Yogi Bear Rocks

This Time Last Year

I was up before breakfast to take photographs of the moon and the sunrise.

Today we have a rest day at the hotel to get our bearings.



However we decided to stretch our legs by doing a walk up to the 'Yogi bear' rocks which overlook the ranch. Their was no trail up through the bush but it was easy enough to find our way to the look out point. Fabulous views. We searched in vain for a way to do a circular walk and bring us down another way, but we couldn't so we returned the same way.

After lunch I went for another walk down the local stream. Not many butterflies or dragonflies about.



I got back at 3pm and found that everyone else had left for a drive to the outlook over Copper Canyon and a preview of where we will hike. Never mind. I spent the afternoon sitting in the sun and chatting to a couple of guests from California.



Dinner in the evening was very pleasant as other guests had arrived on the train that day.

This Time in 2007

Up again at 7.30am for breakfast in the local cafe. Our hotel doesn't do food, but this cafe is great and offers all sorts of fresh fruit, eggs and amazing juices with water or milk.

Today we paddle on the Rio Arenal though this comes in to the Rio San Carlos and we go downstream from there, past where the Rio Penas Blancas enters for our take-out further downstream.



This river flows through agricultural land and has huge banks which are almost 2m cliffs. It also has a lot of fallen trees in it and a couple of places where the river narrows and flows faster. I paddled with May in my bow again and, as usual, we had a couple of capsizes. Donna and Ellen went over and then later Josh and David went over too. They had to swim for a while before we could get them to shore and I had to rescue a paddle too.

We stopped on a beach for lunch. Later at a rather sharp corner Amy and I got around but all the other boats when straight into the bushes. It took a little while to extricate everyone. Because of all the excitement the paddle ended up being longer than usual. It was 3pm before we came to the take-out. At this place you also have to carry the boats a long way to the van.

From here we drove to Cano Negra, the last hour of which is along a bumpy dusty road. It was just getting dark when we arrived. I did the washing up from the picnic in the swimming-pool bar whilst the guest relaxed in the pool.

All the guest had dinner at the hotel but the four of us, me, Luis, Carlos and Florence walked into the village and had a home-cooked dinner at Maria's place. We will be having breakfast here too tomorrow.