Rain Trails Pictures
| Stay overnight in distinctive 'pueblos'. And in true 'outback' Costa Rican style: wood fires, good food, the best coffee in the world! Connect with amiable and interested people who have rarely seen an outsider. Set your own Pace!
With us, you're the boss. It's 'hands-on' with horses, meal preparation, exploration, locating 'swimming holes', the planning of the next day's ride, etc. What does 'Rain Trails' Provide?
Aside from the trip to Northwestern Guanacaste (and back to the airport), aside from the maps and charts required to do the basic planning of your travels, aside from the horses (and the necessary tack and saddlery to use horses effectively), aside from the pasture and grain needed to satisfy these hard-working animals, aside from the costs of your delicious meals and respectable (if basic) lodging, aside from your exposure to the richest and most diverse biological systems known to science, aside from the opportunity to bathe undisturbed in cool (or hot) mountain rivers on the green slopes of volcanoes... aside from all this (and much else) -------- Rain Trails provides the most knowledgeable and most experienced guide service you will find
anywhere! What will this cost?
Our fee for the extensive services outlined above (click on MORE
for details) is one-hundred US dollars ($100) per day per person, with absolutely nothing excluded. After e-mail or telephone consultation with your guide see Getting in Touch), you will pay, by recognized credit or debit card, one third of the estimated amount for the projected time of the excursion with the balance due upon completion of the trip. Note: The typical Raintrails adventure tour lasts four to eight days. However, we are happy to negotiate reduced fees for two-day or single-day excursions in which services (overnight accommodations, meals, perhaps transportation) may be reduced. When you arrive in Costa Rica there will be no further need to carry money in your pockets. Rain Trails will meet expenses, trivial and large, in all phases of your experience, from airport to airport. Besides, the money economy is not a big deal in the places we visit. In the unlikely event you should arrive in San José with only your passport, a return ticket, a change of clothes, and your toothbrush, you would experience no sense of deprivation. What to Bring
Perhaps you will want two pairs of shoes, one for street wear and a pair of high-topped boots for riding and hiking and work in the bush. You should always have a dry set of clothes for a quick change, if necessary. However, even in the event of a sudden downpour, there is normally no reason to get soaked. The rain-gear we provide is normally quite effective. We provide also gloves and wide-brimmed hats, an absolute necessity. Evenings in the mountains of tropical America can be cool to cold and windy, so you'll need a sweatshirt or light jacket. You had best leave your laptop at home or in Guayabo. The places we visit, and the people you will meet, do not know telephones, much less the miracle of cyberspace. What if I have little (or no) Experience with Horses?
You are welcome to join us, given three well-defined conditions: - (1) you must be in reasonably good physical condition;
- (2) you must be prepared to spend, in addition to the time of the excursion itself, a minimum of two days in special training in the use and care of horses; and
- (3) you must agree to a restricted itinerary that takes your particular limitations into account.
The Place
Rain Trails has property, our Mogote Outpost, in the foothills of the Rincón de la Vieja with basic (if primitive) cabin amenities. This rolling terrain, where our horses are pastured when not in use, serves as the point of departure for the exploratory adventures we make possible. You can stay there, in the company of a guide (and perhaps others in the same situation), and receive training for the excursion you plan. This training would be a valuable experience in itself. The Mogote Outpost, remotely situated, exhibits most of the surface features that are apt to cause difficulty for the neophyte: steep inversions, stony river crossings, brushy undergrowth where rudimentary experience in the use of the 'machete' (a necessary tool of travel in these parts) can be readily acquired.
Getting in Touch with us...
Prior contact is an absolute necessity. All phases of the excursion are custom-designed! For additional information and/or reservations you may reach us in Costa Rica (any time) at: |
