Arenal & La Fortuna

Our next weekend adventure in this amazing country took us to La Fortuna and the Arenal Volcano. This was by far the most relaxing weekend we have spent here and was one of the best for that same reason. And because of some last minute decision making, Jillian and I ended up going with just the two of us. This turned out to be great for a number of reasons, but the most prevalent being that we were able to stay at this lovely hotel:

Don't even worry about it. This place boasts that it is a hotel, bar, casino, and restaurant. 

Now I know it may not look like a lot from this picture, but the rooms and the little restaurant out front were really very nice.  The biggest draw to this place, other than the fact that it was cheaper than the other place we liked, was that our room was private and had AC. This was honestly the first air conditioned place we have stayed in all of Costa Rica so it was wonderful. It even had a pool, but it went unused by us thanks to the gang of Tico kids who commandeered it the entire time we were there. They even managed to find a hose with a hand sprayer on it which meant that everywhere within a 20 foot radius of the pool was also off limits unless you wanted to get soaked.

View of the surrounding mountain range and volcano from our hotel room window. 

So after getting settled into our rooms, we headed off to the super market to buy stuff for our lunches over the next few days, as per the usual with Jillian and me. Along the way, we talked to some of the people offering tours and quickly decided that we wanted to see at least one waterfall, the volcano and bathe in one of the hundreds of hot-springs. One of the guides even told us about a local waterfall with cliff jumping and a rope-swing. As we discussed which tour to take, we ended up taking the lazy way out and opting to not do the one that involved a 5k hike through the lava rocks at the base of the volcano. Although, the guy pitching that tour did make a reference to the hike being like the “craters of the moon” which instantly made him our favorite person in the city.

After booking our tour with the guy at our hotel, we chilled a safe distance away from the pool for a few hours reading and then headed off to dinner at a little soda that was rather busy, but had some really amazing food. I got the chicken cordon bleu and Jillian got chicken and beef nachos made with homemade chips. Needless to say, we were wonderfully happy when our food arrived. Mine was huge and hand rolled, not something out of a freezer, and Jillian’s nachos were delicious. With full bellies, we walked around the town a little bit looking at the various shops and eventually returned to the hotel to get some sleep for our adventures the next day.

Breakfast consisted of a delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some Tang which turned out to be perfect amount of childlike fuel to get us to the local watering hole we had heard about the day before. It took us a lot longer to get here than we were expecting, but it was totally worth it once we arrived.

This is a bullfighting ring we saw on our way to the swimming hole. 

If you didn't know already, I really like the trees here. 

When we first got there, the place was pretty deserted. Other than two Tico boys jumping in the water, the only thing interrupting the silence was the roar of the waterfall. Soon two girls from NYC showed up and then a group of four. This was it for about an hour, but round about 11, more and more people started showing up and by 12 it was pretty crowded, for a swimming hole that is. It was then that we decided to head back to our hostel so we could grab our lunch before our tour began at 2. 

This is the waterhole. Yeah, it really looked like this. 

Me jumping from the rope swing. 

Jillian jumping from the cliffs. 

Me doing a back-flip off the cliff. It took me a little while to pluck up the courage for the first one, but I had no problem after that. 

This is the place you jumped from when on the rope swing. 

Even more people swimming and chilling on the rocks below. 

View of the swimming hole from above. 

Jillian and I after our super fun morning. 

You would think that with how often Jillian and I eat PB&Js we would get sick of them. But for some reason they are just too amazing to get boring. I think it may have something to do with the fact that they are a subtle reminder of home. That, and they are basically the polar opposite of rice and beans which we eat EVERY DAY with our host families. Anyway, after lunch and a little relaxing, it was down to the lobby where we were picked up by our tour guide Luis.

We packed as many people into our little minibus as possible before heading off for the national park, and at one of the stops, we gained an unwanted passenger.

Jillian was not enjoying this moth's presence in the car, and with good reason. From wingtip to wingtip, this moth was the size of my hand. 

Little did we know that this was only the beginning of the creepy, crawly critters we would be encountering on our trip that day. When we reached the entrance to the park, our guide stopped the bus and got out. When he returned, he had this on his arm which he then placed on mine. It was so bizarre feeling a bug on me that actually had some significant weight. And what was even crazier was the feeling of its horny little feet digging into my skin as it moved along my arm.

