Day 2-rain and adventure

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Yesterday was Day 2 in Costa Rica. Volcano Lodge, the hotel where we stayed is a wonderful place. The hotel is almost empty due the green season, but the staff is super friendly and service is excellent. Yesterday was our time for horseback riding in the morning and zip line canopy adventure in the afternoon. We rode up to the waterfalls on horseback while the rain came down up on us heavily. The ride itself was a treat, one and half hours through fields, settlements and some steep climbs and descents. When we reached the waterfall we were greeted by a surprise host, a black pit viper. It was out of its hole and sliding accross the trail when one of the park attendants caught it. We got a chance to see it's massive fangs as the attendant held it by the back of it's head. We were truly thrilled. Admist the torrential downpour we saw the waterfall. Unfortnately we could not go close enough because of safety reasons. It had been raining heavily in Arenal and the rivers were flowing high. We took some pictures, enjoyed the view as the waterfall played hide-n-seek with us in the fog and then returned. We reached our hotel at noon, had lunch, changed clothes (we were totaly drenched) and got ready for the zip line. This was something I was so scared of but always wanted to do. The weather had improved in the afternoon and the sun came out. I am scared of heights. The idea that I'm hanging midair from a rope hundreds of feet above the ground is my nightmare, and the zip line is exactly that. We went up a hill covered with thick rainforest on a ropeway tram. We got wonderfull views of the Arenal lake on our way up. We even saw some monkeys. On our way down we were supposed to ride the zip line. The zip line is a series of cables running in between platforms. The ride means they buckle you up and you go zipping along the cables (at 50mph, 200 mt above ground for half a mile) literally hanging on for dear life. But it was fun. I won over my fear and was actually enjoying it. This was by far the best part of our Costa Rica trip. I can come back to Costa Rica just for the zip line.

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