The big volcano hike

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This morning we got up and went to Arenal National Park for a hike on the lava flows. We were given the choice between an easy hike about one hour, or a hard hike about 2 1/2 hours. We knew we could do the long hike so that’s what we chose. The trail meandered around a lake where we spotted chestnut mandibled Toucans, Oropendolas (they make the strangest sounds... hard to describe), herons and 30 other species of bird we couldn’t identify. We also saw beetles, leaf cutter ants and a scorpion!
It was over 30°, there was significant elevation, and humidity was near 100%, but Scott persevered. The views of the top were worth it, and as promised we did walk on the lava flow.
It was around 1230 when we got to lunch, and we decided to try the Caribbean place down the road. The red snapper was to die for and the ceviche was very good too.
We spent the afternoon playing ping-pong, backgammon, and birdwatching. Joe, the resident here, told us that if we put a banana on the lawn we could watch all kinds of birds. Indeed, many birds showed up, and with the help of his very thick book on the birds of Costa Rica, we were able to identify none of them.

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