Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica

 
At 682 hectares, Manuel Antonio National Park may be Costa Rica's smallest but it gets very busy with as much as 150,000 visitors during the peak season. We're here during the rainy month of September and as expected, we're getting rain today. I really don't mind. The park won't be crowded and I'll be wet anyway checking out the waters of the Pacific this side of the world.

San Jose, Costa Rica

We're leaving behind the cloud forests of Monteverde and hope that we're not going into some clouds of smog in San Jose. Traveling by public bus to Costa Rica's capital city takes about 5 hours - more if the roads really turn rotten during the rainiest day. We're not taking any chances as we have a limited time so we booked the more expensive option of a shared van ride. This is a trip that will take us 3 and a half hours...supposedly.

Monteverde, Costa Rica

When Christopher Columbus stumbled upon Costa Rica in 1502, he admitted seeing more signs of gold in the first two days than what he saw in Spain during four years. These days, invaders with a different purpose see more signs of things they can do in Costa Rica than what's available elsewhere. No wonder, adrenaline junkies flock here like moths to a fire. This is a country meant for active pursuits.

Monteverde, Costa Rica

There are three routes to Monteverde from La Fortuna but we're taking the shortest - some three hours - via a combination of car-boat-car mode of transport. A van picked us up and we were transferred into a boat waiting in Lake Arenal. As we were leaving, Arenal Volcano had another bout of diarrhea, clearly belching out debris down its flank. I'm not sure if I'm glad I'm leaving her behind.

La Fortuna, Costa Rica

Horseback-riding to the falls

We had an early start today and the sun was thankfully shining. After breakfast, we headed out on horse-back to the La Fortuna Waterfalls, close to the base of an extinct volcano. The last time I´ve been astride a horse was several years ago when I went up Taal Volcano on one poor scrawny animal. Without much experience, thoughts about falling off a horse ran in my mind: it's not not only embarrassing but potentially paralyzing - remember Christopher Reeves?

La Fortuna, Costa Rica

Arenal volcano

Two flights and a 3-hour car trip brought us to La Fortuna, our first destination in Costa Rica. There´s enough daylight during our arrival to get a sneak preview of what this town is famous for, the Arenal Volcano. It did help that we stayed a bit out of town and much closer to the volcano where it stood outside our cabin at the Hotel La Pradera like a menacing big bully. Anyone who´s seen Mt. Mayon will have a volcanic deja vu, this being conical just like its deadly sister in the Philippines.