So I ventured outside of Tamarindo for the weekend with my friend Martina and went to a place called Rincon De La Vieja, which is about 3hours away. We arrived at the little family run lodge on Saturday - a complete contrast to Tamarindo! It was in the middle of nowhere, surrounding by mountains and the views were amazing. We did a walk on our own in the afternoon, although two of the lodge's dogs came along too! Across bridges, over tree trunks, past banana trees and through barbed wire fences until we came to a beautiful waterfall at the end.

Then on Sunday, we were up at 7am to start our horseriding tour of the National Park. It was just us two and our guide, Alfonzo. Well, they said it was fine for beginners, ie: me, because Martina rides every week where she lives. Anyway, we were treking up and down the steepest hills, mud tracks , up mountains and through the woods and rivers. It was very scary and the horses kept slipping and tripping, I had my eyes closed for a good part of the day! But by the end, I was more relaxed and the thought of a near vertical drop didn't phase me! We stopped at the boiling mud puts, took a dip in the hot springs, saw lots of wildlife including monkeys, a toad the size of my head and a tapir! In the afternoon, we got caught in a downpour, the first bit of rain I've seen since I've been here! We then had to trek to a waterfall, up and down a very muddy path, so I ended up on my bum a few times! We arrived back at the lodge looking like bedraggled rats and aching all over but it was a brilliant day.

And VERY EXCITING NEWS.......I, yes I, had my first surfing lesson yesterday!!!! For anyone who has had the delightful experience of being near water with me, will know how amazing it is that I even contemplated having a lesson. I was absolutely petrified but I found a guy called Pedro who gave one on one lessons and he was so patient with me. The first few times I just rode the waves on my stomach and I was quite happy spending 2hours doing that, but alas Pedro had other ideas of geting me to stand up! I fell quite a few times, swallowed lots of water and managed to hit myslef on the head with the board, but I actually managed to stand up...more than once!! I have to say I was very proud of myself hehe and I think it helped me get over my fear of going under the water a little bit, and by the end I was actually enjoying myself quite alot!

That's all for now, keep those messages and emails coming, I miss u all,

Lots of love from me xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx