´t be happier! At the take out we will be driven down to Pueto Viejo on the Caribbean coast. Pura Vida!

Our Adventure Is Under Way

We have arrived at our historic/funky hotel in San Jose. The first thing we did when we arrived last night was turn on the TV just in time to watch the Lakers win in overtime! When we look out our window, we see the National Museum and a lot of traffic; including train tracks complete with a train that makes for a great alarm clock at 6:30 AM. One note about the museum, the corner adjacent to our hotel is festooned with bullet holes from a revolutionary war! SJ is a crazy, loud, smoggy place and it has poured rain most of the day. However, we spent a couple great hours exploring the city and checking out the plazas, people, and markets. Tomorrow we head down the Pacuare River to our Bungalow in the Jungalow.

One More Day and the Adventure Begins!

Our bags are packed, reservations are reconfirmed, and we are finally just hours away from beginning our trip!  Checking the weather it looks like we are in for temperatures in the upper 80's, lots of rain, and high humidity for our time in Costa Rica.  All we can say to that is raft-o-rama baby.  You can't get any wetter when you are running Class IV white-water through rain-forest canyons.  Found this map that makes for a perfect reference for our time in Central America.  After a day in Costa Rica's capital city San Jose we head down the Pacuare River with two nights at the lodge.  After another night in San Jose we head down the Reventazon, said to be the most difficult commercially run stretch of water in Costa Rica.  At the take out we will then head south down the Caribbean coast to Puerto Viejo  for a couple of days before crossing the boarder into Panama and then heading on to the islands of Bocas del Toro.  A Nature Air flight will then transfer us over to Manuel Antonio on the Pacific coast.  After another raft trip on the Savegre River and day in C.R.'s most famous national park, we head down to Dominical for a week relaxing at the beach and surfing.  Then it is back to San Jose and on to Ecuador.  That's our plan...wish us luck...we'll do our best to keep you updated.

Luna is a FisherDog?

Look what Luna caught! Luna stole the show on our recent spring camping trip up the Middle Fork of the Boise River. Guess she got tired of waiting for us to catch something.