Morning in Arenal

We woke up early, must have been before 7:00, still hungry but well rested and in a much better mood then last night.

Now, with the sun shining through the huge windows we started to look around and really appreciate the room we were in.




A large room with a queen bed and 2 twin beds, a table with chairs, a balcony with a very nice view of the volcano in the distance, a huge walk in closet and a bathroom with a nice size shower (with hot water).





After a quick shower we decided to go and check in and figure out where to eat...I don't thing what mattered much at that time...The staff at the desk were very nice and as soon as we walk it welcomed us and knew that we arrived late last night and advised us that breakfast will be served as soon as all the tables are set.






Since we had more then 30 minutes to waste we decided to explore the property a bit and we started by walking down the winding road leading to the gate that last night was secured by a chain.




The property was very well maintained with meticulously cut lawn and nice landscaping full of different flowers and trees. While the road on the property was nicely paved, the one outside the property was a gravel road with enough space for 2 cars to pass. The description provided by the teenager last night came to mind ..."the rocky road"...and with that also came a huge sense of relief, "We made it!"

We followed the road until we saw our balcony and realized we actually had the corner room and the room next to us appeared unoccupied. The cow that wished us good morning was long gone by then.








By the time we made it back up the road to the restaurant the tables were set and the buffet with the complementary breakfast was being served...Since we learned from Tom that the cows in Costa Rica are mostly a different bread then the ones in North America (they are an Indian breed able to stand the high temperatures)...I was reluctant to go for the cereal and milk option, but the eggs, cheese and fresh fruits were delicious.

Once the food started making its way to our stomach we started talking and laughing about yesterdays adventure and the face I made when I saw the chain on the gate...pure desperation and defeat...





After breakfast we talked to the front desk agent about the local attractions I had planed to see (the National Park with the hanging bridges, the volcanic springs, the volcano...) and was suggested one of the packaged tours that included the National Park, the La Fortuna Waterfall, lunch, and remainder of the time at the Baldi resort and hot springs where we also received a buffet dinner. The best part was that the packaged came with a bilingual guide at the park and a driver which will wait for us at each location (so we could go at our pace and spend as much or as little time at each location as we pleased).

Waiting for our tour I decided to take some shots of some of the flowers when I noticed a strange bug flying like no bug I noticed before...when I saw it fly up, down, forward, and backward around a flower I realized it was not a bug....but a Hummingbird, smaller then the bee I just photographed, unfortunately my camera was not quick enough to zoom on it and even if I kept seeing them all over the flower bush I could not get one decent shot....at the same time my husband called me over to show me a bigger one ...I barely got one shot before it was gone...but I saw hummingbirds for the first time in my life....I was ecstatic.

Off to our tour...

Happy Travels.