The drive to Arenal was beautiful
We arrived in Arenal (La Fortuna) and found our hotel about 20 min out of town. It was made up of beautiful cabins on acres of property, and is a working farm/ranch. The eggs, milk, bacon, etc they serve all come from the ranch, and the cabins are surrounded by beautiful gardens. We were greeted at reception with fresh squeezed juice and damp washcloths after the long drive. We let the receptionist know we would be staying for dinner (as it was already around 4:30, and we had had enough driving), and settled into our cabin. The bathroom was huge and spa like, with huge windows in the shower. The windows in the cabin didn´t close, but were rather just screens with shutters that closed.
We headed to dinner later, and were confused when they just pointed us to a far off corner. As we walked over, we saw the path lighted with candles and strewn with flower petals that led to a private table in a seperate area from the restaurant (all areas of the restaurant were completely open air). Our secluded table was lit only by candlelight, and the table was overflowing with flowers. We had a great first dinner and part way through, realized something was moving around the floor. We had brought a flashlight, and found that the rainforest leaf cutter ants were carrying our flower petals away!
Before jumping into La Fortuna Waterfall
The next day we hiked to the La Fortuna waterfalls. It was a short but steep hike down. Though it was cold enough that no one else was going in, we decided we are here only once, so after Paolo jumped in (and out very quickly) I got in waist deep, and out myself. We went to several lookouts and another swimming hole down stream. After that, we headed to the hanging bridges through the rainforest. We started off well spotting a monkey, but didn´t see much wildlife after that. We caught up with a tour group that pointed out a viper to us, but it was very small. We saw another very small greeen snake. It was an interesting view again of the rainforest though, and was fun to cross the moving bridges.
That night we headed to one of the MANY hot spring spas in the area. There were several pools, all very large, starting at about 97 degrees (the furthest downhill) up to about 107. We had a good traditional Tico dinner there, and went back in. By that time, we pretty much had the hot springs to ourselves.
One of the many pools of hotsprings we had to ourselves after dinner
The next day we had serval options of things that we wanted to do. After talking with the receptionist, we decided to head to Carrera Park which she said was about 2 hours away. It is famous for Macaws and Crocs. About an hour and a half into the drive, we knew it was NOT going to be a 2 hour drive, as we had just got over the mountains.
Drove 3 hours just to see this little dude
We decided to continue forward anyhow. After a couple times of getting a little turned around, we finally made it. The park was clsoing in an hour, so the guide said it probably wasn´t worth the $60 it was going to cost. Instead, he offered to take us to a nearby neighborhood were Macaws are often seen. Sure enough, we found a pair and watched them eat almonds and fly about for a bit. Then it was time to head back!
When we got back, we were dissapointed to find out our night tour on the ranch was cancelled (it was going to be a private tour with the ranch hand who was incredably knowledgable about the ranch and wildlife). Rain all day had made the rivers too high and the trees too heavy, it would be unsafe. Instead, we blogged! A lot of our drive had been on the other side of the mountains, so at least we escaped the rain. In hindsight, we wouldn´t have gone knowing how long it would take, but most of our other options for the day would have been rained out anyway.
You have to get up at 6 to see these guys, by 7 they are gone!
The next morning we got up early for breakfast and Paolo headed out to see if he could spot some Toucans. Sure enough, we had finally gotten up early enough to see them! While Paolo was searching for them he was lucky enough to have one fly down to a low tree and pose only a few feet from him. We saw two different kinds, and then headed to breakfast at the hotel restaurant, where we would see all kinds of colorful birds every morning, for bird lovers this place is a must. We also saw two sloths up in the trees on the ranch property. Then….it was time to head to Montezuma!
You didnt think there were elephants in Costa Rica did you?!
-Kristi