Day 5: Canyoning, Twilight Safari Float, Baldi Hot Springs

This morning we woke early again to head back over near the other zipline tour for the La Roca 4 in 1 Canyoning tour. On this, we are joining a large family of 20 so it takes a while to get everyone situated with gear and listening to the safety briefing. We then head out to the start of the tour, and take turns rappeling down our first two descents, including one over and into a small waterfall flowing into the canyon. It is a bit scary at first until you learn to trust your gear and see that you have quite a bit of control. We spend the next three hours proceeding to hike through this canyon, which includes jumps into pools below to get through tight areas, a small cable ride, and a few other maneuvers. By the time we leave the canyon, we are all happy, but soaked and cold.

We finish up with lunch at the restaurant near the entrance and then continue back to our hotel for a free afternoon at Arenal Manoa (our new hotel's) pools. This afternoon then we are picked back up for a Twilight Safari Float trip (again with Flow Trips) where we float the river in search of the wildlife that peaks out at night. We spot so much wildlife on this tour, I was very impressed. We see all kinds of birds, bats, owls, many howler monkeys, a sloth, a porcupine, an iguana, and a few other species during the hour-and-a-half ride. We disembark when it is just becoming completely dark. From there, we drive to Baldi Hot Springs for a few hours to soak in the various pools and enjoy dinner. Baldi is a very well-established hot Springs resort, complete with kids' play area, three different large water slides, and a few other speed slides. My son thought it was fantastic.