The Pura Vida Eco-Hotel and Wildlife Tour

On Day 2 of my trip I did what any other adventurous person would do - 

I took a horseback ride.  I rode with Walter, my partner, and a nice Swiss family of four people to a primary forest.  From there we hiked up to the place where we went ziplining and rappelling, and then finished off at the river ravine.  By the time we all made it to the river ravine, it was a torrential downpour!  From there, we hiked back out to where our horses were standing under some trees.  From there, we hopped back on our horses.  It was still POURING rain, but I managed to not slip off the saddle ... or so I thought I had.

When Collete, my horse, was nearly back to the stables, she stopped at the top of a guava hill to eat guavas.  In the meantime, all the other horses and one of the guides had gone in front of us.  I still had one guide behind me, so although I couldn't get my horse to move, the guide could .. and move she did!  She flew down the hill and I was thrown off the horse about five feet, landing on my chest where my left hip hit a large rock.  I had the wind completely knocked out of me!  When I finally gained my breath (and realized I was still alive), with the help of others, I was able to gingerly stand up, pack up my things, and go to Puerto Viejo for x-rays.

When the owner of the lodge I was staying at took Walter and I to the clinic, they had to call in the x-ray technician.  After about 20 minutes, he showed up driving a rental golf cart, wearing a baseball hat, and wearing jeans.  Gustavo, the x-ray technician, was very kind and had decent English.  He took my x-rays, which took 30 minutes.  From that time, we waited nearly 5 hours to get results from the hospital in San Jose.

I can tell you that although the experience was unpleasant, I was amazed at how quickly and efficiently everyone at the private clinic worked.  They did their part, and I was happy that I hadn't broken any bones.

Nine days later, I went to San Jose (the capital of Costa Rica) and went for a cat scan to see if there was damage to the soft tissue.  I was impressed with their cat scan machine, which was high-tech and had only been there for one month.  Brand new!  No acute injuries to report (phew) and I was grateful for the Costa Rican hospitality, service, and knowledge.