This is a Rhinoceros Beetle. On my arm. 

Once everyone had gotten their pictures, we headed up to the official observatory of the volcano which has been turned into a kind of resort complete with restaurant and hotel. We ended up chilling here for a while people took pictures and took in the amazing view of the crater lake and volcano.

Crater lake near Arenal Volcano. 

Jillian and me standing on the Observation Deck. 

Eventually, we began our hike through the cloud forest to the waterfall and all along the way, Luis made a point to show us all of the plans that would be interesting. He showed us the kind of leaves sloths eat to help with digestion, large stocks of wild sugarcane and the little berries from the Citronella plan that help keep the mosquitoes away (and yes, this is what they make the candles out of).

After a while, we made it to the waterfall which was a pretty cool. It was certainly not the largest waterfall I’ve ever seen, but it was cool because it was the first I’ve ever scaled the side of, jumped into, and then sat underneath. In addition to the falls, the banks along the river were loaded with volcanic ash making the mud highly desirable to spas and other health oriented places. Rather than do the traditional face mask and body scrub, Jillian and I opted to use the mud as warrior paint.

The waterfall. I climbed the lava rock just to the right of the flow and got up about as high as that overhanging branch. 

We were very scary and very fierce. 

On our way back from the waterfall, Luis gave us a little crash course in the history of the Arenal Volcano and the La Fortuna Area. Apparently, the volcano was extremely active, most active in Costa Rica in fact, until 5 months ago when the nightly lava flows stopped. The initial eruption that started this trend happened in 1968 and actually resulted in the loss of 80 lives and destroyed a small down near the base of the volcano. Ever since then, the volcano has been growing in size and is actually taking over an adjacent volcano and when the lava begins flowing again is poised to completely encapsulate it.

From here, it was back to the observation deck where we could check out the little museum and watch the sunset. on our way back though, I was able to catch a few pics of these little critters. 

Beautiful spider who, with its legs was about the size of my palm

Leaf cutter ants working their away across our trail. These little guys actually had a relatively well worn highway on either side of the main trial. 

Large black bee who's sting will leave you incapacitated for about 5 days. 

Jillian and I saw this sign at the observation deck and knew that we needed a picture of it. 

The last potion of our tour involved a trip to a hot spring river with a small pit stop on the side of the road to look at the tree frogs. We were able to see two different kinds, but I only got pictures of one. At one point though, our guide spotted one with his flashlight that was close enough to snatch out of the tree. He did so and then promptly handed the little guy over to me. After a minute or so, Luis turned the light away from the frog which caused him to jump right onto my face and crawl his way up into my hair. It was so funny and everyone in our group proceeded to take pictures of the frog crawling through my hair.

Red-Eyed Tree Frog. Here, they are affectionately known as the Marijuana Frog thanks to their large red eyes. 

Red-Eyed Tree Frog. On my head. 

With the frogs back in the trees, we piled back into the minibus and drove to the hot river which was wonderful. The force of the current was enough to give you some resistance and the water was just the right temperature to give off a little steam. Although there were quite a few people there, it was still pretty relaxing. I am not sure what I liked the very best when it comes to sitting in the water though… Sitting in the depths was wonderful, but so was sitting with the water pounding my back, as was lying in the more shallow portion and feeling the water trying to pull me downstream.

After about an hour of this, it was time to head back and by the time we arrived at our hotel, Jillian and I were starving. So we grabbed a quick bite to eat at another soda recommended by Lonely Planet and headed back to the hotel, but not before we bought some of our favorite ice-cream from the minimart.

The next morning started late and was nice and leisurely as we packed up the room and got ready to depart. Thanks to a happy miscommunication with the ticket office, we ended up heading home earlier than we were expecting which was good because we did not have enough time to do anything other than wait for the bus. Before we left, I was able to grab a few shots of the church  and main drag of the town. 

Beautiful Catholic Church

Inside the Church. The image behind the main altar is actually a Resurrected Christ, not a crucified one. 

Stained glass at the back of the church. 

Main drag of La Fortuna with Arenal in the background. 

While we were waiting in line for the bus that the very top of the Arenal volcano decided to become visible for the first time since we had been there. It was the perfect way to end an amazing weekend adventure.