January 3, 2003 (Friday)

We got up early for our second canopy tour of the trip. We enjoyed our previous experience so much that we decided to go again! This time we went with "Canopy Safari", which we were told was the original canopy tour in Costa Rica. This one proved to be quite an adventure. The trip started with a 50-minute 4x4 trip into the rain forest. We began with breakfast and instruction, and then proceeded to the first "zip line". This tour was more crowded (32 people) than we had hoped, but it was still fun. We could go hands-free, and Paula and David took a couple of trips upside down. We also enjoyed repelling down from 3 platforms, which was a new experience.

After the tour, we swam in a water hole, and then made the long and dusty trip back. Back at the hotel, we took a quick swim in the pool and had lunch at the hotel. We then tool a much-needed 2-hour nap - we were exhausted! Dad and Katie woke up in time to see the daily 5:30 gathering of squirrel monkeys on the hotel grounds. They're very cute and playful, and we got some good pictures. These monkeys are also an endangered species.

We had dinner at Si Como No, a very nice hotel nearby (we had tried to get reservations to stay there, but they were full - it books very early).

- Steve