My parental units came to town recently and I planned a 5 day get-a-way to the Arenal Volcano. The trip started with I picked up our rental car, rolled down the windows and got the sweet taste of freedom! Turns out driving in Costa Rica is very similar to driving in NY, roads aren't marked, no one follows traffic laws and god forbid anyone use a turn signal.... I fit right in!
We spent the first night in San Jose and were treated to a home cooked Indian feast thanks to my roomie and colleagues from India. After a quick visit to the Britt Coffee Plantation (round 2 and still no tour) and the most delicious iced cappuccino I've ever tasted, we set off for Arenal, with only a visual map in my head and no GPS. I am proud to say that 3 hours later (the correctly allotted time I mind you) we pulled into the small town of La Fortuna, having not gotten lost once! I think I missed my calling as a... ummm.. someone who does something with directions(?) A directionist? Is that a thing?
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| There she is! |
We were shacking up at the Arenal Springs Resort, which advertised having it's very own thermal hot spring (a big thing up there!) on-site. After a quick change, Mom and I headed to the pool to soak up the last rays of daylight and soothe our aching muscles in the beautifully refreshing thermal pools.
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| A view from our front sitting area |
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| There were a few different springs around the property |
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| One of the hot springs |
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| View from my lounge chair |
We hit the sak early in preparation for our early morning activity: zip-lining! The rain held out for the most part, but I didn't even care, because the look on my mom's face as we climbed the mountain in that beat up pickup with benches screwed to the flatbed, was absolutely priceless. I had half a mind to think she'd back out once we got to the top, but she sucked it up, clipped in and proceeded to scream the entire way as she zipped to the first platform.
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| There she goes |
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| And here he comes |
Now, the Tarzan Swing was a different story. One look at that safety hazard and she went running for the hills... no, literally... she ran down the hill, mainly to get pictures, but still, she ran. Dad and I stuck it out.. kind of. As I stood on the top of the platform while unnamed Costa Rican 1 and unnamed Costa Rican 2 hooked me up to the rope that I swear was only loosley looped around a teeny tiny branch, I prepared to leap off and swing through the air like Tarzan (aptly named huh?), and then I freaked. "Nope, I'm all set, get me down". This coming from the girl who just dove off a bridge.. that is just how unsafe this thing looked. In this case, like daughter like father, because that's when Dad and I took the walk of shame down the hill to stand with all the other chickens. And other than the small incident of smashing knee-first into a giant tree when my brake slightly failed, we made it out unscathed.
For the next day, I reserved us spots on a walking tour of the volcano, where we'd get to see the remnants of the lava flow; The result of the eruption in 1968 that was the first in hundreds of years, which buried the small town of Tabacon and destroyed acres of farm land and livestock. What we didn't know was that not only were we going to see the lava flow, we were going to climb the incredibly treacherous path over lava rocks to get to get to a look out point that would leave you breathless. I don't think photos will do it justice, our cameras simple couldn't capture how amazing the view was, but you can get an idea.
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| Wait.. we have to climb that? |
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| A shot of the somewhat path |
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| Totally worth it |
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| I think this sign says "warning you may die" |
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| Family shot |
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| Trying out some fun camera settings |
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| And now we need to get down. |
Our final tour was by far the best. For anyone traveling to Arenal you must absolutely take the tour of the hanging bridges. There are 16 bridges in total. Ten of them are regular bridges and six are hanging or
suspension bridges, and boy can you tell the difference. And despite being in the rainforest with plenty of tree coverage to block the scorching sun, the walk is rather intense and you start to sweat almost instantly. With a map in hand, we entered the park, and were immediately greeted by the welcoming committee. However, this welcoming committee was not of the human kind, but rather that of the monkey kind. Surprise, surprise, half way across the first bridge (a suspension one none the less) just as we were starting to get our bearings, swinging above the forest below, down comes this monkey looking for a hand out. And a hand is what I gave him.
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| Hey dad turn around |
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| Welcome to the forest, would you care for a banana |
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| Did you say you have a banana |
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| Nice to meet you [Thats my hand he's grabbing!] |
Not wanting to leave my new friend, but also eager to see what else lay ahead, we continued on the trail that would lead us in a loop through the rainforest, over some remarkably stable hanging bridges, with stunning views of the volcano and beautiful scenery all around us.
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| That's an interesting tree.. That one is for you Katie |
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| You can actually see another bridge in the lower right corner! |
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| Waterfall along the way |
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| How do we get up there? |
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| Can't help but get one final shot in |
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The next day we packed up and said good-bye to what turned out to be a pretty kick ass vacation.
Pura Vida!
P.S. Shout out to Greta Lindberg, since I know she's reading all my posts! Miss you girl!
