It's not a Nicoll vacation without a little bit of puke

Yesterday we woke up bright and early as the rooster crowed in the farm next door. It may have been early but it offered a great view of the volcano out of our hotel door.

After a Costa Rican breakfast we drove to Sky Adventures where we took on  three activities for the morning. We started off with three zip lines through the rainforest. 

We had our first monkey sighting, spotting a pack of spider monkeys in between the zip lines. The final zip line ended at a huge platform a top of the tree. Mom asked how do we get down? The guide answered, jump... He wasn't kidding. Although it was less of a jump and more of a controlled descent to the river below. Mom was still freaking out and had to get the guide to basically push her over the edge! 

Watch Lauren on her descent: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIkTsasrdMg 

Once we reached the river below we got suited up to ride the rapids down the river in tubes. 

This was the most fun of the day and also the funniest at the same time. While Lauren and I enjoyed every moment of the ride, Mom looked petrified and like she was about to hurl. Dad on the other hand was enjoying the ride while puking over the side of the tube. In his words, "that was the best thing ever, even with the puking". 

You can watch some of the ride (minus the puking) at: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9pjlsUdlVE 

We would highly recommend Sky Adventures to anyone who comes to La Fortuna! Definetley a must do!! 

Along our way home from the adventure packed morning we got another wildlife encounter along the side of the road. 

http://youtu.be/L9pjlsUdlVEThese little critters are like Costa Rican raccoons. They use there long nose to dig into the dirt to find stuff to eat. They also graciously accept food from passing by cars, although it was frowned upon to do so. 

Our last stop before leaving La Fortuna was the natural hot springs. As you drive around the volcano there are at least 50 signs of hotels offering springs, which cost upwards of $50 to get into. With a little bit of research we found a free place through a little walkway in the forest that you can take in the natural hot springs. 

Imagine you are sitting in a river, that is natures hot tub, the current the jets massaging your back surrounded my a rainforest... That's what this was! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLpC5YBt_OM

After we were relaxed from the hot springs it was time to drive home. We took a different route to avoid the death roads we took on the way there. We got a great view of Arenal lake on the way back to Jaco.