Costa Rica Aventura: Weekend Outside of San Jose

It has been great so far in SJ, but I was ready to see more of CR.

We arrived in Arenal Friday night and quickly made to the Baldi Hot Springs, which is probably one of the best places I have ever been. Baldi is a series of natural hot tubs heated by the lava flows below ground from the Arenal volcano. We started off at a pretty big spring at a great temperature and we were immediately attracted to the water slides. The slide did not seem that bad looking at it, but it rocked me. I doubt it would make US safety standards, as I flew down and felt like I was about to get launched off the slide, I luckily made it to the bottom. We were able to relax for a couple hours before having a great buffet-style dinner. That night we stayed at the hotel and everyone got to know each other in the comforts of our hotel.

We up early the next morning and headed off to the hydroelectric plant. We were first taken to the dam and then to the plant where they housed the turbines. It was interesting to see how the plant worked, since the majority of power supplied comes via hydroelectricity but my mind was definitely set on the rest of the day. We were taken to a local stable were I was able to ride a horse for the first time in my life. My mom and sister have both spent time as equestrians, so I hoped that riding the horse would come naturally. Most of the group rode the horses together to the La Fortuna waterfall. I was surprised how much fun I had riding the horse. The horse´s name was Shakira and I felt like we bonded. I felt like I was in control the whole time and was able to go pretty fast at different points of the ride. It was a great experience, but it definitely left me sore til Sunday. Me and Shakira had to part ways once we got the waterfall.

The waterfall was incredible once we got there. Once we climbed down the endless amount of sketchy stairs we ended up at the waterfall, a picturesque sight. All of us jumped in and swam around. The water was cool, but refreshing. After drying off I finally realized that I had to climb back up these treacherous steps. I was already sore from the horseback riding and know I had to climb these stairs that would not be considered safe by most people. It was a good workout, but I wish I would have not have done it in my flip flops.

After lunch, we hiked through Arenal National Park. The hike was not anything special until we reached the lava rock field. I had never seen a landscape like it ever before. There were endless black rocks formed from cooled lava and it opened to views of the volcano and Monteverde. We were able to have a couple hours off in the afternoon and I was able to get a power nap in before dinner. I was excited to hear that we were going to a stake house, but was upset and confused that our options for dinner were either chicken or fish. I could have gotten a steak if I paid more, but I felt it was a little ridiculous. We came back to the hotel to find that the power was out and we were handed out candles. The novelty of the candles was fun for about five minutes and many of us decided to head to the grocery store, since they had a generator. I was able to try some CR ice cream, it was a little less creamy than American ice cream but still tasty. The power eventually returned and so did the nightlife. Some of us ended up at the Vagabondo bar and disco which had a giant turnout of around 14 people. We were greated by the overly friendly/creepy/uber liberal/cracked-out Jacob. Jacob grew up in Arizona but has been living in CR the past eight years. He made sure we payed attention to his beliefs on American politics (referred to the Bush administration as the fourth re¡ch a couple times), the many benefits and opportunities of CR, and that we were having a good time.

Sunday we left Arenal for Monteverde by Jeep Boat Jeep. The boat ride was fun and relaxing while offering great views of Arenal and Monteverde countryside. We eventually ended up at our lodge and thats when the rain came. We dropped off our things and headed for a canopy tour (zip lining) of some the Monteverde cloud forest. There were 15-17 zip lines, 2 bridges, 1 repel, and 1 Tarzan swing. I have done two canopy tours previously in Mexico, but this was the best one by far. I have never done a Tarzan swing before. I was dropped 40-50 feet and than flung out into the forest and swung back and forth a couple times, it was exhilarating. The tour ended with the longest zip lines I have ever been on. Once we finished we were all soaked and dirty, then we went on a night tour of the rain forest. I went into the hike with little enthusiasm, being completely soaked and cold with the dropping temperature, but our group was able to see different insects, frogs, a frog, an orange tarantula, and some bats. It was a great experience, but it left me starving. We ended up having dinner at a local pizzeria and it was fantastic. Most of the group was craving pizza after seeing some earlier in the day. Bob, Nolan, and myself were able to demolish a lot of pizza for our table, which was very satisfying. We were then treated to more ice cream for Rob´s birthday. That day left me pretty tired and I turned in early for our 5:45 am wake up call.

We were up very early to hike the same forest as the night before. This time we were in search of different birds that call the rain forest home. We were able to see a couple different types of birds, including humming birds. It was then time for breakfast and to check out and head back to SJ. I finally able to make it to the central market place and mall were I was able to pick up some things I needed and souvenirs. I wish I knew Spanish better, because I was not able to barter well and ended up paying a little more than some of my counterparts.

Well that was my weekend. It was a lot of fun, but I was defiantly thinking of home and missing out on Blossom, but it will be around next year. Tomorrow is going to be fun at the beach in Manuel Antonio. El Pescados tonight?