To wake up staring at a volcano is a magical thing. At some point during the night the volcano rumbled, and it actually shook our beds, and we all woke up talking about that. Mom made coffee, and we stepped onto the back porch for some early morning air.

Suddenly Mom caught something out of the corner of her eye. She grabbed her camera, and commando style snuck up to the neighbor's porch. It was a coati, a member of the raccoon family. It was a couple doors down, then creeped across our neighbor's porch onto the back lawn. Mom got a little too close at one point, and it started to pose an aggressive position. She backed away, unharmed.

Our hotel was offering a breakfast buffet, so we ventured out to join the crowd. If the whole point of your hotel is to view a volcano, then every room better have a wall of glass facing it, and the cafeteria certainly complied. It was a long room, with the entire north wall made of glass, an impressive site unto itself.

After breakfast we moved outside to the viewing deck where we found many birdwatchers sitting around, enjoying the view. There was a telescope for spying on any lava flows that may occur, of which we didn't see any. Apparently the volcano has been slightly dormant for the past couple of months, at least as far as lava goes.

Then we spotted the following bird, called a Montezuma Oropendola (thanks birdwatchers), acting very peculiar in a nearby tree...


This appears to be some kind of mating ritual, but I don't know for sure. What I do know, is that it looks like a lot of fun!

They also had this cool bird feeder made from sticks & a few flag pool holders welded together. Simply add fruit, and presto, instant entertainment. My parents spend a lot of time in Almanor, California, and they have countless bird & squirrel feeders up there. Maybe they'll add this type to their collection. Can't be that hard to make...

Soon it was time to hit the road, but we weren't head to Coco just yet. We had to make a pit stop at one of my Mom's favorite things to do, Zip-Lining!

There are several zip-lining tours around Arenal, but we decided to go with the longest & fastest cables we could find, SkyTram. You can view a map of the tour here.

This consisted of 8 zip-lines. Their lengths varied from a 92 foot test run, to the longest line at 2,440 feet. That's almost half a mile long! Yikes... It took a breathtaking 45 seconds at 44 mph to complete that run.

However, that wasn't the fastest line they had. Cable 6 is actually faster, at a cool 50 mph and 2,060 feet long.

I have never been on a zip-line like these before. Sure, I've done some small stuff with boy scouts when I was a kid; there were a few small zip-lines when I went canyoning in Switzerland; but nothing ever like this.

I must admit, I was a little scared. I've jumped out of plains at 13,000 feet. I've bungee jumped coming 5 feet from the ground. I've even rock climbed in Joshua Tree with no regard for how high I was. Yet, what I'm finding is, that as I get older, I'm starting to realize I'm not invincible anymore, if I ever was. I'm actually starting to develop a fear of heights!

Mom is a pro, and was completely excited, but very relaxed. Their is a long zip-line tour in Catalina that her and her sister Karen do every chance they get. I wasn't about to let a little fear stop me, so off we went.

We were stuck with a large group, maybe 20 or 25 people besides us. One gentlemen had to take a hike back about half way through because he looked like he was going to have a heart attack. Another kid was goofing around and dropped his helmet in the middle of the cable. The guides were none too happy about that one.

Look at that smile! I think she might be having a bit of fun... what do you think? If you could muster the courage to look around while hanging on for dear life, it was actually quite a beautiful surrounding.

I am not sure how high we were off the canyon floor, but it was enough to get your attention. The chart says that cable 3 was 656 feet high, if I'm reading that correctly. That sounds about right.... 60 stories up, wow. That's half the height of the Empire State building in New York.

I think my favorite line was what they called the "Tree Tunnel." There is a section of cable that goes under a section of canopy. Seeing the trees whiz past all around you really gives you some perspective on just how fast you're moving.

The entire tour took a few hours. The cables are long, but it was the number of people that slowed us down. We had three guides with us, and they would separate onto three different platforms. One by one the guests would move from platform to platform until they reached guide number three.

Then everyone would wait while we all caught back up to each other, and the process would start again. The lead guide would always go down backwards, spraying the cable with a lubricant/sealer of some kind. We asked if this job ever gets boring, and the answer was an emphatic, "No."

All this adrenaline had worked up an appetite. The tour building was under construction, so their restaurant was temporarily closed. No matter, I just happened to know of a good place to eat on the other side of Lake Arenal, so we were on the road again.

Part of what makes travel fun is the difference in cultures. Where I come from, you would never see cowboys horseback riding, towing cows, on any public road. Perhaps in the Midwest, but certainly not in Southern California. We saw this all over the place, and was just something you get used to. I had to snap a quick shot, for posterity's sake.

I led my folks right to the German Bakery, a place that Scott & I had eaten at during our trip to Arenal. This is the second meal I've eaten here, and I must say, I really enjoy their food. The atmosphere is pleasant with a nice view of the lake, and there are sleeping cats everywhere, which I love. So if you get the chance, stop by, you can't miss it. <end of advertisement>

We were now officially headed to my home town of Playas del Coco! I had a pretty good idea of how to get there, but the GPS saved the day. We still had hours and hours worth of driving to do, and my Dad slugged out most of it. In fact, he had done all the driving up to this point, what a trooper!

When we started to approach Liberia, I asked to take the wheel. We were now only about one hour outside of Coco, and I wanted both of them to enjoy the drive in, and experience as much as they could of my little village. I pointed out a few things along the way, and told them what to look for on their way back to San Jose a few days from now.

We were racing against the falling of the sun once again. I had picked up a few supplies before hand, snacks I knew my parents like, but we needed to stop at a grocery store regardless.

Actually, I needed to replace one of the snacks I bought for them, since I already ate it before they got here (cottage cheese & fritos). Ooops, but they wanted to pick up other things, so it all worked out.

Their first reaction was that Coco is much bigger than I had described it. Driving through the countryside of Costa Rica, I can see their point. We pasted through some towns that had maybe 10 stores, and that was it. So, compared to that, yes Coco is bigger than what they might have been expecting. Yet, coming from Huntington Beach, I would say this is a beach community rather than a town.

At last, home sweet home. I got the feeling they were impressed with the quality of living I had setup for myself down here in Central America. It's not luxurious, but comfortable and clean, and that's all that matters. I gave them my room for their visit, since it has the bigger bed. I took the guest room with the two twin beds, sounds like a fair deal to me.

I was so happy that evening. To have my parents staying with me, in a foreign country, if only for just a small while, is one of those memories that you can touch, taste & smell.

I knew that in a few short days, my parents would be headed home, but the memories, those will never leave...