We spent our time at Rio Dulce (Sweet River) at a hostel called the Finca Tatin (recommended to us by some friends). It is a very tranquil place set right along the river and continues back into the jungle. It comes complete with a ping pong table (finding a ping pong ball that has gone astray in the jungle is impossible!), boats for rent, and hammocks out over the water. The only sounds were from the jungle and the occassional tourist boat that passed by.

Our first day there we decided to take a boat out to some nearby hotsprings. The boat choices were: Cayuco (a dugout canoe popular with the natives) or a kayak (popular with the white people). Genny and I chose the cayuco to test our skill and try something new. The experience could be described as paddling meets jazzercise as we rowed along slowly, constantly doing a little dance to stabilize ourselves. Nonetheless, we made it to the hotsprings without tipping and even managed to eat lunch along the way.

At the hotsprings, there were about 10 other people sitting around the sulfur-smelling center which bubbled hot water into the cool river every couple of minutes. Since the water emitted was hot enough to boil you alive, the key to staying alive & soaking comfortably was to mix the hot water with the cool. This process made it look like we were all continuosly treading water even though nobody was in water over 3 feet deep. Every once in a while, the water would get really hot and everyone went from calmly treading water and conversing to vigorously splashing and yelping as they tried to cool themselves off. Once the hot spell was over, everyone laughed at how close each other came to boiling.

Day two on the river was spent exploring the river´s Biotopo, or reserve, this time by kayak. We had the whole place to ourselves as we paddled down the small canals lined with mangroves and ate lunch among the dragonflies. On our way back to the Finca, I was positive that I saw a passing manatee rear its large, brown back from the water, then dive out of sight again. We closed out the day with a swim, swung on the rope swing at the Finca, and relaxed there in the hammocks.