We actually got to sleep in today.
Which isn’t really saying very much, considering our “early to bed / early to rise” schedule.

After breakfast we gathered in the grandparents’ room to exchange a few presents to mark the occasion.

The morning passed in peace and tranquility and the joy of family gathered.
Which left the afternoon for a bit of adventure (at least for a few of us. A cold bug has begun circulating thru the group so three of the original nine participants were trying to get a handle on things and one more stayed to nurse them.)

The van from our new favorite tour provider, Maquique Adventures, picked the rest of us up at the hotel and drove us across the valley to a remote outpost…

…had our picture taken for the memory book, and were guided down the hill to the first platform where we were given instruction on the art of graceful falling while not actually attached to a rope.

I should note that the guides were everywhere. It seems that there were as many of them as there were of us (We had 6 from our group and a father/mother/daughter from Colorado). They were all excellent – highly proficient, glad to share their passion with us, and showed every sign that a day playing in their favorite pastime was an Christmas gift that they truly appreciated receiving.

Orientation complete it was time to have some fun. One more note, though. This was billed as a “waterfall rappelling adventure.” That should be a hint.

As we were suiting up I mentioned that I had a GoPro and wondered if I could take it along. My outfitter immediately traded my helmet for one with a clip base already attached. So I had the opportunity to try out my camera in actual field conditions. Some of the photos and videos here are from that camera, but many of the best ones came from cameras the guides carried and from a phone that the Hunts had along. I learned quite a bit about dealing with a helmet mount and later I might share some of that information.

I claimed the right to go first so I could video the rest:

The next time I got to go first was, well, here it is:

One of the guides’ cameras had a better angle on this particular set so…

The last Hunt montage shows the tour living up to its name. This is one of three waterfalls we developed an up close and personal relationship with during the tour.

And of course I was involved as well.

It was at this point that I learned an important GoPro lesson. The waterproof enclosure that is water tight at some ridiculous depth under water isn’t quite so water tight when subjected to a direct hit by a waterfall. It’s not necessarily a problem. The camera handles it fine, but its a good idea in that situation to open the case and clear out the moisture – especially around the lens.

Here are few great photos from our adventure. Enjoy:

JENNIFER

BRIAN

RENNER

ASHER

And the old guy

While there were minimal stairs (I hate stairs) there was a considerable amount of time following the creek bed from one landing site to the next platform .

We also paused a couple of times for additional group photos.

Sadly good things tend to come to an end and this was one of those. We had a lot of fun, got good and wet, and returned to the hotel tired but having received a great gift.
Looking forward to doing a bit more rappelling.

After last night’s extravaganza dinner this evening was a quiet affair.

Following dinner Cheryl and I returned to our room while others continued the festivities in the pool.

So that’s Christmas ’24.
Well planned, well lived.
Thank you especially to Daughter Kim who had the vision, did the research, and made arrangements.

Tomorrow is a travel day as we relocate to the Pacific Coast for the last sample of the incredibly diverse ecology that is Costa Rica.

Till then,
R