Pacuare River (Costa Rica)
We were all excited, and a bit apprehensive about our whitewater rafting expedition on the Pacuare River. We chose this river because of its unique location. The Pacuare winds through a dense jungle! Our river guide, Fernando, is an expert and his company, Rios Tropicales, specializes in whitewater trips in Costa Rica. He quickly put our crew at ease by saying that he had a specially-equipped raft for filming purposes, and that the possibility of having one of our expensive cameras "dunked" would be small!

After careful instructions, we boarded the rafts - Jack and Kathaleen in one, the crew shooting from the other special "oar" boat. The river during April has class 3 and 4 rapids - which was perfect for our needs. The scenery was nothing short of spectacular!

We wound along the river and bounced over the waves. The banks on each side towered hundreds of feet overhead. It began raining very heavily for about 20 minutes. Then, the bright tropical sun shone and the river twinkled like a diamond. Up ahead, we saw a fantastic waterfall, probably 200-300 feet in height. It spilled water down over protruding rocks and on top of us! It's no wonder that part of the movie Congo was filmed here - what a perfect tropical paradise!

Rios Tropicales has a great rustic lodge located on the river where you can stay overnight during their extended whitewater trips. Jack said that in all of his worldly travels, the Pacuare River trip is at the top of his list of memories!

Aviarios del Caribe (Costa Rica)
Limon is a very different part of Costa Rica where the cultural influence is primarily Caribbean. Passing through Limon (along the coast) we drove to a smaller town near Cahuita. Aviarios del Caribe is a beautiful lodge - nice enough to call home if you're touring the area. We had heard that the owners, Luis and Judy Arroyo, have taken in some very unusual animals.

Awhile back, someone found an orphaned baby sloth and brought it to Judy! She fell in love with the brown, hairy little baby and began to raise it. As time went on word got around the Judy and Luis would gladly take in any injured or orphaned sloth. So, when we checked into their quaint lodge we saw sloths, all right - everywhere! On the second floor (an open air dining room overlooking colorful gardens) was a wicker hanging chair/swing, quite comfortably occupied by "Buttercup" the sloth! Turning the corner, we peeked into Luis and Judy's office to see another sloth. Outside in the tree were yet more sloths!

We visited their nursery and learned about the care of the babies... the staff there has and continues to learn more and more about these unusual creatures.