Day 3: Club Rio Activities: River Kayaking, Rock Climbing, Animal Sanctuary

This morning we have a late wakeup and breakfast before getting ready to be picked up and spend the day over at The Springs Resort. This resort is a large complex, with its own adventure center along the river at the bottom of the hill where it is situated. The hillside also contains many different hot springs and pools that you can soak in while there. We arrive on-site and check-in, then catch a short bus ride down the hill to the location for the river kayaking. We join a group of about 20 tubers as well (we are the only kayakers), and get situated with life vests and helmets before hopping in the bus to take us the 2 minutes to the put-in. Once in the water, we start to paddle with our guides down about a 10-minute stretch of river. Compared to yesterday, this one is very tame. While it is a bit more exhilarating being closer to the water in the kayak, the rapids are not nearly as large or fun according to my son. My 7-year-old would have loved it, but my 13-year-old thought it was very tame and mild, especially now that he knows what to compare it to. We do the stretch of river twice through since it is so short, and then at the end, we pack up the gear at the center and step in line for the rock climbing wall. We join a group of 3 other kids and take turns hopping on the wall with a guide belaying us.  The rock wall has varying degrees of difficulty, and my son tackles one side with a ledge which is challenging, but he makes it up and over on his second attempt. This was a fun addition to the trip and we are glad we could sneak it in.

Next, we spend the afternoon exploring the pools around the property up at the top, including taking many turns on the Monkey Slide, a short but very fast waterslide into a pool. We then return back to the adventure center mid-afternoon for a tour of the animal sanctuary at the Springs, specifically the wild-cat feeding tour. We go through the enclosures and get to see them feed their pumas and other cats, as well as see monkeys, sloths, and a variety of other Costa Rican wildlife. These animals are all rescues that have been deemed unable to return to the wild for this or that reason. The Springs then works in collaboration with the government to take care of them here. I found the enclosures to be way too small, and did not enjoy this nor would I recommend it.

We then return to the hotel for dinner out at Que Rico restaurant this evening, a great option with very good pizza which my son loved.