Arenal and the La Fortuna Valley

Transportation in Costa Rica (at least as far as gringos are lead to believe) is a long and arduous task. Tour guides and companies would love to transport you via shuttle, boat, ferry, etc. to your destination of choice "for a good price". I'm sure that public transportation isn't all that bad (as we took to from San Jose to Monteverde without any problems and for cheap), but I don't think that it goes to that many of the different cities by any direct route. Therefore is why I think we all fall for the alternative route.

Cammi and I took the "jeep, boat, jeep" (which was really a "van, boat, van") route to La Fortuna. La Fortuna is considered the second most visited city in Costa Rica for tourism, after Monteverde, even though they're really just opposing sides of the same mountain range. A lot of activities that were offered in one city, where also offered in the other.

The main reasons that we came here were because we had heard about a series of caves just waiting to be explored and Cammi really wanted to climb a volcano. Luck was with us in last we arrived an hour before the afternoon tour that headed to the Venado Caves and we were able to book ourselves a spot (turns out we were the only ones wanted to go then and therefore got a private tour).

The caves were about an hour drive from La Fortuna and our drives was awesome in that when we asked him whether there were any sloths in the areas, he not only told us that there were, but he also went out of his way driving trying to locate some for us. Even though we never found one, it was still a really cool thing that he did.

The lax safety regulations that exist in Central America lend to a more adventurous tour of the cave system. Cammi and I were outfitted with head lamps and rubber boots and then followed our trusty guide into the underground abyss. This was no pansy walkway tour like you might find in the US. Here the guide says follow me and then disappears and you realize that what you though was a solid wall really has a foot by foot hole half submerged in water that you can crawl through to emerge in another chamber. It was completely awesome. We crawled, climbed, swam, photographed bats, scorpion spiders, crabs, fish, and other creatures. There was an "Alter" made of calcium carbonate that reminded me of the white pools I'd seen in Pommakkale in Turkey and people come here to actually get married (it's different. but it could work). The caves quickly climbed to the number one thing that both Cammi and I had done since arriving in Costa Rica.

The next day, the two of us were booked on an entire day excursion to hike and see the Arenal Volcano and it neighbor, Chato. No one is actually allowed to climb to the top of Arenal since it technically still has the potential to blow it's top (although it is currently dormant), but you can climb Chato to the Green Lagoon that is located in the crater at the top.

Even though the tour agent that sold this trip to us told us that it was a more difficult hike, he greatly undersold the "difficult" part. This was definitely not a hike for anyone not in some sort of shape (there was an older woman that came on the hike and with the help of the guide and her son made it and instantly became my hero). You climb a mile straight up the mountain and about a third of the way up the pathway turns into a bouldering mud climb via whatever tree roots and/or vines you can find to haul yourself up the nearly vertical surface. You end up climbing through and then above the cloud line and therefore are actually walking in a cloud forest. It was grueling, tiring, and absolutely amazing. I loved it even though I would have gone at a much slower pace than our part billy goat guide set if I had done this on my own. At the top we were rewarded with fantastic views and the chance to swim in a freezing lagoon inside the crater of a volcano. we actually passed on the swimming but got to have the fun of walking through the mud and climbing back out of the crater and then down the other side of the Volcano to get to the bottom.

At the bottom, three was a very friendly and human corrupted Cotemundi. He would walk up to you and beg for food and then take it out of your hand if you offered him any. I know that it's bad to domesticate wildlife, but he was just so cute and I wanted a photograph with him, so I caved and fed him a bit of apple.

After we'd all successfully made it to the bottom of Chato, we continued on our way through the park to the base of Arenal Volcano. There is a nice simple walking trail that goes around the base of the volcano and takes you across two hanging bridges and to a La Fortuna Waterfall. Cammi and I did actually go into the water at the base of the waterfall. We both attempted to make it to the backside of the fall; Cammi made it, I took a photograph.

After our nice dip in the frigid waters, everyone continued on to a hotel that lets you walk out on their deck to watch the sunset. It's a gorgeous view and I could totally see myself just chilling at that hotel for a while and running away from civilizations. But, alas, that wasn't to be. We all piled into a van and headed to our final destination for the day, the hot springs. La Fortuna is know for Arenal Volcano and for its volcano heated hot springs. There are numerous resorts that have captured this heated water and piped it into cement pools that they've created at their amazing resorts. For those that don't have the money or inclination to visit the spas; there is one free spring. This spring flows from the base of the volcano and is heated naturally to a pleasant 85 or 90 degrees. It's like being in a comfortable bath. We eagerly slipped into the soothing waters in an attempt to soak away the hike from earlier and the stress of everyday life. It was awesome, made even better by the provided cocktail and the natural mud facial that our guide made and applied to all who wanted it. It made my skin so soft.

Overall it was a fantastic day and vied with the caves for best experience.

Although I would have been content to just spend another day in town chilling at our hostel (that had it's own pool, series of hammocks, trampoline, bar, and mini restaurant), time constraints forced us to book onward travel for the next morning.