Adventure Day - Private tour in Arenal

After a long day of emotional rollercoasters and almost no food it was nice to know that we had a private driver that will be waiting for us and taking us to all the places we wanted to see...and more importantly, he knew exactly where to bring us back to.

The private package we picked was is my opinion the perfect one to see the most of the area's attractions....but before we even drove a few meters from the resort entrance the driver slammed the breaks and the car came to a halt...I was about to ask what happened when he pointed up a tree and the guide sited next to him got out the car quickly and opened our door very quietly "Come out, and see the ...bird". He got his book out and started flipping pages until he found what he looked for " in English you call it ...Peregrine Falcon"...we started smiling and got out of the car to see a beautiful falcon very high up in a tree....we really needed to get used to this, it seemed that every guide and driver understood how important and interested we were to see the wildlife and they always stopped to point them out.




After a nice drive we arrived at the National Park where the guide took care of the entrance fees and started our tour.








It was around 11:00am by the time we arrived, so I had no great hopes for any wildlife photography....for that we should have been there at dawn or dusk when most birds leave/return to their nests, but the jungle is beautiful and the hanging bridges are a must see.

Our guide took us on the a snaking hike through the park while providing interesting facts about the flora and fauna of the region as well as information about the area and the Arenal Volcano. One of the first hanging bridges we crossed gave us a breathtaking view of the volcano and instantly made me regret that we could not stay an extra day to take a hike up part of it ( an other very interesting tour available).










While, as I expected, we did not see any birds (heard a few), we did however see some leaf cutter ants and some lizards. One of the lizards that captivated me was one that had the tail a different colour then the body.

The trail that we fallowed took us over a few bridges and closer and closer to a waterfall that looked very small from afar...but was surprisingly tall with huge boulders at the bottom of it.






I should mention that if you have the same love for heights as my husband has you should not look down when you cross the bridges and you way wanna wait until everyone else is off the bridge before crossing, as it does move a bit and if you have someone coming from the opposite direction it becomes quite snug when passing....the view from the middle of each bridge it is well worth getting over any fear of heights or bridges.    

                      

The trail ends in a nicely groomed garden with lots of flowers and shrubs that attract a huge number of different butterflies.

           

Our driver was waiting for us and at the guide's suggestion we agreed to change our lunch destination. We did not know the place that we were suppose to go to in the first place so going to the restaurant that was on the property where the guide was employed seemed like a good idea...and it turned out to be a great choice.

The restaurant was part of the Hotel Castillo del Arenal, and it has a beautiful view of the Arenal Volcano. When we arrived the restaurant was empty so we were able to get a table by the window and enjoy the majestic volcano while waiting for our lunch. The lunch that was part of our package included only juice as a drink, but when we saw Mirinda on the menu (a Pepsi product similar to Fanta and Cplus...only better) we had to order it....the last time we had it was when we left Europe. We ordered one of the fish options after consulting with our guide that assured us that it was the catch of the day.

We took our time and enjoyed our meal and the view. Most of the clouds forming around the volcano cleared by now and with the help of my camera's zoom we got a good look at the side of the mountain where the lava would be visible during the night...now it looked like sandy ash.

A small banana tree was growing on the edge of the hill next to the restaurant and on the other side across the road on one of the trees a turkey vulture was perched looking for pray in the valley bellow.



Our driver returned to pick us up shortly after we payed for our bill (the drinks). Because the tip is calculated  as a percentage of the bill we added a bit more to it because she served us more then just the drinks. I should mention that we always tip based on the service and I have no problem with walking out without tipping if service is that bad, on the other hand I tend to add more then the costumery percentage if the service is very good.


The next stop on our tour was the La Fortuna Waterfall (the fortune waterfall). The fall is fed by the Tenorio River and has a 200 feet drop into an emerald pool.

                         


The decent to the fall may be a short one (about 10 min) but it is not an easy one. Going down I had the mountain wall on my right and the jungle on my left...no railing to hold on to and the wall and stairs going down were wet from the humidity in the air. There was not much air movement and the mid day heat was getting to me...we stopped a young couple and found out that the hike back up will take us at least twice as much. It was the first time that I gave up on a hike, but I do not do well with heat and humidity and I was feeling my chest closing in after less then 5 minus so we headed back up.





At the top of the trail we found a nice observation deck with the best view of the falls and we spend a bit of time enjoying the view and the breese.

We return to find out driver waiting for us in the parking lot, we explained that I am the only one that swims so we decided not to get in the water (much simpler to explain...)






He took us to the Baldi Hot Spring Resort next where he talked to the desk and gave us our day pass bracelets and we booked our buffet dinner time-frame so he knew when to pick us up.






The Baldi Resort has a few different pools with water at different temperatures including a hot pool with a smaller cold one in the middle, one with 2 slides (do not use if you do not swim...is all I will say about them) and even a pool with boiling hot water surrounded by signs not to touch the water and benches.




The small shallow pool with extremely hot water is creating a open air sauna...this was the first time I was able to enjoy and understand why my husband enjoys saunas so much. While the air was humid and hot, similar to the one in the traditional sauna, here there was a different air circulation that did not gave me that sensation of suffocation that I usually get in extremely hot places.

     

The resort is big, the grounds are very well maintained, and the property is clean. They offer towels and lockers for the day pass holders and a nice selection of drinks at the bars.

The rain started, but only lasted about 20 minutes and was followed by a nice orange sky and a rainbow....we dried off, changed and went to have dinner.






This was our first so called all-inclusive resort buffet experience and I was not at all impressed. We were seated at a table for two and decided to take turns getting our food (by this time we had our small backpack and valuables with us). The buffet offered a nice variety from salads to desserts and fresh fruits...and every course in between.



The staff was friendly and attentive cleaning any finished dish immediately and refilling all the water glasses....our dislikes came from the other guests...or some of them...that seemed to have forgot there manners home. A few young ones decided that they looked too good to wait in line like everyone else and it made me laugh when the server just skipped them and served the person after them that they cut in front, he must have done this at least 5 times before an older lady pointed them out where the line starts. The other thing that made me cringe was the amount of food left in the plate....did they really thing they can eat that mountain of food in one sitting? What a waste.

After dinner we left the property and found our driver waiting for us to take us back to our resort.

Oh, bed sweet bed! it looked so much better when not starved.

Until next time
Happy Travels

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.