Day Four
We took a morning jeep-boat-jeep transfer from Monteverde to Arenal, Costa Rica's most popular (and most recently active) volcano. They said 'jeep' but really it was just a small bus. We transferred with all of the backpackers so it was kind of fun to listen in on the adventures they'd been having.
So Monteverde and Arenal, as the crow flies, are only about 10 miles apart but the roads are so bad that it took us almost 3 hours to get to Arenal--2 of those hours on a windy dirt road. Again, we were pretty glad that we'd forgone the rental car idea. After we got on the boat, it was about a half an hour ride to the end of the lake and then a 15 minute ride on paved roads to our destination. Paved roads felt really weird again after 3 days of nothing but poorly-maintained dirt roads!
We checked in at our next hotel, the Nayara. I finally understood what our travel agent had meant about 'keep an open mind'--this place was pretty nice! I mean, everyone could get used to a jacuzzi on their porch.
And the view...
After we checked in we decided to explore the grounds and found these vacant hammocks in a cabana. For some reason, you could put a hammock up anywhere and it would instantly be vacation for me. I really need to invest in one at my own home!
That evening was our reservation at Ecotermales, a local volcanic-fed hot spring. I didn't want to take my camera or phone with me so a photo from their website will have to do:
It was nighttime when we went and lightly raining. See those platforms in between pools? They make excellent places to lay down! It was very, very beautiful. I couldn't find a good picture, but on the other side of the springs are a series of 3 pools into which a waterfall (warm) feeds.
After we were done, we got dressed and they fed us a really good dinner! Of all of the Casados I had on this trip, I think my favorite one was this night. As I was coming out of the changing room, something moving caught my eye and I looked closer to see 3 of these little guys hanging out in a water fountain. They were big little guys, too! I think if one had jumped on me I might of screamed. But they were cute to look at.
Day Five
We got an early start this day to head up to a privately owned canyon for best adventure this trip and possibly best adventure of my life. I have never been canyoneering, but if you remember my goals earlier this year, one of them was to rappel down a waterfall. Check and check.
This is our group. It's funny--the girl on the right shares my name and, not only were they neighbors at our hotel but they ended up going on tours with us throughout our trip!
This is the first big watefall--150 ft. Naturally S went first. As he was descending I mentioned to the group that he was a firefighter and has done this several times before for training (not over a waterfall, of course.) Everyone thought it was unfair to let him go first cause he was going to make the rest of us look bad! I told them I'd make up for it! They had us rapell down about 1/3 of the way and then 'fall' the rest of the way.
Here's my turn! I wasn't quite as willing to let go of the safety rope as S was!
This was taken after our first rapell. It was so amazing and you can't tell from this picture how much my knees are shaking! Also a photo-bomb from our guide.
This part actually made me more nervous in some ways: they had us straddle this narrow canyon and then jump into this really deep pool (I didn't ever feel my feet hit the bottom so I don't know how 'deep' deep is.
This was hilarious! We had done enough research and seen pictures so we knew what was coming. Two of the guides go take a 'nap' conveniently damming up the creek while we have a photo-op. Then they get up and, well, the rest is self-explanatory...
If I ever have a significant career change, I might consider being a tour guide in Costa Rica. These guys kept bragging that they have the best office in the world. Couldn't argue!
Next was the biggie: 250 ft. These pictures do no justice for just how tall it was. And it was freefall the whole way down. They didn't even try to slow down S. He said it was awesome.
Final photo op before my passing. j/k
I was a little more reserved. They slowed my descent a little bit. Maybe it was because I wouldn't let go of the rope initially!
I was really sad for this adventure to come to an end--I was ready to go down a dozen more. Seriously, if you ever have the opportunity...
We got back to the hotel relatively early and decided to go into the town of La Fortuna that afternoon. There is a famous waterfall there that we wanted to go check out. This is the bottom of the very steep canyon. It was rainy and cloud-covered and breathtaking.
La Fortuna waterfall. S went swimming; I took pictures.
Day Six
We took a long drive up north of Arenal to the Tenorio volcano region. I got one of the best views of Arenal on our drive away from it. I think this might also be the only time we saw blue skies while we were inland.
I also saw my three-toed sloth! Ask anyone who knew we were going and this was on my top 3 things I wanted out of this trip. Again. I need a zoom lens. But he's there, I promise!
There was also this awesome tree on our way where our guide showed us a habitat of dozens of red and green poison dart frogs. They are so tiny that there is no way I would have even seen them without someone there to point them out!
Tenorio Volcano (clouded up, of course.)
There was a point in the hike where our guide pointed out this little stream of water coming out from the rocks. He said that this was essentially rain water that had been filtered through the mountain-side. He encouraged us to drink it. Again, if I had been back home I would probably have said 'thank-you but no thank-you' but here? Drank it right up. And it, too, was really good!
If there was any kind of disappointment on our trip it was probably this hike. We were led to believe that we would be able to swim in the pools and under the waterfall but a few years ago the park operators decided to ban it. Apparently no one told our travel agent this because in our itinerary he told us to wear our swimsuits. I also wished I had swam at La Fortuna the day before (I hadn't with the assumption that I would be able to the next day in Rio Celeste.) But I suppose if there is only one disappointment in an entire vacation, then you're still doing pretty good!
That night we decided to hang out at our hotel and go to their restaurant, which was actually pretty good. I had the typical Costa Rican dish of spaghetti. For dessert they asked us if we wanted banana flambe which, ordinarily I think we would have gone for but at this point we had eaten so many bananas that we were, like, nada mas! However, when they offered pineapple flambe we were all for it! They even dimmed the lights in the restaurant so everyone could enjoy the show--so cool.
We missed the quaintness of Monteverde, and felt that the Niyara was more American than Costa Rican, but we enjoyed our time in this part of the country. The scenery is breathtaking. Who wouldn't enjoy waking up with a volcano in their backyard every morning?! Incidentally, this volcano erupted in the late 1960s making it, as I mentioned before, Costa Rica's youngest volcano. I was a little worried about this, but was reassured a few times that it is being monitored very closely! It has only gone 'dormant' in the last few years, but I could swear each morning when the clouds were gone that I could see steam coming from the top of the crater. The last morning we were there they had a telescope set up, pointed at the peak and, sure enough, there was steam coming out the top of it:
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