Blogs from La Fortuna, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean

LA FORTUNA: The bus ride from Monteverde to La Fortuna was unpaved and therefore unpleasant. Sleep during the windy, bumpy ride was unsuccessful and the minute we stepped off the bus in town we were "greeted" with annoying tour salesmen. They were polite and friendly but we really weren't in the market for a tour having been in town for less than a minute and wanted to find our place and drop our bags. The "hostel" we booked was less than sufficient, but the bed was comfortable so I didn't mind. Apparently hotels have caught on to the hostel trend and started mislabeling themselves as hostels when they don't provide wifi, a communal area or a kitchen, amenities typical of hostels. Luckily we only booked one night there and found a far better place the next ... read more

I arrive in La Fortuna for Costa Rica´s Independence Day, September 18th. I went out in the morning to take a look at what festivities were taking place. The town was having a reverse sort of parade. Instead of groups parading around the town in a line, a bunch of groups were lined up along the road and slowly moving to the ´starting´point where they did a dance or performance for what looked like a group of judges. Most of these groups were children who did traditional dances, but there were groups who marched, played instruments and one who paraded around promoting greener living. It was an interesting even to watch but it started to rain so I headed back to the hostel. That afternoon I scheduled a visit to the Arenal Volcano which included a ... read more

Once my dad dropped me off at Arenal Backpackers in La Foruna, I was a little nervous to be on my own, but it turns out, making friends is easy. I put on my bathing suit right away and laid out by the pool with my book and a beer. A couple from Santa Cruz immediately came up and started talking to me because I was wearing my San Francisco Giants hat. They invited me to go to Baldi hot springs with them so I instantly had something to do that night. The hot springs were amazing. There were countless pools ranging in degrees of temperature and even a few water slides. There was a sign that said “no lifeguard on duty, go at your own risk,” and for good reason too. The fastest slide shot ... read more

Last scrumptious breakfast with Randall and company before starting the jeep-boat-jeep trip to La Fortuna at 8:30am. Not sure why they call it jeep since it's just a typical mini-van taxi but... I guess it sounds more appealing. The trip down to Arenal lake was very scenic with many farms along steep mountain sides. However, the winding roads started to get to Lina as she became white as a ghost and a little noxious. 1/2 hr boat ride was nice and warmer since the sun finally came out. We could see Arenal volcano as a backdrop to the lake; very impressive. Arenal is a perfectly shaped volcano that is not attached to other mountains. Its cone was hidden in the clouds, which apparently is quite typical.Arrived at our hotel (Kokoro) and were pleasantly surprised by the ... read more

Animals and adventures in Costa Rica.... read more